Guest post by Kelli from Freebie Finding Mom
How many beauty products are in your medicine cabinet, hiding out in bathroom drawers, or scattered across your vanity or bathroom counter top?
Do you dare to do the math to find out just how much money you’ve invested in beauty?
Well, guess what, you don’t have to… the Daily Mail has run the numbers for you and the results are a little scary!
In 2013, the Daily Mail reported that the average woman has £1,964.30 worth of beauty products. That’s $3,023.35 in US currency.
However, the same report found that most women only use a small percentage of those products (£327 to be exact). Converted into US currency that’s $503.30 – less than a sixth of the money laid out!
So… it looks like we have two problems here:
- We’re paying a lot of money for beauty products such as skin creams and makeup.
- We’re often not using the products we buy.
The solution: Homemade beauty products.
Yep, homemade beauty products can solve both of those problems – here’s how.
How Homemade Beauty Products Save You Money
Problem One: The Cost
Unfortunately, many of us have been led to believe that beauty does not come easily… or cheaply. We think we need a lot of products and that the more those products cost the more effective they’ll be. However, homemade beauty products are inexpensive and effective. Here are three ways they can save you money:
(1) Fewer Ingredients
Homemade beauty products have far fewer ingredients than about 99% of the products you’ll find at the store. Fewer ingredients mean they’re cheaper to make.
For example, look at these 5 homemade beauty face masks; the most ingredients any of the recipes has is 6.
Flip over any beauty product at the store and you’ll see a long list of ingredients, some unpronounceable, in a font so small you can barely read them.
Plus, with homemade beauty products, you’re typically going to be making more than a “single serving,” meaning you’ll have enough to use in the future. Alternatively, these extras can be packaged and given as gifts… saving you even more money!
(2) Shared Ingredients
Many homemade beauty products share ingredients such as certain essential oils. This means you purchase fewer products and therefore keep your money where it belongs… in your wallet.
I can use castile soap to make pesticides, body washes, and homemade bubbles for the kids.
Coconut Oil is another versatile product. Of the 14 homemade beauty products in this article, 11 of them call for coconut oil. Those with coconut oil include:
- Acne Treatment
- Coconut Oil Creamsicle Lotion Bars
- Sugar Scrub Bars
- Coconut Oil Lotion Bars
- Bath Fizzies
- Shaving Cream
- Body Butter
- Lip Gloss
- Lavender Body Scrub
- Coconut Oil Hair Mask
- Oatmeal Body Scrub
Bonus: Since homemade beauty products tend to share ingredients, not only are you saving money, but you’re also not wasting “food” or other ingredients.
(3) No “Side Effects”
Believe it or not, many of the beauty products available at your local store may actually cause problems.
For example, many of us are shelling out hundreds of dollars a year (if not more) for products to de-oil our skin, but did you know, that stripping away all those natural oils can actually cause acne? It’s true. So you’re buying a facial cleanser that strips oils away and then buying moisturizer to add them back and then… and then… it goes on and on.
Homemade beauty products are (in most cases) all natural and gentle. This means they aren’t going to cause nearly as many problems as store bought products which means you can use fewer products and save money.
Problem Two: The Waste
Wasting beauty products (or any product for that matter) is like throwing money in the garbage. So, why do we do it? Occasionally there is something truly wrong with the product such as a defect but usually it is a sensory issue. For example, the color isn’t just right or the scent isn’t to our liking.
The other issue is the impulse buy. We see some new fangled product and think “Yes, that’ll take 10 years off” or “Wow! That color is fun” then we buy it and 2 hours later find ourselves wondering “What was I thinking?”
Homemade beauty products can fix his!
With homemade beauty products you can easily experiment to get just the right color or scent. One easy way to tweak the scent or properties of a homemade beauty product is with essential oils. Here are some essential oil recipes you can customize to your taste.
Note: I really like Young Living essential oils and this is why however, I understand not everyone needs a subscription. Plant Therapy are a great runner up. You can find their shop here.
As for the impulse buy issue, if you have to actually exert more effort than merely handing over some cash or swiping a credit card, you might put a little more thought into your purchases. Homemade beauty products are not hard to make, but for most of them, there is more effort required than just picking a product out and carrying it to the register.
So, in summary, homemade beauty products can save you money and allow you to get just the product (color, scent, etc.) you want.
Most homemade beauty products are fairly easy to make and just about any product you can buy at the store can be made at home. Try your hand at making beauty recipes and just do a quick Pinterest or Google search… you’re sure to be inspired!
Use these tips to save money and look great doing it!
I have saved SO MUCH since beginning the process of making my own body care products. I used to be a die-hard BareMinerals EVERYTHING…including skincare. With the wide array of stuff I thought I “needed”, it was almost impossible walking out of Ulta with less than $70-$100 in JUST skincare (don’t even get me started on the makeup). Eventually I was so fed up with it, I started searching for alternatives. I started small with a batch of exfoliator for my face (raw honey and brown sugar). As my confidence grew, I branched out into lotion, deodorant, toothpaste (I used your recipe for the toothpaste!) and finally facial moisturizers. When I did cost breakdowns and comparisons of how long each amount lasted, I was very thoroughly shocked. People had said they saved money making their own products, but I didn’t know a person could save THIS much! The things I made work as well or better than what I was using before. I’ve never looked back since and try new things all the time. I haven’t been to Ulta for nearly a year and I DO NOT miss it in the slightest!
♥ It’s truly amazing how the savings adds up!!
I am just starting into this new world, and so far it’s been so exciting! I made a batch of facial moisturizing and found it the best I’ve ever had. Got my mom a jar and showed it to a couple of friends too and they too loved it. I am seriously considering opening an all-natural cosmetics brand! 🙂