Positive and Negative Sides of Homemade Cosmetics

Alternative medicine

Many years ago all the cosmetic products were based on natural ingredients only. Nowadays most of them are based on chemicals and synthetic ingredients. Homemade cosmetics have become popular again due to their natural origin, which means that it is absolutely safe for your health.

All the bottles and vials with modern cosmetic products have a list of ingredients which are contained in it, though in most cases we don’t know what they mean. The main advantage of homemade cosmetics is that you know for sure what is contained there.

You can feel yourself as a real specialist when combining all the natural ingredients and experimenting with them. For example if an allergic reaction took place then you can find out the wrong ingredient and remove or substitute it. In the case of bought cosmetics this option is almost impossible.

One more positive thing is that you know that homemade cosmetics weren’t tested on animals and so it didn’t do any harm to any living creatures.

If you feel inspired and you are sure that you will be able to make your own cosmetics, then you should try to do this. But you should also remember that all your handmade products may not be as effective as bought ones and they should be stored carefully because they can easily be spoiled due to the temperature or some other factors. And of course it is almost impossible to create the same cosmetic products that you used to buy in house conditions.

One of the most significant advantages of homemade cosmetics is that you can avoid allergic reactions and irritations because you know what types of ingredients you put in them and what’s suitable for your skin.

One more advantage is that all the natural ingredients are readily available. Honey, lemon, spices, sugar, oils and yogurts can easily be found in the nearest supermarket or they are already stored in your kitchen. Such ingredients as herbs or some rare essential oils can be bought at the pharmacist’s.

It should also be mentioned that homemade cosmetics is cheaper and you don’t need to spend enormous sums of money to buy cosmetics for your skin or hair care.

Besides, a lot of recipes are available online and for free, you can easily find step-by-step tutorials of different handmade cosmetics, great guides (as for me) are on the Wikitalks in the handmade section http://wikitalks.com/category/articles/fashion-beauty/handmade-cosmetics/ They’re all illustrated in each step and easy to read.

Now let’s move to disadvantages of homemade cosmetics. The most significant one is that not all the cosmetic products can be made by yourself. Of course you can create crèmes, lotions, scrubs and masks but it is rather difficult or sometimes even impossible to make decorative cosmetics such as lipstick or eye shadows.

They also takes a lot of time to make, which becomes a problem when your time is limited, for example if you have a job or some other business.

The bought cosmetic, despite the fact it has synthetic components, can be stored during a long period of time. All these preservatives prevent it from spoiling and appearance of bacteria, while homemade cosmetics can be stored only for a while.

In consequence homemade cosmetics can be made in small portions only and stored properly in order to avoid rotting which can cause inflammations. And again we go back to the time costs. It takes a lot of time to make new portions once every two or three days (depending on the products used).

But on the other hand it is great to have the possibility to give such natural and useful cosmetics as a gift for your family and friends. So you should weigh all the advantages and disadvantages and then decide whether to create your own cosmetics or not.

 

35 Comments

  1. I don’t really wear cosmetics. I used to but it never really stuck. But I think natural would be way better than chem types.

  2. I have never considered making my own, either. I don’t use makeup enough to make it worth it. At most I wear it once a month!

  3. I have never made my own, but these days, it seems like a pretty safe option!

  4. These are great facts. I’ve never made my own cosmetics before.

  5. They do take time to make, and sometimes aren’t as stable. I am using natural, homemade by SOMEBODY (but not me) deodorants and cleaners, but for lipstick and blush I still buy mass produced.

  6. I’m one of the few who doesn’t wear much if I do it’s eyeliner and mascara. That’s it. But I think it’s neat to be able to make it yourself if you have the patience for it. (which I do not in the least)

  7. This is definitely not something I would want to spend my time on. It seems that I often will pay for time saving items.

  8. I never thought of making my own makeup. I wonder if I would have an reactions since I have pollen related allergies.

  9. I do not wear makeup everyday and making it just scares me to death. I can definitely see how you can go about avoiding chemicals and such.

    Great post!

  10. I’m a makeup hoarder and this was an interesting read for me since I spend so much money. I should look into making some of my own cosmetics.

  11. I don’t use cosmetics very much, especially because of the cosmetics. I would definitely use homemade cosmetics more.

  12. I’d like to start making my own now that I’ve started using essential oils daily.

  13. Wow, I have never thought of making my own make-up. Very interesting idea and post.

  14. I save myself the headache and just skip using cosmetics altogether. People can love it or look the other way. 😉

  15. I have sensitive skin so I would be concerned about the ramifications of my tinkering with a recipe.Good post though. Great info you provided us with.

  16. I don’t think that I would even fathom making my own cosmetics. I would rather spend a few bucks, use coupons, or search for sales to buy cosmetics.

    I know that even when you buy cosmetics that you should regularly toss out your makeup due to bacteria growth. I don’t wear it enough to know the rules but I am bad about keeping it long past its due date.

  17. This is some great info! I’m not sure I’d spend the time making a lot homemade cosmetics, however, I’ve taken the time to make things like lotions.

  18. I have never thought of making my own! I can’t imagine I would have the time seeing as they don’t keep long. Great post!

  19. The only beauty products I have attempted to make were body scrubs. 🙂

  20. Ive never tried to make my own, but this is something to consider.

  21. The problem is you have to BUY everything and its not always easily available

  22. I’ve made my own scrubs, and facials (actually working on a blog post now) and even a lip gloss w/ old blush but nothing beyond that!

  23. I love that you are willing to give both sides.

  24. Thanks for the informative post! I don’t wear cosmetics and I’d also be scarred to death of making my own as I wouldn’t want my skin to break out.

  25. I love the idea of making some myself, but never even considered it before. I’ll have to look into it. Thanks for the idea!

  26. Great balances to keep in mind. They may be natural but there’s also a lot of research that goes into commercial products to make them safe and effective.

  27. I’m actually really sensitive to a lot of the ingredients that natural cosmetics use so I haven’t been able to do this but it’s a great option for lots of people! It definitely does have pros & cons though.

  28. I love making my own products, but do agree, they sometimes can be time consuming to make.

  29. I have never even attempted to make my own cosmetics but love the thought of knowing what goes into some of my must haves first hand. I think a homemade sugar or salt scrub is a great place to start!

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