I started to DIY zero waste beauty products at home predominantly for health reasons. Many inexpensive beauty products created by big business are full of cancer-causing chemicals and hormone disruptors. No beuno! I’d heard a lot about this so I started experimenting with making my own simple products using core ingredients. This allowed me to know exactly what was in each product.
Making these products rather than buying them also allows you to customize each recipe to your needs, reduce your environmental impact by buying fewer ingredients to make multiple things and allows you to buy a lot of these things in bulk. Lastly, this has saved me that sweet, sweet coin. Now, I’m hooked!
I’ve tried to make a number of different things over the years, some with success, some without. Here are the ones I just keep going back to.
FACIAL OIL
Okay okay okay. Starting off strong here – this is my favorite on this list! If you make nothing else here, try this recipe!
I’ve suffered from acne for over 15years, right into adulthood. I could probably teach a course in skincare with all the research I’ve done. That said, one thing I’ve heard over and over from skin experts is the importance of using a moisturizer and for that moisturizer to be oil-based. You probably know that oil and water don’t mix. Our skin, as you also know, is oily. Whereas a water-based cream or lotion sits on top of the skin, oil-based moisturizers will actually be absorbed.
I switched from creams to oils about 3 years ago and I haven’t looked back.
Recipe:
4oz jojoba oil
2 tbsp of almond oil
5 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops frankincense oil blend
If you want to simplify, leave out the almond oil and just stick with Jojoba. It’s still great.
Swap out the essential oils as you see fit. Frankincense is reallllly great for the skin so I’d highly recommend that one. It’s very expensive though which is why I opted for the blend my first purchase to make sure I liked it. It gives a clear complexion and reduces the size of pores. Otherwise though, play around with different oils for their different skin benefits and yummy scents!
WHITENING TOOTHPASTE
I get asked every couple months how I get my teeth so white. Though I did use to use those incredibly expensive Whitestrips you can buy at the drugstore, a few years ago I started to find that they were burning my gums. I stopped, and within 6 or 7 months started to feel like my teeth were losing that healthy glow.
Enter, homemade whitening toothpaste.
If you’ve heard of using baking soda to whiten your teeth, that’s the key in this recipe.
I’ll admit, this stuff doesn’t taste awesome – the coconut oil is the part I have a hard time with – but the peppermint helps and let me tell you, it’s worth it. I still use a store-bought natural toothpaste most days, but I use this a couple times a week to fight stains from the copious amounts of coffee and red wine I consume. I notice the difference immediately now after a single-use.
Recipe:
4 tbsp of baking soda
enough coconut oil to get it to a thick paste
5 drops peppermint essential oil
optional: sweetener to taste
Try this out. It’s a FRACTION of the price of a tube of whitening toothpaste and with regular use, you’ll really notice a difference.
DRY SHAMPOO
I’m (embarrassingly) known in my circles as the girl who doesn’t wash her hair. I do wash it – but I try to do so as little as possible. Partially because I hear it’s better for your hair, but mostly out of sheer laziness.
This wasn’t always the case though. 6 or 7 years ago, I remember my hairdresser telling me that washing your hair every day actually isn’t good for it and I remember thinking I couldn’t possibly not wash my hair in the morning. Greasy hair runs in my family AND my hair is quite fine which means the grease really shows.
Over time though, I’ve managed to go from washing my hair daily to washing my hair about once every 5 days. It took time, patience, and a lot of this stuff to get me here. Though I usually also have a can of Bautiste on hand, I use this for the bulk of my dry shampoo needs because again, fewer ingredients and it’s a fraction of the price.
Recipe:
Fill your container 2/3 full with arrowroot powder.
For every ~ quarter cup, add about 1tbsp of cocoa powder.
Apply using a dedicated big fluffy makeup brush!
I have medium brown hair and I find this works well. The goal with the cocoa isn’t to match your exact hair colour – in fact you’ll find your tub gets brown after every shower if you try to do that. A little cocoa mixed in just helps to make the powder residue on your roots a little less noticeable.
HAIR CONDITIONER
In my years of trying to get my hair to a healthier place, I came across the “no poo” movement. If you aren’t familiar, it’s a growing body of people to don’t use traditional shampoo in their hair. Again, I think it stemmed from folks not wanting to subject their hair and scalps to the harmful ingredients in shampoo. Many people, particularly those with curly hair, have found their hair to look and feel a lot healthier since saying bye-bye to traditional shampoo
After a one to two year stint using only baking soda mixed with water to wash my hair, I’ve since switched to shampoo bars from a Canadian company (my favorites are Lemonhead and Minthead) which I’ve grown to love.
For several years now, I’ve used this recipe as my conditioner. It takes zero effort, is seriously the cheapest thing you could possibly use, it’s natural, and if you accidentally swallow some in the shower your gut will thank you!
Recipe:
In a spray bottle, fill nearly all the way with water, and add ~1tbsp of apple cider vinegar for every cup of water.
Can you tell I’m not very exact about things?
But seriously, don’t stress about measurements, this stuff should be fun to make!
BRONZER
No recipe needed here!
Straight cocoa powder can make a nice bronzer. Really.
I will mention that I’ve tried this as an eyeshadow too and the staying power isn’t top notch, with your eye lid rubbing against itself all day and whatnot. Cocoa does work quite nicely on the cheeks, however, and works well if you’re into face contouring.
As with any bronzer, use sparingly and build as you go.
DEODORANT
This one freaks people out.
You’ll be more likely to like this one if you’re already on the natural deodorant train. If you’re not, you should really think about jumping on board. There have been lots of stories over the last several years about the dangers of deodorants containing aluminum.
Baking soda, in addition to all the other amazing things it can do, also acts as a natural deodorizer.
Combine with coconut oil and your favorite essential oils and you’re all set!
Recipe:
Fill your container halfway with baking soda
Add coconut oil until you get a very thick paste that’s almost hard to stir.
Add 5-8 drops of your favorite essential oil and voila!
My favorite essential oils to add to this are lemon and grapefruit, but get creative!
LIP SCRUB
We recently moved into the cold winter months here in Toronto, and my lips were not having it. I whipped together this lip scrub and loved it so much, I ended up making it for a couple different friends as part of their Christmas gifts.
I’ve received glowing reviews.
Recipe:
Sugar
Olive Oil
Lemon essential oil
Give even just one of these DIY zero waste beauty recipes a try and see what you think. You’ll already be helping the environment and your wallet. You’ll find that as you adopt recipes that work for you, that’ll fuel your desire to do this in even more areas of your life.
Just remember – moving to a more zero waste, non toxic lifestyle should be an evolution. It doesn’t need to happen all at once. Celebrate the small wins and feel good that you’re reducing the size of your environmental footprint.
Want to take this zero waste stuff a step further? Here are the disposable swaps I’ve made that have stuck over the years!