When winter’s wind and chilly, dry air starts to dry out your skin, do you head off to the local cosmetics aisle looking for a good moisturizer — only to find that whatever you choose you’re buying a load of chemicals along with that “natural” ingredient? Good news! NDTV has three recipes you can make at home, sans chemicals. They include:
- An aloe vera concoction with beeswax, coconut and almond oils with a few drops of your favorite essential oil
- A glycerine and honey recipe with lemon and green tea
- An argan and emu oil mixture
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No matter which one you choose, the point is that most commercial skin care products are loaded with fragrances and chemicals that are in there for who-knows-what reason. The fact is that an Environmental Defense report found many of these cosmetics are also seriously contaminated with things like lead, beryllium, thallium, cadmium and arsenic!
Another problem is that a number of these toxic chemicals are included under the general category of “fragrance,” and these ingredients are protected from disclosure under a loophole in the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act that is supposed to tell consumers what’s in their products. However, since manufacturers are not required to disclose trade secrets, they are protected if they list the ingredients as fragrances or flavors.
When you consider that the average American woman uses 12 personal care products each day, containing nearly 168 different chemicals — the majority of which have not undergone adequate safety testing — it’s no wonder more and more people are choosing to make their own skin care products at home.
If you are interested in more ideas on making your own skin care lotions, you can start with items you might already have in your kitchen cupboard, or can easily obtain in the grocery aisle. For example, coconut oil is an excellent healthy skin moisturizer that also has antibacterial properties. You can use coconut oil to both wash your face and moisturize.
Coconut oil can also be used in lieu of deodorant, and will soften the skin under your arms at the same time. The oil can be used to protect your skin while shaving, and after shaving to moisturize all over your body, from your face to your toes. While scientific research is ongoing, there is some case evidence to suggest that coconut oil may help reduce the symptoms of eczema and psoriasis.