Ever wanted to create your own makeup, make your own moisturiser or whip up a tailor-made shampoo from scratch? If you’ve ever been curious about homemade beauty products, it’s easier than you might think to get started. We’ve picked out ten simple recipes you can try your hand at, so you can give your face, body and hair the nourishment they need as you explore the exciting world of DIY beauty products.
If you’re thinking about making cosmetics as more than just a hobby, take a look at our expert guide to making and selling beauty products.
Why Should I Make My Own Homemade Beauty Products?
Making your own beauty products is rewarding in more ways than one. Here are five reasons why you should ditch store-bought cosmetics and start making your own.
You Know Exactly What’s in Them
Making your own beauty products means you know exactly what’s in them and don’t have to waste time poring over labels to figure out whether the ingredients will be suitable for your skin.
Just as you would watch what you eat and drink to ensure you’re nourishing your body, it helps to also have a greater awareness of what you’re putting on your skin to keep it glowing and healthy. When you can keep track of the ingredients in your beauty products, it makes it easier to figure out what works for your skin and which products you’d be better off avoiding in future.
Save Money
Store-bought beauty products can cost a lot of money. According to a survey by Picodi, British women spend an average of £400 on cosmetics every year and own at least 24 products at any one time. Cut your beauty spending by making your own cosmetics — saving yourself hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
Cater To Your Skin’s Specific Needs
By making homemade beauty products, not only can you save on expensive labels, but you can also reduce the number of products needed in your skincare routine by creating cosmetics targeted to your own skin’s needs. Making beauty products that cater to your skin type, environment, or other external factors such as stress or a change in weather is invaluable and allows you to benefit from the most effective products.
Do Your Bit for the Environment
You could spend ages trawling the shops for more sustainable beauty buys, but the ultimate eco-friendly cosmetic product is the one you make yourself. In 2018, the annual campaign Zero Waste Week reported that more than 120 billion units of packaging are produced every year by the cosmetics industry worldwide, much of which isn’t recyclable.
Making beauty products for your own use means you can choose to make them packaging-free, cut out the chemicals or use up store-cupboard ingredients, all of which will make your beauty routine more sustainable.
DIY Beauty Products Are Fun to Create
As if the other benefits mentioned weren’t already enough, making your own beauty products is a fun hobby that encourages you to get creative and enjoy yourself. Research shows that hobbies can improve our mental health, so why not take your love of all things beauty and channel it into a fun activity?
DIY Beauty Products: 10 Recipes to Get You Started
1. Shampoo Bar
Shampoo bars have become a popular choice among eco-conscious consumers over the past few years, with solid bars providing a plastic and packaging-free alternative to traditional liquid shampoos. This shampoo bar recipe is easy to follow and one bar can be used for 60-80 washes — the equivalent to three medium bottles of shampoo.
The recipe contains no unwanted chemicals or sulphates and is formulated with a surfactant that combines with the scalp’s grime and natural oils to wash away when the shampoo is rinsed off. The shampoo bar isn’t harsh on the hair and — unlike many traditional shampoos — it retains sebum oil to keep your lengths super soft and healthy. Use it for fresh, beautiful-smelling hair that doesn’t become dry or brittle.
2. Regenerative Eye Cream
This elegant eye cream is formulated specifically for the skin around the eyes, designed to keep this delicate area strong, healthy and hydrated. This light, easily absorbed cream contains skin-nourishing ingredients such as organic camellia seed oil and vitamin E, which work together to nourish the skin and can help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in the under-eye area.
3. Phytoglycogen Facial Mist
Suffering from dry skin? This facial mist recipe could be just the thing you’ve been looking for. Treat your skin with this gentle formula, which contains nourishing hyaluronic acid gel, organic lingonberry glycerol extract and orange blossom hydrolat to keep skin soft and hydrated.
4. Classic Hand and Nail Cream
Not all homemade beauty products are for the face and hair — what about this hand and nail cream recipefor a touch of luxury? This simple yet effective hand cream is silky smooth and super hydrating, containing organic jojoba oil to leave the skin feeling extra soft.
5. Freshening Body Wash
Add homemade beauty products into your shower routine with our amazingly easy freshening body wash recipe. Suitable for all skin types, this natural body wash features several of our most popular essential oils, including lavender, cedarwood, cypress and patchouli for a gorgeous fragrance.
6. Anti-Wrinkle Face Serum
Ageing skin affects us all at one point, but if wrinkles are your biggest concern, this everyday anti-wrinkle face serum could be a good product for you to try making at home.
Packed with prickly pear seed oil, a versatile ingredient said to improve the skin’s elasticity, this simple serum is a must to try out on dull skin and is ideal for dry and sensitive skin types as well.
In addition to chia seed oil, watermelon seed oil, vitamin E and evening primrose oil, this recipe encourages you to add essential oils of your choice so you can truly make the product your own.
7. Easy Lip Gloss
It doesn’t get much simpler than this three-ingredient lip gloss recipe, but sometimes the basics work best. Unlike some store-bought lip glosses, this one won’t leave your lips feeling parched as it’s designed to add shine to your lips while giving them a conditioning treatment.
Containing nothing more than the simple ingredients of castor oil, bisabolol and spearmint essential oil, this recipe is an old favourite and a great one to make as a gift for friends and family.
8. Rose Clay Face Mask
Have you ever tried a rose clay face mask before? If not, it’s easy to make your own at home. Pink clay is a popular choice for face masks as it offers several benefits for the skin, especially if your face is feeling tired or dehydrated.
The lightly exfoliating effect of pink clay works to remove dead skin cells and reveal a brighter, fresher complexion, while its silica-rich formula may help to improve skin elasticity for a more youthful appearance. Our rose clay face mask recipe also contains stimulating rose water, evening primrose oil and vitamin E, giving your skin a rejuvenating boost when you feel it needs it most.
9. Micellar Water
If you want to cleanse your skin without using harsh ingredients, this micellar water recipe is a great option. The combination of rose water, frankincense water and aloe vera will leave the skin feeling clean, hydrated and nurtured.
10. Overnight Hair Mask
If your hair’s feeling dry, damaged or brittle, treat it to a homemade hair mask for the ultimate boost of hydration. This overnight hair mask is easy to make and can be infused with essential oils of your choice to leave your hair smelling amazing.