One of my New Year’s resolutions is to become a better cook, and because I’m also hopelessly addicted to beauty, 🙂 I’d like to include a smattering of DIY kitchen beauty recipes as well.
There’s just something about making homemade beauty products, isn’t there? — the idea of whipping something up from scratch, skipping the preservatives and really *feeling* the ingredients in your hands?
It turns out that homemade versions of many popular beauty products are easy to make with ingredients that most cooks have readily at hand.
But if you add the following three drugstore ingredients to your next shopping list, your repertoire of potential kitchen beauty recipes expands by leaps and bounds.
NOTE: Be mindful of allergies. If you can’t eat it, your skin may not like it either. 🙂
- Glycerin: a humectant that binds moisture to the skin (works far better than water alone)
- Sweet almond oil: a better alternative for DIY skincare recipes than vegetable oil
- Kaolin clay: great for tightening and cleansing
Exfoliating skin cleanser
Mix the following ingredients in a large bowl:
2 heaping spoonfuls of kaolin clay
1 tbsp ground rice (to exfoliate)
1 tbsp ground almonds
1/2 tbsp wheat flower
1/2 tbsp almond oil
5 capsules of evening primrose oil
Dried coconut flakes
Dried beans (ground up in a coffee grinder)
Flatten the doughy concoction to about an inch thick. Roll it up, and cut slices to use when you exfoliate. Refrigerate any unused portion (should be used within a couple of days).
For extra troubled skin, add an antiseptic herb like thyme or freshly chopped fennel to the mix.
Exfoliating body scrub
Combine kaoline clay, glycerine, fresh pineapple (it contains an enzyme called bromelain that helps to remove dead skin cells), ground rice and sweet olive oil. Mix, and scrub! 🙂
All-Purpose face mask
Start by infusing lily and honeysuckle petals by bringing some water to a boil, and then pouring it over (be careful!) the flower petals. Let them cool for about a half an hour.
For the face mask itself…
4 tbsps of the flower petal infusion
1 tbsp oats
1 tbsp kaolin clay
1 tbsp glycerine
Use the mask as soon as it cools (or at least on the same day), as it doesn’t keep. You can also vary the amounts of kaolin and glycerine used depending on the consistency you like. Want more moisture? Add some almond oil and up the amount of oats. If you’re looking for a more tightening mask instead, use a little more of the clay.
Cocoa butter moisturizer
In a pan, warm a few nice-sized chunks of cocoa butter, adding…
A teaspoonful of almond oil
A small amount of mashed portobello mushroom and banana
3 drops of rose essential oil
Thoroughly mix and pour into an ice tray before placing in the fridge to set.
Oat moisturizer
Add about a handful of oats to some cold water (not freezing, just chilled); let stand for about 30 minutes.
Sieve the oat mix using a fine strainer, collecting the colloidal milk from the oats into a bowl.
Tada! DIY moisturizer. 🙂 Apply directly to skin with a cotton ball.
Hair treatment
Beat two eggs into a jar or small bowl, and massage the mix into dry hair. Rinse with cool or tepid water, beer or lemon juice.
Bath treatment
Open a squarish piece of muslin (or any fine cloth), and in the middle of it place…
A few tbsps of oats
A spoonful of sodium bicarbonate
Fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, bay or thyme
TIP: If you’d prefer a spicier winter bath, add a cinnamon stick, cloves and a whole nutmeg.
Tie the ends of the cloth with the ingredients inside, and plop it into your bath as the water runs.
Umm… Why am I so hungry right now?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Ooo… that bath treatment sounds yummy!!!!
LOL, I agree! I got really hungry while writing this post!
Oooh, I love these ideas! Especially the exfoliating cleanser and the bath soak! 😀
.-= Catherine’s last blog post… Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box & FOTD =-.
I could use both right now. 🙂
Great ideas! I think the oat moisturizer and the exfoliating cleanser sound amazing!
Oats are supposed to be really good for your skin! I like that they’re so cheap, too.
How has your day been?
My dermatologist tolm me that also – that it’s great for dry skin. My day was great – I had the day off and I goofed off all day. I also was able to finally make it to the grocery store, which was long overdue. Yay for having food!
How was your day? Hopefully better than yesterday?
Yeah, like 10000% better. Getting sleep helps. The night before I had seriously bad insomnia and that always is a recipe for disaster.
Having food — BIG YAY!
I think you win Chef of the Year with these DIY Beauty tips, Karen!
Sadly, these are all items that I’m having trouble finding. I can’t even get my hands on jojoba oil >:( I’m in such a big city & I can’t even find jojoba oil… sheesh!
.-= Ashley’s last blog post… Almost December! =-.
LOL, were you hungry after you read this post? Hmm, maybe I need to eat a snack. 🙂
What stores have you checked? I bet you could find the glycerine and almond oil at the drugstore. And maybe the cocoa butter and the clay online…
Ooh! *bookmarks* That bath soak sounds amazing…
You missed my fave DIY, though 😛 I love my fake Fix+, because I’ve toyed with the proportions so that it’s super-moisturising. Water, glycerine, and rosewater in a 10:5:1 ratio! (It’s normally 5:1:5)
I definitely agree with watching out for allergies — my friend found out she’s allergic to oatmeal, and that’s why she was reacting to Aveeno! (She ran out of Neutrogena and tried it for a few days. Peeling and redness and swelling, oh my!)
.-= Rae’s last blog post… Whoo, my first real “hater” comment! =-.
One of these years when I run out of my Fix+ (I still have two bottles to get through) I’ll try this!
Where do you buy rosewater?
Hmm… I get mine at a little Greek store, but you might have luck at Whole Foods 🙂 You can use rosewater, or you could substitute in orange blossom water or witch hazel — they’re supposed to be calming (rosewater), revitalizing (orange blossom water), and toning (witch hazel). I haven’t tried the last two but I’ve heard raves about witch hazel and oily skin!)
.-= Rae’s last blog post… I <3 these looks =-.
I’ll check Whole Paycheck. 🙂
Witch hazel works really well on oily skin. Back in the day I used it all the time. I do remember it being quite stinky though.
Haha, that’s exactly what I’ve never tried it! I’d much rather smell like roses and have to use setting powder =P
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Great idea! Sometimes I’ll use edible things too, such as a scrub with honey, sugar, lemon (and water, duh) and it leaves my skin nice and soft. Or just lemon and sugar, cos honey can be quite the mess. Thanks for the options 😀
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Brown sugar is a fabulous exfoliant. Have you ever tried it?
Not really, it’s no that easy to get around here and when we do have it, we make gingerbread cookies, LOL But I’ll look around and give it a go – nothing to lose 😀
.-= Marce’s last blog post… Pin Up Look – Tagged – Contests =-.
It’s really great. Mix it in olive oil for a lip or body scrub. You might want to eat it though, LOL!
the first recipe sounds verrrry similar to LUSH angels on bare skin cleanser… which i LOVE and use every day! maybe i’ll try this for fun 🙂
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Hey it might be cheaper to make it on your own!
eh, might not be CHEAPER since i have to refrigerate it and such… but it might be a fun experiment!
LOVE LUSH stuff btw, karen, you should totally give it a go. good starter items: dream cream for the body, flying fox shower gel (can also be used as a shampoo), chocolate whipstick lip balm, honey i washed the kids soap 🙂
.-= ines + cha cha’s last blog post… A Little Chanel… To Lift the Exam Blues 🙂 =-.
Thanks for the recipes! I want to test them out.
Another thing I’ve discovered is that avocado oil absorbs quickly into the skin and leaves it moisturized. Whenever I’m making guacamole, I always have some leftover hard-to-remove avocado flesh close to the seed, so I just remove that with my fingers and use it for a quick treatment for rough hands.
These recipes sound so yummy! I always wanted to do more DIY beauty products, but don’t like to clean up afterwards. For a hand exfoliator, I like to use orange oil and sugar. I will need to bookmark this page now!
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Hy! Great post! Thanks for sharing these with us!
May I add that the best solution for the hair is virgin olive oil. If you put olive oil in your hair an hour before you wash it it will be super hydrated, smooth and shinier!
kiss!
dianefreedom.blogspot.com
.-= diane’s last blog post… Stuff I’ve bought and some Q&A !!! =-.
I like the hair treatment recipe above — will try it this weekend! My hair needs some pampering.
The only DIY facial care ive done so far is the Aspirin mask — which is simply 2-3 non coated aspirins, crushed and mixed with honey and spread all over my face and neck.
I let it stay on for about 20 minutes then I rinse off with warm water. My face feels smooth and clear after. 🙂
Thanks for the beauty ideas, Karen!
I recently discovered that Aloe Vera is a wonderful tonic for the skin. I tried using some leaves from my huge Aloe plant, but ew…the messiness and stickiness wasn’t working for me. So I picked up 100% Aloe Vera Extract/Juice from my organic grocer and ‘splash’ it onto my skin after cleansing in the morning and night. I’ve really noticed a difference in how bright my skin and it tends to help with little blemishes too, heals them pretty quickly. No need to rinse either, just slather on your moisturizing afterwards and your good to go.
I love using sweet almond oil in my homemade soaps. it has a wonderful natural scent and is very good to my skin. 🙂
I found a great deal on almond oil online here:
Where to get Almond Oil
I am definately going to try the hair treatment with eggs..I have heard that the protein in eggs help strengthen hair! Can’t wait to try, since I am trying to grow my hair out long!