Sure, natural cosmetics are available in store, but with a little know-how you can also make them at home.
What makes natural cosmetics, well.., natural?
Simply put, natural cosmetics come from natural products. Thankfully there’s no such thing as a silly question! Good old Mother Nature (you know, that place on the cold side of your door) provides a great deal of the material you’d need. Sometimes you might need to visit a specialist in order to procure ingredients that would be too technical to make at home. When you make and use natural cosmetics, you can step right around nasty stuff like harsh chemicals, micro-plastics and dodgy preservatives. You can control how much and what goes into your batch. Allergens that drive you crazy become a thing of the past when you switch to naturally produced cosmetics. So, how to get started? Take a peek in the kitchen pantry and you might already find some of the ingredients you need to make your supplies. Cold-pressed vegetable oils boasting a seal of natural authenticity is a great foundation for your first steps into natural cosmetics at-home style! You’ll not only look better, but you’ll feel better too when you can look at your smiling self in the mirror and say ‘I made that!’.
Which ingredients are particularly common in natural cosmetics?
Not only should natural cosmetics be pure, they should (of course) be effective. Sugar or salt in combination with honey or high-quality, cold-pressed oils are ideal for making natural abrasives. Olive, coconut, jojoba, almond, grape or hemp seed oils are not only great in the kitchen but are also key elements in natural cosmetics. However, to help keep that oil on your skin and not on your cat or kitchen table, you need a wax of some sort to hold your recipe together. Beeswax is the most common answer to this problem, but for vegans fruit waxes or carnauba are acceptable substitutes. Animal products such as lanolin, butter or lard can enrich natural cosmetics products, but they do carry the risk of allergic interactions. If you want to make your own toothpaste, you’re going to need soda powder. Swell! Well now, here’s the thing- you can strut on down to your local pharmacy and scoop up some artificial soda powder or you can pony up some extra money and get the natural stuff from specialty providers. You have to ask yourself ‘how natural do I want my natural cosmetics to be?’.
I’m in! Which natural cosmetics can I make at home?
The sky is the limit! Decorative cosmetics like lipstick, rouge and eye shadow can be mixed up right alongside body nourishing products like cold creams. Beginners like to get started down the path of homemade cosmetics by making their own fragrant body oils. Bath products are also fairly easy to make. You can make a simple lip balm by mixing together cocoa butter, coconut oil, shea butter and castor oil. Gently warm the ingredients in water, stirring occasionally with a glass stick until the desired consistency. A few drops of essential oil not only lengthens the shelf life of your balm, but it also gives it a lovely taste and pleasant fragrance.
If you’re interested in a splash of color, you can opt for natural pigments you can look up providers online who sell small (and expensive) packets. Some specialty shops offer an overview of various natural pigments, the ingredients and usability. Just make sure you double check that the pigments are suitable for cosmetic use!
How long can I expect my natural products to be good for?
Nothing lasts forever; especially products which are intentionally left free of suspect preservatives! Many of the creams and lotions you can make at home contain a lot of water. The higher the water content in homemade concoctions, the faster it spoils. You can stretch the shelf life of lotions with lavender, patchouli or tea tree oil. Some pure essential oils imbue not only a lovely aroma, but also have agents in them which inhibit bacteria and viruses. Take care when using essential oils- a little goes a long way! Just a few drops (3 to 5) are enough to add staying power to your homemade cosmetics. Be sure to gather all necessary information before using these oils, as some of them can actually act as skin irritants, which we dare say is a little counter-productive!
Ok, I made my cosmetic and now it’s sitting in a pot on my stove. How do I store it properly?
The best way to store your creams, toothpaste and such is to keep them in small jars (preferably glass with a screw lid or glass stopper). You can thoroughly wash and sanitize these containers for future use. Once you have transferred the contents into the glass jars, store them in your refrigerator. By keeping them in a cool dark place the shelf life of your homemade cosmetics is extended considerably as oxidization and fat becoming rancid are dramatically diminished. Of course, you can also buy plastic tubes from specialty providers, but take special care to research them carefully. It’s vital that you’re informed about the materials that went into the production of the store-bought containers, otherwise the whole exercise was for nothing! Again, see counter-productive.
Are natural cosmetics always vegan?
No. Natural cosmetics are only vegan if you use pure plant-based ingredients. Beeswax, lanolin, lard, butter, honey, pollen, gelatin, etc. are not vegan. If you are already a vegan, you should already know which ingredients you need to avoid. If you’re making a vegan cosmetic for a friend, first of all you’re a really cool friend and second you can search the internet to make sure your ingredients are appropriate. We are not suggesting that non-vegan products are bad, far from it, but we do advise extra care in their production.
When you get down to mixing, be sure you are well-acquainted with the properties of the ingredients you’re using. Be mindful of possible adverse interactions and it’s probably a good idea to keep the first few batches relatively simple. Keep detailed notes so that as you gain experience, you’ll be able to reproduce formulas you like, or improve upon others.
How do I go about maintaining hygiene?
You’ll want to prepare AND use the products in a hygienic fashion. Our fingertips tend to be crawling with bacteria, so the best way to get cream out of one of your little jars is with a small spatula. You can use a pump mechanism like you see on soap dispensers to access your massage and body oils. The upshot here is, the less contact you have with your cosmetics in their storage container the better. Those lovely aromatics you worked so diligently to produce can end up smelling pretty unlovely if the cream turns. If you see that the product has split or a layer of mildew has formed, you are better off disposing that product and learning from the experience.
We recommend that you make your cosmetics in small batches to ensure freshness and reduce the risk of spoilage. A general rule of thumb is to make enough to last you comfortably for 3 to 4 weeks. If you’re really set on the idea of the economy of scale, consider involving friends and family into the endeavor so that everybody saves money, looks better and further reduce environmental impact.
A final word on storage…
Once again, we reiterate that you should always keep your product in a cool dark place. Think about your lovely freshly made cosmetic product FESTERING in your handbag on a hot summer’s day. Not only could it spill, possible ruining the contents of your bag, but the product is far more likely to give over to spoilage. If you must lug them around, keep your products in a small, sealable bag to prevent mishaps. Resist the temptation to artfully store your cosmetics bottles on a windowsill. Sure they look beautiful, but direct sunlight is bad for vampires and your cosmetics!