Why Not Make Your Own Beauty Products?

Have you ever read the list of ingredients on a bottle of facial cleanser? Even the ones claiming to be made from "all natural" ingredients include some unrecognizable names on the back. Who's to say mother nature hasn't already provided us with substances that include at least as many health benefits - without the worry that harsh chemicals might irritate your skin?

Here are 3 ingredients that have the kind of effects on our skin that we'd look for in a facial cleanser:

Lemon juice ~ According to this article from The Huffington Post, its antibacterial and antifungal qualities clear up blackheads and acne. The citric acid lightens acne scarring and evens out skin tone. It also makes the skin less oily.
Sugar ~ Exfoliates by removing dead skin cells on the top layer of skin, and it's gentler than salt.
Coconut Oil ~ You can read about more of the health benefits of Coconut Oil here. It acts as a moisturizer, and the vitamin E and proteins repair damaged skin cells.

I stumbled upon the idea to make my this a few months back when a friend and I were brainstorming Mother's Day gifts. We found a great recipe for homemade lemon face scrub. It was really easy, and after testing it out myself, I decided to make some more. It works better than the pricey sea-foam face wash I had been using. It's great because there are no chemicals in it that may irritate the skin, everything in it is natural. Plus I can get all the ingredients for less money than one jar of the stuff I used to order!

They came out really cute! The little Mason Jars are the perfect size for gifts. :)

To Make It You Will Need:

• 1/2 Lemon 
• 1 cup of White Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
• Glass jar (any size works, but make sure its wide enough to fit a hand into)

First, mix the sugar and the coconut oil together in a bowl. Add the coconut oil a bit at a time until the mixture is soft, but not too wet. If you need more than 1/4 cup of the coconut oil, continue adding by the spoonful. Then, squeeze the juice out of half of a lemon. Add the juice to the sugar/oil mixture and stir until it's moist enough. You can experiment with the ratios by adding more sugar or coconut oil until it is a desirable texture.

I accidentally made a large batch.. so I put it in a few jars (recycled from
jelly or old bath salt scrubs) to share with the rest of the family, too!

I use this on my face by wetting it and then applying the scrub in gentle circles. You can leave it on for up to 10 minutes or wash it off immediately. If it leaves your face feeling a bit oily and water is beading up on it, you can use a washcloth on your face to remove the residue. I love washing my face with this after a hot summer day of coating my skin in sunscreen and bug spray; it leaves me feeling clean and refreshed!

I will definitely be looking for more ways to make my own natural beauty products, so I know that I'm only putting safe ingredients on my skin (since our skin is absorbent, we don't want our bodies absorbing hard-to-pronounce chemicals). I hope you try this and like it!