Many conventional beauty products contain hidden (or not so hidden) harmful ingredients and many are also super expensive. I started making DIY beauty products at home years ago for these reasons, and now… I’m addicted!
But the extra work/time/money you say? It doesn’t take as much time as you’d think, and it certainly costs much less. Many of the ingredients you probably already have in your own kitchen, and you can make most of these products at a fraction of the cost of store-bought.
Plus, it’s just really fun! Pick a recipe, stock up on the ingredients, and make it as a rainy day project with the kids.
Best DIY Beauty Products + Recipes for Beginners
While I’m thankful there are more companies today making safer beauty products, the price tag that comes with them isn’t easy to swallow. I have a few natural store-bought beauty products I can’t do without now that I’ve found them (this one for example), but it helps to save money on other products by making them myself at home.
If the thought of making your own makeup or lotion is overwhelming, just start the way I did… one recipe at a time. The 7 recipes below are really quite simple and quick to make. In fact, if you have just 7 common DIY beauty ingredients in your cupboard, you can make over 20 DIY beauty products!
If you aren’t already, consider making these DIY beauty products instead of buying them:
1. Deodorant
I’ll admit… I didn’t think homemade deodorant could possibly work. I’d tried natural versions and they weren’t effective so I didn’t have high hopes. Still, if you want to avoid applying aluminum and other additives linked to cancer to your armpits (not to mention blocking the natural function of sweating), switching to a natural deodorant is an important health step to take.
To my surprise, this recipe works incredibly well and is very inexpensive and simple to make.
With just coconut oil, baking soda, and optional arrowroot and shea butter, you can make a deodorant that works for your body type.
Here are two recipes to try for smooth deodorants, and you can also make deodorant bars with the same ingredients.
Sensitive to baking soda or tried this before and got a rash? Try applying a simple magnesium oil spray as a deodorant… it works!
2. Makeup
There are a lot of chemicals in makeup and a lot of women put that on their faces every. single. day. Changing your diet will help improve your skin so makeup isn’t as needed, but it is also possible to make natural makeup with ingredients you have in your kitchen that are non-toxic and even edible!
Here are the recipes for homemade makeup that I use. They include foundation, bronzer/blush, eye liner and eye shadow, and even mascara!
3. Lotion
There are a lot of recipes for homemade lotion online and you can definitely find one that works for you. Personally, I prefer lotions or lotion bars that don’t have liquid since they last indefinitely and are incredibly moisturizing.
With simple ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and beeswax, you can make endless variations on homemade lotion products. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Homemade Lotion Bars
- Simple Lotion Recipe
- DIY Sunscreen Lotion Bars
- Pain Relief Lotion Bars
- Perfect Silk Lotion Bars
- Bug-Off Lotion Bars
- Bronzing Lotion Bars
As you can see, once you learn to make them there are so many uses for lotion bars! These make great thoughtful gifts as well.
4. Sea Salt Hair Spray
I have fine, thin hair that is difficult to do much with. I loved the way my hair always felt at the beach with more texture and volume, and this simple spray was my solution to getting the beach look at home.
It isn’t a hair spray in that it holds a hairstyle in place (this natural recipe works for that) but when spritzed and scrunched into hair, it gives great volume and texture and makes hair feel much thicker.
This sea salt spray is also completely natural and incredibly inexpensive to make. Here is the recipe.
5. Dry Shampoo
Back to the fine hair problem! Fine hair also shows oil more quickly than coarse or thick hair. If I don’t want to shampoo my hair every day (which isn’t good for it), I had to find a solution to tone down any oiliness.
This simple dry shampoo works better than store-bought (in my opinion) and doesn’t have the aerosol or chemicals. It is a powder instead of a spray, and I find it is best applied with a make-up brush to the roots. Have dark hair? There is a solution for dark hair dry shampoo so it doesn’t look like you are wearing a grey wig! 🙂
If you have arrowroot or cornstarch around, you can make this recipe! Here are the steps to make it.
6. Body Scrubs
Body scrubs like salt and sugar scrubs can cost $20 or more in stores, which is crazy when you can make them for less than a dollar! These make great gifts and leave skin incredibly soft.
There are endless variations for body scrubs but these are my two favorites:
Once you master those, experiment with some fun variations and scents like Vanilla Latte Sugar Scrub or these adorable Sugar Scrub Cubes.
7. Face Wash/Cleansing
Face cleansing and moisturizing products are some of the most expensive products on the market and this is one area where natural alternatives are not just comparable, they are better!
Switching to the natural oil cleansing method my skin has completely changed for the better. No more acne, no more dry skin, and the softest skin I’ve ever had. The basic concept is to use oil to remove impurities instead of harsh soaps. This avoids stripping the natural oils in the face and leaves skin much more nourished.
Here is the oil cleansing method and how to incorporate it in to a natural skin care routine.
Learn more about why you want to use sustainable ingredients in this podcast interview with Emily Blain on What’s Wrong With Your Personal Care Products and Creating Sustainable and Ethical Ones.
What are your favorite homemade beauty products? Share below!
Lovely post, thank you!
Hey! I saw and read the post about the shampoo, my sister and I are going to try it. She is blonde and has very thin hair as well. Everytime she washes her hair, it’s almost instantly oily again.
Question though, what do you use as a conditioner? I wa want to think you wouldnt need one because of the coconut milk but wanted to make sure.
You’re right! Most people don’t need to follow up with conditioner.
Hello, Wellness Mama. I am a teenage girl with very oily, sensitive and acne prone skin. I decided to try the oil cleansing method, but I had some questions regarding it:
First, I use honey on my face In the morning to cleanse it. Will this make the adjustment period for my skin to the ocm longer?
Secondly, when doing the ocm I have noticed my skin is actually a little drier. This is opposite of what I have read should happen. Am I doing it right?
Thank you in advance for help! I look forward to hearing from you.
I am so happy that you posted this! I love trying to make beauty products at home with natural ingredients, but it’s so helpful to have a how-to guide. I have pretty dry skin from living in the high desert climate in Reno, NV and LOVE the idea of using an oil-based skin cleanser! Thanks for sharing!
hi katie,
can this DIY lotion be used for a face cream? I can’t seem to find a face cream recipe. I want to make one for really dry face skin out of shea butter, aloe vera, beeswax, jojoba rosehip and argan oil. I’m worried that this wont sink into the face though. Any ideas? thanks 🙂
Hello Wellness Mama! I love your products and ideas for organic lotions, toothpastes, deodorants and the like. I have made your lotion before and it was absolutely incredible and many of my family members and friends have tried it and would like me to make them some as well. I always tell them I got it from your website of course 🙂 As I am trying to open up my own online shop though, I was actually hoping to use some of your ideas for the homemade products. Am I allowed to do that or do you have any policies concerning these things? If I was allowed to sell them, I would love to give you credit for the ideas or do you have any thoughts concerning that? If I were to sell those products, I am not sure if you would like to take a percentage of the earnings or if you have preset ideas or rules about that. Thank you for the phenomenal recipes! I look forward to hearing back from you 🙂
Blessings,
Anastasia
Hi Anastasia, I always encourage others to experiment and find their own variations of the recipes for use in homemade products and I always appreciate credit if a recipe is used as inspiration.
Wellness Mama, Thank you so much for your feedback! I will be experimenting with different variations and ideas–and I will be sure to give you credit for the inspiration and amazing recipes you came up with! Thank you again for your response.
Blessings,
Anastasia
I use coconut oil to take off my makeup including waterproof mascara then was with gentle non chemical foaming face was then slather on coconut oil before bed.
I am already making facial cleanser, sunscreen, toothpaste and lotion. Would like to also do deoderant and maybe a few other items.
Wow, where to start…we are natural human beings living in nature. Why use chemicals when there are so many natural options available? Thanks to Wellness Mama, you have guided us in the right direction by offering guidance and support. I wish to replace all m beauty products with natural options!
im signed up. im ditching deodorant and toothpaste
I’d like to try the toothpaste, shampoo and scrubs. Guess I need to go shopping this weekend.
I had to ditch my beauty products and shampoo after finding out I am having reactions to almost all of them…no wonder I was so miserable. I have been learning how to create products with natural alternatives and the recipes I have found here….still haven’t found a good shampoo alternative for myself yet, but otherwise…..I love using Almond and Coconut oils, these work on my skin well for moisture. I need to try making soap still.
I am still working on a conditioner that doesn’t irritate my skin, but the main thing I am ditching is Alcohol, I am allergic. Thanks.
I make my own oil-blend cleanser, argan oil moisturizer, deodorant, and hard lotion!
I’ve found natural and “clean” or mostly clean products for all my beauty and personal products except for mascara. I just can’t seem to find one that’s compatible with my oily skin the same way that unclean versions are.
I’ve been using the toothpaste recipe from this site for about 9 months and I love it. I recently tried another brand of coconut oil based toothpaste, but I only used it twice and threw it away. I also use my Norwex cloths to remove eye makeup…so easy!!! Wash my face with honey. I’ve made my own deodorant, but gave it all up at the beginning of the summer due to irritation and haven’t been using deodorant at all. Maybe I should try it with arrowroot? I’d really like to make my own lotions, sunscreen and makeup…that will be next!
Hey there Wellness Mama. 24 weeks ago I discovered that my body will be slowly expanding due to I’m pregnant. I have been trying to find natural alternitives of lotions to prevent strech marks so I don’t harm my body or my first child. I have been mixing together Coconut oil, Shea butter, and Lavender essential oil. I”m massaging it into my belly and breasts once a day and found that my skin doen’t just smell great but is increadibly soft.
When she or he arrives I will be using your lotion bar recipe with Calendula and Chamomile to sooth its delicate skin.