Save Money and Green Your Beauty Routine – Make Your Own Natural Skin Care Products!

When many of us become pregnant or have a new baby, we became more interested in using only safe, natural products on ours and baby’s skin. We learn that many skin care products contain questionable, untested ingredients. But if you start shopping around for natural and organic alternatives, you find they are way out of the budget. What’s a frugal mom to do? One suggestion is to make your own!

Making your own natural skin care products is inexpensive and fun. It’s also a way to green your beauty routine, since homemade products create less packaging and waste, and it’s easy to create them in bulk. Homemade skin care products are also great for gift giving.

Here are a few easy recipes to get you started. For more, search my blog or download my free ebook at http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/be-an-earthy-beauty/

Papaya Peel

(Fruit acids exfoliate and reduce fine lines and wrinkles)

* 1 cup fresh pineapple
* 1/2 cup fresh papaya
* 1 tbsp. honey

Puree pineapple and papaya together in blender.

Add honey and mix to create a paste.

Apply to the face and leave on for 20 minutes, then rinse

Oatmeal Mask/Scrub

(Oats are soothing for sensitive skin, and the honey is a powerful humectant – it pulls moisture from the air)

* 1/2 cup uncooked oats
* 1 tbsp. honey

Mix oats and honey to form a paste. Massage into face and neck. Leave on face for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse off.

For an exfoliating mask, grind the oats finely in a blender, food processor or spice grinder.

Mix with water to make a paste, apply and gently scrub. Rinse and moisturize.

Simple Sugar Scrub

(Great for especially dry areas like your feet. In a pretty jar with a ribbon, sugar or salt scrubs are awesome as gifts)

* 1 tbsp. sugar
* A few drops of olive oil

Put sugar in a small bowl. Mix in a few drops of olive oil at a time until a paste is formed.

Massage into skin and rinse with warm water. Kosher salt may be substituted for the sugar to make a salt scrub.

Under Eye Circle Eraser

(Potatoes contain an enzyme called catecholase. It’s actually used as a skin lightener in cosmetics, so why not skip the expense and extra ingredients make it yourself?)

* 1 potato
* Piece of cheesecloth

Peel the potato and mash thoroughly in a food processor.

Place in cheesecloth and hold under each eye for 15 to 20 minutes, taking care to keep juice out of eyes. Rinse away residue.

Some of my favorite natural beauty treatments involve no recipe at all. For example, coconut oil is my favorite moisturizer and hair conditioner. It’s also antifungal and antibacterial. A dab of coconut oil (believe it or not!) on a blemish can dry it up quickly.

From Cleopatra’s milk baths to Sophia Loren’s olive oil treatments, natural beauty ingredients have been used for thousands of years by women all over the world. Why not try some of them out for yourself?

Carrie Lauth is a mom whose blog and podcast aim to educate families on natural living. Listen to her show at: Natural Moms Talk Radio

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