This page contains information regarding DIY personal care
products. Creating your own personal care products can be a fun project, can save you money, and allows you more control over what ingredients you use. DIY personal care products are becoming more popular
recently, especially as people are gaining awareness and concern about toxic
chemicals in their store-bought products. There are tons of resources out there
for creating your own products, and my goal on this page is to create a sort of
road map or hub for those resources. Figuring out what you want to make or what
recipes to use can be very overwhelming, and I hope that the information here
will be helpful and provide some guidance on where to start.
Here is an outline for the content you will find on this page – some of it I am still working on, but it should be complete soon! |
DIY Information Docs:
Other DIY Sites: Buying Supplies:
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Is DIY Right for You?
There are definitely some upsides and some downsides to making your own things rather than buying them at a store or from a professional company. I have outlined some basic pros and cons below, but I will have a more detailed document available on this page soon (I'm still working on it!). That document will have suggestions, questions, ideas, et cetera that will help guide you in making decisions about what/if to make yourself and what you might be better off purchasing.
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Easiest DIY Products
There are several products that I believe are the easiest to make at home, and I have listed them here in order of easy to slightly harder. If you are definitely interested in the DIY route, I would recommend starting with some of these:
- Body and face oils
- Solid moisturizers and lotion bars
- Sugar scrubs (body/face/lips)
- Face masks
- Medicinal salves/creams (eczema, scraps, burns, et cetera)
- Eye shadow powders and body/face powders
Basic Ingredients for DIY
Based on the above list of relatively easy things to make, I have created suggestions for what to purchase first for your DIY kit. I find these are the items I use the most often, making them, in my opinion, the bare essentials for a basic kit.
Oils and Butters
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Dry Ingredients
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Other Things
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DIY recipe favorites
Below you will find some of my favorite simple recipes, which can be modified with some trial and error depending upon your needs and what supplies you have. I am working on a more extensive recipe list, which will be available for download on this page very soon!
Body Moisturizers: Liquid and Solid
The following recipe is for a basic moisturizing oil. If you add beeswax to this recipe, you can make it solid or semi-solid.
For a solid lotion, you want about 1 part beeswax to 2 parts oils/butters. I suggest adding slightly less beeswax, then letting the mixture cool on the stove to check the consistency; you can always melt it back down to add more or pour into another container.
Below, I have the basic recipe for the oil, then a couple suggestions on variations of butters and oils.
For a solid lotion, you want about 1 part beeswax to 2 parts oils/butters. I suggest adding slightly less beeswax, then letting the mixture cool on the stove to check the consistency; you can always melt it back down to add more or pour into another container.
Below, I have the basic recipe for the oil, then a couple suggestions on variations of butters and oils.
Basic Recipe
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Variation one: Butters
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Variation two: Oils
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Directions: To make this recipe, I would suggest using a 2-cup pyrex glass measuring cup in a pot of water over the stove on low heat. Add the solid butters first, then add the liquids and stir over low heat until it is smooth and well-blended.
Notes on this recipe:
Notes on this recipe:
- Bottom line ratio information: 2:3 ratio of solids (solid at room temp) to liquids (in this recipe I have 6 Tbsp. solids and 9 Tbsp. liquids)
- Shea butter can sometimes cause the oil to be grainy; the best way to avoid this is to heat the mixture slowly, let it sit over heat for about 20 minutes, and cool the oil in the fridge for a short time to bring it down to room temperature quickly.
- When mixing solids and liquids to create a final product that is liquid at room temperature, remember that shea butter has the highest melting point (100°F), followed by cocoa butter (93°F), and last is coconut oil (75°F). Keep the melting and solidifying temperatures in mind in general when substituting different oils and butters with this recipe.
Basic Sugar Scrub
A simple sugar scrub can do wonders for your skin's health and complexion, and it is one of the easiest things to make at home!
This is one of my favorite recipes to whip up when I'm in need of an easy-to-make scrub:
Directions: Mix sugar and coconut oil together in a jar or bowl until you have the consistency that you like. Some people like less oil, some like more oil - do whatever feels best to you! Add a dash of lemon and mix.
How to use: Use this body scrub in the shower to exfoliate and moisturize your skin - simply spread onto skin and lightly scrub in circular motions; rinse off with warm or cool water. Works great on the arms, back of the legs, and buttocks where many people deal with psoriasis. If you want to use this for your face, make sure you choose a very fine grain sugar since the skin on your face is more delicate.
Notes on this recipe: You can also add some shea butter to this recipe to give it more moisturizing power and a bit thicker or heavier feel.
This is one of my favorite recipes to whip up when I'm in need of an easy-to-make scrub:
- Sugar (preferably small granules, it's easier on the skin)
- Coconut oil
- Lemon juice (just a little bit)
Directions: Mix sugar and coconut oil together in a jar or bowl until you have the consistency that you like. Some people like less oil, some like more oil - do whatever feels best to you! Add a dash of lemon and mix.
How to use: Use this body scrub in the shower to exfoliate and moisturize your skin - simply spread onto skin and lightly scrub in circular motions; rinse off with warm or cool water. Works great on the arms, back of the legs, and buttocks where many people deal with psoriasis. If you want to use this for your face, make sure you choose a very fine grain sugar since the skin on your face is more delicate.
Notes on this recipe: You can also add some shea butter to this recipe to give it more moisturizing power and a bit thicker or heavier feel.
Anti-Fungal/Anti-Bacterial Ointment
This anti-fungal and anti-bacterial ointment is perfect for athletes foot and mild yeast infections that are not located in the genitalia region (like armpits). This ointment should be used with caution depending upon how strong you make it - I created a particularly potent batch for myself.
Directions: Mix together in jar or glass bottle until thoroughly blended. You can melt the coconut oil a little bit to make it easier to mix if need be, just do not make it too hot.
Notes on the recipe: I would recommend doing the calculations carefully yourself for how much you want to make and how much carrier oil you have. I do the dilution for this based upon the potency of the oils. Since this is for medical use, it should be reasonably strong. However, clove and lemongrass essential oils are particularly potent, or more likely to cause dermal irritation if they are not diluted properly. Tea tree oil is the most innocuous on the list. So, I can add the most of that, and then add the least amount of clove and lemongrass – about 1-3% dilution.
Notes on essential oils:
- 2 oz coconut oil (or any carrier oil, I use coconut oil because it's naturally anti-bacterial and it is more of a solid at room temp)
- Tea tree essential oil (40-60 drops)
- Eucalyptus essential oil (15-20 drops)
- Clove essential oil: (6-12 drops)
- Lemongrass essential oil (6-12 drops)
Directions: Mix together in jar or glass bottle until thoroughly blended. You can melt the coconut oil a little bit to make it easier to mix if need be, just do not make it too hot.
Notes on the recipe: I would recommend doing the calculations carefully yourself for how much you want to make and how much carrier oil you have. I do the dilution for this based upon the potency of the oils. Since this is for medical use, it should be reasonably strong. However, clove and lemongrass essential oils are particularly potent, or more likely to cause dermal irritation if they are not diluted properly. Tea tree oil is the most innocuous on the list. So, I can add the most of that, and then add the least amount of clove and lemongrass – about 1-3% dilution.
Notes on essential oils:
- Essential oils can be very potent and you must be very careful when using them. You need to measure carefully to make sure you dilute essential oils properly into a carrier oil (this is any veggie/plan oil, like olive oil or grapeseed oil).
- Be careful using essential oils on babies or children, or when pregnant or nursing. There are some oils that should be avoided altogether when pregnant.
- Undiluted essential oils: I personally wouldn’t recommend using any of them undiluted, but others argue that a few specific ones are safe to use in undiluted form. What I take this to mean is that I don’t have to be as paranoid about getting a minuscule amount on my skin when working with them. These oils are lavender, tea tree oil, German Chamomile, sandalwood, and rose geranium.
- There is 29.75 ml in 1 oz bottle; 20 drops in 1 ml
Dilution guidelines:
2% dilution
10-12 drops in 1 oz carrier oil This is for general topical use on adults – things like lotion bars or sugar scrubs. |
3% dilution
15-18 drops in 1 oz carrier oil This is for short term medical use on adults (depending on the oil and the person, up to 10% is fine) |
25% dilution
125-150 drops in 1 oz carrier oil This is for occasional use for severe injury or medical condition – only for certain oils and for adults |
For more information on the safety of using essential oils: