How to Make Your Own DIY Beauty Products
If you had told me two years ago that I’d be making my own deodorant, I’d have thought you were crazy.
“I’m just not that crunchy, and I certainly don’t have the time,” I would have said, probably accompanied by an eye-roll and further snarky comments. But it turns out it’s fun to mix up potions. It suits both the scientist and the witch in me.
Like most of us, I’m sure, I’m crazy busy. I have a full-time job, plus another half a job, a kid, and a really immature husband (so it’s like having two kids). What ultimately motivated me to try DIY was my skin: I’m so sensitive that even clean products don’t always fit my needs. That’s why I want to encourage others to try DIY, especially those of you who think you’d never do it. Because it doesn’t have to be either/or: I will always love to use brand-name products, but there are a few things I regularly make for myself, too.
Remember that when it comes to DIY, it’s whatever you want it to be. You could make something really luxurious or something very simple and inexpensive. DIY can meet very specific needs, and is likely to be cheaper, especially in the long term. Your DIY will also make sweet gifts.
With that said, here are some pointers that may help you get started…
1. Keep it clean. Use your NMDL radar when researching DIY, because not all the people talking about it are into clean ingredients.
2. Use the right materials for mixing. Try Pyrex to heat/mix in, and wooden or silicone utensils. I’ve often seen the advice to avoid metal for DIY, and I find it easy to believe some ingredients could react with the metal. I break the rule a little with occasional use of an immersion mixer, and I measure dry ingredients in metal.
3. Don’t microwave. If you have to heat you ingredients, do so gently, double-boiler style, and avoid microwaving. You want to preserve the healing qualities of your ingredients. Also, if you overheat, it will change the consistency of your final product.
4. Recycle. Save pretty glass containers from your other products for storage, or you can buy these fairly cheaply. I have found some BPA-free plastics that I use for certain things.
5. Work with your own budget. DIY is as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. You can choose fancy or common carrier oils and butters, high end or modestly priced essential oils, etc.
6. Start small. Begin with something simple to convince yourself you can do it. Get some bulk sea salt and a few essential oils you like, and mix up bath salts. Or melt your favorite butter (like shea or cocoa) with a lighter oil (try a 3:1 ratio), and add EOs (or not) to make a great body butter that will do wonders for your hands and feet.
7. Copy your favorites. When you are ready for something more advanced and experimental, use the ingredients list of your favorite products as a jumping off point.
8. Find a good shop. Look for a local brick and mortar to buy ingredients and packaging. Or try these:
Mountain Rose Herbs, for everything—EOs, butters, oils, packaging—and it’s all super clean.
Elements Bath and Body, for ingredients and packaging. They aren’t all clean, so use discretion. I mention them for their awesome BPA-free twist up tubes I use for deodorant.
Skin Actives, for active ingredients. I buy individual actives from them, but the ready-mades are not clean.
American Weigh, for a scale to weigh your actives. I have the AMW-70 Precision Pocket Scale.
I love the recipes readers have been posting (you can find them here, or by doing your own a DIY search on our site). Have you been inspired yet? If you have, what helped you get started?
Great timing for this post. I’ve been brainstorming and longing to make my own products for. so. long. I keep thinking they need to be perfect out of the gates so I keep thinking, but never doing. I just need to try it! I seriously have no excuses, Mountain Rose Herbs is located right here in town, which means I can just drive by to pick up my order! When I harvested honey last year I made lip balm, but I want to try a toner, facial oil, and lotion…
@ Rebecca, you are an inspiration. I’m so glad that NMDL invited you to be a regular contributor and even happier that you agreed to graciously find time in your daily schedule to do so.
On today’s post.. wondefully clear and extremely helpful to all, as your usual self. As for what inspired me… I would say my “angry pits” at first and then your DIY lightner potion …… haven’t stopped since!
p.s. I’m volunteering to sit as ceo of your fan club:)
I am making my own toothpaste after reading that the glycerin that’s in store-bought toothpaste, even natural ones, prevents teeth from re-mineralizing. I mix equal amounts of virgin coconut oil and baking soda…coconut oil is supposed to be really good for gums and baking soda has been used to clean teeth for a long time (I think that by mixing the two it cuts the abrasiveness of the baking soda). I add a little stevia and essential oil (I’m partial to peppermint right now) to cover the salty flavor. My teeth and mouth have never felt cleaner!
I have been inspired by this site along with others; but mainly by my disappointment in trying to find a deodorant that worked and didn’t smell weird.
I started making my own and have been sharing with friends. My decidedly non-crunchy boyfriend has even started using it.
Rebecca,
Would you mind sharing your DIY deodorant recipe? I have not been too happy with the natural deodorant products and I am training for a half marathon so I need something that works in this summer heat!
Thanks!
You have inspired me, Rebecca, to stop saying I’m going to make some DIY products and well, actually do it! It is true, despite how busy we get with our job(s), kids, family, and home, we need to take time to do something beneficial for ourselves. Off to gather ingredients for a decadent body scrub…
I’ve lately been using nothing but coconut oil as a deodorant and it seems to be working. But that’s basically all I do. I’ve always wanted to try using honey to bleach my hair… does anybody have any experiences with that?
xx
Iris
Great post! I became a “mixtress” a couple of year ago, just trying to improve the performance of some store-bought hair care products. Blogs like Point of Interest, and def Mountain Rose Herbs provided me with the know how, inspiration and ingredients.
You bring me all the joy @Rebecca. All the Joy!
I love how you point out how simple DIY can be. I never considered myself a DIY person but when I add up all the facials, herbal bathes and various hair/scalp rinses I’ve done over the years I guess I am. All simple things. Oat four, rosewater and honey sort of things but I definitely do everything out side of the basics myself. I am also curious about the honey hair lightening. This is the recipe I found . Has any one tried it?
1/8th cup honey, 3/4 cup distilled water and one Tbs cardamom let sit for an hour then apply to hair and leave on for an hour.
@nancy, thank you so much! It makes me so happy to know I’ve been helpful to others on a similar path. You are totally CEO. : )
@Amanda, my deo recipe is in the comments here: http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2012/04/emmas-morning-hair-and-skin-routine-exposed/#comments – good luck in your race!
@Ally and Jacqueline, so great to hear from those ready to just do it! Hope you enjoy the experience.
@Lisa, I really like the idea of the coconut oil base for toothpaste, that’s going on my list of things to try.
Been slowly trying the whole DIY thing. I think it’s a neat little hobby :) Chapstick is a great starting point. So are sugar scrubs. Both are very easy and useful. I would love to master lotions and creams, but I don’t think I’m quite there yet!
Making your own personal care products is a fun hobby and best of luck to anyone who wants to give it a go. But please remember to keep it clean in the literal sense of the word, not the misleading way it is often used on this blog. Do remember that germs are everywhere so hygiene is a priority. Although your skin is a pretty well designed bit of kit that can cope with most things you are likely to throw at it, you don’t want to spread bacteria and their by-products over yourself. Keep your creations in the fridge and don’t keep them too long. They won’t last anything like as long as the commercial products.
@Colin, thanks for mentioning that basic hygiene is of course necessary. I’m totally OCD and would never dream of preparing food or products without the utmost care (handling ingredients, utensils, storage). I’m very confident in my ability to maintain hygiene with basic washing of hands and equipment. I’ve been making almond milk with my own hands for years and it stays fresh for over a week – the major factor in freshness being the use of filtered water. Mountain Rose Herbs is great about including shelf life of their oils/butters, and they offer preservatives as well. Many of the oils and EOs have their own antimicrobial properties too. I haven’t yet tried any DIY that includes water, but I will be soon and will be incorporating preservatives into those potions.
Great article! My sister has been DIYing for a little less than a year and after trying a few of her \scrubs\ I decided to give it a go. She created a \refresher\ spray for her hair (curly) and after using it I was hooked and began to dabble. I now have the most amazing hair refresher which leaves my hair shiny, moisturized and allows me to stretch wash day. It’s basically made of aloe vera juice (pure), olive oil, argan oil, and water from our filter. Amazing! My curls love it!