By way of introduction, I was seven years old when I was diagnosed with my first skin sensitivity. My skin was peeling profusely is what I remember most. My mom took me to the doctor and he told my mom to try Dove soap as it was made without any artificial coloring. His diagnosis was spot on and so I grew up with Ivory and Dove soap, both white soaps without any coloring. This lasted till age fourteen when skin irritations erupted to the fore once again. This time it was suggested I ingest food without artificial coloring – not an easy task – but looking back on that experience (and the results that were not obtained with the restricted diet) I now believe the culprit was artificial fragrances. At any rate, out of necessity, I began making my own natural soap and skin care products in 2015 and I’d like to pass along a few things I’ve learned in that time, and yes, I am self-taught, and it’s amazing what you can learn when you put your mind to it, along with the help of the internet and a few choice books. And finally, although I’ve provided link to a few products, I am not an Amazon affiliate and I will not make any money through any products purchased.

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1.Aloe: Aloe is highly beneficial for treating minor skin irritations including sunburn and scalp irritations and it can also be used as a face wash, face mask, or in small amounts as a skin lotion. Make sure it’s clear however, and not artificially colored green, which is just another chemical. You can also buy an aloe plant, and break off a stem on an as needed basis. Any unused part of the leaf can be stored in the fridge until your next use. However, the bonus of having a bottle of aloe gel is that you can add lavender essential oil for added healing properties. For scalp issues including stimulation of hair roots for hair growth, add rosemary instead.

Aloe is highly therapeutic because it contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, chromium, and manganese, all of which are absorbable by skin and contribute to skin health and hydration as well as immune function. Secondary uses for aloe would be as a hair tonic to enhance curl (use the excess on your hand to swipe across your face) and as a base for a hand sanitizer (to which you would add tea tree oil) The brand I’m currently using is Seven Minerals, which is grown and harvested in Texas as a family business. Here’s the link: OrganicAloe

2. Honey. I once used honey on a large steam burn on my hand that traditional medicine was failing to heal. For two days, my skin stayed in the same condition, until I applied honey. Within 24 hours the results were noticeable. I’ve been a fan of honey’s healing and anti-bacterial properties ever since. Honey also makes a beneficial skin mask with skin that’s already been rinsed with warm water. Just add a bit to a clean washcloth and very gently scrub your skin. Then leave it on for as long as possible before rinsing it off. I buy larger bottles of honey and pour portions into smaller recycled bottles and containers for use in my bath and shower.

Just be sure to use raw unprocessed honey, not process or pasteurized (labeled in the stores as “pure”) which is completely unnecessary and robs the honey of its enzymes. Do this and you don’t need to pay for the more expensive manuka honey marketed for “skin care.” Also, for more general purposes, local honey is best, for a variety of reasons outside the purposes of this article. Suffice it to say, honey also contains minerals (the darker the honey the more minerals) and a lot of trace elements, and the most important thing to note is that the minerals in honey have a high level of “bioavailability” – typically 80%-90% - meaning your body absorbs them quite easily. As a final aside, my grandparents’ generation knew all about the benefits of honey as a “heart tonic” and would typically drink it in warm water in the evenings. Honey is also anti-inflammatory and can be used in hot water or herbal tea with lemon to sooth sore throats.

3. Witch Hazel. Witch hazel is the lead ingredient for facial toners. You can pour it into small glass spray bottles to spritz onto your skin, or pour it into the smallest size jelly jars as I do, over top of 20 or so round cotton pads used to remove make-up. Lemon lavender is one good all-purpose combination of essential oils, as you can never go wrong with lavender for your skin and the lemon adds the “brightening” but there are different combinations of EOs you can use depending on your skin type. One main reason to make your own skin toner is that the store bought brands often use artificially coloring, which is not beneficial to your skin and which has a higher price tag than making your own. You can also use witch hazel to make facial spritzes. One example would be a “mental clarity” spritz simply by adding a combination of rosemary (always uplifting) sage, basil (surprisingly sweet) and peppermint EOs.

And as a quick aside (and bonus!) it’s the same concept for air fresheners. In other words, a “mental clarity” air freshener would use the same EOs but instead of witch hazel in a glass spray bottle, you would use two tablespoons of alcohol for a four-ounce bottle, then add the EOs before filling up the rest of the bottle with filtered water. It’s that simple. And one of my favorite air fresheners, because I love the scent of lemongrass, is a simple combination of lemongrass and cinnamon; it’s quite uplifting. Two other favorites are “sea breeze” which consists of lemongrass, rosemary and eucalyptus, and a fun holiday scent of orange and spearmint.

4. Bentonite Clay. The brand I highly recommend is Aztec which also happens to have a great price point. Use this with apple cider vinegar on a monthly or quarterly basis for a strong facial mask. It’s so strong, you will feel your skin pulse after 15-20 minutes. If you need something less strong, you can mix it with water instead. It’s also used in tooth powders and can be used to make deodorant but for more of a beginner level it’s more easily made into a toothpaste when added to hydrogen peroxide. Bentonite clay has excellent “drawing out” properties which makes it a popular ingredient for toothpaste, replacing baking soda (in deodorants) for some as that can be a bit harsh and even irritating for some skin types.

Currently I make my own toothpaste using about 3 parts bentonite clay and one part baking soda, mixed with enough hydrogen peroxide to give it a proper consistency, with just 2 or 3 drops of clove oil (which is great for gum health and even tooth pain) added into one of my recycled containers or glass jars. For a fancier toothpaste, I also stir on aloe and sometimes also glycerin for more “foaming” properties. Just be sure to limit clove EO to about 3 drops maximum to every 4 ounces of product, and of course you can use the more popular mint EO instead. This is a huge money saver if you are already using natural toothpaste. Here’s the link to my favorite brand: BentoniteClay

5. Baking Soda. This product has uses 101 uses, so here’s a brief overview of a few more things you can use baking soda for. First, it makes a great hair rinse to use weekly or monthly, depending on how much product you use in your hair, as it removes built up residue in your hair. It only takes a small amount in a large cup of rinsewater. And because baking soda softens water (thus enhancing its cleansing/rinsing properties) all you need for a luxury bath is a cup or two added to your bathwater and the water becomes silky soft and smooth. And for added benefit, add your favorite essential oil, but not to the water, to the baking soda. Lavender for calming, eucalyptus for uplifting or to open breathing passages, rosemary for general cleansing, or perhaps your favorite scent for “scent” sake. And of course you can use it for brushing your teeth in a pinch.

Another use for baking soda is to use it (sparingly and not frequently) as a facial peel. Invite a friend over and do it together as part of a spa party. First add a couple of drops of organic essential oil to a couple of tablespoons of baking soda. I recommend frankincense or helichrysum, which was the recommended EO for the recipe I initially found, but a less expensive EO can be used such as lavender. Then add enough filtered or distilled water to make a paste and apply onto face and gently rub in circles. This is every bit like an expensive skin peel you would pay for in a salon, and like a chemical skin peel, you may end up with skin that is initially red for a while, depending on how long you leave it on before rinsing. You can however, apply honey or aloe afterward to soothe your skin.

6. Apple Cider Vinegar. Organic ideally (especially for ingesting) and with the “mother.” As mentioned, it’s a key ingredient for a powerful pore-tightening facial mask. But to stray a bit from “skin care” product, this can also be added to your water in the morning, if you’re not already adding lemon to your water in the morning. This helps your body maintain a proper Ph balance (regarding “acidic versus alkaline”) and a proper Ph balance helps you maintain a strong immunity support system. Does it taste good? No. But some things we do because it’s good for us, particularly as we age. And as an aside, I also keep apple cider vinegar on hand to make my own healthier vinnaigrette dressing for salad, combined with my own choice of a healthier oil, such as olive or avocado, with my own choice of added sweetener, which in this case would be agave nectar, which doesn’t solidify in the fridge and avoids the use of corn syrup, or worse yet, high fructose corn syrup – the worst of the unhealthy “offenders.”

7. Argan Oil. High in vitamin E, Argan oil is excellent for moisturizing mature skin as well as sensitive skin, and it’s the oil I’ve used these past ten years and most people are surprised when they learn of my age. I use it every morning after I cleanse my face and with every bottle I purchase I add lavender and frankincense EO for added benefits. Argan oil has a light, non-greasy consistency that allows it to penetrate quickly to deep layers. In contrast, most over the counter facial lotions are water based, meaning that water is the primary ingredient, and water-based products cannot compete with oils and oil-based products in nourishing and moisturizing the skin. My opinion, is that every woman, by age forty, should be using oil to moisturize her skin and neck. In conclusion, I used to use a lower end Oil of Olay product with a built-in low level sunscreen on a daily basis, but stopped using it because like many facial care products it contained alcohol, likely as a preservative, but alcohol dries the skin, which is counter to the purpose of lotions and moisturizers. I’m providing links to the two brands I’ve purchased, but please note that the cliganic brand has a better price point when you purchase the larger size bottle. And my experience has been a little goes a long way and these smaller bottles last longer than I had expected, around two months. ArganOil1 CliganicArgonOil

8. Coconut oil. Coconut is a great all-purpose oil to have on hand in your home, and not just for cooking. I use it in so many of the products I make, such as lip balm, deodorant, lips scrubs (just add sugar) and even sunscreen. Basically it’s a wonderful all-purpose oil if you have nothing else on hand. I like it’s slightly sweet scent and I use it generally to moisturize my lips, heels, elbows, and hands, sometimes also my legs; I guess everything except my face! Then there’s the oral “oil pull” some practice, but I don’t (yet). It’s also one of my favorite oils for lip balm, particularly combined with almond oil, another oil with a scent I find highly pleasing. For skin use in particular, I recommend organic and unrefined coconut oil.

9. Castor oil. I’m still new to the uses of castor oil but I’ve found it helpful in helping to disintegrate unwanted moles, particularly when they’ve already started to dry up. I’ve also heard it does the same for unwanted skin tags when applied daily. And the latest bottle I purchased included a “mascara tube and wand” as it thickens lashes by preventing breakage, so if you’re wanting clear mascara, this is the more affordable way to go: ClearMascaraCastorOil. Also, there’s a company that sells it with frankincense EO already included and I recommend this one if your primary use would be for skin use or to treat moles. CastorOilw/Frankincense

And then there’s using castor oil packs on the abdomen to support digestive health or to relieve inflammation and bloating, or gramma’s use of it as a laxative, but I haven’t tried it for any of these purposes.

So these simple natural ingredients and simple steps you can take to move toward chemical free skin (and body) care. And you will in the long run save money after your initial investment. I would encourage you to try something new, and when you do I can guarantee – your skin will thank you. And once you discover the benefits and the joy of using essential oils for your scents, you won’t want to go back to using perfumes, parfums and fragrances. They will likely become too strong for you, even unpleasant, as you will lose the tolerance your body has built up for them, as they are all composed of chemicals. In other words, “parfum” is code for chemicals. This has been my experience and I believe it will be yours as well.

The bottom line is this – man’s attempt to create synthetic fragrances have fallen short of the natural scents created through God’s creation and the essential oils extracted from certain plants, even to the extent of being harmful. There is a better way, and we have a choice. Let’s choose wisely! And learn the benefits of natural ingredients as we continue to learn to steward our bodies wisely.