The basics in home made skin care
You can make your own beauty products at home. No doubt they
may not have the texture of store bought products, but they are usable and
reasonably effective. Best of all, you decide what goes in them and can exclude
ingredients you may be allergic to.
When formulating your own natural beauty products, bear in
mind the following principles:
Simplicity.
Unless your are a biochemist, keep your formula as simple as
possible. Too many ingredients and the ingredients may react with one another
with unexpected results. For example, you might end up with a nasty allergic
reaction.
Hygiene
Always sterilize all containers and equipment that would come
in contact with your beauty product. You do not want to introduce bacteria into
your beauty product.
Freshness
Use the freshest ingredients for your beauty product. If the
milk or fruit or whatever food stuff you are using is not fit for eating, it is
definitely not fit to go into your beauty product. It is also not fit to apply
on your skin.
Storage
Keep your home made beauty products in the refrigerator.
Freeze them in single use quantities if possible. Once you thaw them out, do not
refreeze. Discard the leftovers instead. Again, you do not want anything laden
with bacteria applied on your skin.
Store oils in cool dark places. Light would cause the oils to
turn rancid more quickly.
Test
Always smell your home made beauty product before use, to
check if it has gone bad. Always test your home made beauty products on
your wrist before applying on your face or the rest of your body. If in doubt,
discard that lot and make a fresh batch instead.
On hindsight
Making your own skin care is fun. But you really must be
careful as these do not contain preservatives found in commercial skin care
products. That means, you home made skin care goes bad quickly. You may not end
up saving much, but you get exactly what you want in your home made beauty
products.
The flip side is the inconvenience and often wastage. That is
why I personally end up buying most of my skin care. I make my own skin care in
emergencies, when I do not have time to go down to the store.
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Woman's Heart. 
Resources
Find out about various skin care ingredients at beauty
encyclopedia
Recipes for home made skin care can be found at Your face
