10 Homemade Natural Skin Care Recipes

Store-bought skin care products are loaded with chemicals and can be downright expensive. Make these 10 homemade natural skin care recipes instead.

You don’t have to fork out big bucks for great skin care. In fact, many department-store and drugstore brands of skin care products are packed full of harsh chemicals, toxic ingredients, artificial colors and more. Even so-called natural skin care brands may contain questionable ingredients that you wouldn’t want on your face.

Want to look up the safety of your skin care products? Check out Environmental Working Group (EWG)’s Skin Deep database. It has the ingredients list and potential toxins of more than 68,000 personal care products.

I checked on a few products that I used to use for anti-wrinkle skin care and was floored to see the results. Most of the products ranged in the 5-6 range out of a total 10 (with 10 at the highest level of potential hazards and toxins). That’s troubling to consider.

Luckily, I’ve learned to make my own skin care products. It’s easy with products you already have in your bathroom and pantry. In fact, here are 10 natural skin care recipes that can replace an entire skin care regime you’d probably pay a fortune for at a department store.

10 DIY Skin Care Recipes You Can Easily Make

1. Facial Wash

Forget the harsh cleansers. Try this Foaming Face Wash. It’s gentle, yet effective in keeping skin clean and clear.

2. Facial Scrub

Exfoliate your skin with this luxurious DIY Facial Scrub. It’s similar to facial scrubs you’d get in a spa (with the same results), yet at a fraction of the price.

3. Facial Mask

Pamper yourself with one of these 8 Honey Facial Masks to rejuvenate skin and give it a healthy glow.

4. Toner

I can’t believe how much I used to shell out for toners. This DIY Facial Toner will literally cost you pennies and it’s hydrating, pH balanced and excellent for blemish-prone and combination skin.

5. Eye Cream

An effective eye cream doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Try this DIY Eye Cream to hydrate the eye area and fight wrinkles.

6. Moisturizer

Forget everything you know about moisturizers. Oil-free facial lotions can actually make the skin produce MORE oil than regular moisturizers or even facial oils. I have combination and blemish-prone skin, yet I absolutely LOVE this DIY Facial Oil Moisturizer with Sunscreen. It’s hydrating, but not oily – plus the addition of essential oils help to fight blemishes and fade sun spots. Here’s another Homemade Facial Lotion recipe.

7. Lip Balm

Think about how much you pay for lip balm. $2-4 for a tube doesn’t sound too expensive, right? You can actually make your own Organic DIY Lip Balm for Just $0.24 a Tube.

8. Facial Serum

Department-store brand facial serums are expensive – sometimes upwards of $50-$100 per bottle. Nourish skin naturally with this DIY facial serum. It costs pennies to make and includes just a few simple ingredients.

9. Shave Gel

Ditch the aerosol shaving creams (which contain harmful ingredients) and try this DIY Shave Gel. It’s excellent for both men (for facial hair) and women (for legs, under arms, etc.).

10. DIY Charcoal Peel-Off Mask

This DIY Charcoal Peel-Off Mask removes all those blackheads and impurities from the pores… leaving behind glowing, gorgeous and clear skin. Learn about the benefits of activated charcoal – it’s great for skin care and so many other things.

How to Choose the Right Container for Your DIY Skin Care

Not only is it great fun to choose gorgeous packaging for your homemade skincare, but the right container can also help keep your formula safe and stable for longer. In fact, it’s important to store your homemade skincare in proper, hygienic containers. Luckily there are lots of great packaging suppliers online who will send you containers that are ready to use for your beautiful botanical formulations.

It is easier to contaminate a product that is in an open jar than one dispensed from an air-tight container. When possible, choose pump or spray valves that dispense your formula without the need to open the product container. If it isn’t practical to use a pump or spray, perhaps because of the viscosity of the product, then you might consider adding a drop dispenser or a spatula to help get the product out of its packaging – and help reduce the likelihood of introducing contamination.

How to Make Natural Skin Care Products Last Longer

As it’s almost impossible to know the likely expiration date of homemade skincare products, one of the best tips is to produce small amounts. Not only does this mean your cream, balm or butter will be the very freshest it can be, but you’ll also get to play around with different ingredients regularly to whip up a fresh batch.

When you’re making anhydrous (no water) products that are suitably packaged to minimize contamination, you can make bigger volumes, but always remember to add an antioxidant such as Vitamin E or Rosemary CO2 extract to slow down product degradation.

With unpreserved, water-based products, its is advised you make single-use doses only when you need them. Microbial growth happens fast, especially given the perfect growing conditions found in room temperature.

Top Tips Natural Skin Care Products

• Make sure to choose the right containers for your products, open air jars are more prone to contamination.
• Make in small batches – at least in the beginning – is it can be hard to gauge the shelf life.
• Try a oil free lotion recipe for particularly dry skin.

More DIY Recipes

• Homemade Bubble Bath
• 10 Easy DIY Skin Care Swaps
• DIY Coconut Brown Sugar Scrub
• DIY Poo Pourri: After You Poo Spray

Photo credit: Bigstockphoto.com / okkijan