Homemade Skin Care

A lot of men and women struggle with skin problems, whether it be that their skin is too oily or dry or that their lips chap in extreme temperatures. Maybe you want to treat yourself to an at-home spa day but you don't want to buy any expensive products to do so. A good, cheap, and pretty easy alternative to drugstore cosmetics is the under practiced art of DIY cosmetics.

With a little bit of preparation time and in some cases, cooking time, you can make your own alternative cosmetics at home. If you're worried about the cost, the quality of the product you're making for yourself as well as the ability to choose exactly what goes into the product you're going to be using should balance it out. The possibilities are virtually endless, but for this blog we will be focusing on skin care.

Here are a few recipes for homemade cosmetics:

Essential Oil Flavored Lip Balm

What you will need:
4-6 small lip balm sized screw top containers
3 tablespoons grated unbleached beeswax 

5 teaspoons carrier oil (sunflower, castor or jojoba) 

6 or 7 drops essential oil (lemon, tangerine or grapefruit are good if you're looking for a fruity flavor, and oils such as peppermint and spearmint have a cooling sensation.) 

1 teaspoon honey, for flavor

Instructions: 
Melt the beeswax and carrier oil together in the top of a double boiler, stirring to combine. Remove from heat; add honey and essential oil. Mix thoroughly so the honey does't clump. Pour the mixture into containers; let sit 20 minutes before covering or moving. For glossier lip balm, use 2 teaspoons wax and 8 teaspoons carrier oil.

Frozen Egg & Honey Facial Mask 



This is recommended for dry or sunburned skin.

What you will need:

1 Empty toilet paper roll1 Bowl1 egg 
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (but not hot) 
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions: 
Beat the egg in a small bowl until frothy and well-mixed. Slowly add the liquid coconut oil and honey, beating until the mixture is the consistency of mayonnaise. Take an empty toilet paper roll and set it on end in a clean bowl. Spoon mixture into the cardboard toilet paper roll. Place tube in the bowl, in the freezer overnight. To use, peel away just the top 1/4 inch of the cardboard roll and smooth the frozen stick over your face. Leave your mask on for 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water.
Return the cream stick covered with plastic wrap and frozen between uses.

Keeps indefinitely.

Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant 

What you will need: 

8-10 strawberries 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon of coarse salt, such as Kosher salt or sea salt

Instructions: 
Mix together all ingredients, massage into hands and feet, rinse and pat dry. Strawberries contain a natural fruit acid that aids in exfoliation!

There are many more DIY recipes to be found on the internet, have fun and get cookin'!