The beauty industry accounts for billions of dollars in annual sales, and almost all of those sales are made to women. We buy. We buy wrinkle cream, makeup, toners, tighteners, washes, rinses, colors, fragrances, and fixatives. Most of us have a drawer somewhere in our home filled with duds: items purchased in a weak moment that turned out to be less than they promised. We return to old standbys, occasionally discover a new product that we like, and generally regret the amount we spend. But what if we could do it all ourselves? What if we could save money, get products tailored to our needs, and do it with simple ingredients?

We can.

Homeopathy has become something of a dirty word. It conjures up visions of freckled hippies in birchenstock sandals saying things like “groovy” and “organic,” of incense and zodiac jewelry. But a splinter-segment of homeopathy is home beauty care, and this is an idea worth a second look. Home made beauty products are surprisingly simple to create, and creating them is an education in and of itself.

The surprise is that of us have the basic ingredients for many simple beauty products right in our homes, or close to hand via local suppliers. Beauty magazines may try to convince us that every new cream and lotion contains some rare tropical oil or her, but the truth is they are basically the same.

Recent personal care trends have been leaning toward the botanical, all natural, earthy theme, so making your own at home is an idea whose time has come. Shea butter, for example, has been popping up in trendy shops everywhere. One French chain has been selling it in 3 oz tins for $6.00. Bought from all-natural suppliers (of aroma-therapy products, soap-making products, or natural health products) a pound of shea butter goes for anywhere between $6.00 and $12.00. A significant savings. Another trend are simple, natural scents. Essential oils, the source of these fragrances, can be purchased at almost any natural food supplier, aroma-therapy shop, and even on ebay. Depending on the costliness of the source fragrance, they range in price from $1.50 and ounce (for fragrances like grapefruit and clove) to $10.00 an ounce (for rarer fragrances like french provincial lavender and bergamont). Carrier oils and body oils like Sesame, Avocado, Almond, Jojoba, and even Kukui Nut range from $4.00 to $10.00 for 20 fluid ounces. Glycerine, distilled water, vitamin E capsules, and light olive oil, and a few other items are all that is needed to stock a home-cosmetics pantry for your own creams, lotions, and balms.

Some vital ingredients may be growing in your garden. Cucumbers and potatoes, for example, are valuable ingredients in facial care. Keep a jar of fresh squeezed cucumber juice in your refrigerator. It makes a perfectly PH-balanced skin toner, conditioning and cleansing pores. Sliced cucumber removes puffiness and tightens skin around the eyes. Potato slices and juice remove dark spots on the skin and lighten dark circles.

Using a handful of ingredients, any of us can create a beauty care pantry in our own homes. Here are a few recipes. Please remember it’s ALWAYS important to test cosmetics, creams, lotions on a soft inner arm location to make sure you are not allergic to the ingredients.

Here are just a few basic, simple recipes you can try at home:

Sweet Orange Cold Cream

3 tablespoons grated beeswax (available at health food stores)
1/4 cup oil (olive oil is fine, but you may use jojoba or almond if you prefer)
1/4 rosewater (available at local pharmacies, also soapmaker’s suppliers)
3 vitamin E gel-capsules, squeeze of their fluid
26 eye-dropper drops of sweet orange essential oil
(available from any aroma-therapy supplier)

In a double boiler melt the beeswax with the oil. Blend it well, stirring continuously. Stir in the rosewater gradually, remove from heat. Continue stirring as this mixture cools. When it becomes thick and creamy, add the vitamin E and essential oil.
Sweet orange oil acts as a natural detoxifier, cleansing and lifting out impurities.

The mixture can be stored in a sealed container in a cold, dry place for 3 months.

Lemon and Lavender Pimple Stopper

10 drops each of: Lavender, Lemon, and Tea Tree oils

Mix all oils together and store in a dark glass container. Dot any pimples with a cotton swab dipped in the solution. It may sting or tingle slightly, like alcohol on a cut.

Basic Fragrance Spray

1/2 cup of 100 proof Vodka
15 drops of ANY essential oil

Combination suggestions:
5 drops grapefruit, 5 drops sweet orange, 5 drops bergamont
or
10 drops lavender, 2 drops lemon verbena, 3 drops orange blossom

Combine in glass container, store in smaller amber glass containers. Keep in a cool, dry place. Keeps for one year.

There are marvelous books on the market for anyone wishing to begin making their own creams, lotions, soaps, and perfumes. Examining a few recipes makes one thing clear: what we pay for at the cosmetics counter is largely the name and the packaging. Take away the chemicals, remove the 24 karat gold leafed box, and eliminate the frosted glass container and you have some beeswax, shea butter, jojoba oil, and fragrance (or something similar). Total cost for the product itself? Probably around $3.00. Cost of packaging, advertising, chemical enhancements (to preserve it nearly indefinitely), and markup? Who knows, but certainly too much.

Home made beauty may not be for everyone. But it’s worth a second look even for the staunchest supporter of Fifth Avenue’s chic boutique culture. At the least, knowing one’s ingredients is savvy consumerism. Get what you pay for. Read labels. Consider how much it cost the manufacturer in comparison to how much you are paying. And who knows, maybe some Saturday afternoon even the snottiest among us may crack, whip out Nana’s double boiler, and try our hand at a little home-alchemy.