Experiments with home made cosmetics: I made my own moisturiser!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s five frugal things post, I thought it would be nice to share some of my experiments with home made cosmetics. I even vlogged myself making this rich moisturiser! Read on for details on how you can watch it.

There are various reasons that I want to do try making my own rather than buying them off the shelf.

1# To save money

Decent toiletries, especially those containing organic ingredients, can be flipping expensive!

2# To cut back on chemicals

My aim is to reduce the number of chemicals in our home, including what I put on my face and body. By making my own, I know exactly what is in them and can make them as natural as possible.

3# To reduce waste

Sure, the ingredients arrive in packaging, but, as many are common to different recipes, I can buy them in bulk and try to avoid plastic as much as possible. My experiments with home home cosmetics will also mean that I can reuse pots I already have, reducing the number that have to either be recycled (if we are lucky) or end up in landfill.

I used an old glass Marmite pot for this one.

4# To give as gifts

Once I have experimented for a while and I am happy with the results, home made toiletries and cosmetics will make very nice, inexpensive and eco friendly gifts.

Anyway, in this first experiment, I made my own moisturiser, using this recipe from Root & Revel. I bought my ingredients from the Soapery, which seems to offer a good range at decent prices.

I did a vlog to show you how it went – you can watch it on YouTube here. (This is my first attempt at uploading a video to You Tube. I think it’s a bit quiet! I might make a few more, so like and subscribe if you are interested.)

Having used it for a few days, I am pretty happy with the result. However, it is very rich and slightly greasy. It suits my very dry skin, but I am not sure you would want to use it on your face if you were acne prone. 

I love it as a night cream. Often I wake up with my skin feeling very dehydrated, but not when I use this cream. It smells lovely too.

Because is is so rich, it is great for dry parts of your body, such as hands, feet, elbows and knees.

I will be doing some more experiments with home made cosmetics, so watch this space!