Many of us experience dry, tight skin in the winter, thanks to lower humidity outdoors, and aggressive forced air heating indoors. You don’t need to spend tons of money on store-bought skin care products filled with artificial ingredients to reclaim your healthy glow. If you want to inject a little moisture back into your skin the natural way, try these nourishing food-based masks! Chances are, you won’t even have to brave the cold weather to get the ingredients.

Food-Based Masks

Oatmeal, Honey & Yogurt

This mask is sure to smooth and soothe your skin, as well as helping to banish winter dullness. Oatmeal is a classic cure for dry, itchy, irritated skin. It is also a natural exfoliant, and has emollient qualities. Honey also helps retain moisture in your skin and has anti-microbial properties to help with acne-prone skin. Yogurt is a natural moisturizer and the lactic acid it contains helps makes skin soft and supple.

1/4 cup oat flakes

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup plain, organic yogurt

Mix together until you have a paste and apply it to your face (taking care to avoid the eyes). Leave it on for 10-15 minutes, and then rinse off with lukewarm water. For extra exfoliation, give your face a little scrub as you’re rinsing it off.

Avocado, Aloe & Olive Oil

I know it’s hard to smear an avocado on your face when you could be smearing it on toast, but this rich mask will reward you with nourished, refreshed, glowing skin. The good fats in the avocado and the olive oil help seal in moisture and the antioxidants in the olive oil even have anti-aging properties. Aloe helps reduce redness and irritation.  One thing to note – make sure you use high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Some cheaper olive oils have other oils mixed in as fillers with can clog your pores.

1/4 avocado, mashed

1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp aloe juice

Mash the ingredients together and apply to your face. Leave it for 10 minutes or so, and rinse with lukewarm water.

Banana, Egg Yolk & Coconut Oil

Applied topically, bananas naturally help fight blemishes, moisturize skin, and combat free radicals. Egg yolks hydrate, nourish and moisturize dull skin. Coconut oil is an excellent moisturizer and can help soothe irritated skin. It also has antioxidants that can help fight the aging process.

1/2 banana, mashed

1 egg yolk

2 tsp coconut oil (room temp or softened)

Mash ingredients together and massage onto damp skin. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water.

And don’t forget the main benefit of all facial food-based masks – sharing your amusing pictures on Instagram. Tag @spuddelivers so we can check out your handiwork too, and share your own recipes for winter face masks!