Almost all of us have beauty products we couldn’t live without, from your favorite body lotion to the mascara you swear by. But have you ever stopped to think about what’s in the formulas of the cosmetics we love so much? There are many chemicals that have been linked to health issues in your beauty products like parabens, synthetic colors and formaldehyde. These chemicals have been associated with everything from skin irritation to breast cancer. One of the ways you can decrease your contact with these chemicals is to make your own beauty products. This not only allows you to better control what you expose your body to but you can also ensure that what you’re making is animal cruelty-free and organic. Here are five products you can make yourself!
1. Foundation Powder
Wake your face up with this recipe from Live Simply. Begin with an arrowroot powder base and slowly add unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger and bentonite clay until you reach the ideal tone to match your skin! The clay helps to absorb oils and also acts as a color corrector. You no longer have to worry if the $30 foundation you bought will match your skin tone because you get to perfect it yourself.
2. Eyeshadow
Treat your eyes with an all-natural eyeshadow. While it is difficult to develop bright or wild colors, you can create an array of earthy smoky tones with this recipe from mindbodygreen. Similar to the foundation, eyeshadow also starts with an arrowroot base. To get pink shades, use ingredients like hibiscus and beet powder. Spirulina powder can make a lovely green shade. For nudes, use nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, cocoa powder and allspice. If you want a dark smoky eye, experiment with activated carbon. Soon you will have an extensive all-natural eyeshadow palette.
3. Lip Gloss
Follow this recipe from Hello Glow to get a sweet moisturizing lip gloss you’ll want to wear every day. With a mixture of coconut oil and shea butter, your lips will never experience a dry day and the cranberry and beet powder create a classic pink hue. If you want a firmer gloss, you can add some beeswax to the solution. This recipe is a little more labor-intensive than the others but the results will be worth it. Pucker up!
4. Eyeliner and Mascara
Bring back out that bentonite clay and beeswax because you’re going to need it to make these next makeup essentials. This recipe from Pins and Procrastinations is for mascara but can easily double as eyeliner. For storage, put it in a makeup pot or mascara tube you can buy online. The combination of aloe vera gel, beeswax, bentonite clay and activated charcoal will give you toxin-free lashes that you’ll love.
5. Makeup Remover
Now that you’ve made all this natural, organic makeup, you need something free of toxins to take it off at the end of the day. This is the easiest recipe of the bunch from Free People’s blog, BLDG 25. All you need are three ingredients: coconut oil, witch hazel and unscented baby Castile soap. You can keep this in a container by itself or you can add cotton rounds to the jar so they can soak up the mixture for easy application. Feel free to add some drops of essential oils as well for additional benefits and a great smell.
If you want to start removing toxins from your life, makeup is a great place to begin because many of us use it every day. You don’t need to cut out regular makeup cold turkey; by slowly phasing out the basics for these natures alternatives, you can cut down on the amount of harmful chemicals you expose your body to. These recipes are not only fun to make but they help you live a healthier life too.