How to: Papaya Face Mask

The papaya mask delicious ingredients

Papaya is an amazing fruit for the skin. It is a great antioxidant due to the very high content of Vitamin A. In addition, papaya fruit contains papain, which breaks down inactive proteins, and therefore helps to remove dead skin cells. This gives this bright orange fruit great exfoliating properties. If that all was not enough, papaya has also been said to have good anti-aging properties due to the high content of alpha-hydroxy acids (the AHAs). In addition, papaya can help with blemishes, uneven skin tone and will bring a lovely glow to the skin. 
I have read about all these amazing papaya qualities, and when I saw a reduced price fruit in a supermarket, I thought 'Why not give it a try?'
The mask is easy to do, but I must confess I did make a bit of a mess in the kitchen when preparing it. But I think it was mostly due to the fact I do not own a blender, and therefore a lot of mushing things up was involved. 
What you need:
- Half a papaya, pips scooped out
- 2 table spoons oats
- A dash of olive/coconut oil
- Juice of about 1/4 of a lemon

In the process

1. Scoop out the seeds of the papaya and remove the skin. Cut the fruit into small pieces and mush it up either in a blender or with a fork
2. Grind the oats 
3. Mix the papaya and the oats together
4. Add the oil and the lemon juice, and you're set to go!
5. Apply the mask onto the whole face and neck, avoiding the eye area, leave for 10 mins or so and wash off

The end product...

Using half a papaya was actually enough for two applications. The oats in the mask helps to sooth the skin and add more exfoliation upon rinsing. After the mask my skin was very soft and refreshed, and it felt lovely to apply fresh and completely natural ingredients to my face! Would definitely recommend! My ingredients are only a suggestion, you can alter the recipe to suit your skin, for example you can add honey for sensitive skin, or maybe yogurt... If you try it, let me know how you get on...