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The same vitamins that your body benefits from when you eat avocado can benefit your skin through a face mask. In addition to vitamins C, E, K, and B, avocados contain "good fats" (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats). These fats can help improve skin elasticity, making you look younger.1 In addition, polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols found in avocado have been shown to partially heal ultraviolet-induced damage and inflammation affecting your skin.2 Rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, using avocado topically may also help protect your skin from future damage from UV and visible radiation.3

There are many different variations to an avocado mask depending on how you want to treat your skin. The recipe below is especially good for soothing dry skin.

What You'll Need Equipment/Tools 1 Bowl 1 Fork 1 Measuring spoon (tbsp) 1 Towel 1 Electric blender (optional) Ingredients 1/4 of an avocado 1 tbsp honey Instructions Prepare Your Avocado hands mash avocado with a fork in small white bowl with honey nearby Treehugger / Sanja Kostic

Take your avocado and mash it into a bowl with a fork. If you are doubling or tripling the recipe to share with friends, consider using an electric blender instead for a smoother texture.

How to Pick an Avocado for Your Face Mask A soft, ripe avocado is ideal for a face mask because it creates a creamier, smoother mixture. If picking avocados yourself, put gentle pressure on the skin. If it gives a little underneath your fingers, it is ripe and ready for picking. You should not be able to leave an indentation on the skin; this means it is too ripe. An avocado with skin that is bumpy and dark green to nearly black in color is likely perfectly ripe.

You can also use an old avocado for your face mask since it still retains most of the vitamins. A cut, browned avocado is perfectly safe to use on your skin.

Add Honey hand is scooping honey out of glass jar to be added to mashed avocado nearby Treehugger / Sanja Kostic

Measure a tablespoon of honey (ideally raw, locally sourced organic honey; even better if it comes in a glass jar) and pour over the mashed avocado.

Use your fork to mix the honey and avocado together thoroughly.

Apply Avocado Face Mask side profile of woman in silk robe smearing avocado mask onto face Treehugger / Sanja Kostic

Put your hair up, out of your face. Use your fingers to apply the mixture liberally to your face. To keep your clothes clean, throw a towel around your shoulders in case any of the mask mixture drips.

Leave the mask on for 20 minutes.

Wash Your Face woman's side profile in silk robe pats face dry with gray towel Treehugger / Sanja Kostic

Wash the mask off with lukewarm water and use the towel to pat your face dry.

Variations side profile of woman in silk robe smearing variation avocado mask on face from glass jar Treehugger / Sanja Kostic

There are tons of ways to alter this homemade avocado face mask recipe depending on your skin type or the benefits you are seeking. Best of all, many of the variations involve normal pantry ingredients, making this DIY project easy, quick, and a lot of fun.

For each kind of face mask, use avocado as the base and change the honey for another ingredient like:

Ground oatmeal (1 tablespoon; for exfoliation) Tee tree oil (for acne; add to the avocado 1 drop of tea tree oil mixed with 100 ml of water to dilute) 1 egg white (to improve skin elasticity) 1/4 of a banana, mashed (for dry skin) Olive oil (1 teaspoon; for glowing skin)

Feel free to get creative and make your own face mask concoction based on research and what natural ingredients you know do well with your skin.

How to Avoid a Skin Reaction If you have sensitive skin, try testing avocado topically on a small area of your body prior to applying your face. Apply a bit of mashed avocado to the small of your wrist or inside of your elbow and leave it be for up to 20 minutes. If you don't have any itching, redness, or burning during the 20 minutes, you should be able to use the homemade avocado face mask without any side effects.

Environmental Concerns overhead view of mashed avocado in glass flip jar with wooden spoon Treehugger / Sanja Kostic

Only a third of the avocados consumed in the United States are grown domestically; the remaining two-thirds come from South America and Mexico, which can create a large carbon footprint because of the distance they have traveled to reach you.4

Depending on where you live, you might want to seek out in-season California-grown avocados to limit the carbon expense. There has also been some concern that the popular interest in avocados has led to deforestation in Mexico and draining water supplies in Chile. When you buy an avocado, make sure that not an ounce of it goes to waste by using any excess in a face mask.