5 Homemade Beauty Products That'll Make You Ditch The Expensive Brands
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After a long week of work and class, there’s nothing better than coming home and treating yourself to a luxurious night at the spa. Whether you’re looking to mix up your bath time routine or you’re looking for a fun activity to do with your friends, with just a few ingredients, you can create your own homemade beauty products to turn your home into a spa-like experience.
What Do I Need For A DIY Beauty Night?
Homemade beauty products can be one of the most fun at-home projects to do with your friends, family, or partner. You can even make several beauty products with pantry staples! Here are some of the common ingredients and tools that you’ll need for your next DIY beauty night.
From The Kitchen
Cane Sugar or Brown Sugar
Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt
Baking Soda
Coconut Oil or Olive Oil
Cornstarch
Citric Acid
From The Beauty Cabinet
Epsom Salt
Essential Oil
Essential Tools
Mixing Bowls
Airtight containers
What Are The Easiest Beauty Products To Make At Home?
Although homemade beauty products can seem like an intimidating DIY project, many of them can be made with kitchen ingredients that you probably already have. You can spend as little as five minutes mixing up lip scrubs and bath salts, or dedicate an hour to the craft and make a set of soothing bath bombs. With these five recipes, you can enjoy a spa night right at home.
Price Reference (average price):
$ | Under $20
$$ | Between $20-$30
$$$ | More than $30
Exfoliating Lip Scrub
Lip scrubs are one of the easiest homemade beauty products that you can add to your regimen. These nourishing scrubs take around five to ten minutes to prepare, and they help remove dead, flakey skin from your lips, leaving them feeling soft and renewed.
Make Your Own:
In a small mixing bowl, combine two tablespoons of sugar with one tablespoon of oil.
Stir until they’re thoroughly combined. If you find that your mixture is too dry, add a couple of extra drops of oil.
Simply massage the mixture in a circular motion across your lips, and rinse off with warm water. To better lock in moisture, follow up with your favorite lip balm.
What You’ll Need:
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Superfine Caster Sugar
Judee's
Price: $
When it comes to creating your own homemade lip scrubs, sugar is your best friend. This key ingredient is a natural exfoliant that, when used correctly, helps remove dead and flaking skin. While you can use nearly any sugar in your pantry–such as brown sugar, coconut sugar, or even raw sugar–many of these are coarse and can cause irritation. This superfine sugar offers a more gentle exfoliant, so you can scrub your lips without causing any irritation.
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Jojoba Oil
Handcraft Blends
Price: $
The other key ingredient in a simple homemade lip scrub is a carrier oil, like jojoba oil. This oil is derived from the seed of a jojoba shrub, and it’s packed with nourishing fatty acids and nutrients. Because of its nutrient-rich properties, jojoba oil is commonly used in lip balms and hair products as it aids in locking in moisture.
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Bamboo Mixing Bowl & Spoon
Luzen
Price: $
When creating beauty products at home, it’s the safest practice to use mixing bowls that you don’t use in the kitchen. This bamboo-crafted mixing bowl is perfectly sized to stir up your lip scrubs, and it includes a small spoon to help transfer your beauty product into an airtight jar.
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1-Ounce Glass Jars
Green Nexus
Price: $
After you whip up your lip scrubs, you’ll want to store them in an airtight container to save for later spa nights. These glass jars are equipped with a leak-proof cap, and they come in a set of four, so you can make a lip scrub for all of your friends.
Fizzing Bath Bombs
If you love soaking in the bath, then bath bombs are for you! This fizzing bath product not only turns your bath routine into a luxurious spa-like experience, but it can also help you to relax from a long day. Besides helping you unwind, bath bombs are often packed with skin-loving ingredients that help hydrate your skin.
Make Your Own:
To make your own bath bombs, begin by mixing the dry ingredients.
Combine the following ingredients together in a bowl:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup Epsom salt
In a separate smaller bowl, combine:
2 tablespoons of almond oil (or any carrier oil that you prefer)
10 to 15 drops of your desired essential oil
Slowly add the liquid ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, continuously stirring as you do so.
Once all of the ingredients have been thoroughly combined, press the mixture into the silicone mold.
Let dry for 24 to 48 hours before using.
What You’ll Need:
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Baking Soda
Bob's Red Mill
Price: $
Baking soda is one of the main ingredients that causes the fizzing reaction that everyone loves in bath bombs. Many popular baking soda brands are made synthetically in a lab; however, this baking soda is mined using a simple water process without chemicals, making it truly all-natural.
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Citric Acid
Milliard
Price: $$
Citric acid is the other main ingredient that causes bath bombs to fizz. When citric acid and baking soda are combined, they neutralize each other, and in turn, create a fizzing chemical reaction.
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Pure Epsom Salt Soak
Dr Teal's
Price: $
Epsom salts are a powerful healing agent when used alone, but when mixed with other nourishing ingredients to create a homemade bath bomb, the benefits become amplified. This bathtime essential helps to relax your body by easing aches and pains, and it also acts as an exfoliator, so you can achieve smoother, more nourished skin.
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Cornstarch
Argo
Price: $
Acting as a thickening agent, cornstarch is responsible for hardening your bath bomb (and slowing down the fizzy sensation!) so that you can enjoy the soothing sensation for a longer period of time.
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Sweet Almond Oil
NOW Solutions
Price: $
Not only does a carrier oil–such as this sweet almond oil–help to moisturize your skin while you’re soaking in the bath, it’s also responsible for shaping your bath bomb.
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Essential Oil Set
Laguna Moon
Price: $
Infusing your bombs with essential oils is an optional step, but doing so can create a tranquil atmosphere for your bath. Essential oils add an aromatherapy element to your bath bombs, which can help provide stress relief when the scent is inhaled. When incorporating any essential oils into your homemade bath products, it’s important to select natural oils that are derived from plants, as they are typically safer on skin.
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Heart-Shaped Silicone Mold
Actvty
Price: $
Once you’ve mixed your ingredients, the next essential you need is a mold to form the actual bath bomb. This silicone mold is easy to clean, and it features six different designs, so you can make extra as gifts for your best friends, too.
Exfoliating Body Scrub
Skincare isn’t exclusive to just your face. You should treat your body with the same love and care that you give to your face, and you can start first by exfoliating. Exfoliating all over with a body scrub can provide a luxurious sensation to your bath time routine. It can also help remove dead skin cells, smoothen and hydrate your skin, and even help your skin to better absorb lotions!
Make Your Own:
In a mixing bowl, combine one cup of salt with one-quarter cup of coconut oil. (You can adjust the consistency of your scrub by adding more coconut oil.)
To exfoliate your skin with this nourishing body scrub, massage the mixture onto damp skin in circular motions.
Once you’ve thoroughly distributed the scrub all over, rinse off with warm water.
What You’ll Need:
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Fine Pink Himalayan Salt
Evolution Salt
Price: $
Similar to sugar, salt can also be used as a gentle natural exfoliant to remove dead skin cells and balance hydration, so your skin is left feeling smooth and nourished.
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Organic Refined Coconut Oil
La Tourangelle
Price: $
Coconut oil is packed with benefits for your skin and hair. A natural moisturizer to keep your skin happy and hydrated, coconut oil is rich in vitamin E, which can improve the overall health of your skin.
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Clear Glass Storage Canister
MOLADRI
Price: $
An airtight container can help keep your body scrubs fresh, so that you can continue to use them without the worry of the scrubs drying out. This canister also includes a small bamboo spoon that allows you to easily apply your body scrub to your skin!
Soothing Bath Salts
Another easy homemade bath product, bath salts typically take around five to ten minutes to make. A simple, yet powerful homemade salt can help transform your bath into a relaxing experience by soothing your muscles and detoxifying your body.
Make Your Own:
In a mixing bowl, add:
1 cup sea salt
1 cup of Epsom salt
Dried flower petals, if desired.
Once you’ve mixed all of the ingredients, transfer bath salts into an airtight jar.
What You’ll Need:
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Fine Ground Sea Salt
Happy Belly
Price: $
When adding sea salt to your bath, you can experience its many healing properties. This essential ingredient can help calm irritated skin and help relax aching muscles after a long day.
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Dried Rose Petals
Better Shea Butter
Price: $
Adding dried flower petals to your bath salts is an optional step, but doing so turns your bath into a picture-perfect scene alongside a subtle fragrance that can help to improve your mood.
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Glass Jar
Prettidecor
Price: $
You can enjoy a soothing salt bath multiple times a week, so you’ll need a jar to store your excess mixtures. This textured glass jar is complete with an airtight bamboo lid, and it holds up to 60 ounces, so you can enjoy your bath salts for weeks to come.
Facial Scrub
Store-bought exfoliators can feel harsh on your skin. Instead, try creating a soothing facial scrub with just a few pantry ingredients to help smooth and hydrate your skin.
Make Your Own:
Add one-quarter cup of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a mixing bowl.
Stir until thoroughly combined.
(To further treat your skin, Michael Morris, Editorial Director of Rough and Tumble Gentleman, recommends adding five drops of tea tree oil to your mixture. This can lend anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties to your face scrub.)
What You’ll Need:
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Organic Light Brown Sugar
Wholesome
Price: $
Similar to cane sugar, brown sugar can also be used as a natural exfoliant. This nourishing ingredient helps to remove dead skin cells while also locking in moisture, leaving your skin hydrated and glowing.
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Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mina
Price: $
When used in moderation, olive oil can be your skin’s best friend. This pantry staple helps moisturize, and it can help remove the most stubborn makeup and dissolve oily residue on your skin.
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8 oz Amber Cosmetic Jars
Ballhull
Price: $
With a durable set of airtight jars, you can take your facial scrubs wherever you go. This set of jars is made with an interior lining and leak-proof gasket that keep your scrubs protected when you’re on the move.
