Homemade Cosmetics and Beauty Products

Did you know that with some very basic household ingredients and perhaps a few minor purchases you can manufacture your own lotions, hair care items, and makeup? In today's economy, more women are just saying no to the expensive cosmetics counters of the department stores and learning to make their own beauty products. Even your hair color can be highlighted and touched up without having to buy expensive dyes. Buying fewer chemically based beauty products and using your own organic preparations can also save a lot of allergic reactions. And using your imagination and creativity in manufacturing, labeling, and packaging, homemade lotions and shampoos is fun. These handcrafted products make outstanding personalized gifts.

Most materials for home made cosmetics are organic, although you may want to use a few chemicals for specific items. Some ingredients you will probably want to keep around are honey, herbal tea, coffee, lemon, eggs, shea butter, castile soap, beeswax, glycerin, xanthan gum, potatoes, avocados and bananas. You will probably also need an assortment of essential and aromatic oils, olive oil, and a wide variety of herbs. Sometimes minerals such as mica in various shades are used in cosmetic preparations. All you need for mixing are the kitchen implements you already own. Little extras like Popsicle sticks also work great for blending, so if you have those around, all the better! If you're using mica, a coffee grinder works great for breaking it up into finer particles.

Health food and craft stores normally have a great selection of materials for making beauty products. As you can see, many of these ingredients are probably already in your kitchen on an everyday basis. Once you purchase the few you don't already keep in your cabinets, you'll find yourself saving money on cosmetics, lotions and shampoos for months to come! Remember, too, when you are mixing and storing, you don't need to use any fancy packaging.

In your own home, you can make everything from blush and lip gloss to sunscreens and hand creams. You might want to start out easy with this basic recipe for an egg hair conditioner:

Beat one egg yolk until its color is light but consistency is thick. Drizzle a half teaspoon of olive oil slowly into the egg and beat well. Slowly pour three-quarters of a cup of lukewarm water into the mixture and then beat the mixture together well. Place the conditioner into a container. Next time you wash your hair, shampoo, rinse then rub the conditioner into your hair and leave it in for a few minutes before rinsing completely.

You may wish to begin with recipes such as the above conditioner, which used items you already have in your fridge and cabinet, till you become comfortable with the concept.

Before you know it, you'll be hooked on making your own beauty products and manufacturing your own goodies to share as gifts. Kick the habit of that expensive department store counter and set your beauty creativity loose today!

Source:

"Natural Body Basics: Making Your Own Cosmetics" by Dorie Byers