How do you stock a DIY beauty pantry? Over the last couple of years I have become very interested in making my own diy beauty products. I have made everything from sugar scrubs and homemade mouth wash to shaving cream and oatmeal milk baths. Some recipes have come out better than others and I have learned quite a bit along the way. As we move into the new year I would like to encourage everyone to try their hand at a few easy diy beauty recipes. They are incredibly easy to make and cost only a fraction of what those expensive spa products cost you.
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Your DIY Beauty Pantry: 10 Must Have Ingredients
Not only will you be saving money by making your own diy beauty products, you will be reducing your exposure to a number of harmful ingredients. Traditional beauty products contain artificial scents and colors along with many chemicals that may or may not even be safe to use!
Like this DIY beauty pantry post? Try these as well:
- Essential Herbs for your DIY Beauty Products
- Ways to Use Fresh Lemons in Beauty Routines
- How to Find the Best All Natural Beauty Products
I love giving diy beauty products as gifts or just treating myself to a spa like experience after a busy day. No matter what your reason for making your own beauty products, there are a few key ingredients you should keep on hand at all times!
Olive Oil:
Olive oil is great for our health, whether you eat it or put it in your diy beauty products. It is loaded with vitamin E and has a wonderful anti inflammatory effect on skin. It is also rarely allergenic so even people with sensitive skin should be able to tolerate it. I try to use organic olive oil whenever possible. It is a must have ingredient in any DIY beauty pantry.
Beeswax:
Beeswax has a wonderful light honey scent but you really won’t notice it in your final product. The best feature of beeswax is that it is a natural thickening agent for your diy beauty products. It is wonderful to hold together a homemade lip balm that you want to put into a tube, for example.
Only a very little is needed in your recipe and it will stay good for quite a while at room temperature. Make sure to buy high quality beeswax since you will be applying it to your skin.
Shea butter:
Shea butter is extracted from the nuts of the Shea tree, which grows in Western Africa. It is incredibly high in vitamin A and has been shown to have wound healing properties. It is incredibly moisturizing and great for people with irritated skin. Unrefined (raw) and organic shea butter is your best bet for diy beauty products.
Coconut oil:
I love using coconut oil in my diy beauty products because it is a solid at room temperature and makes your final product thicker and creamier than using olive oil, almond oil, or another carrier oil.
It is also rich in protein and vitamin E and tropical indigenous people have been using it as a sun screen for ages. Try to find organic coconut oil that is sustainably harvested to stock in your DIY beauty pantry.
Honey:
Honey is a humectant, which basically means that it can draw moisture INTO your skin or hair. So adding a tablespoon or two of honey to your diy natural beauty products will help make them more moisturizing. Honey is one of those ingredients you REALLY need to buy quality for.
Some products labeled ‘honey’ may come from China and not be actual honey at all. Look for locally sourced honey or organic honey from US hives. You can check out my article about protecting our honey supply for more information about the honey crisis!
Sugar:
Sugar is amazing in scrubs! It is a gentle exfoliant which helps remove dead skin cells and leave the skin soft and smooth. The type of sugar really doesn’t matter and you can choose based on the other scents you are using.
I like brown sugar when I am using cinnamon or nutmeg and white sugar for lighter scents like citrus or floral scents. Check out my Orange and Pomegranate sugar scrub for a refreshing diy beauty product to get started making!
Citrus fruit:
Most of the time I make natural beauty products that are very moisturizing but if you have oily skin or hair these might not work for you. Citrus fruits are great for unclogging pores, tightening skin, removing buildup from hair and fighting acne. Fresh citrus fruits are best but as a last resort you can use juice from a bottle as well. It is essential in a DIY beauty pantry but it won’t keep long so restock regularly.
Cocoa Butter:
Cocoa butter actually comes from the cacao bean which is found inside a cocoa pod that grows on a cacao tree. It is a rather lengthy process to extract the oil from the bean but the resulting fat is a solid at room temperature and smells heavenly.
It is very high in antioxidants and fatty acids, both of which help reduce the signs of aging. Once again, I suggest going with organic cocoa butter from sustainable sources.
Essential Oils:
Essential oils are one of the most enjoyable parts of making your own natural beauty products. They not only make your creation smell heavenly but they also have many therapeutic benefits as well. Lavender is good for relaxation, peppermint is good for headaches, and tea tree oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Do a bit of research on essential oils to determine which one is best for your needs. Check out a few essential oil books on Amazon to get started. Add a wide variety of oils to your DIY beauty pantry to create a wide variety of scents.
Vitamin E oil:
Vitamin E oil is very moisturizing but it also acts as a natural preservative. Since your diy beauty products have all natural ingredients, they will not stay fresh as long as something you purchased from the store.
Vitamin E oil will help extend the shelf life of your creation a little bit. You only need a teaspoon or two at a time so a little goes a long way.
Depending on how you want to package your diy beauty products you can go with clean, glass mason jars or smaller plastic containers with lids. I find it nice to repurpose things like Altoid containers or jelly jars whenever I can. If you want to find some great diy beauty recipes you can follow my diy health and beauty products board on Pinterest!
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.