Safety and precautions while using organic ingredients for home-made cosmetics

Hi there! It's me Svetlana.

Before we get started, I would like to give you a word of caution. Not all the organic ingredient are safe for the skin. Many fruits, vegetables, and berries are natural skin irritants and should not be used. What may be good for your friend may not be good for you. We know that commercial preservatives irritate skin and may cause allergic reactions. That may be true with organic ingredients as well, especially for a person with very sensitive skin, or skin prone to breakouts. Also preservatives make commercial cosmetics safe as they kill or inhibit bacteria, mold, and viruses. Organic cosmetics we make have no preservatives, so we have to be very careful to use only fresh ingredients and clean utensils. Use a clean spoon, cotton swab, or a spatula to scoop a product out of a container. Never use your fingers to prevent introducing germs into a product. Freeze or refrigerate final products away from raw meats, using clean containers. Do not store them in room temperature as light and heat may cause decomposition. Thaw the product only when you are going to use it. Discard anything that looks spoiled or even suspicious or make only small amounts at a time so nothing goes into waste. If the homemade cosmetics are mishandled they can get contaminated and cause skin irritation which would defy the whole purpose of making them.

Ingredients we need to make home-made cosmetics

Hi there! It's me Svetlana.
We will need these organic ingredients to make home-made cosmetics:


Fruits

Vegetables

Berries

Coffee grounds

Cacao powder

Oils (either one of these: olive, sunflower, castor, or any light vegetable oil like canola oil; also coconut and tea tree oils)

Butter

Eggs

Salt (sea or table)

Baking soda

Sugar

Oats

Essential oils

Herbs (fresh or dried)

Milk

Sour cream

Kefir

Yogurt

Honey

Lemons

Aloe vera

Beer

Castile soap

Vinegar

Mayonnaise

Herbal teas and regular black tea

Cornstarch

Flower

Alcohol (any of this will do: vodka, gin, rum, witch hazel).

So long!

You noticed that these are affordable and easily found ingredients. I shop in regular food stores (while shopping for groceries) or local natural food stores. Again, you may already have many of them in your fridge and kitchen cabinets. Small amounts will take you far in homemade cosmetics. Always use fresh ingredients. Store final products in the fridge.

Equipment we need to make home-made cosmetics

Hi there! It's me Svetlana.

You will need the following equipment:

grater,

measuring cups and spoons,

stirring spoons or rods, blender (or food processor),

whisk (either electric or manual),

coffee grinder,

fennel,

coffee filters,

cheesecloth,

paper towels,

glass and ceramic bowls for mixing,

eyedropper,

strainer,

assorted jars, bottles, storage containers, spray bottles.

As you can see you probably already have either all the equipment or almost all of it in your kitchen. Personally I use the same equipment for cooking as I use for cosmetics making, except for storage containers. Some people have a separate set of equipment they store away from the main kitchen utensils. It’s your choice. Make sure your storage containers are clearly marked or have a different color (shape, place in the fridge, etc.) from your food-storing containers, so your family members do not confuse your cosmetics for food and do not accidentally eat or throw them away.

So long! Svetlana