There’s nothing like a good sheet mask on your skin to start or end the day. K-beauty has definitely set the standard for self-care.
We can’t help but love how our skin looks and feels after using a face mask — although we can’t say the same for our bank accounts!
Your skin will no doubt benefit from using a sheet mask, but even the price of more affordable masks will eventually stack up.
Luckily, making your own DIY sheet masks isn’t that difficult and they will definitely get you more bang for your buck!
Why We Love a DIY Sheet Mask
Going the DIY route for a face mask might be intimidating and tedious at first, but it’s a lot easier than it seems!
After trying them out ourselves, we can tell you they’re definitely worth adding to your skincare regimen. Besides being WAY more affordable, there are tons of other benefits to making your own DIY sheet mask!
Reasons to DIY Your Sheet Masks:
1. They're Affordable and More Effective
If you didn’t already know, sheet masks CAN expire and you should always check their expiration or best used by dates on its packaging.
Unlike ready-to-use sheet masks, you’re certain the ingredients (e.g. charcoal, baking soda, lemon, etc.) in your at-home sheet mask are FRESH.
You can buy lots of you’ll need to DIY in bulk at a much more affordable price, then simply make a fresh sheet mask to use RIGHT AWAY whenever you want to.
This is CRUCIAL because a lot of active ingredients become less effective over time or could even cause a bad reaction on your skin!
2. Less Waste, Less Guilt, and More Benefits
Ready-to-use sheet masks come with a lot of plastic packaging that you end up just throwing away!
Every piece of plastic or glass container we don’t find a way to upcycle honestly pains us.
More importantly, it hurts the earth— the beauty industry does a lot of harm to the environment so any way we can reduce our impact is a big help.
DIY sheet masks are also a great way to make use of food “waste” that you’d otherwise throw away. For example, instead of throwing away those fruit peels and rinds, put them on your skin!
This would be a great time to INFUSE the natural fragrance of the fruits along with the benefits of the nutrients in them. In fact, even though we don’t eat them, most of a fruit’s nutrients are actually found in its peels and rinds.
3. Made by You, for You!
Perhaps the best thing about a DIY sheet mask is that YOU get to customize it to best fit YOUR skin type!
Lots of ready-to-use sheet masks contain ingredients that could potentially cause your skin to react— the total opposite of what we want from our skin care products!
Since you get to pick and choose what goes into your own sheet masks, you KNOW it will only be full of ingredients that will benefit your skin.
How to DIY
All you really need to DIY your sheet mask at home are a few ingredients, clean containers and utensils, clean hands, and some space in your fridge!
A lot of skincare products should be stored at certain temperatures and if you live closer to the equator, it would be best to not leave them at room temperature.
Storing the DIY mask ingredients in your fridge will help keep the active ingredients FRESH and EFFECTIVE, and stop them from reacting to anything in the air.
It goes without saying you’ll need clean utensils to mix up your face mask serum and clean hands are a MUST when applying anything to the skin on your face.
What You'll Need:
One good thing about DIY sheet masks is that most, if not all that you need to start making a DIY mask, are things you probably already have at home!
The components of a DIY sheet mask are:
- The dry mask sheet
- Face mask serum or mask mixture to soak the mask in
If you’re not a skincare enthusiast that already has these materials in stock at home, you can easily find them online, in your local grocery or drugstore.
You can also take a look at our list of the Best Korean Serums for a Healthier Complexion to help get you started.
Buying Dry Sheet Masks
With the DIY sheet mask trend taking off, you’ll find there are quite a lot of face mask sheet options to choose from.
Compressed sheet masks are probably the MOST COMMON DIY sheets available and are pretty inexpensive.
You can easily buy loads of them all in one pack but since they are an individually packaged product, there’s a lot of plastic to throw away.
If you’re looking for an environmentally-friendly option, reusable silicone or cotton sheet masks are a great idea if you don’t mind washing them afterward.
Other Kinds of DIY Sheet Masks
A mask sheet is most commonly made out of soft cotton but can be made from various materials that have different properties.
For example…
- A microfiber sheet mask would hold onto liquid differently from a cotton sheet mask, and how thin they are would affect how well they stick to your face, etc.
- Hydrogel/Gel masks are made with agar agar, xantham gum, or gelatin that are washed or peeled off. These stick on your face well but are a bit difficult to DIY at home!
- Foil sheet masks work similarly to any fabric ones, you’ll just have to cut holes for your eyes, nose, mouth, and edges carefully to make sure it sticks to your face well!
While most have a cooling effect, using a foil mask will actually make your face feel warm, which is also beneficial for blood circulation and helping the skin absorb the liquid mask formula!
Our Favorite DIY Sheet Mask Recipes
Personally, we prefer a fabric DIY sheet mask, although these recipes would also work as either a hydrogel or foil mask.
Now for the liquid part of your DIY sheet mask!
Make sure to use DISTILLED WATER when the formula calls for water, especially if your tap water isn’t clean enough for drinking.
Formula 1: Rice Water Sheet Mask
Rice water has antioxidants that nourish the skin. It’s great for dry skin, works to brighten and protect against sun damage!
This formula will take some time to make but it’s totally worth it!
Recipe:
- After thoroughly rinsing your rice once, let the rice soak in distilled water for AT LEAST 30 MINUTES or leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Strain the water and voila! Your homemade rice water!
- Discard the rice if you let it soak too long.
Formula 2: Cucumber and Aloe Vera Hydrating Sheet Mask
This is a great Aloe vera formula to try out during the season change!
Aloe vera and cucumber are both calming, hydrating, and healing.
Recipe: Crush 1/4 of a cucumber, mix with 1 tablespoon pure aloe vera and 2 tablespoons water.
Formula 3: Green Tea and Lemon Sheet Mask
Green tea contains antioxidants that get rid of impurities and fight aging. Plus, the amino acids in both lemon juice and green tea will brighten and tighten your skin.
Recipe: Mix 1/4 cup green tea with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
TIP: You can also check out our review of the Best Korean Vitamin C Serums for a Brighter Complexion for other serum options.
Formula 4: Chamomile and Witch Hazel Sheet Mask
If you didn’t notice, we love using all sorts of teas as a liquid in our DIY sheet mask serum!
Chamomile tea for your skin is anti-inflammatory, good for tightening your pores and refining your overall skin texture. Since it has anti-inflammatory properties, it can soothe active breakouts.
Witch hazel is a natural astringent with antibacterial properties. It also provides moisture, making it great for acne-prone skin and oily skin.
Recipe: Mix 1/4 cup chamomile tea with 1/4 cup witch hazel.
Formula 5: Honey and Rosehip Seed Oil Sheet Mask for Acne
This formula will help to fight skin acne because of the anti-bacterial properties of honey and rosehip!
It also smells SO good— perfect for relaxing.
Recipe: Mix 1 teaspoon honey with 1/4 cup water and 5-7 drops rosehip seed oil.
Lazy DIY Hacks
If these seem like too many steps for you, don’t worry— there’s an even EASIER kind of DIY mask you can do at home.
The idea behind sheet masks is they form a barrier on your face!
This physical barrier helps the skin on your face absorb everything instead of the skincare simply evaporating into the air.
Hack 1: You Can Use Facial Tissue
So when you’re feeling a tad bit more lazy than usual but your face badly needs a pick-me-up, all you need is some KLEENEX!
Face tissues or paper towels are all you’ll really need— just don’t forget to poke some holes for the eyes holes, nose holes, and mouth holes.
Hack 2: You Can Even Try Rice Paper
You can also use rice paper (soaked in a liquid, like warm tea or milk) as your sheet mask for similar positive effects of rice water with less effort!
Simply apply your skin care products like usual (or layer it on a little thicker for extra moisture), cut up your DIY sheets, and stick them on your face!
Hack 3: Cotton Pads are Another Option
If you’re too lazy to cut up holes, you can also just strategically place cotton pads on your face to help the skin absorb all that goodness.
DIY Skincare Do's and Don'ts
Do some research on oils and make sure you’re using them correctly! Oils can be expensive so researching beforehand ensures you’re investing in something you know works for your beauty regimen.
If you buy an essential oil, you might need to buy a carrier oil (like coconut oil) to ensure your skin can absorb it properly. We love using jojoba oil, tea tree oil, coconut oil, lavender essential oil, and rosehip oil for their moisturizing, healing, and anti-aging properties.
Do remember that oil doesn’t work for everyone — even oil that fights acne (like tea tree oil) could irritate someone with a sensitive skin type. Some tea tree oil formulations can be too strong for others and aggravate irritation.
When cutting holes on your DIY sheet mask, do make sure they’re big enough so the mixture doesn’t get in and irritate your eye!
Don't Forget!
Everyone’s skin needs are different. There are honestly so many rules in the beauty world made up by companies so that we keep buying solutions to problems they’ve made up!
Don’t be afraid to break some “rules” and to try things yourself. Your experience will inform you best on what is good for your skin and body.
Take note: Essential fatty acids come from our diets and not in an essential oil.
So just make sure that you take care of your bodies inside and out— after all, beauty begins within!
If you still insist on using store-bought sheet masks, then we suggest that you read through our article on the Best Korean Face Masks and Sheet Masks for options.
CHANGELOG:
September 2, 2021 – Improved article formatting, reviewed and updated overall content, updated title
July 13, 2021 – Reviewed and updated article links