With all the toxic chemicals out there in modern beauty products, the safest and healthiest route is making your own from ingredients you actually recognize. We’ve been using olive oil on a cotton pad to remove our makeup and soften eye lines for years. Guess what? It also makes the best massage oil! Truth be told, our cupboards hold a treasure of skin care products we often overlook because they’re, well, domestic. Not anymore! Here are a few of our other favorite recipes:

Skin-Softening Treatment

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon organic granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 drops of lavender essential oil

Directions:

Combine all in a bowl. Massage the soothing and moisturizing cream into skin. Don’t rinse — just wipe off excess with a soft cloth or towel.

Rose or Lavender – Rich Cleansing Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup (25 ml) jojoba oil
• 1/8 cup (25 ml) grapeseed oil
• 1/2-1 oz (10-20 g) beeswax (use less for a thinner cream)
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) lavender water or rosewater
• 1 tsp vegetable glycerin
• 1 tsp borax
• Antioxidant preservative: either 1 tsp vitamin C powder, 1/4 tsp vitamin A powder, or 1 tsp wheatgerm oil
• 10 drops of rose or lavender essential oil

Directions:

Melt the beeswax into the oils in a double boiler placed on medium heat. When melted, remove the mixture from heat and pour in all other ingredients. Mix with a hand-held mixer until it reaches a thick, creamy consistency. Apply cream to face with clean fingers, massage into skin, rise well with warm water. Particularly good for dry skin. Refrigerate to prevent spoilage.

Basic Effective Moisturizer

Ingredients:

• 1/4 oz (5 g) beeswax
• 2 tbs almond oil
• 1 1/2 tbs spring water or rosewater
• 4 drops essential oil (rose or frankincense for dry skin, lavender for normal skin)
• 1 tsp wheatgerm oil (a natural preservative)

Directions:

Melt the beeswax and the oil in a double boiler. Heat the water in another double boiler until warm. Add the water to the oil and wax using a dropper, drop by drop, beating with a whisk. When you have mixed 1 tsp of the water with the oil and beeswax, remove the pan from the heat and add all the other ingredients. Pour into a sterile jar and cool; refrigerate to maintain freshness. The cream softens on contact with the skin.

De-stress Bath Oil

• 1/4 cup (50 ml) sweet almond oil — for a base.

Add other essential oils drop by drop. Shake. Use 1 tablespoon in your bath.

• 10 drops rose
• 5 drops lavender
• 5 drops chamomile

The essential oils can be changed depending on mood. Just follow the same instructions with the almond oil base.

Molly Simm’s “Breggy’s Belly Butter”

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of organic coconut oil
• 1 container of organic cocoa butter
• 1 container of organic Shea butter
• 1 small bottle of 400 IU of Vitamin E

Directions:
Place all ingredients except for the Vitamin E in a pot of boiling water in their separate containers, letting them melt (the cocoa butter will take the longest). After everything is melted, pour into a large bowl and mix together with the Vitamin E. Put the mixture in a glass container and store in the refrigerator or another cool place.

To Apply:
Pregnancy is such a miraculous time, but many women don’t take the time to connect with their bodies and babies these days, and before they know it they missed out on this whole special time. You can use the time you take to rub your belly butter on yourself to stop and connect with your growing baby. When applying, simply close your eyes, place your hands on your belly and begin to rub the belly butter all around while feeling your belly and your baby inside. You can talk to your baby or just simply send them loving feelings. It has been proven that babies in the womb sense and feel everything; your voice carries energy as well as your thoughts. Use the butter sparingly on belly, breasts, hips and buttocks.

…and don’t forget to try supermodel Nicole Trunfio’s face mask recipe:

“Find some organic clay powder—I love Australian red or blue clays, but you can use any—and mix it with bicarbonate soda and a little warm water and use it as a face mask! The results are amazing!”

Fellow supermodel Karolina Kurkova says:

“For removing my mascara, I like using coconut oil. As a moisturizer, I like Bulgarian rose oil—you know, things that are organic and natural for the skin, and won’t just sit on it. Having great skin also has a lot to do with what you eat—if you eat junk, it’s going to show. I live in New York and when I go out to eat I’ll pick healthy places like Pure Food and Wine, Organic Avenue, Angelica Kitchen—there are so many spots.”

Enjoy!

Also Read: Natural Remedies