How to Repurpose Leftover Skin Care Products

I’m a sucker for skin care products – especially eco-friendly, organic products. I always want to try the newest face lotion, body wash or eye cream. Oh the eye cream. I can shop for hours looking for the right one – I need all the help I can get to keep wrinkles at bay.

The downside to my skin care obsession is that I often use products for a period of time and then move on to something else. It’s not always because I don’t like it – or as my 5-year-old son would say, “I like it. I just don’t want it.” It’s more like I have product ADD. I want the shiny new toy.

My medicine cabinet is filled with half-used bottles of skin care products that I haven’t used in months. For instance, I went through a phase of trying the oil-cleansing method (check out Crunchy Betty for more information). I loved how soft my skin felt, but I continued to break out so this was not the right method for me while my bottle of castor oil sat in my medicine cabinet unused. And I have more eye creams, body lotions and essential oils than I know what to do with.

So I’m trying to make myself finish up on products that work fine before I commit to buying something else . And, of course, I’m checking to see if I can return anything – for instance, I tried the Ole Henriksen line at Sephora but it didn’t agree with my skin. Sephora has a generous return policy, so I’m taking my leftover items back to exchange for something I do use regularly.

But what about products I can’t use for it’s original purpose (it makes me break out or it’s not moisturizing enough) or I can’t return? I’ve got some tips on how to repurpose those old skin care products for new uses

Castor Oil 
This oil can be reused as a natural diaper rash ointment. Just use in place of zinc oxide. I add a little aloe vera gel to help heal the rash.

Jojoba Oil or Coconut Oil
These wonder oils have so many uses. Everything from make-up remover to body moisturizer to hair shine treatment. I like to dab a little on my lips as an alternative to lip balm.

Eye Cream
I repurpose my eye creams as a hand lotion or cuticle cream. If it’s too thick or greasy, I use it on my feet instead – it’s great for cracked heels.

Body Lotion
I go through a different body lotion every few months. But sometimes they just don’t work for my skin – either too greasy or not moisturizing enough. So I’ll try to use it on my kids instead. Most of the body lotions I have are eco-friendly and non-toxic, so they can be used on children safely.

Shampoo
Some eco-friendly shampoos don’t lather or clean my hair the way I like it. Rather than dump it out, I give it to my kids to use as a bubble bath instead.

Make-Up
I’ll use blush as a lip stain (mixing it with a lip gloss). And I’ll try to mix up eye shadows together to come up with a new color that might work instead. Or if all else fails, I turn bad make-up color choices into art supplies for the kids. Color with lip stick and eye shadow or use a mascara brush for a mini paintbrush. Of course, I make sure my make-up is eco-friendly before giving it to the kids – I don’t want them playing with toxic chemicals.

What do you do with leftover skin care and make-up products?

Image courtesy of dusky / FreeDigitalPhotos.net