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Making Your Own Skincare Products from Nature’s Bounty!
On a warm summer hike with a group of eager Girl Scouts, I plucked a large leaf from the base of a tall, yellow-flowered spire. I rubbed the fleshy, fuzzy leaf against my cheek and told the eager Girl Scouts, “Pioneer girls rubbed their cheeks with these leaves to make their cheeks rosy.”
The girls giggled with delight as they brushed the Mullen leaves on their skin, producing a natural blush. Minutes later in the woods, we found the slender ribbed stems of horsetail, sometimes nicknamed Indian puzzle. Horsetail and wood nettles were steeped to make hair rinses years ago.
My foray into making my own personal care products was born out of an interest in sharing folklore of plants with visitors at the parks where I worked, and out of necessity.
Allergies to components in everything from face creams to shampoos limit my ability to purchase over-the-counter products. Even items labeled as “hypoallergenic” often contain parabens, propylene glycol and sodium laurel sulfate proven by researchers (and my dermatologist) to be irritants and allergens.
When searching for a conditioner to treat dry hair in winter, I had read that early farm girls sometimes used egg yolk. A frothy mix of olive oil and a well-beaten yolk worked through my hair before a final lukewarm rinse leaves my hair silky soft. The fatty yolks are loaded with vitamins A, B, D and E, key vitamins to maintain healthy hair and prevent hair loss.
Charlotte Wolfe, director of Prairie Winds Farms in Lakeville, Indiana, is a fan of natural beauty products. On her acreage, she has plenty of prairie and bee hives to provide ingredients and enjoys teaching kids and adults about farm life and nature. She says the benefit to making your own products is that it is often much cheaper even if you buy some prepared natural ingredients to use in your recipes. “Besides, it’s fun to make something out of things you grow in your garden or gather from nature!” she adds.
Honey and beeswax are often added into homemade soaps and skin products for their protection qualities. New research, Charlotte says, is indicating a resurgence of honey to treat burns, as well.
According to Charlotte, plants and grains used for centuries include comfrey, dill, fennel, caraway, sage, thyme, lemon balm and lemon verbena. Cucumber slices have long been recognized as a way to soothe tired, puffy eyes. Oatmeal baths reduce itching, and cornmeal mixed with other ingredients makes a great facial scrub.
To learn more about homemade skin care products, Charlotte suggests these books:
Jeanne Rose's “Kitchen Cosmetics: Using Herbs, Fruit, & Flowers for Natural Body Care” and “Natural Beauty for All Seasons: 250 Simple Recipes and Gift-Giving Ideas for Year-Round Beauty” by Janice Cox.
Family Fun
Make your Own Conditioner or Moisturizer
Charlotte shares these recipes. You’ll find the ingredients at health food stores or in your garden.
Quick Conditioner and Moisturizer
Mix ½ cup of sunflower oil
5 drops rosemary oil
10 drops lavender oil
Apply the mixture to damp hair, cover with plastic wrap and a hot towel for 20 minutes. Shampoo.
For moisturizer, add a few drops of tangerine or orange oil and store it in a squeeze bottle. Use after your shower.
Fragrant Hair Rinse
Rosemary, lavender and fragrant rose petals, all popular today in aromatherapy products, can be grown in your garden. Steep the leaves and flowers in hot water. Cool and use as a hair rinse.
Homemade Hand Cream
3 oz beeswax
16 oz coconut oil
1 tblsp sesame oil or baby oil
1/2 tsp wheat germ oil or Vitamin E oil
1 cup water
1/2 -1 tsp Borax (in laundry section of grocery store)
Your choice of fragrant essential oils
Dissolve Borax in water, boil. Melt wax and oils in a double boiler. Pour wax and oils into a mixing bowl. Add essential oils to personalize your fragrance. Turn on hand mixer; while mixing, slowly pour hot borax mixture into bowl. Mix until combined. Put into containers immediately.
