Face Off, Naturally
(Part of my Green This House program.)
My dear friend Juanita kvetched to me about the cost of natural skin-care products—the kind that’s free of known and suspected carcinogenic, reproductive, and developmental toxins. “I’m not willing to sell my kidney just yet,” she muttered. Well I hear you and raise you a liver, girlfriend, because lordy, peace of mind doesn’t come without some serious kaching. But, being the smart alecky kid that I am, I told her she could save a tidy sum simply by raiding her kitchen cabinet and refrigerator, which works brilliantly for inexpensive and au naturale cleaning liquids, as well. Free yourself from the shackles of the capitalist consumerist machine, I whooped, only partly in jest.
When I found out that a tiny 8 oz. bottle of facial cleaner (with a very low hazard score of 0.3) ran for $15.48, I blanched. Instead, I made my bar of soap pull double duty in the shower for a while. (If it was good enough for our forebears, it’s good enough for me.) Then I came across a recipe for an exfoliating sugar scrub that was simply one-quarter cup brown sugar, one tablespoon of honey, and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. I’m not one to gush over skin care, but I did feel inordinately radiant and fresh after I gave it a shot one day.
Apple cider vinegar mixed with some water also works amazingly well as a skin toner. (You just have to get over the smell and tell your spouse to zip it.) It also conditions your tresses beautifully while ridding you of shampoo buildup.
Besides saving you money, homemade skin- and hair-care formulas also dispense with petroleum-based plastic packaging, which does add up, even for the most diligent of tree-huggers. (You might want to invest in a spray bottle or two in the beginning, however. Don’t reuse any containers that were filled with toxic chemicals before. In other words, chuck that used Windex bottle with the recyclables.) You also know exactly what you’re spreading across your skin without having to worry about synthetic additives or shelf-life-prolonging preservatives. And look, Ma, no extra food miles!
Peruse the cornucopia of skin-care recipes here and here. Or just Google “skin care recipes” or similar. Help save the planet, your health, and your pocketbook, while looking BEE-YOO-TI-FUL throughout.
Liz said,
May 31, 2006 at 4:50 pm
I wouldn’t want to find out it’s not that great, but I use witch hazel infused with dried lavender flowers as a toner. I tried wintergreen leaves, but it wasn’t as minty fresh as I thought it would be.
green la girl said,
June 1, 2006 at 2:52 am
I have to say — You’re way ahead of me. I mean, I don’t even have sugar in the house –
On the other hand, perhaps we can at least reach the high-end cosmetics people first — You know, the peeps who buy Lancome and stuff. The eco friendly stuff’s no more expensive, and is better for one’s skin –
The Purloined Letter said,
June 1, 2006 at 11:42 am
Excellent . Thanks!
juanita said,
June 1, 2006 at 6:32 pm
The recipes available make me all dizzy in a kid-in-candy-store kind of way, especially at Care2.
I am this terribly close to tossing my one-week old store bought toxic skincare products.
Now to add to this weekend’s grocery shopping list, apple cider vinegar!
ProgGrrl said,
June 8, 2006 at 1:14 pm
I want to recommend to all the curly or wavy-haired folks out there a great book I just got, CURLY GIRL by Lorraine Massey. She recommends a curly-health regimen of never using shampoo again, washing your hair with natural-as-possible conditioner every 3-4 days (wet it as much as you like), never using your blow-dryer again, and treating hair/scalp with home remedies you create yourself with food-grade ingredients & herbs to keep your hair and scalp healthy. I’ve been using her techniques for a month now and my hair looks great. It’s a very green way to handle your hair…Less harsh chemicals, less electricity/water use, etc…
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0761123008-0
The Worsted Witch » Best Face Forward said,
June 13, 2006 at 10:55 am
[…] More reasons to make your own skincare products than you can shake a honey-and-sugar-scrubbed fist at. […]
The Worsted Witch » Kits for Crafts said,
June 29, 2006 at 9:40 pm
[…] I was brainstorming gift ideas, for the anti-consumerist Christmas I plan on making a tradition of … besides, y’know, 12 papier mâchè ash trays lovingly crafted from moldy copies of the New York Times … when I stumbled upon this online retailer that supplies kits for making your own natural skin- and home-care products. While ostensibly for children, Kits for Crafts has a certain all-ages whimsy and sophistication, as evidenced in its attention to detail and presentation. Already I can tell you, from my hours and hours of experience stalking the aisles of natural food stores and generally bugging out the staff, that the ingredients would cost significantly less if purchased on your own—you can find tons of recipes online or from books—and then packaged with materials gleaned through serendipity or ingenuity. (The hub, who knows me so well, stumbled upon a yard sale the owner of our local tea shop held last week, and secured, for a song, a few bail-handled canning jars that used to house tea leaves—too perfect!) […]
The Worsted Witch » Updates & Miscellany said,
August 14, 2006 at 6:21 pm
[…] DIY skin & hair care My skin is so much happier and clearer since I began mixing up my own skin-care products, and the cost savings have been substantial. Plus, everything is completely edible, which is always the safest bet health-wise when you’re debating over what to smear on your face. I don’t even buy commercial hair conditioner at all, now, but prefer a mix of olive oil, lemon juice/apple cider vinegar, and a few drops of tea tree oil. (Occasionally I add an egg yolk.) […]
The Worsted Witch » said,
March 16, 2007 at 11:14 am
[…] “Ethical” parents face extra £700 in the U.K. What this story doesn’t add is that it’s possible to live frugally and consciously—buying gently used, for instance, won’t wallop your wallet. You can also make your own green cleaning supplies, and even skincare products. Fresh organic produce can also be affordable if you try growing your own or join a co-op or a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group. (You can also just avoid the conventional produce that have the highest pesticide loads if money is truly tight.) […]