No need to be a graduate in pharmacy or possessing sophisticated equipment to manufacture its cosmetics. Much care, some precautions and a little creativity are enough.
In recent years, the harmlessness of beauty products has been questioned due to the presence of suspicious substances, irritating or even carcinogenic.
Making its beauty products is the best way to know what you put on her skin. This is not the only reason to run: "True luxury is not to buy a 50 mark cream or € 100, but to create a suitable product for their needs at a price five to ten times lower .. Other motivations are added: playfulness, creative, and fun to mess around, "says Marie Bousquet, founder of the Green Mouse workshop.
Ingredients and basic materials
If you are tempted, you probably have all the basic ingredients in your kitchen. Coarse salt, honey, baking soda, neutral vegetable oil and fresh herbs (lavender, rosemary, thyme) are enough to start. As for essential oils, it is not necessary to own a closet full.
"I started with three oils explains Marie Bousquet. It uses a few drops each time, they keep longer and even better with age!"
As for equipment, cookware enough! A whip can be added cappuccino for mounting an emulsion (5 €), a precision balance (€ 40) and bowls, cups and spatulas which will be reserved to cosmetic use, since their production requires perfect hygiene .
Precautions
We must wash hands, disinfect its work plan and sterilize his instruments and flasks (10 minutes in boiling water, 10 seconds for the plastic).
"For the storage of products, we can add a few drops of grapefruit seed extract, antibacterial and antifungal effective. It is better to produce small quantities, and any suspicious odor thrown" warns Mary.
Beware of essential oils!
"This is not a trivial kitchen, warns Lydia, because essential oils should be used with caution."
Indeed, they are prohibited to pregnant women and lactating, and children under 6 years or - for some - under 3 years. S
Above all, to prevent any allergies, it is better to test the product on a small area of skin on the back of the hand or the inner wrist.
Introductory workshops
If the beginnings are easy, it will take time, practice and ... a few hiccups to progress. Internet and its blogs and forums are a valuable source of information.
Many workshops allow to learn and grow (about € 40 for two hours). Warning! Even if your progress is dazzling, do not expect to make a livelihood, because the law lays down strict conditions for the sale of cosmetics and no insurance cover in case of an accident.
Three recipes to start
Bath salts.
Mix coarse sea salt, white or green clay, a little olive or sunflower oil and ten drops of essential oil (lavender, for example).
A skin care.
A macerate of calendula to treat skin problems, eczema, acne or irritated buttocks of babies. Fill a sterilized glass jar with flowers of calendula (marigold or, Herbalism), cover with a neutral oil (grapeseed, sunflower). Let macerate three weeks, then strain. This macerate is preserved three to four months in a cupboard or a tinted bottle.
Pebble bath.
Mix 200 g of sodium bicarbonate, 100 g of citric acid and 100 g of oatmeal. Add dried flowers, plants powder or food coloring. Doser 15 ml of vegetable oil in a bowl, add 25 drops of essential oil. Pour this mixture into a bowl. Doser 30 ml of Aloe vera gel and mix the rest gradually, stirring well, until the mixture is the consistency of slightly damp sand. Pour into molds by packing up. Let dry for about two hours and unmold when the rollers are hard.
