Egg White Face Lift

What Are Egg Whites Exactly?

Egg whites are obviously the white part of the innards of the typical egg. The white surrounds the yolk and can be used for all kinds of things: frothing up cakes, powering your body with protein, and creating natural beauty treatments.

Egg whites are technically the cytoplasm of the egg. Sometimes called the albumen or glair by the more scientifically savvy, we’ll be referring to them as simply ‘egg whites’ for simplicity’s sake. Egg white structure is complex but there are some reasons that the whites can be a healthy skin treatment.

Some parts of egg whites likely have little to do with skin improving qualities, unless of course you eat it. For instance, Ovalbumin makes up the bulk of egg white and is chock full of healthy protein, while Ovomucin inhibits viruses. However, neither will likely firm your skin.

Lysozyme may have something to do with the skin clearing qualities some people believe egg whites have. Lysozyme is an enzyme whose main function is to digest bacterial cell walls. In some studies Lysozyme has been shown to stop spoilage (such as in wine making) and is added as a natural preservative to some foods. It stands to reason that perhaps these qualities may be passed on to skin when an egg white face lift is used. This may be why some people feel that you can also cut blackheads with an egg mask.

How Does an Egg White Face Lift Firm Skin

It’s unlikely that egg whites have any long-term firming power. They don’t fight wrinkles or clear age spots. Egg whites can maybe fight acne, although it hasn’t been scientifically proven. Egg whites can absolutely give your skin a firming sensation, but that’s due to the chemical properties of the egg white - not a miracle treatment.

When you make scrambled eggs, what happens (in simple terms) is that the heavy amounts of protein in an egg react in a chemical manner. The eggs become less water soluble and more scrambled and chunky. When you apply egg white facial masks to your skin, the proteins do the same thing. The water of the egg evaporates, leaving a film of egg. The film tightens because of the loss of water. If you put anything wet that dries – wet sand, paint, or egg, for example - on your face and the water evaporates, of course the item will tighten up and create a firming or tight feel. Not that I’m suggesting a paint mask!

As soon as you rinse a dried product off your skin, the feeling of tightness will start to vanish. It’s a temporary fix.

Why Use Egg Whites

Having read the above you may now be thinking that there is no good reason to try eggs on your skin. That’s not exactly true. While egg whites alone have no real long-term benefits, they do narrow your pores and can be used as a base mixture to create a great bunch of face masks. There’s also the cleansing and acne fighting qualities that some people swear by. While it was noted above that it has not been scientifically proven, that doesn’t mean much. Tons of herbal and natural treatments and medicines haven’t been tested by science but have been tested over the centuries by women everywhere who swear by the results.

Also good to consider is how much unnatural items you really want on your skin. If you can choose a milder and less chemical based product like egg white, it’s healthy for your body, better for the planet (less packaging waste), and can be made at home for a fraction of what professional treatments cost.

Egg White Homemade Face Masks

Egg whites alone can be used. Simply separate your egg, paint on a thin layer of egg white, wait for it to dry, and rinse with cool to warm water. However, most egg white masks can be made more effective if you add some other natural additives.

Each of the following recipes can be adjusted – that's part of the beauty of homemade treatments. If you have sensitive skin, try a skin test on your arm first to make sure no irritation occurs. It goes without saying that people with egg allergies should not only not consume eggs but also avoid using them on their skin. Also try to use organic eggs; the body ingests fewer chemicals with these.

Egg white and honey mask:

Honey softens and is a great egg white addition. Mix one egg white with a tablespoon of honey and a drop of essential orange oil. Smooth on your face and let dry for maybe 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Egg and oatmeal (for skin, not breakfast!):

Beat an egg white into foam and mix in about a tablespoon of crushed oatmeal until a thick paste forms. Add a dash of honey and an optional drop of essential oil. Slather on, wait for it to dry, and rinse. Alternatively you can use ground coffee or almonds in place of the oatmeal.

For the brave:

Brave because it sounds strange but rumors of this working are all around. Take an egg white and whip until foamy. Apply a thin layer under your eyes. Make sure to keep it out of your eyes, of course. After it dries, add one more super thin layer and then apply your makeup as usual. In this case you aren’t rinsing the egg off (hence the strange) but it is supposed to lift your under eye area well. If you hate it you can always rinse it off.

For more egg white recipes and other edible masks visit Make Your Cosmetics..