Most girls love a good face mask, a glass of wine and to watch a film. Yet buying good quality face masks can get expensive and there's no way of knowing what chemicals you're lathering on yourself. One way to have instant access to great quality face masks, on a whim and without having to worry about them being bad for your skin is to make them yourself, from foods and materials that are already in your home.

The first thing to remember with face masks is that when you buy them from a shop or manufacturer, that face mask has materials in it that make it goopy and stick to your face. When you make one out of natural ingredients it might not stick so well and it might be a good idea to apply it while you're in the bath or as you shave your legs in the shower, so as not to drip fruit juice or yoghurt all over your dressing gown, carpet or bedding.

Alternatively, and for a much more practical way of applying natural face masks, you can add vegetable gelatin. This is the stuff that you add to fruit juice and put on the top of cheesecakes and it's made entirely from vegetables so it's all natural. It can sometimes make lovely fruit juices smell less appetising but they're only going on your face anyway. Vegetable gelatin can usually be found in the cake-making aisle (near the food colouring and silver balls) in supermarkets and comes in a box with several sachets. Usually a whole sachet will be enough to make 4-5 lots of face mask, so use ¼ or a little bit less if you're just making enough for one.

The first of our recipes is for those with dry or inflamed skin conditions such as psoriasis or eczema. Mix 2 tbsp porridge oats with 1 tbsp milk and 1 tbsp natural yoghurt. Blend this mixture in either an electric mixer or in a measuring jug with a hand blender. Add ¼ sachet of vegetable gelatin and 1 tsp honey. Porridge oats have anti-inflammatory properties and the milk, yoghurt and honey will soothe and moisturise your skin. Don't forget to wash it off well and moisturise with an emollient such as aqueous cream afterwards.

The second recipe is a fruity one, involving papaya juice which has proteins that break down dead skin cells. It is based very closely on a recipe created by ethno-botanist James Wong, which was broadcast on his programme 'Grow Your Own Drugs'. Take the juice of half a kiwi (by mashing it through a sieve) and mix it with the juice of half a lime in a bowl. Mash half a papaya into another bowl and place this over a pan of water, brought to a rolling boil for one minute and mix in one sachet of vegetable gelatin. Take it off the heat and slowly mix in the lime and kiwi juice until it is the right consistency. You can put this on straight away, warm, and you could try leaving it to dry and rubbing it off with the pads of your fingers to really exfoliate your skin. James Wong recommends testing a bit on the inside of your arm to check for allergies first, and so do we.