DIY natural remedies in your own kitchen!

Hi Eden angels,

There are many reasons why natural/ organic products are much more expensive than generic brands. Some contain fancy essential oils, some like to ensure that all employees across the supply chain are paid enough and well looked after, some brands are so tiny that they need to charge enough to cover their overheads and make a little profit, some use organic ingredients, which with demand so low farmers have to keep their prices high to make a profit etc etc.

But you can use natural products and save money at the same time. After using many different natural beauty products for a while now and being extra vigilant by reading the ingredients lists, I'll be sharing with you some secrets that natural/ organic brands don't want you to know.

Make up remover

Olive oil works well as a make-up remover. It can also remove eye make up like mascara. I did find that the oil gave me spots and stung my eyes a little though. If you want to help prevent breaking out from using olive oil, simply wipe off the oil with a toner.

Toner

This is super easy to make. You can omit the alcohol and just add a drop or two of witchhazel or tea tree oil onto some wet cotton or muslin cloth and wipe across your face.

Moisturiser

Any kind of fat can work as a moisturiser. In fact, some of those posh organic brands use sunflower seed oil as the main ingredient. My grandma uses olive oil and she has beautiful silky skin. If you have eczema or psoriasis, you might want to try out coconut oil, which I've heard works amazingly well.

Cuticle oil

Any oil works for this. Just massage any oil you have in your kitchen onto your cuticles.

Scrub

I like to mix sugar and lemon together and scrub my face with it before washing my face. An alternative is to use sea salt and olive oil for a moisturising scrub. Either of these can be used on the face or body but sea salt is more gentle if you have sensitive skin.

Hair oil

Again, any oil an work but you don't want anything too smelly. My mother used to put olive oil in my hair, which also helped detangle it. I still put olive oil in my hair from time to time. This can work as a leave in conditioner or as a hot/ cool oil treatment before rinsing off.

Hair detangler

Fill a spray bottle with 1 part conditioner and 4 parts water and shake it up. Thanks to Groovy mom for this tip! If you don't have a natural conditioner then you might want to substitute it with coconut oil. I haven't tried it myself but it's worth giving it a go.

Body powder

Read the ingredients of a pot of posh body powder and it's very likely that you have the main ingredient in your kitchen cupboard, such as cornflour. Add a few drops of essential oil if you wish.

Tinted lip balm

If you have a natural blusher or eyeshadow, you can mix a little into some lip balm. If you don't have lip balm, you use coconut oil instead. A cheaper oil may work but it would be more runny and won't stay put as long.

If you like these tips, then you'll LOVE Marnie's blog, What Red Said. She has many recipes such as mouthwash and deodorant. So please check her out!

Have fun trying out these tips and let me know how you all get on!

Do you have any tips you'd like to share? I'll then publish my favourites.

xx