Our kitchen cupboards are stocked with age-old beauty secrets. Come play in the kitchen with me, and lets create face masks that are fresh, fun and super cheap!

I’ve always been a fan of natural, organic beauty products and when you know a face mask is safe enough to lick, its also free of chemical nasties found in many commercial offerings.

Today I’m trying out a super-easy Milk Mask…

The benefits of applying milk on the skin go back to the days of Cleopatra. She swore by her extravagant milk-baths and her exquisite complexion was one of legends.

Why put milk on your face?

Great for skin hydration: With its high fat content, milk is very hydrating and can do wonders for dry, flaky skin.

Milk contains Lactic Acid: Beta hydroxy acid is a naturally occurring form of lactic acid found in cow’s milk. It is better known as salicylic acid, and is widely promoted in highly priced beauty products for its numerous benefits for the skin.

Hydroxy acids do wonders at scrubbing off excess dead skin cells making way for a softer, cleaner complexion.

Great for treating sunburns and unwanted tans: Lactic acids have skin lightening properties.

Unclogs pores: Mother Nature gave us an amazing facial cleanser in the guise of milk! Regular use of milk on the face unclogs pores, and prevents nasty acne and blackheads.

I used 3 heaped tablespoons of full-fat milk powder with a generous pinch of turmeric powder:

Turmeric powder (known as ‘haldi’ in the East), is what makes curries yellow. It is also a magical condiment for the skin:

Turmeric is great for all skin types: Turmeric regulate the production of sebum, so it balances out the oily factor of skin depending on skin type.

Soothes dry, weathered skin: It has been successfully used for generations to keep wrinkles at bay.

Has healing properties: Turmeric is often used topically for small wounds and minor insect bites.

I only put a pinch of turmeric as a bigger dose would add a yellow jaundiced sheen to the skin!

I added water to the mix, enough to make it pasty and sticky (you want it to stick to your face easily, and not slide off).

It looks quite blobby (you could get a cleaner look than mine if you added more water!):

I left it on for 20 minutes. Basically you want to keep it on till it starts to feel stiff and dry.

I then added a little water and scrubbed the mask into my face for good old exfoliation.

I have to admit it can get a little messy getting it all off, so keeping your hair off your face from the start is highly recommended (get a spunky terry-towel  hair wrap like mine from Nazih for as low as AED 15!).

After I got all the milk off my face, I patted in a little moisturizer and was good to go.

The verdict: My face felt very clean and looked visibly more vibrant. I would recommend doing this when you have more time on your hands given all the scrubbing and cleaning that goes with it.

Will I wear this mask again? It’s super easy to make, has tons of natural goodness packed in, is super cheap, and made my face glow on first application. So yes, I’ll do this again!

Is it edible? Yes. Does it taste good? Milk powder fans will love it (…as long as you go easy on the turmeric!)

If you’re going to be regular at creating face masks at home, this DIY set from Amazon might be worth your while: