If you’ve ever been shocked by the price of cosmetics (who hasn’t?), the solution could be in your own hands. You’ll be surprised what you can whip up yourself from easily available ingredients. And you’ll know exactly what’s gone into it, save money and cut out all that unnecessary packaging. Just remember that, unlike commercial preparations, these have no preservatives, so don’t expect the same shelf-life.
Make your own bubble bath
There’s nothing in it. Well, actually, there are just four basic ingredients: distilled water, liquid glycerin to moisturise and help with the bubbles, castile soap (that’s soap from vegetable not animal fat) and essential oils for that essential scent. Here’s the basic recipe but experiment with different oils.
Stir together I litre of distilled water, 100 ml of liquid castile soap and 100 mil of liquid glycerin. Mix in six drops of lavender and three of patchouli oil. Then run a bath and relax!
Scrubs up nicely
Put the ‘ex’ in your exfoliator. What you’re aiming to do is gently scrub away dead skin cells and grime from your face and you don’t need a qualified chemist to work out how to do that.
The simplest solution is to use sugar (sea salt is a more robust alternative). Apply it while you’re having a shower or things could get rather sticky. For something a little more sophisticated, grate unsalted sunflower seeds in a food processor, then mix into a paste with a little water. Massage gently into your face and rinse off. Extracts from sunflower seeds are often used in commercial anti-ageing products so you could be on to something here.
Egg on your face
Go to work on your complexion with this cracking alternative to shelling out on expensive face masks. Some people swear by the toning properties of egg-whites. Use them straight or whisk as if for a meringue. Apply and leave the mask on for 15-20 minutes before rinsing. For dry skin, add a teaspoon of honey.
Hair rinses
So many expensive hair conditioners boast of ‘natural’ ingredients so how about cutting out the middleman and going straight to mother nature’s store cupboard? Here are a few time-honoured hair tips that your grandmother probably knew.
Egg Shampoo.
Slowly blend two small eggs with 2 fluid ounces of water and a tablespoon of lemon juice for 30 seconds. Massage the mixture into your hair and scalp and then rinse (with lukewarm water not hot or you’ll end up with a hair omelette.)
Olive oil.
Allegedly good for split ends and dandruff and giving a shine to your hair. Massage a few tablespoons into your hair and scalp, leave for half an hour and shampoo.
Carrots for oily hair.
Grate them finely, massage in and leave for 15 minutes.
Avocado for dry hair.
Mash and massage into wet hair for 15 minutes before rinsing.
Stop paying lip service
For this home-made lip balm, you’ll need castor oil, coconut oil and beeswax (grate a candle). Pop a teaspoon of each into a bowl and sit it in a pan of hot water until melted. Add a drop or two of your favourite essential oil for added flavour, pour into an old (but clean) lip balm pot and allow to set. Then kiss those commercial balms goodbye.