DIY PRODUCT MAKEOVERS
Here are three new do-it-yourself recipes for personal-care products that you can make at home. Not only are they just as effective as the store-bought versions, they are much less harmful and more affordable!
Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm
This fall, capture the essence of “pumpkin, spice and everything nice” with this DIY recipe for a moisturizing and soothing lip salve.
Supplies:
3 teaspoons beeswax pastilles
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon cocoa butter
2 teaspoons pumpkin seed oil
4 drops Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
2 drops Clove Essential Oil
2 drops Nutmeg Essential Oil
6 lip balm tubes
Plastic disposable pipettes
Directions:
Melt the following in a double boiler. For this project I made a double boiler effect by setting a Pyrex measuring cup in a saucepan filled with a few inches of slowly boiling water:
Beeswax
Coconut oil
Cocoa butter
Pumpkin seed oil
Stir occasionally. Once completely melted, remove from heat. Add the following:
Cinnamon oil
Nutmeg oil
Clove oil
Using pipette, quickly fill the six tubes.
Let cool completely, at least two hours.
TIP: Decorate the tubes with Japanese Washi decorative tape if you like!
Essential Oil-Infused Dry Shampoo
This dry shampoo recipe is a much better alternative to the expensive salon version. It’s also simple to make and free of harsh parabens and perfumes that can damage your hair.
Supplies:
¼ cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 drops Cedarwood Essential Oil
2 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
1 drop Tea Tree Essential Oil
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (for dark hair only)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Put in a container of your choice, such as an empty saltshaker or baby powder bottle. Sprinkle on roots of hair and massage into scalp. Leave in hair for several minutes so it will absorb the natural oils. Brush through hair.
Wool Dryer Balls
Instead of buying chemically laden dryer sheets, create your own fabric-softening balls made of pure wool. You can reuse them over and over to naturally soften clothes and smooth wrinkles.
Supplies:
2-4 skeins of 100% pure wool yarn (use festive colors for holiday fun)
Pantyhose
Crochet hook, car key or anything pointy to use as a lever
Your favorite essential oil. Lavender Essential Oil is a popular one for this use.
Directions:
Start by wrapping the yarn around your fingers, about 10 to 15 times.
Slide it off of your fingers and start wrapping the center until you make a tiny ball.
Make sure to wrap it in different directions (backward and forward). If you wrap it the same way repeatedly before you switch, you will end up with a lopsided ball.
Use the entire skein of yarn to make one ball.
Using a crochet hook, paint can opener or even a car key, push the end of the yarn inside of the ball.
Repeat the process to create additional balls.
Wrap the balls in a pair of pantyhose. Be sure to tie knots between each ball so each one will keep its shape.
Toss them in the washer with a load of towels or by themselves on the hottest water cycle available. Then dry them on your hottest setting.
Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil, and they’re ready to use.
