Homemade Eye Makeup Remover

I have been working on wiping out chemicals from our daily usage since becoming a stay-at-home mom almost four years ago. Household cleaners were easy enough to take care of so they were some of the first that I started making myself. (For my all-purpose green cleaner recipe, look here.) But, beauty items are trickier, it seems. There is a lot more trial and error involved because everyone has different skin types and preferences from these types of products. So, I am now sharing my second post in a series of ways that I like to pamper myself. I think all moms can use some pampering right about now.

Why make my own eye makeup remover? I became fed up with the ingredients store-bought eye makeup removers several months back. I am done with parabens, and it is disturbing to see how many household products (including tons of things that people apply to their bodies!) in which they can be found. (There is a story here, that I have not shared on the blog, because truthfully, I have shared it with only a few people who are close to me. The short version is that last July I had a breast cancer scare, and thankfully, the lump that I found is harmless -- NOT cancer, praise God!)

Honestly, it is hard to weed through all of the ingredients in various cosmetics, so I am very slowly changing things. If you read my post about how I clean my makeup brushes, you can probably deduce that I am not about to give up makeup! However, I do want to use things that I feel are safe. Eye makeup remover seemed like it would be fairly easy to make at home, and I was sure that there were safe recipes to be found. I discovered this blogger who saved me a lot of trouble by testing out several recipes herself. For obvious reasons, I wasn't interested in trying anything that she said burned her eyes! I decided to try out her personal favorite, and that is what I have been using since (except for times when I clean my face with the Oil Cleansing Method, which I will explain in a later post on homemade facial cleansers). It is as easy as I had hoped to make my own eye makeup, and more importantly, it is something I feel completely safe applying to my face. The fact that it works, is all the more reason to make your own eye makeup remover at home.

{Just 3 ingredients are needed for this DIY eye makeup remover.}

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs witch hazel (Y.ou can find this in the first aid section of the grocery store)
• 2 Tbs oil (I use extra virgin olive oil but you could also try jojoba oil or almond oil.)
• 2 Tbs filtered water (I use water from my Brita pitcher.)

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to your container. Tip: A funnel is helpful for this. I have been using the same container that formally held my store-bought eye makeup remover (I think the brand was Boots), which I washed out. It is far, far too large for the amount of eye makeup remover that this recipe yields, but that doesn't matter to me.
2. While bottle is capped, shake well before using.
3. Apply a small amount -- really, you don't need much -- to a cotton ball and gently sweep over eyes. Sometimes, I even tear the cotton balls in half and just use one half to avoid waste. Note: You can also use this to remove makeup anywhere on your face, which I have done before going to work out.
4. This will safely keep for a few weeks, but since you are only making a small batch, you should be able to use it all within a reasonable time frame.