Make your own cosmetics
There’s no denying it, money is important. Homemade saves money, but homemade isn’t just for food.
I buy a jar of herbal salve from a health food store every month, and I love it. It’s made by the owners, and I totally trust them and their ingredients. I, however, don’t like to rely on others for things. I like making things myself as much as possible. So, I decided to try to make the vitex (chastetree berry) salve that I usually buy. Yeah, it would save money, too, but really, I’d just like to learn one more skill and add one more item to the long list of things that I no longer need to purchase… and save some money.
I just ordered chastetree berries (vitex) from Savvy Teas and Herbs, and I’ve already got olive oil and beeswax. I think I read that I need vitamin E oil to use as a preservative, too. I’ll need to double-check on that.
From what I’ve read in my research, I’ll need to grind the chastetree berries in a coffee grinder, fill a glass jar with them, and top it off with enough olive oil to cover the herbs. Then, I’ll need to put the jar on top of a wash cloth in a crock pot on the “low” setting for 2-3 days, refilling the water around the jar as it evaporates.
I’ll then need to strain the oil, put it in a double boiler on the stove, and warm it enough to melt the beeswax in it.
That’s how you make a salve – melt beeswax and oil together. Making an herbal salve is just melting herb-infused oil with beeswax. The beeswax firms the oil so it’s not runny anymore.
I’ve made salve before. It’s just the herbal part that I haven’t done. I hope it works. I should have my chastetree berries in about a week or so, so I’ll find out soon.
There are tons of cosmetics that can be made instead of purchased, and most of them are quite simple to make. (Seriously, I haven’t purchased shampoo or conditioner in 6 months!) If you’re looking to save money, look into homemade. Like I said before, homemade is more than just for food!
Article by Randi Millward
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