Making your own skincare and beauty products is a great way to control what goes on your skin. But it can also be enjoyable, whether you’re creating a beautiful and luxurious sugar scrub; crafting a decadent bath product; or customizing a full skincare line for yourself and your family..
Why make your own
The biggest appeal is control: you choose every ingredient, customize scent with essential oils or herbs, and skip the synthetic preservatives, fragrances, and colorants that can irritate sensitive skin. It’ can also be more affordable than store-bought natural products, and lets you avoid packaging that’s difficult to recycle. (For more on what “natural” means on a label, please see our post on Understanding Beauty Label Claims.)
Getting started
You don’t need a lab — a few basic tools from a craft store, plus staples you may already have in your kitchen, are enough to start. Research your ingredients first: look at what’s in comparable store-bought products, do some reading on what each ingredient actually does, then begin with one simple recipe and refine the ratio until you’re happy with the result. Starting with a very small batch will keep waste down while you’re fine tuning.
A few ingredients worth avoiding in your own formulas
Just like with store-bought products, some ingredients are worth steering clear of in your own creations: mineral oil, petroleum byproducts, synthetic dyes and fragrances, parabens, propylene glycol, phthalates, SLS/SLES, BHT, and formaldehyde. If you’re making an oil-based product specifically, add a natural antioxidant (like vitamin E oil) to help prevent the oil from oxidizing and going rancid too quickly.
Storing what you make
Homemade products don’t have commercial preservatives, so storage matters more than with store-bought versions:
- Use dark, airtight containers to protect against light and heat exposure
- Keep temperature-sensitive formulas (anything with vitamin C or retinol-like ingredients) in the fridge — cold storage also gives water-based toners and mists a nice cooling, slightly de-puffing effect on skin
- Watch for oxidation (a change in smell or color is your cue something’s past its prime)
- Label everything with the formula name and the date you made it, and treat it like a “best by” date the way you would a store-bought product
A note on safety claims
While cutting out synthetic chemicals can seriously reduce irritation for sensitive skin, some of the claims you’ll see online — that these ingredients directly CAUSE serious diseases — go beyond what current research supports. Making your own products is a great way to reduce your exposure to ingredients you’d rather avoid, but it’s not a guaranteed shield against every possible health concern.
Note: This content is for general informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional dermatological or medical advice. Please see our full Disclaimer.
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