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The trouble with personal care items is that even the ones with non-toxic ingredients come packaged in plastic containers and wrappers. Additionally, everyone has different skin and hair and it takes a lot of trial and error to find what works for you. This makes it much harder to find swaps for your favorite beauty products. I think the beauty industry needs to catch up and start looking at alternative packaging. In the meantime, commit to yesterday’s challenge to use what you already have and then, start shopping another area of your home to see if you can replace a favorite with a homemade product. Let’s head to the kitchen!
Today’s Challenge: Start experimenting with do-it-yourself beauty products. You may have the ingredients sitting in your kitchen right now. If you need to shop for something, most of the time you can find materials in glass bottles or in bulk at the grocery store. One thing I can guarantee is that you will save money. Beauty products are pricey and making your own will save you a lot of moola. To contain your own creations, look through the jars and bottles that you saved from week 1 or hold on to some from your used beauty products. Right now I make my own facial toner, blush, face mask, and body oil. I came across this site which has links to over 100 DIY recipes to check out. Pick one out (or use my recipe below) and make your way to the kitchen!
Body oils are hot right now and I’m sharing my recipe with you. It is my own personal creation that I made up after running out of a trendy and expensive body oil. When I looked at the ingredients I realized the main elements were already sitting right in my kitchen. I estimate that it costs me about $1 to make 3 ounces that will last me a month. Compare that to the $15 I spent on the original product! I reuse the pump bottle that the commercial product came in and fill it up over and over. I swear this is the best body moisturizer I have ever used. It is a little greasy at first, but it soaks in after a few minutes and has kept my winter skin at bay more than any other product I’ve tried.
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce sunflower seed oil
- 1 ounce melted coconut oil
- 1 ounce olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 drops of lavender or orange essential oil
- Other optional ingredients: almond oil, jojoba oil, different essential oils for scent
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a 3-4 ounce pump bottle and shake well. Apply to your skin after showering or shaving.
*A couple notes on homemade products – make sure you thoroughly wash containers (run them through the dishwasher) and clean hands before mixing so that you don’t contaminate your concoction. And if you have acne prone skin, do not use coconut oil on your face or you are guaranteed a breakout.
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