With the huge range of beauty products on the
shelves, why do some people still make their own beauty products?
I started making my own skin care products years
ago. I got a book about natural skin care. You can actually make masks
out of mashed fruit. They are really messy though, but back then, I was
really broke. Could not afford to spend on good skin care so I made do
with what I could get.
I mashed watermelon and put in on my face. My face
felt really clean, but there was a bit of a rash after that. I also
read that papaya was used in spas for back exfoliating masks. In fact,
the enzymes in papayas and pineapples are often used to exfoliate the
skin. These can be rather harsh though, so I never tried that on my
face.
One thing led to another. I moved on to make my
own creams. I went through a period of time where every body lotion I
tried from the stores, from the cheap ones to the $20 ones, made my
skin itch. That prompted me to make my own body cream.
The cream recipes I found were mainly for cold
cream. These were really heavy, oil based stuff. I wanted something
lighter. A water based lotion.
A cream
is basically droplets of water suspended in oil, kept in that state by
an emulsifier. For my creams, I used beeswax as an emulsifier.
I experimented in the kitchen. After plenty of
failed experiments. I finally came up with lotion in a texture I simply
loved.
A lotion is made of droplets of oil suspended in
water, kept together by an emulsifier. I used lecithin for my lotion.
Here are some of the lotions
I made.
By varying the water based part, using rosewater
or tea instead of plain water, you can make all sorts of lotions.
Likewise, you can play around with the oil part of the formula, with
various infused oils, or a few drops of different essential oils, to
change the lotion or cream. You can make tailor your beauty products to
your personal tastes, and needs.
I had lots of fun with that. My skin loved these
home made creams when they were fresh.
I even made a batch tailored specially for a
cousin, using ingredients that she loves.
Yet, I have since stopped making them.
Why?
Laziness is the main reason. Lack of time is
another reason.
So much care must go into making the lotions which
don't keep. For me, even if I keep the lotions refrigerated, 2 days
after making the lotion, if I use it on my face, my skin breaks out. 3
days later, if I use it on my body, my skin itches.
Preservatives are put in commercial skin care
products to prevent these from spoiling. Without preservatives,
bacteria, mould and all these nasty things multiply rapidly, spoiling
the entire batch, causing nasty reactions on the skin. These home made
beauty products don't have preservatives. That meant that I had to make
new batches of skincare almost everyday.
Also, care must be taken to ensure all the
equipment is sterile so the final product is safe to use. Carelessness
could introduce lots of nasty germs into the beauty products you make.
The water and oil component must be heated to the same temperature and
drops of one are added to the other while mixing thoroughly or the
batch might separate.
It is so much more convenient to buy beauty
products from brands that agree with my skin condition, than to make
them from scratch. That is what I have been doing lately. Plus the
reknown skincare lines are way better than what I can make. I mean,
with their R & D budgets, they can afford to do plenty of
research on creating the most effective beauty products for virtually
any beauty need.
At the end of the day, whether you make your
beauty products or buy them off the shelf, it is a matter of your
personal preference.
About the Author
The writer is the writer of the articles in Beauty
from A Woman's Heart. | 