
30 Jan DIY skincare recipes for Honey Body Care
DIY skincare recipes for Honey Body Care doesn’t just mean saving money and having fun creatively, it also means having cosmetic products rich in active substances. Using fresh food ingredients guarantees a high content of active ingredients, such as vitamin E from oil seeds or wheat germ, squalene from extra virgin olive oil, fruit acids and so on.
Domestic preparation solves the problem of preservatives: storage of a few weeks or months is enough to “amortize” the short time needed to make cosmetics, and not having to make products destined to remain on store shelves for months, we can afford to use milder but also much more harmless preservatives, such as natural essential oils. See a list of DIY skincare recipes with honey in our article: Face and body cleansers with honey.
However, it is important to be very careful in choosing raw materials, not forgetting that the skin is a living organ that must be treated and “nourished” with the same attention that is dedicated to food. The cosmetic virtues of food are many; below we propose a short list that illustrates the properties and possible cosmetic applications of some simple foods, all easily available.
Cosmetic functionality (for external use) of some foods
Apricot (fresh fruit)
Action: Anti-wrinkle, smoothing, firming
Used for Masks
Cucumber
Action: Soothing, refreshing, astringent
Used for Masks, after-sun treatments
Clove
Action: Antibacterial, deodorant, stimulant, anti-wrinkle
Used for Detergents, deodorants, creams, masks; as antibacterial and antioxidant preservative
Turmeric
Action: Anti-wrinkle, firming, anti-dandruff, sun protection
Used for Cleansers, creams, masks, sun products, treatments for hair
Oat flour
Action: Physiological cleanser, emollient, soothing, restorative; slows hair regrowth
Used for Cleansers, masks
Buckwheat flour
Action: Physiological cleanser, smoothing, emollient, protective of the capillaries
Used for Detergents
Lemon (zest)
Action: Deodorant, antibacterial, protective of capillaries, sebum balancing
Used for Cleansers, creams, masks
Lemon (juice)
Action: Smoothing, re-acidifying, firming, anti-wrinkle, lightening, sebum balancing
Used for Masks, cleansers, hair treatments
Almonds (shelled, unpeeled)
Action: Physiological cleanser, restorative, emollient, smoothing, wrinkle
Used for Cleansers, masks
Honey (whole virgin)
Action: Antibacterial, re-acidifying, rebalancing of the sebum e microflora, moisturizing
Used for Cleansers, masks.
Cold pressed sunflower oil
Action: Anti-wrinkle, moisturizing, firming, emollient
Used for Cleansers, creams, masks
Cold pressed sesame oil
Action: Sun protection, anti-wrinkle, emollient, moisturizing
Used for Sun products, creams, masks, detergents
Extra virgin olive oil
Action: Anti-wrinkle, protective, emollient, moisturizing, firming, anti-stretch marks
Used for Cleansers, creams, masks, hair treatments
Tomato
Action: Re-acidifying, soothing, sebum-balancing, smoothing, anti-wrinkle
Used for Masks, after-sun treatments
Black tea
Action: Astringent, sebum-balancing, reflecting
Used for Hair treatments
Fresh egg
Action: Cleansing, emollient, moisturizing, anti-wrinkle
Used for Cleansers and hair treatments, masks
Yogurt
Action: Rebalancing of the microflora, re-acidifying, smoothing
Used for Cleansers, masks.
The above list is an excerpt from the book “Cosmesi Naturale Pratica” by Francesca Marotta