There are a number of places on the Internet where you can get recipes for cosmetic products. We haven’t used all of these, but based on the information provided on the website & our vast knowledge about cosmetic chemistry (ok the Right & Left Brain’s knowledge), these are good places for budding young cosmetic chemists to start.
DIY Cosmetic sites
Creative Cosmetic Company – Former science, chemistry, and art teacher, Joan Brindle founded this company to introduce students to science and teach them to create unique bath and body products such as body butters, foaming soaps, lotions, bubble bars, glimmer sticks, etc.
Could make a fun event if you’re near Seattle, Washington but maybe if you’re not, maybe you can get her to travel.
Make Your Own Cosmetics – If you want to try making your own products at home, this site is a great place to start. It gives both the recipes and a place for you to order the needed raw materials.
This site has numerous formulas which are both good and bad. You have to experiment to find out which are which. Avoid formulas that require refrigeration or at least use them immediately and toss the rest.
Making Cosmetics – If you’re more serious about making the kind of products you could buy in a store, then this site is what you want. You can get surfactants, solvents, preservatives, and all the other ingredients that actual cosmetic chemists use.
The formulas page is a pretty good resource.
DIY Cosmetics – This site focuses on “green” cosmetic formulas, so your options of ingredients will be more limited than other sites. The formulas also won’t perform as well as things you can buy in the store. However, if you want to practice formulating while minimizing your exposure to the most harsh chemicals, this site might be for you.
E-Bottles – This is not a site for formulas but once you’re done with your formula, you’ll want somewhere to put it. Check out ebottles.com to find the packaging you need.
Should you make your own?
Routinely making your own cosmetics is not a good idea for most people. It will be more expensive, will likely not work as well, will take a long time and if you are not careful, you can easily create a contaminated products you shouldn’t use.
But if you’re curious and looking for a fun weekend project, then DIY Cosmetics is worth trying.
Are you a DIY Cosmetic maker? Leave a comment if you have any tips and suggestions.
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You know, I have bought quite a lot of handmade cosmetics (scrubs, lotions, body butter) on Etsy, and 90% of it has been just as good as the “professionally” made stuff. Please try the stuff before you get all condescending about it. There are a lot of VERY talented people out there.
I just got into this in the last few months and am loving it – even the lumpy disasters! The more I learn the more hooked I am on it. So far I have made a nice sunscreen and a great body wash using ingredients from Lotion Crafter & Making Cosmetics plus some lab equipment.
My tips:
An easy and less expensive way to get your feet wet is by adding a favorite active or two to an already prepared basic cream.
Don’t try to offset the cost of the ingredients by skimping on equipment – you’ll be safer, get better results, and have more fun.
There is not a lot of information out there so take full advantage of what you can find – really read it and understand it before you get started.
The idea of making the _perfect_ face cream or whatever can be very compelling but the thought of having to show up at the doctor’s (or the ER!) with skin funk or acid burns should be even more compelling. Remember your first time trying to bake a cake? How lovely and perfect it was? Ha ha! Do it their way (use preservatives, don’t over do the actives, etc.) until you’re an expert – at which point you’ll probably realize why it’s done the way it is. ; )
I make my own soap (handmade soap is NOT drying) I am hoping to one day get brave enough to make my own lotions as well. Here is a balanced and thorough description that I like: http://www.snowdriftfarm.com/lotionmaking101.html
I want products as natural AS POSSIBLE, but you still want to be safe and educated (Research, research, research). Also, like the previous poster said, don’t experiment until you are experienced!
I’ve made balms, butters, and scrubs. They are fun and easy. But oils do go rancid and if you don’t have any/the proper amount of preservatives, they go rancid a lot quicker. Those are the easy things to make. With lotions you get into adding water and that’s the road to bacteria.
I thought this was a handy list, not condescending at all, but maybe I missed something. People seem cranky all over the place this morning!
I have a jar of honey I’m not going to consume so I thought I’d make something out of it. A scrub maybe? Any ideas? I don’t want to end up sticky…
You can make “wax” for waxing your legs.
Google “sugaring”, you usually have to mix it with lemon juice. I have used it many times and it hurts less than waxing, just make sure you let it cool a little before use so you don’t burn yourself!
Zenobiah,
What makes sugaring less painful than waxing? Aren’t you still yanking hairs out of your skin?
I am not sure, but it feels less painful on me for some reason. (Unless I scald myself
) I have also read other people saying the same thing, but I don’t have any scientific basis for it.
It really doesn’t. I think it’s psychosomatic. You expect it to be less painful therefore you fool yourself into thinking it is. I’ve done both, they’re both equally painful. However I found it’s easier to really badly burn yourself with sugaring products then with No Tweeze brand wax.
Sugaring! That’s a grand idea, Zenobiah, thank you!
I’ve found sugaring easier on the skin too. I always thought it was because wax gets harder than the sugaring does, so yeah, it’s still yanking hairs out, and maybe it’’s mind over matter, but whatever works!
Luckily, I don’t have a lot of or thick body hair. This will be a weekend of sugaring and henna. ^_^
Zenobia, you thought they were being condescending? Never visit Orac’s blog, he’s much less tolerant of the woo than the Beauty Brains.
I’m very skeptical of handmade products. All it takes is a tiny bit of rotavirus, strep, or staph near your mucous membranes, eyes, or any pimples etc. and you’ll have a very nasty infection. I’m not reassured by the image of some hipster making moisturizer in their kitchen.
When I started to make my own cosmetics it did not just only give me the insight of how everything is done and composed, but also made me more interested in the science and history of beauty products (which made me read this blog, hooray!).
And I know that making your own products is not more expensive, at least not here in Sweden. And yet, somehow I’m quite sure that my material costs are higher than others are (due to the value of the swedish crown, hehe).
Anyways, making your own cosmetics in really fun and interesting and probably makes you a smarter costumer.