Cheaper, Greener, Safer Skin Care Options

It’s unfortunate that 80% of Americans think that their personal care products, such as skin care products, have been tested and approved for safety by the government. They have not. And you know all of those claims to make you look younger in 60 days? Those don’t have to be backed by research either. In addition, skin care products can contain more than a thousand different chemicals that have been banned in Europe because they are linked to cancer, hormone disruption, infertility, learning disabilities, and more. But if parabens are found in 90% of US skin care products and shampoos, what can you do — especially when parabens are just ONE of the 1000+ harmful ingredients!

Totally natural and inexpensive

In my book, EcoThrifty: Cheaper, Greener Choices for a Happier, Healthier Life, I talked about the simple, food-quality substances that you could use on your skin. For example, baking soda makes a great exfoliator for your face. I’ve been using it since the 1990s.

Oils, waxes, and butters are the base ingredients of homemade soaps, creams, lotions, and moisturizers. Household basics like sugar, salt, and baking soda are also used to make safe and effective products. Learn about different ecothrifty skin care products you can make using these ingredients in the following posts:

Oils – Although all of the oils used in ecothrifty personal care products are food oils—not petroleum based—every oil sold in the grocery store is not necessarily good for your skin. Each oil has a different acid composition and unique properties. For example, some are more moisturizing; others work better in soaps. Learn about eight different oils in this post.

Waxes and butters – Waxes are another popular ingredient in skin care products and, unlike oils, they last a long time. Butters are usually used in body butters and scrubs, while oils are the main ingredient in soap recipes. In this post, learn about the different types of waxes and butters.

Creams and moisturizers – Creating a cream or moisturizer that works for you is really a matter of figuring out which oils and butters have the properties that suit your skin type (dry, normal/combination, or oily). In this post, learn about the different ingredient options for creams and moisturizers and how to make a body butter. Here’s another recipe for peppermint body butter.

Body scrubs – In this post, learn how to make different body scrubs including a shea butter sugar scrub, a light sugar scrub, a salt scrub, and other options for exfoliating your skin. Here’s another homemade peppermint sugar scrub recipe.

Natural alternatives to deodorant – In spite of claims that underarm antiperspirant is harmful to health, it is still used because we think we need it. In this post, learn about natural alternatives to deodorant.

Safer option that performs great

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