Covid-19 has forced us to be sustainable and resilient in our life. Beauty and wellness are not behind by any means. When salons, esthetician practices were closed, we all turned into our good-old DIY skincare routes to maintain flowless, glowing skin, hair, and body.
Nowadays, maintaining clean, smooth, and attractive skin is a goal for everybody, regardless of gender but given the fear of pandemic, it has gotten tough to fulfill our regular skincare procedures via salon/estheticians only. That’s why DIY Skincare is the best way to retain your skin regimen perfectly.
Many of you have skin problems that you'd like to cure organically, naturally, and affordably without going out of the house. Even though, we have an increasing amount of skincare products available in the market, I strongly believe that these products are not always trustworthy as they could be chemical-based or made out of unknown ingredients which are hard to pronounce. So here we are throwing some golden nuggets on DIY Skincare.
From lip balm to face masks, you can make a lot of other DIYs. But before you make any DIYs, I have come up with mainly two reasons why DIY skincare is best for you.
REASONS WHY DIY SKINCARE IS BEST FOR YOU
1) You avoid carbon consumption
Okay I am wearing sustainable professional hat here. An excess amount of carbon consumption is harmful to humans. However, using DIY skincare, we can avoid the consumption of carbon.
Before your favorite beauty product came into your hand, there is a long process behind producing that skincare product. This process includes growing ingredient in farm, getting ingredient tasting for cosmetic use, collecting ingredients manufactured in the factory, testing, transportation, warehouse storage, distribution to shopkeepers, and then in your hand via air, fright or truck transport again. Through that time, a huge amount of carbon is attached to the skincare product.
The container and the skincare product would also contain carbon that can be harmful to our skin. If you make your DIY skin care at home, you will know much better about your tiny little small Cute glass jar. As a result, our consumption of carbon will be reduced drastically, which is a great thing.
2) You know all the ingredients in your DIY skincare
Every skincare product in the market comes with the long list of ingredients. Tell me one product from your beauty cabinet and you can pronounce, understand, and know about all the ingredient listed in your jar. While in DIY skincare products, you know, what exactly inside your product.
The skin is the body's most significant component. This is my belief that, you cannot apply anything to the skin before doing proper research. You should be aware what the composition consists of.
When you manufacture your DIY skincare products, you know what ingredients you are adding, why are you adding it and where those ingredients are coming from. You will add the ingredients that would be beneficial to the skin. Basically, you take care of the purity, selection of the right ingredients, and everything.
So, I am sure you are convinced and ready to embark on your DIY Skincare journey but wait… we have our top 5 tips to follow when it comes to DIY skincare!
5 TIPS TO FOLLOW IN DIY SKINCARE
Make DIY Skincare in small batches as we don’t use preservatives in DIYs
This first tip is especially for beginners who are trying to use DIY skincare and think that they are going to use toner, rinse or lotion in next month or so. When we make DIY Skincare products, we generally don’t use any preservatives, that’s why DIY skincare products have a limited shelf life. It’s also depends on what kind of DIY products too! But if you are first time doing it, either way, making it in modest quantities is the main advantage.
In this way, you don’t have to throw the leftover DIY if it’s not working out for you. One thing, I want to point out that, if you are adding water in any of your DIYs, those products are prone to contamination. That’s why this products needs to be made in smallest quantity possible.
However, Anhydrous, dry or powdery skincare DIY have a longer shelf-life than water-based ones.
Always dilute essential oils, never use essential oil directly on your skin
Never use concentrated essential oil! It is always advised to dilute essential oils while making DIY skincare. Essential oils are very potent ingredient, and adding them concentrated can cause irritation, sensation and allergic reaction to the body. It is a must-tip to follow while making DIY skincare, as this ingredient can get into the deepest layer of the skin.
Hence, they can damage or burn your skin. As strong as their aroma is, they do quickly penetrate so, don’t apply essential oil directly to your skin.
Refrigerate water-based DIY skincare
It is recommended to refrigerate your water-based and unpreserved DIY skincare. This will help you preserve homemade products last longer. Since no preservatives are added in DIY skincare, they usually have a short shelf life. I still recommend seven to ten days only when it comes to refrigerated water-based DIY products.
Never use zinc oxide for sun protection
Zinc oxide has several benefits for the skin; being anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and providing sun protection. However, suncare and DIY Skincare do not go hand in hand. I personally never recommend to do DIY Sunscreen using zinc oxide.
My main reason is:
When you do DIY sunscreen, you can’t lab test the potency of the sunscreen. You don’t know how much SPF coverage your DIY formula is covering. In some country, sunscreen is under the drug instead of beauty product, and I totally get it why that’s the case. That’s why never do DIY or just add zinc oxide into your regular cream for sun protection. You might get burn instead of protecting your skin from sun.
Patch test before using your DIY products
When utilizing your homemade skincare, always patch-check it. You never know if the DIY skin care will cause any irritation or damage to your skin. Maybe the ingredient you use to product your product, that ingredient is not suitable for your skin type.
Hence, it is better to test the DIY and be left for at least 24 hours. The inner side of the elbow or wrist is a more suitable place to patch-test.
Final words
Many of us aspire to have perfect skin. In reality, most people have at minimum one or two skin issues. When it relates to the skin, we all have objectives, whether seasonal outbreaks, abundant oil, or fine wrinkles. While "perfect" skin does not exist, you may likely enhance your skin's health and look.
I personally think that, DIY skincare solutions are usually preferable since you have complete control over the ingredients you put on your face. You save a chunk of money not buying expensive chemical-based skin care products that are of no use.