How to Make Facial Toning Beauty Products at Home

Walk down the beauty aisle in any drugstore and you can get overwhelmed by the vast variety of facial cleaning products. There are pore openers, astringents, masks, toners; all claiming to be a miracle cure for your face. Obviously your face is a living breathing part of you, exposed to the ravages of wind, sun and age. We all yearn for radiant skin that glows with a healthy vibrancy. Do we have to buy expensive facial creams and toners to have that kind of skin and do those high priced products really work?

I like the answer to the first part of that question. You don't have to spend a fortune to have clean, radiant healthy skin. You can head to your kitchen cupboard and make some great homemade facial cleansing beauty products for pennies. I like to start with the refrigerator, because fruits and vegetables contain some great natural chemicals that cure and invigorate the skin. And with these homemade facial beauty products if you get some in your mouth, it won't make you sick. It might even taste good!

Artichoke Facial

Artichokes with their natural vegetable oils, condition dry or damaged skin. Artichokes nourish dry, flaky skin and make it soft and supple.

Ingredients: 1 fresh artichoke, cooked, 2 tsps of a light oil like avocado, olive or canola, 1 t of fresh lemon juice or vinegar.

Method: Mash the cooked artichoke in a bowl. Mix in the oil and vinegar and spread it on pita bread..No, wait! Massage it into your face and neck. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. You'll look quite a bit like the Lizard Lady, but after you wash it off with warm water and pat your face dry, it's going to feel amazing.

A Basic Skin Toner

This facial toner is a gentle cleanser that can be used everyday. You can vary the recipe with different essential oils. Essential oils are naturally derived from herbs, flowers and plants and contain the very essence of the plant, distilled into a pure extract. If you've never used them you're in for a treat. Essential oils are what perfume manufacturers use in high quality perfume. There are artificial scents, but don't substitute those for the real thing! There's a vast difference in quality.

Ingredients: 1 tsp. dried chamomile, 1/3 c. boiling water, 2 drops of essential oil. Some common essential oils that work with different skin types are as follows.

Normal skin: lavender and geranium

Dry skin: patchouli, geranium, carrot

Oily skin: lemon, geranium, sandalwood

Gentle skin: geranium, patchouli (but in smaller quantities, use half!)

Method: Place the chamomile and boiling water in a cup and let it steep for about 15 minutes. Strain the liquid into a sterile 4 oz bottle or jar with a lid. When the liquid cools, add the essential oil and shake gently to mix. Allow to stand for 48 hours. Pour the liquid through a coffee filter to filter. Screw the lid on tightly and store in a cool dark place. Apply with cotton pad or ball to entire face. Avoid eyes!

WARNING:

Essential oils are expensive, but because you use such small amounts of them, they last a long time as long as you keep them in a dark place. They usually come in dark jars. They are quite volatile unlike oils like olive and almond. They should not be inhaled or eaten and can even be toxic in the right quantity. Never apply an essential oil directly to the skin without it being part of a dilution or solution.

Cucumber Astringent Facial Toner

Women have long known that cucumber slices on the eyes are heavenly. And this light and refreshing cucumber astringent cleansing facial beauty product is perfect for summer time.

Ingredients: 1 cucumber. Yep, that's it!

Method: Peel the cucumber and puree it in a food processor. Apply the puree to your face and neck using a cotton beauty pad. Let it sit for about five minutes, then wash with cool water. This will keep for about 2 days in the frig. Simple right, but it's wonderful!

Egg White Facial Toner

How much does one egg cost? About five cents, right?

Ingredients: 1 egg white

Method: Clean your face using any good natural cleanser. Whisk the egg white just before applying it to your face. Leave it on for about 15 minutes till it dries. Wash off with lukewarm or tepid water and pat skin dry.

This is a great facial toner to use right before a special event or going out for a wrinkle free face that glows!

Lemon Facial Toner

If you've purchased a skin toner at the drug store you have paid around $6.00 a bottle on a store brand. You can make this amazing facial toner and astringent that's great for oily skin for fifty cents and it will last for days or until you use it all up.

Ingredients: 2 oz of lemon juice, 4 oz distilled water, and 3 oz. witch hazel. Witch Hazel is an old fashioned beauty product that doesn't get used like it did for years. It's a y good product to have on hand to use when making home made facial beauty products and home made cleaning products. And it's cheap!

Method: Just mix it all together and shake it up. Pour into a clean bottle or some pretty decorative container. Shake each time you use it and apply with a clean cotton ball. I keep it in the refrigerator between uses. I like the cool sensation on my skin.

Don't forget to use some homemade beauty products lotions after you've cleaned your face well with the above homemade beauty toners straight from your kitchen refrigerator.

See more homemade beauty products here.

And here's my special recipe for Strawberry Facial Masks. You'll have summer kissed skin!!

Resources:

Essential oils and herbs can be purchased in distilled form online or you can find them at most good whole food or natural food stores. You can make your own, a subject for another article. Good essential oils may sound expensive when you order them, $3.00 to $10.00 for a 2 oz bottle, but you use them a drop or two at a time, so they last long. But they will evaporate, so keeping them tightly sealed and in a dark bottle is imperative to preserving them. I buy the smallest size of expensive rare oils, but for ones that I use a lot like lavender or geranium, buy the larger sizes.