3-Ingredient Homemade Shaving Cream: Update

I posted this recipe over a year ago, and decided to do an updated post now. I am still making my own shaving cream and loving it! I have made a couple of minor changes that I thought were worth noting for the past couple of batches, though. I think my first changes came in March, and I just made another batch this week using these methods.

#1 I decided to experiment with almond oil in place of extra virgin olive oil. I wasn't sure if this would make a difference. The olive oil is probably cheaper, but I figured it was worth trying since I had it on hand anyway for my homemade face moisturizing oil. This changes the color slightly, but at first glance, it is pretty much the same. For a trial, I shaved one leg with the new batch of homemade stuff and the other with my old can of Skintimate. For me, there was a clear winner in the smoothness department, but just to be fair, I asked my hubby to do a "blind test" asking him to feel them and tell them if he noticed a difference -- without telling him why. Not surprisingly, he decided that the leg shaved with my homemade version was softer and smoother. Yeah!

#2 Shea butter. So, when I went to order more on Amazon, I actually ended up getting African shea butter for whatever reason. I must not have paid attention very closely. Is there a difference in how they work? Not that I can tell. There is a difference in color (more yellow) and smell. The African one seems a bit more chocolate-y to me, and trust me, that is not a bad thing at all. Hence, my newer batches are more yellow and smell different than my previous batches, but otherwise they have had the same skin conditioning qualities.

#3 My old hand mixer bit the dust last June, which you may have recalled if you happened to read this post about how in love I was with my new stand mixer. So, the old hand mixer worked pretty well for whipping up shaving cream, but it was messy and my hands did get tired doing it. Since it is no longer in the picture, I put my shaving cream block (more on that in directions below) in the stand mixer bowl, and whipped it up with the wire whisk attachment. Strangely, this takes about twice the amount of time than doing it by hand (6-7 minutes versus 3) BUT it's hands-free and definitely less messy. The only suggestion I have is to stop it a couple of times and stir the mixture by hand to get the solid chunks down from the sides of the bowl and back into optimal position for proper mixing. Easy.

{Here's a new batch after it "settled."}

Why homemade shaving cream? I wanted to eliminate chemicals! I like knowing what I am putting on my body. Also, my last batch lasted just over 4 months -- take that store-bought shaving cream! (There is no way a can of that stuff would have made it that long.) Here is how to make your own natural shaving cream. (Organic ingredients are always a plus, but I wouldn't say they are a must.)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup shea butter (mine is African)
• 1/4 cup almond oil (or extra virgin olive oil, if you don't happen to have almond oil)

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan over low heat, melt the shea butter and coconut oil. (This takes between 5 and ten minutes -- a bit longer with African shea butter than with plain shea butter, which I don't remember as being as dense.)
2. Pour the melted contents of the pan into a container. (I use a plastic bowl.) Add your almond oil (or olive oil) and stir to combine.
3. Allow the mixture to solidify in the refrigerator. (I still can't tell you how long this takes. More than an hour, but it will certainly be ready if you let it set over night, which is what I tend to do since I seem to always be making a new batch after the kids are in bed.)
4. Remove the block from the bowl (or other container) and place it in your mixing bowl. (Mine have always slid out easily once I tipped the bowl over, so this shouldn't be hard for you either.)
5. Whip the shaving cream. This used to take about 3 minutes with my hand mixer. Now, it takes a bit longer with the stand mixer (as mentioned above).
6. Store your shaving cream in air-tight containers. Labeling them is suggested. I like to just use masking tape and permanent marker to write the contents and date made.
7. To shave, I use my fingers to remove a dollop of shaving cream and spread it on my skin. It liquefies once you rub it in, and I love this. It never runs down my legs and gets wasted like commercial shaving creams or gels have a tendency to do. Also, the moisture gets locked into the skin. I know this because I see the water bead up where I have applied my shaving cream -- so it does two jobs in one. It works in all the usual places: underarms, legs, bikini area, and although I have not personally tried it, a man could also shave his face with this stuff. Note: Use caution if you like to shave in the shower since it may make the shower floor a teensy bit slippery at times.

Homemade Powder Foundation

Coming up with a homemade powder foundation has been a bit trickier than some of the other homemade makeups that I have tried so far. I found a few suggestions on how to get started (here and here). There was a third idea that I wondered about but it called for a type of clay, which isn't something I had at hand... so I experimented with stuff from my kitchen. (I always suggest using what you have, right?)

I have to say that while food-grade items are safer than a lot of chemicals in store-bought makeup, applying them to one's face requires caution! Obviously, don't use anything you know you are allergic to or don't tolerate well. (One of the above bloggers suggested nutmeg as a potential face powder ingredient, but after having it cause instant itchiness when making eye shadow, I decided against trying that one again.)

The next thing that is difficult about making your own powder foundation is getting the right color. It's not like making blush when one easy to create color will suit most any skin tone. My first attempt was something I came up with all on my own: arrowroot and turmeric (which I was surprised to find in an organic line at Walmart, oddly enough). I had seen this as an ingredient when researching how to make eye shadow, and I thought that if mixed with arrowroot, it would make a nice pale peach powder. Since I am extremely fair-skinned, I thought this would be more subtle than, say, cocoa powder. When mixed up and applied to the inside of my wrist it was a near-perfect match to my skin tone. Now for the real test.

It looked good on my face at first but then the powders seemed to separate and I was embarrassed to catch my reflection one day (after wearing this in public for a few days in a row! Why couldn't I have noticed that sooner?!). Unless the Oompa Loompa look is in this season I had really missed the boat! Needless to say, there is a reason none of the other bloggers out there are recommending the use of turmeric in a homemade foundation.

{Homemade Powder Foundation Experiments}

Fortunately, my second attempt was much better. Cinnamon and cocoa powder were suggested by both of the blog posts I had read, so it made since to try them out. I was a bit nervous about using cinnamon on my skin, fearing an itchy reaction, but luckily that did not happen. This powder looks a lot darker and I was worried that it would look like I was trying to fake a tan, but it actually went on quite natural. It wore well, keeping shine at bay. (I am thinking the arrowroot powder is to thank for that.) It's not as great at concealing blemishes as my store-bought stuff, but overall, this worked for a powder foundation. The best part was that it smelled incredibly delicious and I half expected people to ask me where I bought my Christmas cookie perfume. (I used 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder + 1/8 teaspoon cocoa powder + 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Proportions can be adjusted as needed, and I suggest starting with small amounts and adding more as desired.)

Even thought that second formulation worked well, I wanted to try yet another concoction. This time, I added ginger to see if the yellow tint would tone down the overly dark cocoa powder to create a more suitable shade of powder foundation. Again, I was slightly apprehensive about whether or not there would be an itch factor, and I was relived that this was not an issue. My main complaint about the ginger, though, is that it tends to tickle my nose when inhaled, making me sneeze. (Kind of like my second blush experiment -- I ultimately nixed that version, in part because of this.) This third mixture is what I have been wearing most recently, but I am thinking that I will go back to the cocoa powder and cinnamon mixture. I am not sure that the ginger is really working for me, but I will say that this works well as a translucent powder, similar to the second variation. (I used 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Proportions can be adjusted as needed, and I suggest starting with small amounts and adding more as desired.)

In case you're wondering, I have been wearing food on my face for the past two and half weeks and nobody has noticed -- or if they have, they have been kind enough not to mention it. (I'm especially thinking of when I realized my face was splotchy orange while out to brunch with a bunch of people from church!) I'm not sure that I have found the perfect recipe yet, but I do seem to be on the right track. If you want to save some money and know exactly what is contained in your foundation, it is possible to make your own at home. Finding the perfect match for your skin tone and type, well, that's a whole other issue!

{Modeling my 3rd Foundation Attempt}

What do you think? This was a picture that I took of myself yesterday, which just happened to be my birthday. Brett informed everyone at church that I was turning "29 again." Here I am wearing a full face of homemade makeup: cocoa powder eye shadow, activated charcoal eye liner, beet root blush, beet root lip gloss, and my latest attempt at homemade mascara (more on that soon). Maybe I am delusional, but I really do think that I could pass for 29!

Homemade Eyeliner (So Easy!)

Okay, this is seriously the easiest homemade makeup you will ever see directions for. One all-natural ingredient and just two simple steps. I don't see a reason why anybody could not make this themselves at home! Save yourself some money and know exactly what is in your eyeliner -- win-win. (I found the idea for making my own eyeliner here.)

First, go get yourself a bottle of activated charcoal capsules. You can find them at vitamin stores, health food stores (where I found mine), or online. These are NOT the same as charcoal from your grill. Activated charcoal is meant to be taken internally for gastrointestinal issues (food poisoning, for example) so it's considered completely safe for cosmetic purposes.

My bottle contained 90 gelatin capsules and it cost $10.59. This won't expire until September of 2017, so I am set for eye makeup for 3+ years. (I'm currently working on a homemade mascara, which also calls for activated charcoal. I am wearing it in the picture below, but for today, I just want you to focus on the eyeliner.) Considering how much I was spending before to get bareMinerals makeup -- which still contained things I could not pronounce (even though it was decidedly safer than the cheap drugstore makeup I had previously purchased) -- this is a steal!

{Wet Application, Dry Application}

How to Make Your Own Eyeliner (So Easy!):

1. Grab a small container with a lid. (Mine is plastic and came in a 10-pack at Dollar Tree. A small glass jar would be ideal, but I didn't have one on hand.) Open an activated charcoal capsule and dump the contents into the container. (Your hands will get a little messy, but it washes away easily.)
2. Apply your eyeliner with a small brush. (I suggest getting an eyeliner brush for this. Mine is from Ulta.) For a simple day-time look, I just dip my brush into the charcoal and apply it dry. For a more dramatic night-time look (or if you just like a more intense eyeliner for day-time), first wet your brush slightly, then dip it into the charcoal and line your eyes. Use small motions and add more as needed for best results. This stays put well and washes away easily at the end of the day (I use the oil cleanse method for face washing and eye makeup removal.)

{I capsule = about 1/4 teaspoon}

A Few Notes:

• Please note that my eyeliner is is not "perfect." It does leave a small amount of dust beneath my eyes by the end of the day. However, to be fair, the way more expensive eye makeup that I was purchasing did the same thing!
• To me, this is still tops because it is safe, easy to apply, and very affordable!
• In my self-portrait, I model both application methods. On the left, is the more dramatic wet-application, and on the right is the softer dry application. I have not tried it, but I think you could use the dry application over your entire lid for a very-wearable neutral gray eye shadow.
• Also, in the photo, I am modeling my homemade beet root eye shadow, which I love!
• I should probably mention that I lined my top lids only, which is my personal preference. That's the way I have done it for years. You can line both the top and bottom if you like that look better.
• I "made" this eyeliner 3 weeks ago, and I'm estimating that the one capsule will last me about another 3 weeks with almost daily usage. This is perfect, I think. Not so long that I have to worry about bacteria growth, but still not so short that I am forever having to "make" more eyeliner.

Some More of My Favorite Homemade Makeup Recipes:

• Eye Shadow
• Blush
• Tinted Lip Gloss

Mascara and face powder recipes are in the works, so I'll let you know when they are share-worthy!

Homemade Eye Shadow Experiment

These are my first experiments with homemade eye shadows (and probably not my last because they are not quite right). I started with the basic idea and recipes found on Love Your Body, and then tweaked them to suit my preferences. This meant using less of the stuff that made the most color -- beet root powder and cocoa powder. I'm not even going to note the proportions that I used for a second experimental shade of brown, which called for nutmeg. I will just say that nutmeg felt tingly on my eyelids I quickly removed it with my homemade eye makeup remover before it had a chance to cause any real issues! (After that, I decided it was not worth it to experiment with the other recipe that called for allspice. That one made me nervous.)

{Beet Root, Failed Nutmeg, Cocoa Powder}

Pinkish-Mauve
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1/4 teaspoon beet root powder
1/8 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon shea butter

Brown
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon shea butter

Directions: 

1. Combine arrowroot powder in a small bowl with your desired pigmented ingredients. (I used cocoa powder, beet root powder, and the not-as-good nutmeg.) A spoon is all you need to mix them well. Tip: You can increase the amount of arrowroot powder for lighter shades and add more of the other ingredients for more vibrant and darker colors.
2. Add some shea butter to the mixture and use the spoon to cream it into the powder until thoroughly combined. (Note: I am slightly skeptical about whether or not this actually helps. The author of Love Your Body says that this will help it stay in place on eyelids. I found it to be kind of clumpy and the application was not as smooth as I had hoped for.)
3. Store your eye shadow in an airtight container, or multiple containers if you are making more than one color. 
4. Application: I am still trying to figure out the best way to do this. A wet brush produced too bright of colors on my eyelids. Using a regular sponge tip eye shadow applicator did not work with the texture of this eye shadow. It just fell off. The best luck I had was with an eye shadow brush and many sweeping motions. However, I still had eye shadow that seemed gritty and I had to take a damp cloth and wipe my face beneath my eyes, not something I normally do with commercial eye shadow application. Once on, though, the colors were nice and natural, so this gives me hope that further experiments will yield more desirable results with homemade eye shadows.

{Modeling my all-natural homemade eye shadow.}

3-Ingredient Homemade Sugar Scrub

This week is making me a teensy bit stressed out and it's only half over. Mia has a new pet, Bluey, that we brought home on Monday. Remember what it was like to have a newborn baby? How you constantly kept checking to make sure the baby was still breathing? Well, I have a newborn now, too, except my "baby" is a betta fish and at least a dozen times in the past couple days I have checked to make sure that he was still kicking -- I mean, swimming!

Then there was yesterday, when Logan announced, "I pooped my pants!" (Darn! He was doing so much better lately, too.) Of course, this was right as we were about to head down to the bus stop. And, of course, the bus was running early for like the second time all year. Yes, that wild woman running down the street holding a little boy upright, neither of them in hats or coats despite the never-ending winter weather... That was me.

Fortunately, I was able to take a nice relaxing bath after the kids were in bed. I soaked in some homemade lavender bath salts and then I pampered myself some more with this skin-softening sugar scrub that I made a few days ago. After that, I nearly felt like a new woman. Having smooth and soft knees, elbows, and heels feels really great, and I can't help but hope that the weather will turn soon and I will get to show them off a bit more!

When my friend Jaci shared this recipe for homemade sugar scrub that she had guest posted on The Blessed Nest, I knew I would have to give it a try! (Thank heavens I did. It's just one of those simple but wonderful indulgences that keep this mama from losing her mind.) This is super quick (think under 5 minutes!) and easy to pull together -- with ingredients in your kitchen!

The only item you may not already have is the essential oils. For this batch, I used orange essential oil purchased from a nearby health food store. You can also buy essential oils online. Here's how to make your own little bit of heaven in a jar.

{Pretty Bow + Label = Easy Gift Idea!}

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons oil (I used EVOO.)
• 35-40 drops essential oil (I used orange.)

Directions:

1. In a good-size bowl, combine sugar and oil. (I like extra virgin olive oil.) Stir until well-blended.

2. Add essential oil of your choice, and stir some more. I used 40 drops of orange essential oil, and I found this to be nice for several reasons. First, it is one I already had. (Others were tea tree, lemongrass, lavender, and peppermint, and orange just seemed to fit with this homemade beauty item.) Orange essential oil is relatively inexpensive. It smells lovely, and I think most people will enjoy the refreshing citrus scent. As a added bonus, it goes well with the color achieved from this particular brand of olive oil I used. (The color of your sugar scrub may vary according to your ingredients.)

{Freshly Mixed Sugar Scrub.}

3. Store in air-tight containers. This makes enough to fill about 4 half-pint mason jars, perfect for gifts! I just added a ribbon and a simple hand-made label to the top of the jar.

4. To use sugar scrub, rub into skin and then rinse off. If using it on your hands, you may want to do it over the sink. For other parts of the body, apply in the bath or shower. 

Note: I've noticed that the oil starts to seep to the top of the container after a few days, so you may need to mix it up before each use. This is easy and quick to do with your hands -- although a spoon would probably be better to help prevent any contamination.

Homemade Blush Trial #2

A couple weeks ago, I experimented with making my first homemade blush with beet root powder, which had a good outcome. It ran out quicker than expected in part because I gave some away. (Really, I don't mind that because it's always nice when somebody in interested in my kitchen science experiments.) The bigger issue was that I did not it in an air-tight container, as I am always recommending. In fact, I didn't even put a lid on it so there was spillage and moisture invasion.

Okay, those of you who are gasping in shock can kindly close your mouths now. Haven't you ever told your kids -- or anybody else -- to "do as I say and not as I do?" Glass houses, people.

There, I 'fessed up and you know the real reason why I needed to mix up another batch of blush. In the interest of science, I felt it was important to try at least one more version before making up my mind on the recipe. Since I had tried both the beet root powder and the hibiscus powder for my tinted lip balm experiments, I decided it would be simple enough to make the blush again and substitute hibiscus for the beet root. I kept the proportions the same to get a fair idea of how the two stacked up against each other.

{2-Ingredient Homemade Natural Blush}

Ingredients:

• arrowroot powder (mine is organic)
• hibiscus powder (mine is organic)

Directions:

1. Using a spoon, combine arrowroot powder and hibiscus powder in a small bowl or container. I used 1 teaspoon of hibiscus powder and 1/2 teaspoon of arrowroot powder. You can adjust the proportions to suit your personal preferences. I stored my blush in a container with a lid this time (although I am not certain that my old Altoids tin is actually air-tight enough to prevent moisture from seeping in.)
2. Apply with a makeup brush as you would any loose powder makeup. (Dip brush into the powder, tap off the excess, and gently brush onto the apples of the cheeks, spreading upward along the cheekbone to blend.)

The Results:

The color of the hibiscus is similar to the beet root, but I think the beet root recipe went on smoother and blended better than this second attempt. Also, whenever I have applied the hibiscus version, it seems to fly off the makeup brush and I get it into my nose, which is not something I enjoy. Overall, I preferred my first experiment to this one. (I wouldn't call this a failure, though, since it did produce a usable all-natural blush.) I don't know if it is a coincidence that I liked beet root over hibiscus for both homemade blush and homemade tinted lip gloss, but I am not quite ready to write it off entirely. I plan to make some homemade powder eye shadows in the future and it could still prove to be the perfect ingredient.

2- Ingredient Homemade Blush

I don't remember how I came across this recipe for a natural blush, but I was so excited when my arrowroot powder arrived today and I finally got to try it out! I had used beet root powder to make this tinted lip gloss a few days ago and then decided to experiment with the beet root powder as a blush, applied straight up. The color was pretty good, (although it appeared too harsh at first, before blending).

The main problem with pure beet root powder was that it didn't seem to have staying power. Without giving it too much of a test run here, I am feeling pretty optimistic that the arrowroot powder is going to do the trick to make this a longer lasting blush. As a bonus, the color is more subdued. It's quite lovely, really -- the perfect natural flush, made with totally safe, natural ingredients.

{All natural and just 2 ingredients!}

Ingredients:

• beet root powder (organic)
• arrowroot powder (organic)

Directions:

1. Using a spoon, combine arrowroot powder and beet root powder in a small bowl or container. I used 1 teaspoon of beet root powder and 1/2 teaspoon of arrowroot powder, following A Blossoming Life's 2:1 ratio and simply making a smaller batch. I was quite happy with the color, but you can adjust the proportions according to your personal preferences.
2. Apply with a makeup brush as you would any loose powder makeup. (Dip brush into the powder, tap off the excess, and gently brush onto the apples of the cheeks, spreading upward along the cheekbone to blend.)

{Glowing, if I do say so myself. Thank you beet root powder.}

Stay tuned... In all fairness, I feel compelled to test this out with the hibiscus powder. In the meantime, I am enjoying the glowing results of my oh-so-minimal efforts! This is truly one of the simplest DIY projects I have ever tried, and it was so, so worth it.

Homemade Tinted Lip Balm Experiment #3

When I posted about my first attempt at making a tinted lip balm, I had one anonymous person suggest using hibiscus. It's been a long, hard winter and I am wanting something different. (Warm sunny weather would be nice, but since that seems far off yet, I will settle for just about anything that is different!) I decided that it would be fun to give the homemade cosmetics another go. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, the beet root powder arrived first, so I tried that and was pretty pleased with the results. Now that the hibiscus powder has come, I had to see how it compared.

{Side by Side Comparison}

Ingredients:

• Non-petroleum jelly (directions can be found here)
• hibiscus powder (mine is organic)

Directions:

1. Place some non-petroleum jelly into a small container. I started with a tiny amount (1/4 teaspoon) and eventually realized that I needed at least 1 teaspoon for it to mix decently.
2. Add some hibiscus powder and stir with a spoon until the powder is combined. I started with 1/8 teaspoon and kept adding a 1/8 teaspoon more until I found the amount I was happy with -- 3/8 teaspoon. (This makes for a very fair comparison because these are the exact same amounts that I used to make the last trial with beet root powder.)
3. Apply tinted lip balm with a lipstick brush or a Q-tip. (These one seems to stain skin a bit more than the beet root powder version, so I don't suggest applying with a finger.)

Results:

Does it work? Yes, for sure. Will I use it? I'm not sure exactly. The two blends look nearly identical when placed side by side, but there are some differences when they're actually put to the test.

Pros: The hibiscus goes on lips with a more vibrant lip color. (You can see this in the photo where I blotted my lips.) Obviously, this is a major perk since this is what I was after in the first place.

Cons: 

• The hibiscus seems to leave more grittiness which ended up on my lips and then on my teeth. (Hence I did not show you a disembodied lip pic this time. Once I zoomed in on my lips, I saw how much gunk was on my teeth. Not exactly the polished look I was going for.) 
• Also, it seems to have more of a taste than the beet root powder -- It is not all that yummy tasting, I am sorry to say. (And I'm not really a fan of beets, so you might expect the roles to be reversed here.)
• As mentioned above, it also seems to stain skin more than the beet root formula, which could be a problem...

I will probably keep testing them both out alternately and see if I come up with a clear winner, but at the moment I am leaning toward beet root powder over this version with hibiscus powder.

Homemade Tinted Lip Balm Experiment #2

Remember a while back when I tried to make my own tinted lip gloss and failed spectacularly? Well, this time around I am definitely on the right track! I had ordered both beet root powder and hibiscus powder, intending to use only the hibiscus for this, but it's on back order. So, I went ahead and experimented with the beet root powder (which I bought to make my own natural blush, but the other ingredient I need for that is also on back order).

Overall, I am pleased with the outcome. The color is both pretty and natural looking, things that are I consider a must for a lip product at the moment. Also, it has great shine and it conditions my lips nicely. The biggest advantage of this recipe over my previous attempt is that it doesn't taste horribly sour! In fact, it doesn't have a taste at all. Of course, I also love that I don't have to wonder about what is contained in my lip color. My only complaints are that it wears off easily (the color mainly -- the lip balm itself has more staying power), and it's not exactly the most portable of lip balms considering that the base is my homemade non-petroleum jelly.

{Please excuse the weird disembodied lips pic - wanted to show how it looks on!}

Ingredients:

• Homemade non-petroleum jelly (made from beeswax and extra virgin olive oil)
• Beet root powder (mine is organic)

Directions:

1. Place some non-petroleum jelly into a small container. I used one teaspoon and put it in a small Tupperware type container that has a lid.
2. Add some beet root powder and mix with a spoon until all of the powder is dissolved. I started with 1/8 teaspoon and gradually added more until I found a color I was happy with. This was made using 3/8 teaspoon of beet root powder. You can adjust your ratios according to your personal preference.
3. Apply tinted lip balm using a lipstick brush, a Q-tip, or a finger. (Note: I'm not sure if that last option will stain your finger or not.) Enjoy!

Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts

A while back we made bath salts at a MOPS meeting, which I thought were great! After getting the link to where the idea originated, I decided to make more of my own, some of which we are giving as gifts. I'm very happy with how this year's teacher gifts turned out. They look pretty, they smell wonderful, and most importantly, they have been test-driven and given two thumbs up by this mama.

To get started, I chose three different scents: peppermint, orange, and lavender, and I found the essential oils at a nearby health foods store. Why did I choose peppermint oil for the gifts? Well, it is currently vying as my favorite fragrance of the three types of bath salts that I made. Orange is on top at the moment, but peppermint seemed like the obvious choice for Christmas. Plus, it has lots of health benefits like alleviating muscle soreness as well as stress, improving circulation, helping ease congestion, and promoting energy and alertness. These are all the curative properties that I will personally attest to. Peppermint essential oil is also said to help curb appetite, just by inhaling the scent, so that may be an added bonus I have not noticed yet. At any rate, these bath salts are a perfect no-calorie indulgence during the crazy-busy holiday season.

{Easy Christmas gift idea!}

Ingredients: (Makes enough to fill 2 half-pint mason jars)

• 3/4 cup Epsom salts 
• 1/2 cup coarse sea salt 
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• food coloring (I used 10 drops of red.)
• essential oil (The original recipe calls for 8 drops, but I found this to be much too faint once I got into the tub, so I have doubled it for the gift batches.)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. (If making gifts for teachers, kids can help pour the ingredients.)
2. Add essential oil and food coloring*. (Kids may be able to help with this step. I helped Logan count out the food coloring, but I added the essential oils myself.)
3. Use a spoon or whisk to mix it all together. (Kids may help with this step, too as long as they don't stir to roughly.)
4. Store in an air-tight container. (It will clump together somewhat after time. This happens to store-bought bath salts as well, so I don't see this as a problem.)
5. Enjoy your bath salts or package them up and give as gifts. 

*Notes about food coloring:

• Food coloring is optional, and mainly just for presentation. 
• Once diluted in the bath, you don't need to worry about it staining your skin.
• When I made orange scented bath salts I used a combination of 3 drops red and 5 drops yellow to make orange. 
• For the lavender bath salts, I used 8 drops of neon purple food coloring. 

Notes on Where to Purchase:

• The best deal I have found for Epsom salts is at Sam's Club, but they are very reasonably priced and can be found near the first aid section of any grocery store.
• Coarse sea salt is found in the baking aisle. I have also used natural sea salt, which has smaller grains that don't look as much like the bath salts you might purchase, but it's a bit cheaper and it works the same.
• My essential oils came from a natural foods store, but you can also find them online.
• Lavender essential oil was the most expensive at $8.79 for a 0.5 ounce bottle, followed by peppermint oil at $8.29 for a 0.5 ounce bottle, and the least expensive was the orange essential oil, which was only $3.99 by comparison. (That may sound pricey, but since you will only use a few drops at a time, a bottle of essential oils will last a long time, so I look at this as a good investment.)

How I packaged my gifts:

1. First, I filled each half-pint mason jar with bath salts.
2. To make tags that read "Peppermint Bath Salts," I downloaded this free font. I put it in 24 pt. font, switched the color to red, and printed it so that I got 8 per page (in portrait layout). Then, I used plastic templates to cut them out, and then layered them on top of oval cut-outs of red card stock (which I made with another template.) I adhered the layers and then added a gold eyelet.
3. I used a glue dot to affix the bamboo spoon to the jar.
4. I cut a 21" length of red and white bakers twine, which I wrapped around the jar twice before tying on the tag.
5. Then, I added a red card stock circle to the top of the jar and topped it off with a cute peppermint button, which I bought a few years back from Oriental Trading, attached with another glue dot. 

3- Ingredient Homemade Shaving Cream

This is the only shaving cream recipe that I have tried so far, but honestly, I am happy with it, so I see no reason to try any others. While I have always used Skintimate, and I can get it very cheaply with coupons and sales, I just wasn't happy with all of the unnecessary chemical ingredients. Although, this homemade version is a bit more work and a bit pricier, I find that it's a perfect replacement. It's moisturizing, it smells nice, and it gets the job done without any chemicals added, which makes it a must-have for "surviving summer." I found this fantastic recipe on the blog Little House Living, and I am now kissing my Skintimate good-bye!

{Freshly whipped shaving cream}

{This is what it looks like after it "settles."}

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup shea butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. On the stove top, melt the shea butter and coconut oil on low heat. (This took about 5 minutes.)
2. Pour the melted contents of the pan into a container. Add the olive oil and stir to combine. (You can also substitute almond or jojoba oils, according to Little House Living, but I have not tried this. Perhaps for the next batch, I will try the almond oil, since I have some on hand for making my homemade moisturizing oil.)
3. Set the container in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to harden. (I am not sure how long this takes, but it is definitely more than 1 hour. Since I tried this late at night, and it wasn't solidified after 1 hour, I went to bed, and it was hardened by morning.)
4. Remove the solid block and place it in a bowl. (This easily fell out when I tipped the container over.)
5. Whip it. (Whip it good! Feel free to sing Devo while you make your shaving cream, even if it's only in your head.) I used a hand mixer for this, and it it took about 3 minutes to achieve the desired creamy texture.
6. Store your shaving cream in air-tight containers. I put my shaving cream into two different plastic containers with lids. One holds 8 ounces and the other hold 4.5 ounces. I suggest labeling your containers. For this, I just used masking tape (because I have found that permanent marker gets rubbed away from the plastic containers over time). The one I've been using for the past couple of weeks is being stored in the shower (although this may not be recommended, I find it easiest). The other container, I placed under the bathroom sink where it is nice and dark. I assume that this should last me for several weeks. (If you look at the photos, you will note that the consistency has changed so that it is no longer fluffy. It's more of a butter, but it still works wonderfully for shaving.)
7. To use the shaving cream, I just use my fingers to take out just a dollop. It liquifies while it is being rubbed into the skin, but I think that this is good for a couple of reasons. First, I never have to worry about it running down my legs and getting wasted, which can easily happen with a commercial shaving cream or gel. Second, I think that this provides extra moisture, which gets locked into the skin. You can see the water beading up where the shave cream has been applied. I believe that patting dry after rinsing means that my legs look softer and shinier than they did when I was using Skintimate. I use this in all the usual places: my legs, my underarms, and my bikini area. So far, it has worked nicely giving me smooth skin with no irritation, and I have nicked myself just once in the past couple of weeks. (The only downside is that this can make the floor of the shower a wee bit slippery, not terribly so, but I do want to mention that as a word of advice; If you do your shaving in the shower, please use caution.)

Notes on Where to Buy Ingredients: 

• Coconut oil should be available at most grocery stores. The one I used is organic. It came from Meijer and cost $12.74 for 16 ounces. Aside from making your own shaving cream, it can be used as a natural diaper rash cream, an all-over moisturizer, or a cooking oil. 
• Shea butter is a little more expensive and not as easy to find. Mine came in a 7 ounce container for $9.99 at a natural foods store. It's an ingredient found in lots of natural beauty products due to its healing properties. I've not personally tried it, but shea butter is said to cure lots of skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and even sunburn. It just like it because it feels nice on the skin and doesn't leave a greasy residue. If you can't find this locally, there are lots of online vendors.
• For my oil, I used extra virgin olive oil, which I buy at Kroger, but you can get it anywhere. For the best deal, consider buying it in bulk, especially if you cook with it our use it to make other beauty products like my homemade face wash, homemade non-petroleum jelly, or this eye makeup remover. (Yes, I am currently in LOVE with extra virgin olive oil. I think there is very little that it can't do!)

Homemade (Tinted) Lip Balm Experiments #1 and #1 1/2 (FAIL)

I recently tried a couple of different ways to make a tinted lip balm using the same two ingredients: my homemade non-petroleum jelly and a packet of Kroger unsweetened strawberry drink mix. Now, before you read any further, let me just call this what it is: my latest craft-astrophe. I can't imagine too many people were considering making their own tinted lip balm, but just in case you were, here is how not to do it.

I first saw the idea to use a drink mix to make a lip stain here, but the blogger used a Crystal Light packet instead of the store-brand Kool-Aid. I didn't want to use Crystal Light for two reasons: 1) I didn't have any on hand. I had the Kroger drink mix because it makes fun play dough. 2) It contains artificial sweeteners, which I would prefer not to mess around with. (For the record, I wasn't too sure about the safety of using the Kroger drink mix considering the artificial food dye, but I wanted to at least test it out. I felt that this might produce a gritty mess that wasn't ideal for a lip balm, anyway, and it cost very little, so I decided it was worth a try.)

Trial #1:
To make my first trial batch, I combined a small amount of my homemade non-petroleum jelly (made on a previous day and completely cooled) with about 1/3 of the strawberry drink mix packet. I used a small round plastic travel toiletry container that has a screw-top lid and resembles the pots that some commercial lip balms come in. This didn't appear to have much color, and it seems to be gritty, not combined well despite mixing as well as I could with a spoon and letting it set for an hour. The texture, once applied with a lipstick brush, was about what I expected: somewhat gritty. The color went on fairly sheer and then the drink mix granules sort of "burst" open on my lips, spreading a bright red just on the inside portions so that it looked like I had been sucking on a cherry Popsicle.

Trial #1 1/2:
After trying the first version of the tinted lip balm for a while and not getting the desired results, I figured that there must be a better way to get the flavor crystals to mix in with the non-petroleum jelly. So, I decided to melt the non-petroleum jelly and then add the drink mix while it was still in the liquid state, as was suggested by this blog. (My ingredients were not all the same, but I pulled from the idea of combining it all while it was liquified.) I took about a tablespoon of my homemade non-petroleum jelly, put it in a microwave safe bowl and heated it for 15 seconds. Then, I stirred in about 1/3 of the strawberry drink mix packet. On first appearance, I thought that this was going to be more successful. It was a beautiful plum color, much richer than my first attempt, and the color looked to be much more evenly dispersed throughout. I let it set for 2 hours and then tried applying it with my lipstick brush. There was more intense color, but it was still only staining the inside "o" shape of my lips, not the entire lips. And it was still cherry Popsicle red, not a particularly grown-up shade of lip color.

{Non-Petroleum Jelly, Trial #1, Trial #1 1/2}

The Results:
While combining the drink mix has apparently worked for some other bloggers, it was not particularly successful for me. The biggest issue is that the color doesn't go on evenly and once it does start to spread, the intense red color is centered on the inside portions of my lips, not spread over the entire surface. The rest of the lips have barely any color and there is still some gritty texture from using the drink mix packet. It would be simpler just to spread red dye #40 on my lips, and it might even color the whole lips instead of just the centers. (I am not suggesting that anyone try this, though!)

The other issue I had is that the unsweetened drink mix is T-A-R-T! Once those granules burst, I really start to pucker up! (I realize that using a drink mix with artificial sweetener like the Crystal Light would address this issue, but again, that adds more unnatural stuff to it, which is what I am trying to minimize in the first place.) Although some people might like the pouty look, I have tried repeatedly for two weeks, and I just cannot tolerate the tartness.

While the tartness makes it unpleasant to apply this, in the end, it's the uneven, cherry Popsicle red lip staining that makes this unsuccessful in my eyes. I am officially washing my hands of trials #1 and # 1 1/2 for homemade tinted lip balm! (And I mean that figuratively as well as literally, given this lip balm's tendency to stain my hands despite my applying it with a lipstick brush to avoid this very thing.)

The good news in all of this? My non-petroleum jelly does, in fact, provide moisture and shine, two important things that I want from a lip balm/gloss. Now, if I can just find a more natural and effective way to add color, I will be all set!

Homemade Non-Petroleum Jelly

So, spring is in full bloom, and we are rapidly spiraling into summer! That means lots of skinned knees and bug bites, and oh, yeah, feet that were not quite ready to be seen in sandals. Luckily, I think I have found a super solution to all of these warm weather woes that is simple, affordable, and not chock-full of chemicals. Since I had so much fun sharing some ways that I pamper myself with homemade beauty products, I felt it would be great to share some helpful tips on "surviving summer."

My first tip is to make your family some non-petroleum jelly, which I learned about here. (I was actually on the hunt for DIY tinted lip balm recipes, and found one that called for Vaseline. Yuck! I refuse to put something petroleum-based on my skin and lips these days, so I first had to locate a recipe for making my own non-petroleum jelly before I could try that. More to come on how that lip balm turned out.) This is very easy to do with only two ingredients: olive oil and beeswax.

My beeswax came from Michaels, and with a coupon, ended up costing about the same as I would have paid at the natural foods store, $10 a pound. (In retrospect, I wish that I had just bought it there. I don't think there is a difference. I was hoping to find it in pellet form instead of the big block, but no such luck, so I purchased one labeled for "candle making." Again, I don't know if this matters. I suspect that beeswax is beeswax, so my personal advice is just buy it where you find it, or try looking online if you want to save yourself the run-around.) I started out with extra virgin olive oil, and ran out just before I had enough, and had to substitute the remainder of the "light tasting" olive oil that was on hand. I don't think this makes a huge difference, but when I make my next batch, I will first make sure that I have enough extra virgin olive oil. (I love it for cleaning and moisturizing my face, so I figure it is awesome for lots of other stuff, too!) I love this stuff, so I will definitely be making more when the first batch runs out. It will be handy for winter dry skin, too, but I don't want to think about that just yet...

{2-Ingredient Homemade Non-Petroleum Jelly}

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup grated beeswax (about 1 ounce)
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Grate your beeswax. (I first had to chop my big one-pound block into smaller pieces, using my chopping tool left over from my chocolate business days and a cutting board.) Grating the beeswax reminded me of grating Fels Naptha to make my own laundry detergent, except that the soap is softer, so this required a bit more elbow grease. Don't worry, though, once you get through grating your beeswax, I promise that this is smooth sailing!
2. Add grated beeswax, along with olive oil, to a small sauce pan. Melt over low heat. (The original blogger also suggested that you can use a double boiler, but I decided to make this easy on myself and just used a single pan, which worked fine.) I found that this took about 5 minutes.
3. Pour the melted contents of the pan into a container to cool. I used a clean half-pint canning jar. I am not sure how long the cooling process takes exactly; I checked after an hour, but it wasn't ready. Since it was late at night, I just went to bed and let it sit until morning, which was obviously plenty of wait-time.
4. Add a lid once the non-petroleum jelly is cool. I have also taken some and put it into smaller containers to store in other bathrooms and/or take with us on-the-go. 
5. Apply as needed. Here are some ways we have used this so far:

-- lip gloss (Super shine + moisture = all you really need, minus the parabens and other nastiness!)

-- bug bite balm (I can't swear that this actually takes the itch factor away, but we are doing well with our placebo-effect mentality. It seems to work for us, so it's at least worth a try.)

-- boo-boo salve (If you are avoiding anything that is petroleum based: Vaseline, Aquaphor, even the store-brand Neosporin we were using contained mineral oil -- Boo! -- this is a great, safe alternative for skinned knees and other boo-boos.)

-- cracked heel cream (I personally attest that this works better than any of the commercial products I have ever tried for dry heels and that is with or without slipping socks on over top.)

-- cuticle cream (Have I mentioned that I often need this since I have a bad habit of biting/picking at my cuticles? Well, this does a great job of repairing the damage overnight. It's not perfect, of course, but this works nicely on hands as well as feet.) 

-- It should work on dry skin anywhere else on the body, too. Plus, I am sure there are other uses that I have not even thought of yet. Possibly a diaper rash salve? I would do research first, though, before using with cloth diapers, but it would certainly be okay with disposables. I am guessing if I added a few drops of essential oils like eucalyptus or peppermint, this might would work as a homemade vapor rub, too. I wonder if this would soothe a sunburn? I may give it a try at some point, although, I hope I don't have to test this out any time soon! Feel free to share other uses that you have for non-petroleum jelly.

4 Homemade Face Mask Recipes

Here's post #5 in my series "How I Pamper Myself." (In case you missed the previous posts, feel free to check out How I Wash My Makeup Brushes, Homemade Eye Makeup Remover, Homemade Face Moisturizing Oil, and 5 Homemade Facial Cleansers.) While face masks are pretty easy to whip up at home, they definitely feel indulgent to me. Unfortunately, I rarely think to do them more than a couple of times a month.

There are tons of DIY face mask recipes out there, but I have only tried a few. My requirements are that they not contain too many ingredients or too odd of ingredients (I am sure papayas are nice for this, but I would rather use a fruit I commonly have in my own kitchen rather than make a special purchase) and that they not be too time-consuming to create. I realize that's entirely a matter of opinion, though. I will pull out the food processor, but I would prefer to not have to do this, if that makes sense. Here are a few that I have tried that I feel are worth mentioning.

{Ingredients for DIY Face Masks}

My tried and true recipe that I have been using the longest is one I got from the book Vinegar Fridays. Every time I use this mask, I notice that my skin feels firmer and my complexion is glowing, so it definitely does good things.

Martha Washington's Vinegar Facial Mask

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1. Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Then, apply to face. I often use a basting brush, but fingers work fine, too. 
3. Leave on for 20 minutes. 
4. Rinse with warm water.

Next, I decided to try this one since it calls for common ingredients, and honey is known to be wonderful for skin.

Apple Honey Mask

• 1 apple, cored and quartered
• 2 Tbs. honey

1. Chop apple in food processor.
2. Add honey.
3. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
4. Pat onto face and leave for 30 minutes.
5. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

The pros of this mask recipe are that it 1) smells nice 2) feels good when applied to skin and 3) my face felt nice after using it, essentially all I would hope for. The cons, however, were that it 1) had a weird consistency - both runny and pulpy at the same time - 2) made way too much (I wonder if I was supposed to use only 1/4 of the apple?) and 3) it became sticky before it was time to rinse off. While this wasn't the worst beauty item I have ever made, it was not my favorite for those reasons, and I would probably stick with the other recipes I have tried so far.


This next recipe smells absolutely delicious! If I hadn't remembered it had raw egg in it, I probably would have drunk the left over portion because it reminded me of a smoothie. Again, I decided to try this because it has honey, and also a fruit that is readily available to me this time of year: strawberries. And because I feel like I am sharing so much with my lovely readers lately, here is a special something for just for you: a late-night self-portrait taken while wearing my smoothie mask. My skin felt very soft after using the strawberry lemon mask, but a bit on the tight side. I suppose the dryness is why it is suggested for acneic skin, but I am not sure if this is a desirable result. I will probably try it a few times throughout the summer before making my final decision. It's certainly worth a try.

Strawberry Lemon Mask (for Acne)

• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 tsp. honey
• 1/2 cup strawberries

1. Mash/blend all ingredients. (I used my food processor for this.)
2. Smoothe onto face.
3. Leave on for at least 10 minutes.
4. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

{Yep. That's me with a smoothie 'stache.}

This last one I saw on Pinterest. It looked interesting because the picture shows the model peeling the mask off her face. Either I got the proportions wrong, or this doesn't really happen. No matter, though. This was a nice little recipe. The lemon juice cuts the egg smell and makes this one smell nicer than good old Martha Washington's recipe. I'm not sure where the expression "egg on your face" came from, but I can tell you from personal experience that it's not a bad thing. In fact, it's definitely good for your face. Additionally, those two recipes with egg are probably my favorite since they are the easiest to make, meaning I don't have to use my food processor. (For the record, this is not hard, it just means that I have more to clean up after doing my mask, and frankly, who wants to spend lots of time on clean-up when she just got done pampering herself?)

Egg White Mask (for Oily Skin)

• 1 egg (separated)
• few drops lemon juice 

1. Whisk together an egg white and a few drops of lemon juice. (The directions said to use fresh squeezed, but I used lemon juice from a bottle.)
2.  Apply to clean skin. (I used my fingers for this.) 
3. Wait 15-20 minutes.
4. Wash off with warm water and pat dry.
5. The directions say to follow with an oil-free moisturizer, but I use my homemade moisturizing face oil instead.

Well, this concludes my post on homemade face mask recipes. Hopefully, you found one that sounds good. Feel free to share how you will be pampering yourself this Mother's Day! I think my day will include some ice cream, and hopefully, somebody else will do the cooking.

5 Homemade Facial Cleansers

I have what I would call combination skin with an oily T-zone and drier cheeks, but I was having all sorts of breakouts this winter, which prompted me to look for a new face wash. It didn't help that I made a really BIG mistake in using some Clean & Clear because I had purchased months before, having gotten what I thought was a super good deal with a coupon. Truly, it's not all that good of a deal if it makes your skin go crazy. Plus, this stuff is loaded with parabens and other chemical crap that I have been strategically eliminating from my day-to-day usage.

Next in my series of posts on the topic of "How I Pamper Myself," I am writing about a few different DIY facial cleanser recipes that I have been experimenting with for several weeks now. (My previous posts included How I Wash My Makeup Brushes, My Homemade Face Moisturizing Oil, and Homemade Eye Makeup Remover, in case you missed those.) There are many, many variations of homemade facial cleansers out there and this is just a small sampling that I tried. My original plan was to try at least 4 different recipes for at least a week each so that I could give a fair analysis of my results.

{This is my new favorite face wash!}

2/18/13 Trial #1: Baking Soda/Water
Up first was a simple sounding paste made with baking soda and water. I first tried this at night. My initial reaction was that this felt gritty in my palm, but adding more water made it slightly softer. My skin felt okay after the first usage, but I worried that it was too harsh to use regularly. By the second night, with twice daily usage, my skin felt smooth and my cheeks were not as dry. The acne on my forehead appeared to be clearing up, but I wasn't sure. After the third day, I was convinced that my skin was indeed looking better, but I could not tolerate the abrasive texture of this cleaning method any longer. I couldn't even bring myself to do this twice on the third day. So, my plan to last a week had failed. I don't remember where I came across this idea originally, but I do know that it was not my favorite homemade face wash! This works fine to wash my hair, but not my face, apparently.

2/21/13 Trial #2: Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)
This one seems a bit strange, but it also sounded relatively simple, so I decided to try it next. It's just a mixture of two oils, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and castor oil (found in the laxative section of the grocery store) It may seem counterintuitive to wash one's face with oil, but this actually feels really lovely and seems to produce very desirable effects. I learned a little chemistry lesson while researching this: oil dissolves oil, so using oil to make a cleanser is actually ideal for skin, since it naturally has oil. Plus, it's nourishing and not over-drying. Unlike my horrible experience with the Clean & Clear, this did not over-dry my skin (which, you are probably aware, makes your oil glands go into over-gear producing more oil to compensate, a vicious cycle).

On the first night, I combined a 50/50 mixture of my EVOO and the castor oil, because that was the proportion recommended for "normal" skin. I started with a small batch of just 1 teaspoon of each and mixed them in a small plastic bottle that is meant for travel sized portions of toiletries.

To Wash:

1. Apply oil mixture to DRY skin. Gently rub in. I do this all over my face, including my eye lids.
2. Soak a wash cloth in hot water. (I make it as hot as I can tolerate since it cools quickly.)
3. Apply wash cloth to face and allow the steam to clean your face. I usually wait about 1 minute for the wash cloth to cool off completely.
4. Gently wipe oil from face with the wash cloth. This removes eye makeup pretty well so for the most part, I have not needed to use my homemade eye makeup remover. I also do not find that I need to apply moisturizer after washing since the OCM is so hydrating.

My initial reaction to the OCM was that my skin felt good afterward, and it was not too oily. I quickly learned to keep wash cloths on hand in the bathroom instead of in the linen closet (since Logan was going through a phase of sleeping on the floor in the hallway, blocking my access to the closet). The main difference was the waiting portion of the cleaning routine. Normally, I would wash, rinse immediately, dry my face, and be done. I have since come to love the waiting because it forces me to just sit and be still for 1 whole minute, evidently not something I typically do! It's like giving myself a mini-facial, which is very pampering, in my opinion. On the morning of the 24th, I forgot keep my face dry in the shower, so I just decided to skip washing for that morning. I used my homemade face oil after the warm water splash and that got me through the day just fine. My skin seemed to be clearing up and I had less acne, but I was anxious to try out some other cleansers, so I kept experimenting.

2/28/13 Trial # 3: Oatmeal
This sounded easy enough. I like that it really only had one ingredient. I had already ground up some oatmeal in the food processor, making a knock-off Aveeno oatmeal bath that I had seen on Pinterest. I didn't share this one because it grossed Logan out and he refused to soak in it after the first time, so as far as a home remedy for eczema goes, that one was a strike-out for me. I put some in a small bowl that has a lid and kept it in the bathroom during this trial period. To wash my face, I just a tablespoon of oatmeal in my palm and then added enough water to make a paste. (I realized that this was way too much and vowed to use less after that.) Initially, I was surprised by how gentle this was to use. I had expected some abrasiveness. The smell wasn't overwhelming, it was distinctly "breakfast-y" but not so much as to deter me from using it. After the first use, my face felt clean and it appeared brighter. It didn't feel dry, but I saw dryness on my cheeks and followed up with my homemade face oil. Also, when I washed with this, I feared it was no good in the eye area. I wasn't even willing to attempt it, so I had to use my homemade eye makeup remover when washing in the evenings. Questions that came to mind were I wonder if this would be okay with whole oats, or did I do the right thing by using my ground oats? and Is this more appropriate as a weekly scrub/exfoliant rather than a daily cleansers? As you can see by the dates, I kept with this method for a bit. One downside to washing with oatmeal, however, is that I did not like finding bits of it in my hairline and eyebrows after I thought I was done rinsing. For that reason alone, I wanted to keep looking for another face wash method.

3/10/13 Trial #4: EVOO/Grapes/Milk
Well, I already knew I liked the olive oil, and milk is an ancient method for cleansing the skin. Lots of different fruits are purported to be good for the skin, probably because of the acids, I am guessing. What sold me on this particular recipe is that it didn't call for ingredients that were exotic or expensive. I can't tell you how many recipes I saw that asked for me to gather 15 different items, many of which I do not regularly have on hand, so this one looked like a winner for simplicity's sake! Grapes? Check.

2 Tbs EVOO
5 fresh grapes
1 tsp milk (I used whole milk)

1. Process ingredients in a food processor until smooth and watery. (I found this hard to accomplish due to the peels plus the small size of the batch.)
2. Apply to face. (The directions did not say how to use this at all, so used my hands.)
3. Rinse with warm water.

My initial question was How long does it keep? The pros for this method were that it was easy to make with items most people have in their kitchens, it felt good going on the skin, and my face felt clean and moisturized. The cons were that it smelled bad, it looked icky, it probably wasn't safe to use near the eyes (I did not venture to try this), and it may have possibly clogged up my sink. I wanted to determine how long it would keep for and try it at least 3 times (to keep with my somewhat scientific method of giving stuff more than one chance to prove itself to me). On the second night, I found that it had congealed in the fridge, so I tried to warm it in my palms and apply it to my face, following with a warm wash cloth a la the OCM. This was a mistake. The smell nearly gagged me when I was confined under the wash cloth and forced to inhale the odor. I really did not like using this stuff, but my skin looked better than it had in weeks. The answer to my initial question: I would consider this to be something that is a one-time use formula, which makes it better for a weekly "mask" application, not something I would do daily. (Food processor each day? No thanks!)

3/13/13 Trial #5: Pure EVOO
Well, this fits my first requirement of being simple. It's just straight extra virgin olive oil. When I first tried this, I had no complaints. I used it the same way I did the OCM, just without the castor oil. However, I eventually decided that I didn't like how my skin felt afterward; it was just too oily. And it had seemed that my acne had improved more when using the 50/50 blend that included castor oil.

4/8/13 The Winner for Me: Back to the OCM!
My skin is not completely clear of break-outs, but it is definitely much improved from the winter when I was using the dreaded Clean & Clear. It's also very smooth and moisturized, and I swear it looks brighter and healthier. I now use the OCM just at night. For the most part, it gets rid of all my eye makeup, so I rarely need to use my homemade eye makeup remover. In the mornings, I just rinse my face with warm water and follow with my homemade face oil. This fits my lifestyle in that it is simple, inexpensive, and safe to use. The castor oil, which I found at Kroger, was on sale for $1.59 (regularly $1.89) for 4 ounces. Extra virgin olive oil is widely available, and I am considering buying it in bulk. The bottle I bought from Kroger was $3.49 for 8.5 ounces, but I just finished it off last night while experimenting with some other homemade beauty products. When I went back to this face cleanser, I made myself a larger batch consisting of 2 tablespoons of castor oil and 2 tablespoons of EVOO. I know that I can tweak the proportions as needed, but for now, I am happy my natural face wash.