The beauty of HOME-MADE

By Constance

DO-IT-OURSELF IS THE NEW TREND.

Making my own cosmetics : I've tried it and I love it !
And for good reason, DIY cosmetics have many advantages, both for your beauty and the environment.

Back to a natural beauty

Homemade cosmetics means being sure of their composition. Today, we know that industrial beauty products are made with petrochemical ingredients and components that can act as endocrine disruptors: the harmful effects are real.
The website https://thetruthaboutcosmetics.com/ allows you to search, ingredient by ingredient, all the components of classic products.

Sustainable use

When I make my own cosmetics, I keep them in washable and reusable containers. Contrary to products bought in the shops- which lead to throwing away dozens of cardboard boxes, tubes and plastic bottles per year.

Taking time for myself

Not only do I reintroduce nature into my bathroom, but I do it in a fun way. Making cosmetics is halfway between cooking and chemistry. I use my hands while fully participating in my beauty ritual (being very careful because some ingredients can react with each other or cause allergic reactions: I check their properties before applying them to my skin).

Making my own choices

Homemade cosmetics allow me to perfectly control the composition of the products I use and to adapt my recipes according to my needs, because a multitude of different treatments can actually weaken my already sensitive skin.
It's time for simple skincare, for a more targeted but above all more effective routine, especially since with a few basic products, I can make skincare products for all uses!

My tips

Choose an oil adapted to your skin type to remove makeup and moisturize your face at the same time. Lose the face cream.
Cleanse the face with a micellar water and possibly a floral water to add a sweet scent to the daily beauty ritual. Lose the make-up remover.

The perfect balm

- 4g of vegetable beeswax
- 30ml of Calendula oil or other vegetable oil

1/ Melt the beeswax in a "bain-marie" with the vegetable oil. Let it melt while stirring gently.
2/ Pour it into the jar.
3/ Let it cool (and harden) it's ready!

Use: can be used on the whole body and for the whole family. Conservation: 6 months, protected from light and heat.

Shea Butter Chantilly

- 75g of shea butter
- 45g of coconut oil or other vegetable oil
- 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract or vitamin E

1/ In a previously washed and disinfected container, beat the shea butter and the vegetable oil.
2/ Using an electric whisk, begin to whisk the ingredients. Ideally choose a container with high sides to avoid splashing. Whisk until you get the desired texture.
3/ Add the vitamin E and whisk again to mix well. If you want, add an essential oil and mix again. 4/ Put the preparation in a jar. It is ready!

Use: can be used on the body (on areas that are easily sensitized like hands, feet or elbows), on the face (on dry areas or lips) and also on the hair (as a nourishing mask or on very dry ends). Conservation: 6 months, protected from light and heat.

Shealoe, the care for the whole family

- 4 tablespoons of Shea butter
- 2 tablespoons of aloe vera gel
- 2 tablespoons Calendula oil or other vegetable oil

1/ Take the necessary amount of each ingredient
2/ Mix between each addition to obtain a homogeneous texture
3/ Whip for several minutes with an electric mixer
4/ Transfer your preparation into a jar

Use: can be used on the whole body and for the whole family. Conservation: 3 months, protected from light and heat.

Washing cream for the body

- 50 ml of vegetable washing base
- 100 ml of mineral water
- 40 ml of hydrolat (floral waters)
- 2 g of xanthan gum
- 20 ml of Coconut oil or other vegetable oil
- 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract

1/ Mix the ingredients: dilute the cleansing base with the mineral water and the aromatic hydrosols. Stir with a whisk. Add about 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to thicken. Xanthan gum is a gelling agent used in cosmetics and cooking, so it is not harmful to your health. Stir, then add the vegetable oil.
2/ Test the PH: dip your PH strip in your mixture, and rebalance with a few drops of lemon if your PH is slightly too alkaline to reach 6, the ideal PH for the skin.
3/ Add 20 drops of preservative. Stir and it is ready!

Use: can be used to wash the whole family. Conservation: between 3 and 6 months.

Homemade deodorant

- 40g of Coconut oil or other vegetable oil - 6g of vegetable beeswax (optional)
- 18g of baking soda
- 17g of cornstarch (maïzena)
- 20 drops of Palmarosa essential oil (optional)
- 10 drops of vitamin E (optional)

1/ Melt the oil and beeswax in a double boiler.
2/ In a bowl, sift the bicarbonate, clay and cornstarch.
3/ Add the previous mixture to the melted coconut oil and wax while mixing vigorously to avoid lumps.
4/ Add 20 drops of Palmarosa EO
5/ Pour the mixture into a mold and let cool.
Tip: I use a small cardboard espresso cup, but there are also special containers for deodorants available in specialized stores.
6/ Unmold the deodorant once it has cooled down and store it in a cool place.

Use: apply the deodorant to your armpits every morning, taking care not to be too generous and to smooth the creamy aspect so as not to have "pilling under your arms" during the day. Conservation: between 3 and 6 months in a cool place preferably because the coconut oil tends to liquefy if it is a little too hot. For my part, I put the deodorant in a small glass jar in the door of my refrigerator.

GOING NATURAL FOR ME, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR MY BABY

My pregnancy was the perfect time to experiment with new recipes. From there, I decided to turn to really clean products for my baby's skin but also for the environment! ... And this includes the choice of "products" with very "light" compositions (the less ingredients there are, the less chance of allergens or nasty products) and finally the will to continue on my way: to make my own natural care products, homemade, based on plants, vegetable oils, essential oils, hydrolats ... Nature is full of treasures with multiple virtues! Treasures that can be handled with a few precautions, but that are so much more natural than any commercial product!

So here, after many hours of research, I share my findings for the hygiene of baby and his mother!

White Clay Ultra-Ventilated

White clay is natural, it purifies and cleanses the skin, it is repairing and softening. I will use it for diaper changes / in case of diaper rash. It replaces the famous "talcum powder" that we know, with the sometimes doubtful composition...

Calendula macerate : an essential!

Calendula is anti-inflammatory, healing, soothing and nourishing: it regenerates inflamed skin, prevents and repairs skin dryness.

Natural soap

In front of all the shower gels, a natural soap is much more adapted to the fragile and sensitive skin of baby whose skin permeability to chemical products is very high until about 3 years old! I choose a donkey milk or Aleppo soap.

The 4 essential hydrolats

• Orange blossom: favors the creation of the emotional bond mother / baby, dissipates the tensions, the stress and the angers, reassures, comforts, relaxes and calms baby. Sprayed on the sheets, in the cradle, it promotes sleep.

• Lavender Fine: anti-bacterial, antispasmodic, calming and sedative, cardiac regulator, muscle relaxant, anti-inflammatory and healing. Soothes the mind and body, calms anxiety, stress and sleep disorders. Called "second mother", it knows how to tone up when it is necessary and relax when the time comes. It soothes separation anxiety and reassures the mother who doubts the accuracy of her love or her benevolence.

• Roman Chamomile (Noble): antispasmodic, relaxing and sedative. Roman Chamomile floral water is ideal for regenerating, soothing, repairing the epidermis (it can be used in the bath or directly on the skin in case of diaper rash or redness), relieving eye inflammation, improving difficult digestion and limiting infant colic, soothing baby's big sorrows (fatigue, anxiety, emotionality), and teething (sprayed directly into the mouth), it facilitates relaxation and sleep, refocuses and comforts.

• Damask Rose: Spray on mom during childbirth and at the time of baby's exit to welcome him. Mood regulator, supports in moments of change and transition process. Accompanies baby in the birth and mom in her new role, accompanies the souls to open to the desire to love. To be sprayed in the room and in the house when returning from maternity to welcome baby.

I use them separately or together by making a mix of orange blossom/Damask rose to clean baby's face.

The liniment oléo-calcaire to clean the buttocks of babies! The recipe is simple:

• 250ml of lime water (preparation to ask in pharmacy)

• 250 ml of Olive oil or Avocado oil or Calendula oil

1/ In a measuring glass, pour the oil and add the lime water.
2/ Mix.
3/ Just pour it into the container.

Tip: for an even smoother finish, add natural vegetable wax. Simply melt a few flakes of wax (about 15 grams) in the oil in a bain-marie, then add the lime water little by little in the same proportions as for the classic liniment, mix with a whisk.

Conservation: 3 months at room temperature, it travels very well.

My baby water all clean for a small toilet between the baths ;)

• 150 ml of mineral water

• 75 ml of rose/orange/lavender water (or other hydrolat)

• 12 ml of neutral micellar base

• 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract (preservative)

1/ Pour all ingredients into a measuring glass.
2/ Mix.

Conservation: 3 months at room temperature.

The cream for the change to protect the buttocks of the babies.

• 10g of beeswax

• 50g of Olive oil or Avocado or Calendula

• 25g of Shea butter

• 25g of Coconut oil

• 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract (preservative)

• 1 tablespoon of Calendula oil

1/ Melt the beeswax in a water bath.glass.
Tip: use the pot in which you will keep your cream, this will avoid losing too much wax by transferring it to another container.
2/ Take the pot off the heat, then add the coconut oil to the pot and let it melt.
3/ Add the shea butter to the pan and let it melt.
4/ Add the olive oil, the calendula oil and the grapefruit seed extract, mix and let it cool. And here is your homemade diaper cream ready!

Conservation: between 3 and 6 months at room temperature.

Massage oil to moisturize the skin of the little & bigger ones.

• 30g of calendula oil

• 50g of sweet almond oil

• 9g of avocado oil

1/ In a measuring glass, pour all the ingredients.
2/ Mix.

Conservation: 6 months at room temperature.

My anti-stretch mark butter to use without moderation during the whole pregnancy

• 25g of shea butter

• 12g of avocado oil

• 12g of macadamia oil

• 33 drops of natural vanilla fragrance (optional)

1/ In a bowl, add all the ingredients, heat the bowl in a bain-marie and then remove from the heat when everything is well melted.
2/ Let the mixture cool in the freezer for several minutes and then remove it from the cold when it begins to thicken and opacify.
3/ Mix until you obtain a smooth, creamy and homogeneous paste.
4/ Pour the mixture into the container. It is ready!

Conservation: 3 months at room temperature.

Care of the nipples, cracked skin for a breast feeding all gently.

• 20g of Shea butter

• 26,5g of sweet almond oil

• 3,5g of vegetable glycerin

1/ Transfer the shea butter to a bowl. Melt in a double boiler over low heat. Remove from heat.
2/ Add the organic sweet almond oil. Mix.
3/ Add the organic vegetable glycerin. Mix between each addition.
4/ Place the preparation in the freezer for several minutes. Remove from the freezer when the preparation starts to become opaque. Mix again to obtain a smooth and creamy paste.
5/ Transfer the preparation to your container.

Conservation: 3 months at room temperature.

**As with any homemade product, test your wrist for allergies. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not use essential oils.

We propose to discover these products during our Akna Collective retreats.