A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get together with a group of friends and learn more about making my own natural skin care products. It was a wonderful, relaxing evening that included a chair massage! Below are the recipes, resources, and tips shared from our evening together:
Deodorant:
- 6-8 TBSP Coconut Oil
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients. If too thin, add more arrowroot powder. If too thick, add more coconut oil. Scoop into desired container. In the hot summer months, it may be helpful to store in a cool place.
Emollient Facial Cream:
- 4 oz. Coconut Oil
- 3/4 oz. beeswax
In the top of a double boiler, melt the coconut oil and beeswax. Stir to incorporate. Once melted, remove from heat and pour into desired containers. Allow to cool and completely harden before use.
Hard Lotion Bars
- Equal amounts* of:
- Beeswax
- Shea Butter
- Coconut Oil
*It is helpful to use a kitchen scale to have the most accuracy in measuring equal amounts.
In the top of a double boiler, melt beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil. Stir to incorporate. Once completely melted, remove from heat and pour into desired molds. Allow to cool completely. If there is difficulty in removing bars from molds, place into freezer for a little while. Remove from molds and place into a tin or container for storage.
Foot-scrub
- 1 cup Coarse Salt
- 1 TBSP Baking Soda
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 2 TBSP Coconut Oil
- 4-5 drops Tea Tree Oil
- 4-5 drops Peppermint Oil
- 3 TBSP Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (Peppermint)
In a large bowl, toss together salt and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients. Be sure to mix well and mash together to incorporate all the oils. Scoop into desired containers. To use, scoop a small amount to palm of hand, add a little water and scrub away! This is Melissa’s own recipe!
Oil Cleansing Method
- Dry or Aging Skin Care Recipe:
- 1/3 castor oil
- 2/3 carrier oil
- We used:
- 1/3 Castor Oil, 1/3 Avocado Oil, 1/3 Jojoba Oil
- We used:
- Normal Skin Care Recipe:
- equal parts castor oil and carrier oil
- We used:
- 1/2 Castor Oil, 1/4 Sunflower Oil, 1/4 Olive Oil
- We used:
- equal parts castor oil and carrier oil
- Oily Skin Care Recipe:
- 2/3 castor oil
- 1/3 carrier oil
- We used:
- 2/3 Castor Oil, 1/3 Jojoba Oil
- We used:
To do the OCM, start with a dirty face (no need to pre-clean here, even if you’re wearing makeup), rinse your face lightly with warm, running water. Pour the oil in the palm of your hand and then apply gently all over your face. Massage firmly, but gently, always moving upwards. Massage for 2 minutes, and then let the oil sit on your face for 30 more seconds or more.
Rinse. By now, you should have very hot water coming out of your faucet. Adjust the heat until it’s cool enough to apply to your skin, but warm enough to soften the oil (it’s probably going to be hotter than the water you usually rinse your face with). Dunk the washcloth under the hot/warm water until it’s completely soaked. Apply the washcloth to your face and hold it there for 10-15 seconds. Slowly begin to wipe off. Rinse your washcloth and repeat until you’ve wiped all the oil off your skin. Susan’s note: My face never felt so wonderful after using the aging skin care recipe!
*Know that it may take a week or two for your skin to become used to the Oil Cleansing Method. But don’t give up! It is a wonderful way to cleanse and nourish your skin. It is super natural and healthy – no nasty chemicals! The other wonderful benefit is that when you do the Oil Cleansing Method, you rarely have to use a moisturizer because your skin is getting all of the moisture it needs through the cleansing.
Good Carrier Oil Options:
- Jojoba (all skin types, but very desirable for acne-prone skin)
- Sweet almond (all skin types, especially oily)
- Grapeseed (all skin types, especially oily)
- Avocado (dry and aging skin)
- Sunflower Seed (all skin types)
- Olive (all skin types)
- Apricot Kernel (dry, aging, and normal skin)
- Argan (all skin types, especially aging skin … very pricey)
- Tamanu (all skin types … very pricey)
Source: http://www.crunchybetty.com/nitty-gritty-on-the-oil-cleansing-method
More Resources:
The Beginner’s Guide to the Oil Cleansing Method
The Environmental Working Group has a cosmetic database full of various products. The information there is a wonderful tool to learn what is actually in your conventional bath products. It is also a great place to search for natural skincare options:
Crunchy Betty is a website and blog run by a woman who is passionate about natural skin care and all things “crunchy.” She has many resources for lovely homemade bath products, and wonderful information too:
Bubble and Bee Organic is a bath and body website specializing in all things natural and organic. I have used many of their products and been very pleased. If making your own products doesn’t sound appealing, I highly recommend them. Her lip balms are wonderful, deodorant is fantastic, and the lotion sticks are fabulous:
Vitacost is a great place to purchase healthy skincare products. Their prices are usually lower than most. They also offer name brands:
And a great article on Top Five Chemicals to Avoid http://www.bubbleandbee.com/topfivechemicals.html
Photos by Jen Brandon of JacheStudio.com. Used by permission.
Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26
Jennifer J says
Thank you for doing this post. I’ve been wanting to do more natural skin care, and you gave me the recipes and info all in one place. Thank you!!
susanv says
My pleasure. Using the products has been such a treat!
Anne Payne says
Thank you for this post! My daughter and I were just talking about making mascara, so now we have some more skin care products to try 🙂
susanv says
Is it the mascara recipe with the deactivated charcoal? I want to try that!
Jennifer Brandon says
This is SO helpful! Thank you!!
susanv says
Yeah, especially since you missed most of it! Thanks for the photos, Jen. You’ve been such a good friend.
Meredith says
Go you guys for making your own stuff! These sound like great products too–I am impressed!
susanv says
The oil cleansing for my face is especially amazing! Thanks for stopping by.
Kristel @ Healthy Frugalista says
I’d like to try the oil cleansing. Currently I just use water to wash and then apply coconut oil. I’d like to try the blend of oils. It looks like castor is the only required oil, so I could use other oils I have on hand. I’m keeping this in my favorites for future reference.
susanv says
I love the clean feel it leaves on my face, Kristel!
Caro says
Very informative post ~ glad to hear about ‘natural’ products ~enough ‘chemicals’ in our lives ~ thanks ~ (A Creative Harbor) ^_^
susanv says
I agree!
Tiaras & Tantrums says
I have seen these before and I always wonder what would happen if I try this on my extremely sensitive skin – I am currently on a regime from my Dr and so scared to deviate!
susanv says
Yeah, that’s a hard call. Could you try it on the back of your hand first?
Danielle @ Poor and Gluten Free says
What a handy post! I’d love it if you would consider sharing it on my blog’s new link party – Waste Not Want Not, a place for sharing frugal and natural living tips and recipes. Thanks and hope to see you there 🙂
susanv says
Thanks, Danielle! I’ve shared the post.
Nancy Roberts says
Thanks for the post and all the info! I’ve made a few homemade balms before, but want to try some more. I have extremely dry skin (not my face) and it’s difficult finding ANY skin care products that work. I will be on a quest to find products that can tackle this condition for sure…thanks again and blessings! Nancy at livininthegreen
susanv says
I wonder if the oils in the oil cleansing method for dry skin would help on the rest of your body. Don’t forget to keep hydrated, too. Thanks for visiting!
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susanv says
Hi Keira, glad you found my site! Hope you’ll visit again.
Helen B. @ Blue Eyed Beauty Blog says
This is so awesome! It always amazes me the ways you can take care of your body without store bought products! Thanks for sharing all these recipes!
I am visiting via Poor & Gluten Free: Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays.
Helen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog
Diamand says
Just came across this link from another sight. Does anyone have the link to the natural homemade mascara? Sounds interesting!
Kalpana says
Thanks a lot for a great post. Also try mixing your own natural skin care items! A teaspoon of sugar and a half teaspoon of olive oil make a delightful sugar scrub for your lips. You can even use this mixture to exfoliate and soften rough skin on your feet, knees and elbows. It’s inexpensive and entirely free of dangerous preservatives.
Jacqueline @ Deeprootsathome.com says
I hope to make a few of these to try them out…the OCM aging skin care method sounds perfect for a 60 year old face 🙂 Thanks for sharing at DRAH!
Jessica says
Thanks for this! Nice to have everything all in one reference spot. I’ve been making some of my own products. When I do buy some it is always a natural product (my faves are from Garden Girl http://www.gardengirlskincare.com). Thanks again for the post!
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Sheila Rooney says
You make all the recipes sound so easy and perfectly working. I think, I gotta try something out.
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Lindsey says
I’m interested in the natural skin care too and I can say that these recipes for it look really amazing! Thank you for sharing with this information, I’ll definetly try all of them in future!
I think that such natural skin care is much better than using popular hygiene and cosmetic products, even the ones made with famous brands because personally I am not sure in their quality. There are in fact many cosmetics which is advertised as very cool for skin but in fact isn’t so good and unfortunately can be even harmful for it…:(
Also a good decision in this case is to order a natural handmade cosmetics from some people, the products which I got in this way were very good for my skin, their effect was better comparing to all that professional ones, well at least that was my own experience 🙂