Final weeks of pregnancy made my skin the worse it has ever been. Due to the increased hormones, it had become increasingly oily therefore causing spots on my chin and neck. I felt like I had dunked my head in a vat of oil, I had tried my trusty face masks I normally rely on and nothing seemed to work, even my face wash was not working to full effect.

I decided to try a homemade natural face mask to help. After a bit of research, I stumbled upon a recipe that is said to calm blemishes and help fade acne scars. Here it is:

What you need:

• 8oz water
• 110g of Oats
• Two drops of lemon juice
• 1 TBSP of Cinnamon 

It is pretty easy to make, following these simple instructions

Pour the water into a pan and bring to a medium boil.

Add the oats and lemon juice to the water 

Allow this to cool to a warm temperature

Stir in the cinnamon

You are now ready to apply the mask. Leave on the skin for 20-30 minutes once a month.

Apply moisturiser

Result:

Well, I used jumbo oats and these were definitely too big, it was quite a challenge to get the mask to stay on the skin without falling off, I suggest using a very fine oatmeal.

There was a slight tingle on the skin, that was how I knew it was working or so I thought. You do not see any results instantly, and frankly, I did not see any but more angrier skin. Whether it is my hormones or the fact the oats were too big this did not work for me.

Following further research I discovered that you should not use cinnamon on your skin, it is a spice and that is exactly what it should stay as. Hence the reason why my skin tingled, it is not recommended by beauty experts as you may blister your skin, I am thankful this did not happen to my skin.

I know some readers may disagree with my findings on this face mask recipe, everyone has different skin types and reactions to products. I have very sensitive skin, so I use gentle natural and organic products in my daily routines, and although I do not want to write a negative post, I want to write a truthful one. So, I came up with a more sensitive one.

My recommendation is to use:

• Oatmeal
• 1 tablespoon of Honey
• 1 tablespoon of Water

The honey acts as an inflammatory and is a great antiseptic.

The biggest lesson learnt here was that my skin was going to struggle to improve with my hormones raging, something I was told would calm down once baby T was here. I admit I had to ditch my routine and normal cleansing products for a mild antiseptic soap to keep some of my acne at bay.