Since our skin is the largest organ of our body, I always encourage others to consider my personal motto about beauty products:
“Don’t put anything on your body you wouldn’t eat.”
The reality is that this isn’t always possible. And, I wouldn’t exactly put the ingredients for my all-natural homemade makeup remover on a plate and happily eat them. But, the goal here is mindfulness and respect of our bodies both related to what we put in it (via things like whole foods) AND what we put on it.
Even if I had the healthiest lifestyle in the world but I rubbed mercury on my skin (not EVER recommended!), I wouldn’t exactly be healthy. It’s important to remember that our skin is a very absorbent organ! So, as I started to commit to making my own beauty and cleaning products, makeup remover was a natural next step. And, how easy of one it was!
Even if you aren’t sure where to start at being more sustainable and less of a consumer contributing to the $445 billion beauty industry annual profits that, frankly, pray on our insecurities, this simple recipe is a great place to start. After all, sustainability and the ethics of holistic, natural living is about empowerment. It’s amazing what we can do and how accomplished we feel when we empower ourselves with education and then do the very things that we previously depended on others to do (like produce makeup remover for us to buy in a store). Another benefit is that…
Making my own makeup remover not only prevented my skin’s exposure to the nasty chemicals commonly found in beauty products, but it saved me money, too!
Without further ado, here is my easy-peasy recipe for an all-natural homemade makeup remover…
What you will need:
- Alcohol-free Witch Hazel
- Distilled water – If you want to be even more sustainable and don’t want to buy distilled water, you can also used boiled water. Just make sure it cools first.
- Jojoba oil – While you can use other quality oils on the skin, like Argan oil, this oil is reasonably-priced and is very close to the structure of our skin’s natural oils.
- Vitamin E liquid – Make sure you get a very liquid-y kind as some kinds are sticky like honey and, therefore, will not work as a makeup remover.
- Small funnel
- 1oz amber-colored glass bottle with screw-off lid
Instructions:
- Combine 1/2 TBSP of witch hazel, 1/2 TBSP of distilled water, and 1/2 TBSP of jojoba oil in a darkened glass container that is about 1 ounce in capacity (I like these ones).
- Using the small funnel, add around 1/4 TBSP of liquid Vitamin E to the container to top it off, making sure to not let it overflow and making sure that you have enough room in the bottle to shake it to mix it well later.
- Store in a location that is room-temperature and make it your goal to use the contents of the bottle within 30-60 days.
Other notes:
When you use your all-natural homemade makeup remover, all you need to do is shake well and tip the bottle over to let the liquid soak into a cotton ball. Then delicately dab onto your eyes or where you have applied makeup. While being gentle on the skin and including no chemicals is the best part of this makeup remover, another amazing feature is that it will even take off waterproof mascara! And, when I was experimenting with recipes and previous store-bought brands I had used before, this all-natural homemade version worked the best by far!
Trends in the beauty market show that there is a movement to be more natural and organic. But, for me, it’s not just about being paraben-free, rebelling against cultural beauty standards via self-love regardless of if I wear make-up or not, or refusing to buy products that are not vegan. Sooner or later, making things yourself that you are proud to know is healthy for your body becomes fun and, in some ways addictive. Don’t forget: you can only truly know what is going into and onto your body if you make it yourself.
