Easy Cosmetic DIY Hacks For Anyone

We get it, not everyone wants to make a moisturiser from scratch or wants to go full on into cosmetic formulating. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get the skin benefits of natural cosmetic ingredients. There are lots of very simple ways to incorporate gorgeous natural oils and actives into your skin care routine - without too much fuss or expense.

So you've got some skin and hair care products at home, but you've heard of the amazing carrier oils, actives and natural ingredients that make high end products stand out, and you're wishing you could experience them. Well you can! Our natural cosmetic ingredients are easy to use, and you can incorporate them straight into your existing routine to get the benefits.

 

One of our favourites tips that we’ll share again because we know you guys love it, is to add  hyaluronic acid into a  hydrosol for the easiest hydrating toner. Add 5 pipette-fulls of hyaluronic acid into a 100ml bottle of any hydrosol and shake well. Spritz onto clean but damp skin.

You can also add hyaluronic acid to other products. Add a few drops of hyaluronic acid to your moisturiser, and apply to damp/wet skin. To do this, scoop out a small amount of your moisturiser into the palm of your hand, then drop 3 drops of hyauronic acid serum onto your palm and rub your palms together to combine the moisturiser and oil. Apply to damp skin.

Add a few drops of rosehip / squalane / jojoba oil to your existing moisturiser for an extra moisturising boost. You can also try  tamanu oil for problem skin. Scoop out a small amount of your moisturiser into the palm of your hand, then drop 3 drops of your oil of choice onto your palms and rub together to combine. Apply to your skin as normal.

In the same way, add 1 drop of  Vitamin A palmitate or  Vitamin E to your moisturiser to get the benefit of these skin actives.

Add  cucumber oil to products to make them more gentle and moisturising, plus it adds an amazing fresh scent. I looove a little cucumber oil in a face wash: add a spoon of cucumber oil into your bottle of product and shake well to combine it.

Botanical Ice Cubes - perfect for our hot summers!

Another easy hack is to freeze botanical infusions into ice cubes, which you can then use to massage and depuff your face.

Green tea ice cubes are amazing to depuff and wake up your skin. You can use green tea bags but I find the unprocessed green tea leaves to be much more potent and effective. Make up your tea infusion as you would make any cup of tea, then decant into an ice tray and freeze. Use in the morning as a wake-me-up, or on hot summer afternoons to give your skin a little boost.

Aloe vera cubes soothe sunburn and irritation. Decant  aloe vera liquid into an ice tray and freeze.

Witch hazel is great for inflamed acne and problem skin. Decant  witch hazel distillate into an ice tray and freeze, or make your own  witch hazel infusion/tea and freeze that.

If you want to zhoosh up your shampoo, conditioner or hair treatment with some additional protein, add a spoon of any  hydrolyzed protein to the bottle and shake well.

You can also add a few drops of  rosemary,  peppermint or other essential oil.

Adding some fragrance to existing products that smell boring:

You can add just 1-3 drops of an  essential oil into a plain moisturiser, body cream or even a shampoo to get a lovely fragrance. Make sure to mix it in well.

Try customer favourites such as  rose blend,  neroli,  ylang ylang,  orange or even a blend of a few different essential oils.

Working With Bases

Another easy hack is to use bases, and add in extra ingredients to make them customised for your needs. We stock a range of  natural bases: cream, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and face wash. They are finished products as is, but are designed to have extra ingredients added to them so that they become customised products.

You can add in all kinds of interesting ingredients, from carrier oils, to skin butters, to actives, and essential oils for different fragrances.

Remember where we added cucumber oil to a face wash above? Well you can do it with a face wash base, and simply add in the cucumber oil to that, and even some additional aloe vera liquid if you like. A cucumber and aloe face wash sounds divine - sign me up!

You can also add the proteins to the shampoo and conditioner base, or even to the cream base and turn it into a nourishing hair cream.

Here is an idea of what can be added to the bases to customise them:

Essential oils - pick your favourite scent!

Carrier oils - make your product more nourishing and moisturising by adding in some extra carrier oil.

Water based liquid - hydrosols,  aloe vera gel, or a  botanical infusion.

Exfoliants - turn your plain body wash into an exfoliating body wash.

Add in actives. These can really give your base some X-factor. Try adding ingredients such as Vitamin E oil for an extra nourishing body lotion; panthenol, wheat protein and keratin for a rich hair shampoo or conditioner; hyaluronic acid or Coenzyme Q10 for a high end facial product; the list goes on.

Colourants - add a touch of colour.

Disinfectants - you can even make a sanitising hand wash by adding in some alcohol to your castile soap. 

Others:  lanolin to make a rich barrier cream; activated charcoal face wash or body wash; clays to cleanse.

 

To read the full article on working with bases, please read here: A Quick Guide To Working With Bases

 

See how easy it is to work with natural cosmetic ingredients? Anyone can do it, including you!

 

 

About the author:

Juliette van der Meer

BSc, BScH, PGCE, Adv Dip Cosmetic Science

Cosmetic scientist