Thursday, March 15, 2018

Homemade Skin Care


Homemade Lotion

For the last 6 months I have been using the recipe below for various skin care needs. Since I am very happy with it, I thought I would share for anyone else out there who may be thinking about using less chemicals on their skin.

It started with my body lotion since I cover myself head to toe every day. 
This simple recipe is actually edible (although I imagine it would taste gross). The ingredients are easy to find online.

1 cup coconut oil
1 cup shea butter
4 tablespoons of beeswax pellets
1 teaspoon of lavender oil

Since it is edible there is no need to purchase separate cookware or measuring cups/spoons.

Melt the first 3 ingredients together over a double boiler. The coconut oil becomes liquid quickly, next the shea butter, then the beeswax takes a while. Once all those pellets are completely dissolved it is ready.

Pour into glass jars.  I found these cuties at the dollar store and they look lovely on the bathroom vanity.

Let cool slightly before adding the oil for fragrance. I have since got more creative here and use 50% lavender, 25% frankincense and 25% rosemary. My husband uses this lotion too and it makes a perfect, delicious, unisex scent.
The color is quite vibrant but once it cools it takes on a pleasant tone.
Is it greasy? I would say so when over used. I thought I would hate that but after a couple of days, realizing a little bit goes a long way I got used to it (I over applied at first). It absorbs quickly into the skin so it is only temporary. My skin remains super soft for the 24 hours before my next shower.

It does not work well as a hand lotion because of the oil so I only put it on my hands at night. Knowing that I am no longer covered in crazy chemicals I can not even pronounce makes it very pleasant.

Homemade Deoderant
We have all heard that there are possible links between deodorant and cancer.

After reading many recipes on this I realized that the above body lotion is basically what I needed.  The only difference is I keep a little container of baking soda in the bathroom (an odor fighter). I put a pinch in my palm then scoop up the same amount of lotion and mix them in my palms. 

Then apply. Done! 

Some people don't like the homemade deodorants like this because they have to apply it with their hands. For me I simply apply it before putting the lotion on my body so it is convenient.


Does it work? Shockingly, yes! I think it actually works better than chemical filled ones. The heat of the summer will have to be the true test.

The only drawback is that this it not an antiperspirant. 

After shoveling cement like snow recently though causing a sweat filled shirt (too much info, I know) about 24 hours after applying, there was 0 odor! Deodorants I used to use would not have been able to handle that.

Homemade Sunscreen
I also bought zinc oxide for safe homemade sunscreen. So simple and not stinky like the stuff you purchase in a store. Zinc oxide sits on the skin and does not absorb into it making it safe. It can be added to any lotion or face cream. 

The formula is basically the percentage of zinc oxide being the SPF. So 5% zinc would be 5spf and 20% zinc would be 20spf. With my last batch of lotion I made a portion that is 20spf. I have yet to try its effectiveness but will soon! I will be able to use it on my face and body. 

The above is great for use on children too to cut back on chemicals getting into our bodies.


Anti Aging Face Cream
I am actually using the above wonder cream as the day cream on my face as well as an eye cream! 

The ingredients all have amazing benefits to the skin, doing the things I want an anti-aging cream to do. It is perfect under my makeup although I sometimes need to dab my face with a dry face cloth before applying first if it looks too shiny from the oil.

I also apply a thin layer of jojoba oil on my face under the lotion both day and night.

One would think applying tons of oil to the face would cause breakouts. It has been the opposite for me and my skin is much clearer than it was using chemicals. These ingredients used have amazing anti bacterial properties and jojoba oil actually balances oil on the face (perfect for combination skin).


After reading about the benefits of almond oil, I decided to try something different for my face at night.

My night cream now is as follows:

1/4 cup almond oil
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons of beeswax
1/2 teaspoon of vitamin E oil
1 tablespoon shea butter

This all gets placed in a jar.
Then in a pot of approximately 3 - 4 inches of water.
Heat until completely melted.

Pour in a glass jar. I saved one of my jars from a previous product and refrigerated the rest. Some say this has a shelf life hence chilling some of it.

This is an oily lotion but as long as only a little is applied, it absorbs well. The first couple of nights I used it my face was funny shiny! Then I learned I did not need to use as much as commercial stuff.


I hope I have not bored you too much with this verbose post! I am just excited to have eliminated a bunch of expensive chemicals from my daily routine and learned that natural really does work.

Thank you for stopping by!  ~Val





18 comments:

  1. What a fabulous post, my friend. I love making my own deodorant, but havn't tried making anything else. Thanks for the inspiration :)

    Hugs to you!

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  2. This is so interesting. For a long time I wanted to make my skin care myself. In the meantime I bought organic stuff which is great but also expensive. So I will give it a try :)

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  3. Quite the opposite (bored), Val!!
    You have been busy, and I will definitely try some of these.
    Thank you so much for sharing.

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  4. Thanks! I’m going to try making your night cream recipe.

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  5. What a great post! And thank you. I'm going to put these recipes in my Evernote and make some myself.

    Last year we went on a family trip to the mountains. At one of the restaurants, my sister in law and I loved the natural soap scrub they had in the bathroom (coconut oil, salt, essential oil). Our hands felt so nice. She bought the $25 jar from the gift shop, I came home, found a recipe and made it myself. I used a wintergreen oil.

    Homemade skin products are the best!

    If you find some more that you like, please share again!

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  6. Not a bore at all!! Thank you so much Val!! Excellent post! I will be printing off this page and trying some! Thank you so much!!! Big Hugs!

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  7. These recipes are great, Val! I used to make my own body butters and I'm a fan of essential oils. I'm on a path to streamline my household & health/beauty products and making them more eco-friendly/chemical-free/natural. Homemade is the way to go! TFS

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  8. The idea of making my own body lotion is really appealing. Thanks for sharing your recipes Val.

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  9. Wow, you made a whole product range :) In winter I need an actual oil to keep my skin hydrated. I don't sweat (much), so I never really use deodorant. I much prefer natural products!

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  10. These sound fantastic!! You've got me wanting to try to make some of them myself. I do sweat quite a bit though (the Alabama heat is killer), but I may just have to make that lotion base and give it a try. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with us. I'm definitely pinning it!

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  11. Wow, you have been busy making all of these products! I really like the shea butter because you can use it in so many different ways! It is even edible. I use it daily with gaulteria essential oil to massage my aching back. As an anti -aging night oil, may I suggest argan oil? I have been using it for the last 10 years.
    My daughter uses baking soda with her homemade deodorant.
    She dabs baking soda to her armpit after she has applied her homemade deodorant.
    To avoid sweat, you can clean your armpit with 70% alcohol using a cotton ball before applying your homemade deodorant.
    Happy Sunday,Val!

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  12. These all sound fantastic. I'm going to try these recipes. I wonder if I can get all these ingredients here. I already use almond oil for my face at night.

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  13. Val, this is so cool! I will have to give them a try. You've often mentioned in my comments that you make your own. I just never had the nerve to ask you for the directions. So glad you did this!
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  14. Well done you!
    I can understand why you are so pleased, thanks for sharing these.

    All the best Jan

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  15. I am really interested to try the homemade body lotion but I have a question. When you say lavender oil, do you mean essential oil or is this a different kind of oil?

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    I'm so happy because your post are so wonderful and really helpful for me.thanks dear..

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  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. Sounds good! We go through a lot of deodorant and sunscreen here.

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Thank you for stopping by! I love reading visitor comments! ~Val