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When I think Spa day, I think cucumbers over my eyes with a face mask on relaxing in a white bathrobe with a glass of wine in my hands.  Sigh.  Although have you ever tried putting cucumbers over your eyes?  It’s super weird.

So I bring you a twist of the spa, with this refreshing cucumber face mask infused with bentonite clay and pink himalayan salt!

All the ingredients in this mask are great for your skin.  Normally Bentonite Clay is a strong detox face mask that also replenishes your skin with minerals.  I love my Bentonite Clay acne busting recipe because of ability to fight acne and detox impurities from my face.

I definitely would not call a clay mask “hydrating”.  So I took cucumber, which is super hydrating and infused it with a clay and pink salt face mask to make a hydrating clay face mask.  And it is wonderful!! I loved the fresh smell of cucumbers in the face mask while I was relaxing with my book at the end of a long day.

Cucumber has a whole host of benefits for your skin, especially when it comes to hydrating and anti-aging.  Ever since I was introduced to Himalayan Pink Salt years ago, I have never had regular table salt, I even love to have pink salt detox baths.  So these 2 things make the perfect addition to a clay mask.  

Inspired by Freeman Clay Mask 

I really like that Freeman has offered a line of clay mask products to it’s customers, to make pre-mixed clay masks as an affordable option.  Our facial clay masks work out to less than .80 cents a mask.   I really like that they use a wonderful and natural ingredient like Bentonite clay in their cucumber + pink salt clay mask.   

However what I don’t like is the list of ingredients.  It not just one or two that you can’t pronounce, check out the ingredient list on this puppy. 

Water/Aqua, Bentonite, Titanium Dioxide, Kaolin, Pumice, Propylene Glycol, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Illite (Green Clay), Stearyl Stearate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Jojoba Esters, Sodium Chloride (Himalayan Pink Salt), Glycerin, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Polyarcylate, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Methylchloroisothiaxolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Magnesium Nitrate, Diazolidinyl Urea, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), RED 30 (CI 73360), Talc (CI 77718), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Yellow 6 (CI 15985), Blue 1 (CI 42090)

Just to highlight a couple of the nasty ingredients in this mask:

• Methylcloroisothiaxolinone and Methylisothiazolinone is a common preservation found in health care products but has been linked to lung toxicity, allergic reactions (which some reviews comment from this mask), and possible neurotoxicity. (Safecosmetics.org)
• Phenoxyethanol is an antibacterial in cosmetics and according to orgaid it’s one of the top 10 ingredients in your cosmetics to avoid. If absorbed into your skin, it can have an effect on your brain and central nervous system.  My understanding is some companies use this in small amounts which might not be harmful to the skin, but overtime could accumulate.

I believe in only applying healthy ingredients on our skin, and most of all the ingredients in this face mask you can actually eat.

You will notice from the above list of ingredients there was Bentonite Clay, Kaolin Clay and French Green Clay.  For simplicity we decided to only go with Bentonite, but you don’t have to choose just one if you get our facial clay assortment pack.  We have all 3 of those types of clay, plus Rhassoul too!

Why should you use Cucumber in your skincare?

I’m so excited to bring you this cucumber face mask so we can be “cool like cucumbers”.  There’s so many interesting facts about cucumbers.  Before this mask, I thought cucumber was a vegetable, but it’s actually a fruit, from the melon family.

One of the most unique features of cucumber is that it is made of 95% water, making it naturally hydrating. They contain high levels of ligans, flavonoids, Vitamin K, antioxidants like Vitamin C and B, and trace elements and minerals.

Cucumber Mask Benefits for your Skin

1. Hydration, remember it’s made of 95% water.
2. Contains silica which is often recommended to improve the health and complexion of skin.
3. Reduces melanim, your skin pigmentation, results in a skin whitening effect.
4. Reduction in sebum production, for those who suffer with oily skin, their sebum production is working too well causing excess oil.  Cucumbers can help balance that.  (Rhassoul clay is also great for this as well).  For some, less oil = less pore build up = less acne.
5. Cucumber is anti-inflammatory which can help you deal with acne and blemishes.

Here are some of the most common questions for using cucumber in your skincare routine: 

What is a cucumber mask good for?

Cucumber masks as great for hydrating your skin, skin lightening, and acne breakouts.

Can you apply Cucumber on Face Daily?

Absolutely! The minerals and vitamins in the cucumber are so beneficial that applied daily will do wonders for your skin.  This recipe contains clay, so it’s suggested to follow this recipe only one to two times per week.  I used the rest of my cucumber puree to make a refreshing cucumber toner.

Do Cucumbers lighten skin?

Yes!  This is wayyyy better than some of the bleach products that I saw while travelling in Thailand.  Cucumbers can be a natural and effective way to lighten your skin melanim.

References: Jarcp

Is Pink Salt good for your face?

Once you convert to Himalayan Pink Salt you will never go back, and it will be the best decision!!  For your foods, it just simply tastes more flavourful, but not only that it’s packed with 84 trace minerals.  The main elements are calcium, magnesium and iron. I would rather dust my food with 84 minerals than with salt, which is just 2 minerals. 

Pink salt also has an amazing cleanse, detox, and remineralizing capability for our skin.  For years I have enjoyed wonderful pink salt baths.  And even better when done in combination with a clay detox bath. 

The minerals that are contained in the salt, are small enough that our body can absorb them.  These 3 minerals, chromium, zinc, and sulfur, are great for stopping acne. 

Some people use pink salt as a facial scrub, I find that I like sugar as a scrub more than salt as it’s not nearly as abrasive.  Therefore in our instructions, massaging the clay mask into your skin is completely optional, and should be done lightly.  

Benefits of Himalayan Pink Salt for your Skin: 

Balances Skin Complexion.  Our natural skin PH is best at 5.5.  When it’s too alkaline above 5.5 your skin becomes dry and itchy and even cause eczema. But when it’s too acidic below 5.5 it can produce too much oil therefore acne and breakouts.  By balancing the PH on your skin this can balance skin complexion.

Detoxify.  When you skin absorbs the minerals in the pink salt it also releases toxins.  Detox baths with himalayan pink salt are especially effective for detox as your pores are also open from the warm water. 

Tightens pores. The salts cleansing and tightening of the pores over time will help reduce the appearance of pores.

Helps with oily skin.  Aiding in ongoing sebum production, a large part by balancing the skin to a proper PH level, pink salt can help with oily skin.  As a quick fix, it sucks up oil on your skin.

Treats acne. Himalayan Pink Salt is a great cleanse and disinfectant, so this in turn will cleanse your pores and treat acne.

Eczema.  A mix of pink salt and distilled water solution and applied to your eczema skin can cause the blisters to release it’s water and begin healing. 

A couple the biggest questions for using pink salt on your skin are: 

Is pink salt good for your face?

Pink salt can give you many benefits by applying pink salt topically to your face like cleansing, remineralizing, detoxifying, treating acne, eczema, tightening pores and even reducing fine lines and wrinkles.  All great benefits to incorporate into our nourishing cucumber mask. 

Is pink salt good for acne? 

What causes acne? Usually acne is a result of bacteria or impurities building up in the pores which as a result causes acne breakouts, blackheads or whiteheads.  Salt remineralizes the skin which causes the skin to release those impurities from your pores.  Another cause of build up in your pores is over oily skin.  Pink Salt will absorb excess oil from your pores, which over time will also shrink the appearance of your pores.

Can you use pink salt to exfoliate your face?

There are a lot of pink salt exfoliation recipes that you can find, I personally love the salt scrubs for my body!  My personal opinion only is that salt, no matter which salt you choose, can be abrasive for the sensitive skin on your face.  I much prefer to stick to a sugar scrub.  Would love your comments below for what results you see as using it as an exfoliant. 

Cucumber Pink Salt Clay Mask Ingredients:

The ingredients for this nourishing cucumber mask are pretty simple.

You will need:  

• 4 tsp of cucumber puree (approx 2 inches of cucumber)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Salt (sensitive skin use just 1/4)
• 3.5 tsp Bentonite Clay
• 1/4 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar (with the “mother”)
• 1/4 tsp of Aloe Vera Gel

Equipment required:

• Blender, I always love my vitamix for tasks like this.
• 1 glass, wooden or plastic bowl (glass is preferred)
• 1 plastic, or wooden spoon
• 1 face mask brush (included in our facial clay assortment pack)

What is Apple Cider Vinegar “with the mother”?

Bragg is my favorite brand, and also easily available on amazon or at your local grocery store.  The “mother” is essential all the enzymes and proteins part of the apple cider vinegar.  The good stuff.  Refined apple cider vinegar will look clear and won’t have a residue at the bottom but it lacks a large part of the nutrition of apple cider vinegar.   

How to Mix Cucumber Clay Max

This recipe yields 2 face mask recipes.  Mr. Facial Clay Masks loved joining in on this one 🙂

Step 1: First make sure to scrub the outside of your cucumber so it’s clean.  We are using the skin of the cucumber as this contains silica, potassium and magnesium minerals.  Don’t want to peel those minerals away! 

Cut approx 2 inches of cucumber and chop into a couple cubes for your blender. 

*Note: I made extra to make a cucumber toner afterwards, which I added into the notes at the end of this cucumber mask recipe.

Step 2: Puree the cucumber chunks in your blender for approximate 1 minute.  I love, love my Vitamix for tasks like these. 

I will never forget when I bought the Vitamix, Mr. Facial Clay Mask thought I was certifiably NUTS for spending almost $500 on a blender.  It is pretty ridiculous, but soon after he confided that if were to break up, he would definitely want the blender. 11 year later, we are still going strong so the blender didn’t break us up!

Step 3: Add Himalayan Pink Salt to your cucumber puree and let dissolve.  I let mine sit for up to 5 minutes. 

Step 4: Add the remaining ingredients to the mix.  Add the 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar.  Without the apple cider vinegar the PH of this face mask was 7, so if you have oily skin this is ok, but for most people make sure to add the apple cider vinegar, which balanced at 6 PH.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of aloe vera gel.  This one is my favorite from Seven Minerals:  

Add the Bentonite Clay.  Our facial clay assortment pack comes with 4 different types of clay, Bentonite Clay, Rhassoul Clay, French Green Clay and Kaolin Clay.  Our Bentonite clay is very high quality cosmetic/therapeutic grade, sun dried calcium bentonite.

Option: If you have sensitive skin, you can also substitute the Bentonite with Kaolin clay for a soothing mask.

Full disclaimer, this mask does take a couple minutes longer to prepare then a simple bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar mask.  I really enjoyed the smell of the cucumber and the texture of the pink salt.

How to apply Cucumber Mask to your Face:

Refer to our how to use a dry clay mask instructions for detailed instructions.  Cleanse your face before face mask application.  Using your face mask application brush, apply this mask liberally to your skin and upper neck.  Approx 1/8″ of an inch thick.

Note: while applying I choose not to “exfoliate” with the himalayan pink salt as I think it’s too abrasive for my skin.

You might experience some itching while the mask is drying, due to the pink salt.  I found this to be quite minimal, but other masks that have salt some users have reported this effect.

Leave on your skin for approx 10 minutes, don’t forget to remove the face mask BEFORE it dries.  Leaving it on until it gets all cracked and dry can remove natural oils from your skin.

My skin was super smooth after this mask, but I definitely noticed that it was not as “tight” afterwards, I think due to the extra hydration of the cucumber.

Did you try this mask? I would love to hear how it worked for you! This recipe is one of 9 bentonite clay mask recipes.

Disclaimer: Our content does not constitute a dermatologist or medical advice.

Did you try this mask? I would love to hear how it worked for you! Leave a comment below.

P.S. I had leftover cucumber puree from this recipe, so I popped the leftover puree back in the blender (approx 2 tablespoons), added 1 tablespoon of witch hazel and 1 tablespoon of distilled water (purified water is also ok).  The next night after my mask and morning after, I applied to toner to my face for 15 minutes.

**Please note because cucumber is made of 95% water, it does not keep.  So this extra mix can only be used for 1, max 2 days after mixing.  

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