So you’re on your farm. Working real hard (and getting real dirty) to get good food into your body. But you’re not taking the time to take care of the outside of your body. (‘Cause you’re really busy.) But you should and today I’m going to tell you why and share over 50 recipes for DIY natural beauty that you can make at home, many with herbal ingredients you can grow right in your backyard (that’s what really gets me excited), but all of them will help you care for your largest organ, your skin.
The Case for Self-Care
Like many of you, I’m a busy wife, mom, home-manager, and homesteader. It’s easy when you’re cooking with so many pots to put yourself on the back burner. I did it for years (and years), especially when I had so many little children and not so many big ones. You know what happened? My water boiled away, the minerals calcified and burned to bottom… and warped my pan. And there was nothing left to serve. Last summer, when things got really tough, I went into survival mode, nose to the grindstone, and made it even worse.
I see so many farm moms in survival mode and I worry about them.
They work too long, push themselves too hard. They don’t know how to ask for help. I so love and respect all the hard work being poured into families and communities and I want to hope that we will all be around for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren and still have something left to give.
We need to think more long-term, more visionary, and be mindful of the ways that our soul is calling out to be nourished and cared for. Sure we might understand the concept and agree with it on one hand, but it’s not our habit to remember ourselves, it’s counter-cultural, and it makes us feel guilty.
And I believe that until we can get to the point where our soul can speak over the screaming of our never-ending to-do list, we can focus on taking small, external steps to get in the habit of at least putting ourselves in some sort of priority. Otherwise, we’re not going to make it. Small steps like setting aside even 15 minutes a day to read something or create something. Maybe even five minutes to make yourself feel a little pretty and create overall wellness.
What’s in Your Skin Care?
Over the years, natural beauty and skin care have become important to me. Seems like the more I learn about the danger of using cleansing and beauty products that are full of toxic chemicals, the more adamant I am about keeping them to a minimum in my home. You can learn more about how safe the specific beauty products you use are from Environmental Working Groups Skin Deep Cosmetic Database.
Thankfully, that doesn’t mean that I have to go without. (Did that bring up images from the ’80’s version of Batman for anyone else, where they learned the cosmetics were killing people so everyone had to walk around ungroomed? Did I just date myself?) I started to learn to make my own products from scratch. Most are so simple to make and children love helping to mix up these little concoctions.
If you’re interested in using many of the same products we use for our family, check out our Etsy shop where you’ll find a wide selection of all-natural, palm-free, farmstead soaps, herbal salves, and natural beauty products.
Make sure to follow my Natural Health and Beauty Board on Pinterest! It’s LOADED with inspiration for your homemade medicine cabinet and DIY natural beauty regime.
50+ Recipes for DIY Natural Beauty
Hair
Print
Leave-In Deep Conditioner
Ingredients
- Leave in Deep Conditioner
- 3 teaspoons cold-pressed argan oil
- 2 teaspoons castor oil
- 2 teaspoons shea butter
- 1 teaspoon herbal infused olive oil (yarrow for light, rosemary for dark, and calendula for red)
- ½ teaspoon avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon sweet almond oil
- Place a large glass bowl over a small saucepan of boiling water. Add all of the ingredients until they’ve melted. Allow them to cool to room temperature then funnel them into a bottle with a spout or dropper. Using only a drop or two at a time, work the oils into your scalp & ends, then run your fingers through your hair to distribute it along the length of the hair
Instructions
- Place a large glass bowl over a small saucepan of boiling water.
- Add all of the ingredients until they’ve melted.
- Allow them to cool to room temperature then funnel them into a bottle with a spout or dropper.
- Using only a drop or two at a time, work the oils into your scalp & ends, then run your fingers through your hair to distribute it along the length of the hair.
* Simplify conditioning your hair even further and use only Argan Oil. Actually Organic sent me a bottle to try and I really like that it’s 100% pure, cold-pressed, has a pleasant scent, plus the spray bottle is so much more convenient and economical than dumping too much out onto your hand.
All-Natural Hair Care (Including homemade shampoo, conditioner, herbal hair gel, and citrus hairspray- plus how to download a printable sheet with even more hair care recipes!)
Dry Shampoo
Shampoo Bars
Colorless Henna Shampoo Bar
Natural Detangler
Hair Loss Tonic
Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
Nettle Hair Rinse
Soapwort Shampoo & Bodywash
Herbal Hair Rinse
Body
Violet Lotion
Lotion Bars
Foot Massage Lotion Bar
Face Cream
Alternative to Petroleum Jelly
Nourishing Milk Bath
Tinted Lip Gloss
Homemade Sunscreen
Homesteader’s Tallow Soap
Honey Coconut Body Butter
Herbal Bath Fizzy
Rose Lotion Bars
Tallow Balm
Body Powder
After-Sun Butter Care Cream
Coconut Oil Body Wash
Milk & Honey Body Wash
Cucumber Mint Bath Soak
Face
Print 3 Ingredient Cleansing Oil
Instructions
- Measure the drops out each day or use “parts” instead of “drops” and make a batch.
- Rub the oil between your hands and massage it into your face and neck, “washing” your skin with the oil.
- Remove the excess with a cloth soaked in plain hot water.
Honey Lavender Face Wash
Calendula Infused Facial Toner
Face Serum
Aloe Calendula Cleansing Lotion
Blush Powder
Beet Root Lip and Cheek Stain
8 DIY Herbal Face Masks
Marshmallow Root Lip Balm
Natural Eyeliner
Natural Mascara
Lavender Cleansing Grains
Natural Eye Cream
Homemade Facial Cleanser
Apricot Face Scrub
Natural Foundation Powder/BronzerYucca Eye Make Up Remover
Lemonade Lip Balm
Sweet Vanilla and Honey Lip Balm
2 Ingredient Make Up Remover
Soapwort Facial Cleanser
Caffeine Eye Scrub
Elderflower Anti-Aging Serum
Sea Buckthorn and Green Tea Anti-Aging Moisturizer
Elderflower Eye Cream
Aloe Rose Anti-Aging Skin Cream
Hands
Gardener’s Super Scrub Soap
DIY Nail Polish
Lavender Hand Cream
Men
Aftershave Balm
Citrus Mint Hand Salve
Rosemary Pine Beard Balm
Bayberry Beard Balm
Rosemary Beard Oil (Or you can buy Beard Oil here with 2 basic formulas to choose from- one with oils that promote growth, one with ultra-conditioning oils)
I stopped taking care of myself after my daughter was born. For some reason I thought that it was ok to pour all of my time into her? I finally found myself again last year and started making self care a priority, and I have so much more to give again! Thank you for sharing this great resource!
Sometimes I want to rip my own tongue out when I see the folly of the things I’ve said in the past. I can think of times when I advised against “me-time,” having never taken any for myself. It’s still such a habit to neglect myself that I’m still struggling mightily against being the last on the list (and then never getting around to it.) It will continue to be a struggle, but I’m sure that one day I’ll start driving in a new rut as Charlotte Mason describes our habits). So glad that you’ve learned this lesson and are reaping the benefits!
Thanks for this great resource! And thanks for including a link to my body powder recipe. I’ve been deeply thinking about self care and the unending amount of work that we have. My youngest and I have been reading Little House on the Prairie and I’m intrigued with how Ma ordered her days and while she certainly did a full day’s work she didn’t try to squeeze two day’s worth of work into one. Once dinner was over, she sat and mended or knitted and enjoyed family time. I’m trying to follow that example. Like you, I have quite a few children and a large age range, I’ve been parenting for 23 years and have 11 more before all my children are adults. I can’t burn the candle at both ends and expect to have anything left over for my younger children and grandchildren.
And I think this is *exactly* what has motivated my desire to change my habit to neglect myself. Something about Jared moving out this year has made me to realize how quickly the years go by and I’ve been contemplating much about the role I want to play in my family’s life when my children are grown. Other circumstances have made me see how much the homesteader/farmer woman’s life is one of running *ourselves* into the dirt and we’ve worn ourselves out before our time. Ma was a wise lady and as I put myself in her mindset while reading those books I have come to really respect her intelligence and strength.