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Your Complete Guide to Homemade Beauty Products

Your Complete Guide to Homemade Beauty Products

Homemade is healthier! (It's more sustainable, too.) Make 6 DIY personal care products at home, including lip balm, deodorant, non-petroleum jelly, hand and body lotion, shampoo + conditioner.


 

We don’t need half the name brand products the beauty industry tells us we need.

We don’t need their plastic packaging, toxic ingredients and hefty price tags, either.

It’s easy to replace name-brand beauty products with DIY, homemade beauty products that are all-natural and simple. This article contains everything you need to make Lip Balm, Deodorant, Non-Petroleum Jelly, Hand + Body Lotion and Anti-Shampoo and Conditioner at home.

 


Why DIY? 

When it comes to sustainability, frugality + holistic health, making beauty products at home is the only choice.

It’s quick + easy, too.

 


Benefit #1: Sustainability

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The plastic bottles we rely on to transport shampoos and lotions from store to home will still be on this earth long after you’re gone, because plastic lasts for 450 years.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “So what? I’m an eco-friendly consumer because I recycle.”

Remember that recycling is just a bandaid to the much larger problem of overconsumption. On average, plastic can only be recycled 8 times before it goes to – you guessed it! – the landfill.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: When you make your own beauty products, you have ultimate control over the amount of plastic that enters – and exits! – your home.

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Benefit #2: Frugality

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Use the prices I give in the shopping list below and you can make all 6 homemade beauty products items for under $20.

That’s 1/3 of the price of what I spend on comparative, name-brand items per month.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Making products at home saves serious cash.

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Benefit #3: Holistic Health

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Have your read the labels on store-bought personal care products lately?

– BHA and BHT are chemicals linked to cancer and are banned in Europe.

– Triclosan (used in antibacterial soaps) is a suspected endocrine disruptor.

– Antiperspirants in deodorant and breast cancer may share a causal relationship.

– Aluminum (also in deodorant) may be linked to Alzheimer’s Disease.

– Chemical exposure may cause allergies, skin problems, digestive problems, headaches, fatigue and joint pain.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: There are lots of icky chemicals in commercial products. Best to leave them on the shelf.

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Homemade beauty products are smart.

Ready to make your own Lip Balm, Deodorant, Hand + Body lotion, Non-Petroleum Jelly and Anti-Shampoo and Anti-Conditioner?

 

Grab your copy of the shopping list  (it contains clickable links so you purchase ingredients in just the right quantities!).

 


Containers:

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Store your homemade beauty products smart by repurposing containers you already have. Here are some helpful tips:

– Wash out individual eye shadow containers and use them to store Lip Balm.

– Reuse your current plastic push-up deodorant bottle by placing your homemade Deodorant within once hardened.

– Search your kitchen for glass jars, then use them to hold Non-Petroleum Jelly.

– Reuse your current conditioner bottle and use it to hold Anti-Conditioner.

–  Because they’re small enough for easy transport in a pocketbook and don’t take up much room under bathroom sinks, store Hand + Body Lotion in baby food jars.

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Snag your free printable here:

 

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Denim jeans were once the preferred trouser for cowboys in the American west; some decades later, they became a symbol of rebellion for non-conformist teens. These days jeans are all about comfort and casual style, and the average American woman owns 7 pairs. And yet blue jeans also happen to have one of fashion's biggest environmental footprints. On today's show Sarene Alsharif reveals the harsh realities associated with jeans production; she also shares practical strategies for transforming this wardrobe staple into a sustainable solution.   Here's a preview: [7:00]  Stone-washed with actual stones? Dyed with carcinogenic dyes? Uncovering your favorite pair's dirty little enviro-secrets  [13:00] Want some stretch? Revisiting our desire for synthetic fibers in our denim  [23:00] The trend cycle = smoke and mirrors [27:00] It's a marriage not a fling (and other tried-and-true sustainable fashion tips) [31:00] Stephanie's nihilist thoughts: What happens when collective action matters, and yet the collective isn't doing its part?   Resources mentioned: How To Save The World With A Pair Of Jeans (via YouTube) Tad More Tailoring Atomic Habits (by James Clear) The Comfort Crisis Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self (February's Book Club pick!)   This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! **If you're a financial supporter over on Apple Podcasts and want to join Book Club, please email me and let me know! For privacy reasons, Apple won't share your contact info with me. Just email me and I'll happily add you!** Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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