5 Super Easy DIY Personal Care Products Made With Lemon

Lemon is such a common fruit that we often undermine its powerful healing and health benefits. A rich source of vitamin C, it can stimulate the skin’s collagen, but it can also be bit controversial when it comes to skin care. On one hand it has styptic, antiseptic and whitening properties and on the other hand direct application on skin may be considered as a bad idea due to citric acid’s low PH levels of around 2.2, while the human skin has a PH level of 5.5. Therefore, lemon juice is not recommended for direct and continuous application on the skin as it is – but with the proper preparation, it can work near natural wonders.

So how do we get its benefits we ask? There are two things to keep in mind. First is mixing the correct amount of lemon with the properties of other natural ingredients, and second is the correct application.

There are tons of guides on how to make your own cosmetics but as the lazy bum that I am, I stick to those that are simple and short. If you are like me you will be happy to find the following directions easy to prepare.

1. DIY Facial Serum

Benefits:

• Helps reduce wrinkles
• Makes skin smooth
• Improves skin color uniformity

Ingredients:

• 5 drops of lemon essential oil
• 1/3 tablespoon of Aloe Vera gel
• 1 tablespoon of rose water

Ruth Hartnup/Flickr

Directions:

1. Add the Aloe Vera into a small glass bottle
2. Slowly add the rose water while shaking regularly until the ingredients are fully homogenized.
3. Add the lemon essential oils and shake again gently.

Application:

During the night apply 4 droplets on a clean face and massage while avoiding the eye area. On sensitive skin types, this can be applied locally without having to massage the whole face.

2. DIY Face Mask

Benefits:

• Skin nourishment
• Strengthens skin’s natural immunity

Ingredients:

• 7 drops of lemon juice
• One spoon of mashed avocado

cyclonebill/Flickr

Application:

Add the mask on face and neck while avoiding the eye area. Leave it for 15 minutes and rinse with cool water.

3. DIY Nail Care

Benefits:

• Strengthens fragile nails
• Removes redundant skin around nails

Ingredients:

• 5 drops of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Dilip D/Flickr

Application:

Massage the mix on nails and cuticles every night and do not wash it off. Simply wipe off any residuals from your nails.

4. DIY Body Oil

Benefits:

• Fights cellulite
• Softens hardened skin
• Stimulates collagen

Ingredients:

• 20 drops of lemon essential oils
• 6 tablespoons almond oil
• 10 drops of black pepper essential oil

Toshiyuki IMAI/ Flickr

Application:

Massage a small amount of the mix on a clean skin every night. Bottle should be shaken before every use and be sure to store in a cool place.

5. DIY Hair Lotion

Benefits:

• Heals dry scalp in about 3-4 weeks

Ingredients:

• Juice from one lemon (normal size not the big ones).
• 3 drops of lavender essential oil

elminium/Flickr

Application:

Apply on roots of the hair and massage softly. Leave it for 10 minutes and rinse with cool water. The hair lotion should be avoided on very sensitive skin.

General tips:

1. Lemon juice should not be applied on sensitive, sore or injured skin.
2. Don’t use it after sunbathing.
3. Always use sunscreen during a therapy with natural care products that contain lemon.

Lead image source: Kate Fisher/Flickr