Whether you’re self-isolating, meaning you can’t get your favourite beauty products as quickly or easily as normal, or you need to be a little careful with money while things are so up in the air, we’re going to be highlighting ways to make homemade beauty products over the coming weeks. And we’re starting with homemade cleanser.
Beyond saving money (you know what huge fans we are of cheap makeup over here!), making homemade cleanser means you can choose ingredients that best suit your exact skincare needs. You also have full control over the products that you’re putting on your face, allowing you to easily and cheaply avoid any contentious chemicals without getting bogged down with labels.
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There are thousands of homemade cleanser recipes so we’ve selected what we consider to be the best for beginners, and which include ingredients that should (hopefully) be easy to get hold of. What’s more, many homemade beauty products use similar ingredients and these ingredients have many other uses beyond beauty. Although it may seem like an initial outlay, if you were going to spend cash on cleanser anyway, you’ll get much for your money doing it this way. As long as people aren’t panic buying olive oil.
Homemade cleanser is particularly useful for those of us with slightly more sensitive skin as it ensures you’re only using entirely natural products with no sneaky chemicals or agents thrown in. These homemade cleansers are two of the easiest to make and there’s a strong chance you have most of the ingredients already. The first tutorial involves:
The other recipe requires gram flour, which is ideal for exfoliation and hair growth. The entire Homeveda channel on YouTube uses remedies based on the principles of Ayurveda, which is the ancient Indian science of healing.
According to the NHS, 95% of us will have suffered from acne at some point in our early lives, and so often this continues into adulthood. We detail more about the causes, and which ingredients work well at clearing your face in our What is acne? explainer.
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As that article explains, acne can be caused by a mixture of hormones but having a decent skincare routine can make a real difference in either stopping these breakouts in their tracks, or lessening the impact once they break through. With this in mind, our next tutorial recommendation is from iamvanessae.
Her homemade cleanser for acne-prone skin involves:
This cleanser is excellent for those of us with slightly oilier, more acne-prone skin but can be used to balance out most skin conditions. It’s important to note that this particular product has a recommended shelf life of two weeks.
The Our Oily House YouTube channel is all about the use of essential oils in creating natural home remedies and products. This tutorial provides homemade cleanser recipes suitable for five different skin types – dry, mature, oily, sensitive and acne-prone.
The homemade cleanser recipe for dry skin involves:
By combining these very simple, very natural products, you’ll have yourself a cleanser that not only soothes and cleans the skin, but also enriches it.
As well as countless more YouTube videos, there are a number of blogs that use natural replacements for shop-bought cleansers. One being DIY Natural which focuses primarily on essential oils, avocado, and rose petals to create homemade cleanser.
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Obviously we can appreciate not everyone has rose petals in their kitchen or bathroom cupboards (we don’t!) so there is also this post from livesimply that requires honey, olive oil and aloe vera, combined to create a cleanser that is as simple as it is effective.
For more options, and more combinations, we can also recommend Hello Glow which gives eight more detailed suggestions on how to make your own cleansers depending on what outcome you’re hoping to get and what requirements your face has.
If you’re interested in beauty brands that offer natural, ingredient-led products we can highly recommend The Ordinary, Carbon Theory and Boots’ Ingredients range.
Libby graduated from Bournemouth University with a degree in Multimedia Journalism. She’s worked as a researcher and writer for Heart Radio as well as a features writer for a Somerset newspaper. She’s since taken time out to travel, manage a hotel restaurant, do a lot of dog walking, and now works in London’s West End
