The start of a new semester is stressful. You go from sleeping in and wearing pajamas all day to waking up early and meeting deadlines – or missing them. Here are a few face masks you can make quickly and easily to relax and pamper yourself in your dorm room.

1. Moisturizing Avocado Oatmeal

This is a simple mask that only requires two ingredients. This recipe can also be used as breakfast.

Step 1:  Prepare ½ cup of oatmeal according to the directions on the package.

Step 2: Cut open a small avocado and scoop half of it into a bowl.

Step 3: Mix the avocado with ½ cup of oatmeal and allow the mixture to cool.

Step 4: Spread evenly over face and keep the mask on for 15-20 minutes.

Step 5: Remove.

This mask can moisturize and rejuvenate your skin. The unused oatmeal and avocado can be eaten for breakfast. I’m assuming separately, unless that’s what you’re in to.

Avocado helps prevent wrinkles while oatmeal can help treat acne.

2. Brightening and toning egg white, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar mask

When starting a new semester you may be stressed, dehydrated, lacking sleep and even living off of coffee. This means your skin is probably  dull and lifeless, just like your eyes which are probably ringed with dark circles by now.

This mask, when used regularly, can brighten your skin, fade dark circles and give you the illusion that at least one part of your life is under control.

Step 1: Take the white from one egg and place it in a container. Be sure to not make a mess your roommate will complain about.

Step 2: Add one teaspoon of lemon juice.

Step 3: Add a dash of apple cider vinegar. Don’t sniff it.

Step 4: Use an old makeup brush, paint brush, or cotton ball and spread the mixture evenly over your face.

Step 5: Leave until the mask hardens then remove with warm water.

The measurements for this mask can be adjusted to suit your personal preferences, but when experimenting be sure not to add too much apple cider vinegar. When left undiluted, apple cider vinegar can be too acidic for the skin.

Do not follow this mask up with toner. It tones and brightens on its own and following it up with more toner can dry out your skin.

3. Exfoliating honey, brown sugar, lip mask

It’s winter, it’s cold, it’s windy and your lips are most likely crusty. You probably have a dozen tubes of chapstick somewhere, but your roommate keeps taking them. This lip mask is your new best friend.

Step 1: Squeeze a dab of honey on to a plate. Who even knows how much a dab is? Just wing it.

Step 2: Throw in a pinch of brown sugar.

Step 3: Rub the mixture on to your lips, you want the brown sugar to be thoroughly worked in until all of the dead skin is rubbed away.

Step 4: Leave on for 1-2 minutes then remove.

Honey can be replaced with coconut oil and brown sugar can be replaced with coffee or regular sugar.

When you have chapped lips, it is important to exfoliate and remove the dead skin rather than just using chapstick. If you don’t exfoliate from time to time, you will simply be moisturizing dead skin and not actually helping the problem.

The brown sugar in this recipe, when rubbed over the lips properly, will help to detach the dead skin and allow it to flake off and disappear.

Besides, what tastes better? Chewing on your dead skin in class, or honey and brown sugar?

4. Soothing and cleansing tomato, charcoal, aloe vera

This mask is my personal favorite. Whenever I am stressed out this is my go to. Not only is it cool and soothing, but when it is removed, your skin will feel hydrated, cleansed and refreshed.

Step 1: Take ¼ of a cup of aloe vera.

Step 2: Add 1-2 teaspoons of activated charcoal. This is messy.

Step 3: Squeeze in the juice from four baby tomatoes. This is also messy.

Step 4: Mix together and spread evenly on your face.

Step 5: Leave this mask on however long you want to and then remove with warm water.

As with all of the masks discussed in this article, the ingredients are flexible and the amounts can be adjusted according to your personal preference.

Aloe vera helps to treat acne and inflammation, charcoal is a natural cleanser that helps to draw out bacteria and debris from the skin and tomato helps to remove excess oil from the skin.

As a plus, while you have the charcoal out, place a tiny pinch of it on your toothpaste and brush your teeth with it. Once done, rinse out the excess charcoal with water. Activated charcoal is a natural whitener and will help to remove plaque and yellow stains.

Make sure to use a toner after any face mask to avoid crusting over again and to seal in the benefits of the mask. Depending on how dry your skin is on average, use these one to three times a week.

Staff reporter Kallie Cox can be reached at kcox@dailyegyptian.com.

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