My Home-made Toiletries

These are some of the concoctions that I have tried and worked for me.   They are usually things that I  already have around the house, or they are pretty cheap to purchase.

Castor oil for blackheads ($5)

I first read this on J$ blog, and thought to myself, this guy must be nuts! 😛

Turns out it worked out great for me.

I just apply the castor oil with a Q-tip to the areas on my face with blackheads.  Wait about 10 minutes, and then I lightly rub the areas.  I can feel the blackheads between my fingers!  Then, I wash my face with my cleanser and I’m done.

I can’t believe I wasted all those years (and money) on Biore strips and squeezing them.

Sour cream and honey mask ($2)

I was told by my esthetician that lactic acid was very good for my face.  Unfortunately, I did not want to spend $50+tax on the lactic acid at the spa.

So, I turned to my friend Mr. Google, and found that sour cream has a very high lactic acid content and mixed with honey is a great mask.  I have done this about 4 times so far.

I prefer to use sour cream over yogurt since it’s a little thicker and doesn’t slide off as easily.  I’m sure either is fine. It smells funny and it can be a bit messy, but my skin looks great afterwards.

I do this about twice a week. LOVE. IT.

Vaseline as lip balm and eye cream ($4)

I know that some of you will balk at me for using Vaseline on my eyes.  It’s a great eye make-up remover and I put on a bit afterwards for moisturizing.  I haven’t gotten any clogged pores or anything, and my skin is pretty oily.

I always go back to Vaseline despite all the different lip balms and glosses out there.

Baking soda to remove oil build up ($1)

The oil in my hair can build up after a few washes and days without shampooing.  The easiest way for me to remove the build up is to mix about a teaspoon of baking soda with a bit of water, and massage that into my hair after I shampoo (before rinsing).  I let that sit in my hair for a few minutes and then rinse out.

The build up is removed every time and my hair is soft and fluffy.   I do this about once every other week.

Baby oil and baby shampoo make-up remover ($9?)

I was tired of paying through the nose for make-up remover and couldn’t find one that I really liked.  Many of the make-up removers I’ve tried were super oily (Neutrogena eye make-up remover) and I wanted something that was more gentle.  I don’t wear a lot of make-up, but have since learned that I need to remove it all every night with a “proper” make-up remover and not just use my cleanser.

So I did some research and found some home-made recipes.  I use 1 squirt of baby oil, 2 squirts of baby shampoo and fill a 100mL container with water.  Shake, and voila!  If you use more make-up, try adjusting the quantities to find something that suits you.

A bottle of 100mL usually lasts me a month or 2.  So the bottle of baby oil and shampoo should last a very long time!

Normal shampoo to wash brushes ($2)

I used to buy normal shampoo on sale and I didn’t want to throw them out even though I didn’t use them to wash my hair anymore.  Now, I use it to wash my boar bristled brush and make-up brushes. Easy peasy 🙂 I have no idea what they have in those over priced “brush shampoo”.

So those are my cheap hacks that I use at home.  Feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt.  My skin is very oily and I have struggled with it for most of my life.  I am finally trying to embrace it and work with it, instead of against it.

What are some of your home-made concoctions?

Cheers,