Want to learn how you make your own homemade beauty products? Here are ten to get you started.

Many conventional beauty products come in non-recyclable packaging – the majority of which goes straight to landfill. Plus many products are packed full of chemicals that can be harsh on both your skin and the environment.

If you’re looking to lead a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, making your own homemade beauty products is a fantastic step to take. You can customise each product to suit your skin, whilst reducing all that unnecessary plastic packaging.

If you’re looking to start making your own cosmetics, then I’ve found this great guide to making not just one, but ten different recipes. Here you’ll find recipes for DIY beauty products – from deodorant to toothpaste and even eyeliner and shaving cream. There’s something for almost every beauty need.

I’m probably most intrigued by the homemade eyeliner recipe. I don’t really wear much makeup but eyeliner is probably the one product I couldn’t live without. I’ve always used shop-bought eyeliner but I’m really keen to give this recipe a go!

Homemade Beauty Products to Make Today

Check out this guide to natural and non-toxic beauty products, for some great ideas. To make things as accessible as possible, the full-text instructions can be found under this infographic, so keep scrolling for those:

Source: Health Perch

Use the quick links to jump to each recipe or keep scrolling for the full post:

Acne Treatment

To make you own natural acne treatment, you need coconut oil, tea tree oil and some lip balm tubes. Here are the full steps:

• Melt 1/8 cup of coconut oil
• Add in 1 – 5 drops of tea tree oil
• Mix to blend
• Use an eyedropper to fill into lip balm tubes
• Store tubes in the fridge

Deodorant

To make homemade deodorant without any harsh chemicals, you need coconut oil, baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda), arrowroot powder, bentonite clay, and essential oils. Here are the full steps:

• Add 5 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 6 tablespoons of arrowroot powder, 2 tablespoons of bentonite clay, and 5 to 10 drops of your favourite essential oils. I personally would avoid citrus-based essential oils if you have sensitive skin.
• Mix all the ingredients together and store in a small jar.

Some people may find their skin can be sensitive to the baking soda/bicarbonate of soda, so if you develop a red rash after use it’s probably because of this ingredient. If this occurs you could try remaking the recipe, using less baking soda to see if your skin can tolerate it at a lower concentrations.

Eyeliner

To make your own eyeliner you need coconut oil, aloe vera gel and activated charcoal or cocoa powder. Here are the full steps:

• Mix 2 teaspoons of coconut oil, 4 teaspoons of aloe vera gel, and 1 – 2 capsules of activated charcoal for black eyeliner or cocoa powder for brown eyeliner.
• Store this homemade beauty product in an airtight container.
• Apply with an eyeliner brush to get a precision finish.

Hair Mask

If you want to make your own nourishing hair mask, you need coconut oil, olive oil, honey and an egg. Here are the full steps and usage instructions:

• In a bowl, mix 1 – 2 teaspoons of coconut oil, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of honey, and one large egg.
• Massage the mixture into dry hair.
• Let it sit for 10 – 15 minutes.
• Wash out the hair mask with shampoo and conditioner.

Hand Scrub

If you want to make a non-toxic and plastic-free hand scrub, all you need is coconut oil, honey, salt, sugar and lemon juice.

• Mix together 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of honey in a bowl.
• In another bowl, blend 1/4 cup of sea salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, until crumbly
• Pour the salt mixture over the honey mixture, and stir to smooth.
• Store in a glass container.

Lip Balm

Want to avoid all the plastic pots and tubes, and make your own balm? All you need is some coconut oil, beeswax and olive oil:

• To make this homemade beauty product, heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of beeswax, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a double boiler, or a glass bowl over a hot pot of water on low heat until melted.
• Pour into storage containers.
• Let cool before using.

Shaving Cream

Shaving cream is another product that can be made at home from natural ingredients. You need coconut oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil, and essential oils:

• Combine 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, 4 tablespoons of shea butter, and 2 tablespoons of sweet almond oil in a double boiler, or a glass bowl over a hot pot of water on low heat until melted.
• Add 10 – 12 drops of your favourite essential oils (avoid citrus if you have sensitive skin), and stir to combine.
• Transfer the bowl to the fridge, and let the mix harden.
• Once hardened, remove the bowl from the fridge, and whip with a mixer until it takes on the consistency of frosting/icing.
• Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Sunscreen

Personally I would rather buy eco-friendly sunscreen than attempt to make my own – keeping your skin safe from the sun’s rays is incredibly important, and I don’t like to take any risks with it. However, if you want to try making your own, then Health Perch says you need coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, zinc oxide, vitamin E oil, and some essential oils. Here are the full steps:

• Heat 1/2 cup of coconut oil, 1/2 cup of shea butter and 5 tablespoons of beeswax in a double boiler, or a glass bowl over a hot pot of water on low heat until melted.
• Remove from the heat, and add in 2 tablespoons of zinc oxide, 1/2 teaspoon of vitamin E oil and 3/4 of a teaspoon of essential oils (avoiding citrus-based oils).
• Pour into a silicone mould.
• Allow to cool for 30 minutes in the fridge.
• Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Toothpaste

Again, toothpaste is another product that I don’t like to DIY. The health of my teeth and gums isn’t something I like to experiment with, and there are a host of sustainable toothpaste brands out there to choose from. However, if you want to try the DIY route Health Perch says you need coconut oil, baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), mint essential oil and sea salt. Here’s the full DIY:

• Mix 2 tablespoons of warm coconut oil, 6 tablespoons of baking soda, 10 drops of mint essential oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt. Keep mixing until the mixture resembles a creamy paste.
• Store in a glass jar.

Body Butter

Finally, you can make your own non-toxic body butter using coconut oil, vitamin E oil and essential oil. Here’s how to do it:

• Place 1 cup of coconut oil, 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil, and a few drops of your favourite essential oil, in a mixing bowl.
• Mix on high speed with a wire whisk for 6 – 7 minutes.
• Store in a sealed glass jar at room temperature.

A Note on Shelf Life

As you are making homemade beauty products with natural ingredients, you may wonder what the shelf life of your concoctions may be. My top tip is to look at the expiry dates of the products you are using. The shelf life will be when the ingredient with the shortest expiry date is up.

More Sustainable Beauty Inspiration

Are you planning on making any of these products? If so then let me know how you get on in the comments below – I’d love to know!

And if you liked this you might also like this post on homemade hair mask recipes. If you’re into crochet you can even make your own reusable makeup remover pads!

If you’d rather buy than DIY, then that’s also ok. Check out my guide to budget-friendly sustainable beauty products and my guide to eco-friendly travel toiletries for my top tips.

Save this post on Pinterest for later: