It is so easy to make your own skin-care products.

If you are like me, you may never have considered making your own products.  Why would someone make a product they can buy?  When there are literally hundreds of beautiful products to chose from in isles of stores everywhere?  Why make your own? Certainly there are good products out there waiting to be purchased.  Perfectly organic. Perfectly bottled.  Why make it?

I began a journey of eating and living a more healthy lifestyle a while ago. This change in diet and activity never had included my skin. I simply never connected lotion, soap, or perfume to “diet.”

That all changed in 2012. An acquaintance of mine was on a very restrictive eating plan for a short period of time.  I’m not advising, recommending, or agreeing with the plan.  It was simply an eye-opener for me.

It changed the way I will forever think about skincare products. She had to greatly reduce her fat-intake. This included the oil she used on her skin.  Her plan advised an elimination or reduction of oil, or oil-based skin-care products.

The outline of her program explained that even though you are not eating the oil, the oil is still being absorbed into your body, as if you ate it.

The oil, fat, and calories that were being smeared onto the outside of her skin counted toward the total oil, fat and calories that she was ingesting.

This is when it hit me that if my body is ingesting the oil in my skin-care products;  it is possible that it is also ingesting whatever else is in the product to some extent.

So, I am eating my lotion. I am eating my soap. And, I am eating my perfume. Yummy!

You could take this thought process as far as you’d like: I am eating my bath water. I am eating the pool water. I am eating the hot-tub water, I am eating the shower-water. Even still: I am eating smog, emissions, fumes, carcinogens, pollution, and anything else that happens to be in the air that  I am breathing.

This goes back to the rule:

“the 2 things you must do to live are the 2 things that are

slowly killing you: eating and breathing.“

Aren’t you glad I’m here to lift your spirits today?  Detox anyone?  Please, someone, pass me some bone-broth.

After reviewing the ingredients in my lotion, soap and perfume I decided that it may be better not to smear it on my skin (ahem- eat it ). This began my search for “healthy” alternatives to skin care.

First, I want to give credit to the awesome folks who have created excellent, organic skin-care lines.  There are some wonderful products available for folks who want healthier options.

If there are organic options out there for sale, why do I make my own?

1. I’m a do-it-yourself-er.  I like self-sufficiency.  If I can make it, I want to.
2. Budget.  It may just be me; however, it seems that the more ‘organic’ something is, the more it costs.

Since, we have a limited income, and I don’t really have a “skin-care” budget, I had to find a way to include more health-conscious options that didn’t cost a lot more.

I scoured the internet. I tried several homemade concoctions before settling on the recipe I am about to share. I have been using this skincare routine for about 2 years and have been happy with the results.

I did have an “adjustment period.” There were a couple of break-outs before my skin acclimated to the new routine. Before I made the switch, I had been warned that my skin would go through a “cleanse period.” This meant all the chemicals, toxins, funk, and ick that were in my pores would have to come out. Translation: zits.

So, when I say you may experience an adjustment to the new skincare routine, I mean you may look like a pizza for a week or two. Sorry. After pizza week it will all get better.

Here’s how to make it:

To make this you’re going to need 4 oils (I use organic, since… after all, I am eating this):

• Grapeseed Oil
• Olive Oil
• Sweet Almond Oil
• Hemp Oil

Now, the hard part.  Pour equal amounts of each of these into a jar.  Just kidding about “hard.”

• 1/4 Hemp
• 1/4 Olive Oil
• 1/4 Grapeseed Oil
• 1/4 Almond Oil

After adding the 4 oils into the jar, stir things up with a spoon or screw on the lid & gently shake.  That’s it.  Your’re done!

If you want to add a little pizzazz to your facial moisturizer, you can add a few drops of essential oils to your mixture.  I do.

I have 6 favorite essential oils.  Although I use other oils, I only panic if I am running low on these 5.  I use them all the time and love them.

1. Lemon
2. Lime
3. Eucalyptus
4. Grapefruit
5. Lemon Grass
6. Peppermint

I am adding lime and lemon essential oils to the moisturizer to give it a fresh, reviving fragrance.  This step is completely optional.  You can skip the essential oils, especially if you like the smell of olives and hemp……..  I don’t want to smell like olives and hemp;  so I’m adding some lemon and lime.

The lemon-lime combo adds a fresh, citrus-y fragrance.  They balance out the other oils nicely.  If you just have lemon, or just have lime or just have grapefruit- any one will do the trick.  Anything citrus will work great.

Here’s the recipe for facial moisturizer.

• 1/4 Cup Hemp Oil
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Grapeseed Oil
• 1/4 Cup Almond Oil
• 20 drops any citrus, Essential Oil – optional

Apply a dime sized amount of this moisturizer to a clean face twice a day. This also makes a great body lotion, and lip moisturizer.

Home-made, natural, healthy, organic skin care.

Now, I could actually eat my moisturizer and it would be perfectly healthy. Not that I want to eat it.

To get old fashioned advice, farm tips and homesteading fun delivered straight to you be sure to subscribe via email (here).

XO,

Candi