favorite body care recipes

[atalanta0jess]

I've recently started experimenting with home made body care products. Deodorant, lotion, and lip balm so far. Does anyone have a favorite recipe for a body-care product that they would want to share? Such a fun world to stick my toes into!

Comments

[sturmkit]

my all time favorite thing is incredibly simple - some raw oats, and some white sugar. put a pinch of both (I typically just keep them mixed up in a small jar) moisten withw arm water and use it to wash my face. oats are great fo balancing out oil, and cleansing.. and sugar is a great exfoliant.

[maynda]

Have you tried using baking soda in lieu of sugar? Bacteria feeds off sugar and it will encourage growth of bacteria (see: pimples) on your skin. I use baking soda as a facial scrub and follow with apple cider vinegar diluted with water as a toner and to balance my pH. Just a suggestion!

[cordelia_sue]

I've been making body care products for years and years and have never heard any warnings about sugar scrubs causing bacterial growth. I've heard that they're wonderful because the glycolic acid (which is an alpha hydroxy acid) in the sugar is great for exfoliating. That said, I don't use sugar scrubs on my face, I use baking soda on my face.

If you're really concerned about sugar and bacterial growth, salt is an alternative.

[maynda]

I'd be more concerned about the size of sugar and it being too abrasive but sugar does feed bacteria if some remains on damp skin. Also, it's more likely to grow bacteria if the container in which it's stored (say, as a scrub in the shower) gets wet. No good. In contrast the baking soda is very fine and kills germs which is why I suggested it. Of course it doesn't work for everyone!

[cordelia_sue]

I'm sure you've seen these before, but here are a couple of my favorite recipes:

Body butter Notes: nowadays I leave out the lanolin due to its allergen status, and also omit the GSE, though I include a dash of meadowfoam seed oil; I also tend to make it unscented in order to keep it as hypoallergenic as possible. Some people are allergic to mangos. It can be made with any vegetable butters. Pure shea is fine, or replace the mango butter with avocado butter or cocoa butter.

Lip balm Notes: I also omit the lanolin from this recipe. This recipe is formulated for use in tubes, and is too firm for use in pots. For use in pots, try omitting the candelilla wax completely

[atalanta0jess]

I've seen the body butter before, but not lip balm. Thanks!

Yeah, I've been experimenting with freezing the lotion in tiny batches, which works decently. Its not as moisturizing as I would like, but most salve type products are too greasy for me. I'm looking forward to trying more butter-type stuff. Not sure yet what will work best for me, but I do find it awfully fun to whip the lotion together. Kind of like making whipped cream!

[hardcore_pixee]

I use this deodorant recipe; http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2008/07/homemade-deodor.html It's very good and will last for ages!

[atalanta0jess]

I've been using bonzai aphrodite's recipe (which is fairly similar) with great results. And yeah, it lasts forever. Love that!!

[hercondolences]

lushusa.com

[atalanta0jess]

That's not homemade! :p Lush isn't quite as "natural" as I want unfortunately. Or as cheap. Their products sure are nice though.

[ivyisrock]

I made a killer face mask the other day to tackle dry/tired skin. Processed oats into a semi-fine powder, add a little milk (i used some powdered buttermilk and a splash of fresh), honey, squeeze of lemon. Leave until it dries then rinse. It was basically improvised with what was on hand, but worked great.