Making Your Own Cosmetics: Basic Ingredients

If you are thinking of making your own beauty care products, then I would say congratulations. There are some things that you need to know before starting. Make sure that you educate yourself thoroughly before experimenting. Although none of the ingredients in the recipes that I have suggested in the recipes from my other articles would be considered harsh, you still need to make sure you collect as much information as possible. To get the most for your money while improving the health of your hair and skin, educate yourself.

This article will go over the basic ingredients that are found in all of beauty care products. These products are used to either thicken your products or to better mix the active ingredients. When mixing your ingredients, make sure you start with the basic ingredients first.

Distilled Water

Using normal tap water won't work when mixing your own beauty products. Normal tap water is full of mineral salts and metals that make it too hard for a beauty product. Organic components that are used for natural cosmetic products may change their properties and their explicit purpose will become diminished when mixed with tap water.

Distilled water is demineralized water because it has been stripped of mineral salts and condensed. This is the main reason why it is used for cosmetic applications. Of course, you can substitute the distilled water for any type of tea for the added nutrient value of the tea to be added to your product.

Plant Infusions

Like I've stated previously, distilled water can be substituted with tea. Tea is called plant infusion. This is used to give our product a more herbal base. If having to choose between distilled water and plant infusion, always go with the latter. To accomplish adding tea or any type of garden plant to your product, steep the plant leaves in hot water for a couple of minutes. Remove the access leaves and use the liquid for your recipe.

Plant Decoctions

Just like plant infusions, plant decoctions can be used instead of distilled water. For an easy way to extract the botanical components form plants, just boil the plant in water at really low heat for about an hour. Usually roots, sticks, twigs, barks or any other type of hard botanical materials is used for plant decoctions. Plant decoctions raise the extraction rate of active ingredients. Make sure you strain thoroughly before adding to your mixture.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum works as a thickener for your product. It is a sugar and comes in a powder form that is easily soluble when stirred in water. Xanthan gum forms a sticky liquid by swelling significantly. Use an electric mixer to mix it thoroughly and store it at room temperature.

Shea Butter

Shea butter has been given a lot of fame lately because of its healing and excellent skin care properties. It is extracted from a Shea nut that grows on large tropic trees in West Africa. It has been used by African natives for many years. I advise adding Shea butter to your concoction if you want to take advantage of its potent antioxidant effects. If using Shea butter, make sure that you refrigerate it because it will spoil at room temperature.

This is a good start to educating yourself about ingredients used in cosmetic products. If you don't make your own, at least you will be educated when reading the label of products you currently or thinking about using. Check out my other articles about making your own cosmetics for more information and tips on making beauty care products at home.