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DIY Beauty with Kitchen Cosmetics

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How to make your own cosmetics at home
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to become a better cook, and because I’m also hopelessly addicted to beauty, 🙂 I’d like to include a smattering of DIY kitchen beauty recipes as well.

There’s just something about making homemade beauty products, isn’t there? — the idea of whipping something up from scratch, skipping the preservatives and really *feeling* the ingredients in your hands?

It turns out that homemade versions of many popular beauty products are easy to make with ingredients that most cooks have readily at hand.

But if you add the following three drugstore ingredients to your next shopping list, your repertoire of potential kitchen beauty recipes expands by leaps and bounds.

NOTE: Be mindful of allergies. If you can’t eat it, your skin may not like it either. 🙂

  • Glycerin: a humectant that binds moisture to the skin (works far better than water alone)
  • Sweet almond oil: a better alternative for DIY skincare recipes than vegetable oil
  • Kaolin clay: great for tightening and cleansing

    • source

Exfoliating skin cleanser

Mix the following ingredients in a large bowl:

2 heaping spoonfuls of kaolin clay
1 tbsp ground rice (to exfoliate)
1 tbsp ground almonds
1/2 tbsp wheat flower
1/2 tbsp almond oil
5 capsules of evening primrose oil
Dried coconut flakes
Dried beans (ground up in a coffee grinder)

Flatten the doughy concoction to about an inch thick. Roll it up, and cut slices to use when you exfoliate. Refrigerate any unused portion (should be used within a couple of days).

For extra troubled skin, add an antiseptic herb like thyme or freshly chopped fennel to the mix.

Exfoliating body scrub


Combine kaoline clay, glycerine, fresh pineapple (it contains an enzyme called bromelain that helps to remove dead skin cells), ground rice and sweet olive oil. Mix, and scrub! 🙂

All-Purpose face mask

Start by infusing lily and honeysuckle petals by bringing some water to a boil, and then pouring it over (be careful!) the flower petals. Let them cool for about a half an hour.

For the face mask itself…

4 tbsps of the flower petal infusion
1 tbsp oats
1 tbsp kaolin clay
1 tbsp glycerine

Use the mask as soon as it cools (or at least on the same day), as it doesn’t keep. You can also vary the amounts of kaolin and glycerine used depending on the consistency you like. Want more moisture? Add some almond oil and up the amount of oats. If you’re looking for a more tightening mask instead, use a little more of the clay.

Cocoa butter moisturizer

In a pan, warm a few nice-sized chunks of cocoa butter, adding…

A teaspoonful of almond oil
A small amount of mashed portobello mushroom and banana
3 drops of rose essential oil

Thoroughly mix and pour into an ice tray before placing in the fridge to set.

Oat moisturizer

Add about a handful of oats to some cold water (not freezing, just chilled); let stand for about 30 minutes.

Sieve the oat mix using a fine strainer, collecting the colloidal milk from the oats into a bowl.

Tada! DIY moisturizer. 🙂 Apply directly to skin with a cotton ball.

Hair treatment

Beat two eggs into a jar or small bowl, and massage the mix into dry hair. Rinse with cool or tepid water, beer or lemon juice.

Bath treatment

Open a squarish piece of muslin (or any fine cloth), and in the middle of it place…

A few tbsps of oats
A spoonful of sodium bicarbonate
Fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, bay or thyme

TIP: If you’d prefer a spicier winter bath, add a cinnamon stick, cloves and a whole nutmeg.

Tie the ends of the cloth with the ingredients inside, and plop it into your bath as the water runs.

Umm… Why am I so hungry right now?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. My dermatologist tolm me that also – that it’s great for dry skin. My day was great – I had the day off and I goofed off all day. I also was able to finally make it to the grocery store, which was long overdue. Yay for having food!

    How was your day? Hopefully better than yesterday?

    Reply

    • Yeah, like 10000% better. Getting sleep helps. The night before I had seriously bad insomnia and that always is a recipe for disaster.

      Having food — BIG YAY!

      Reply

  5. I think you win Chef of the Year with these DIY Beauty tips, Karen!
    Sadly, these are all items that I’m having trouble finding. I can’t even get my hands on jojoba oil >:( I’m in such a big city & I can’t even find jojoba oil… sheesh!
    .-= Ashley’s last blog post… Almost December! =-.

    Reply

    • LOL, were you hungry after you read this post? Hmm, maybe I need to eat a snack. 🙂

      What stores have you checked? I bet you could find the glycerine and almond oil at the drugstore. And maybe the cocoa butter and the clay online…

      Reply

  6. Ooh! *bookmarks* That bath soak sounds amazing…

    You missed my fave DIY, though 😛 I love my fake Fix+, because I’ve toyed with the proportions so that it’s super-moisturising. Water, glycerine, and rosewater in a 10:5:1 ratio! (It’s normally 5:1:5)

    I definitely agree with watching out for allergies — my friend found out she’s allergic to oatmeal, and that’s why she was reacting to Aveeno! (She ran out of Neutrogena and tried it for a few days. Peeling and redness and swelling, oh my!)
    .-= Rae’s last blog post… Whoo, my first real “hater” comment! =-.

    Reply

      • Hmm… I get mine at a little Greek store, but you might have luck at Whole Foods 🙂 You can use rosewater, or you could substitute in orange blossom water or witch hazel — they’re supposed to be calming (rosewater), revitalizing (orange blossom water), and toning (witch hazel). I haven’t tried the last two but I’ve heard raves about witch hazel and oily skin!)
        .-= Rae’s last blog post… I <3 these looks =-.

        Reply

  9. Thanks for the recipes! I want to test them out.

    Another thing I’ve discovered is that avocado oil absorbs quickly into the skin and leaves it moisturized. Whenever I’m making guacamole, I always have some leftover hard-to-remove avocado flesh close to the seed, so I just remove that with my fingers and use it for a quick treatment for rough hands.

    Reply

  12. I like the hair treatment recipe above — will try it this weekend! My hair needs some pampering.

    The only DIY facial care ive done so far is the Aspirin mask — which is simply 2-3 non coated aspirins, crushed and mixed with honey and spread all over my face and neck.

    I let it stay on for about 20 minutes then I rinse off with warm water. My face feels smooth and clear after. 🙂

    Thanks for the beauty ideas, Karen!

    Reply

  13. I recently discovered that Aloe Vera is a wonderful tonic for the skin. I tried using some leaves from my huge Aloe plant, but ew…the messiness and stickiness wasn’t working for me. So I picked up 100% Aloe Vera Extract/Juice from my organic grocer and ‘splash’ it onto my skin after cleansing in the morning and night. I’ve really noticed a difference in how bright my skin and it tends to help with little blemishes too, heals them pretty quickly. No need to rinse either, just slather on your moisturizing afterwards and your good to go.

    Reply

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