Cosmetic ingredients found in stores or online often contain animal ingredients or have been tested on animals. Not only do many popular cosmetics harm animals, but they are also dangerous to our health. Many beauty and self-care products contain toxic ingredients. Parabens and phthalates, for instance, are very common in personal care products. You can do your research and search for companies that are doing better, but you can save even more money and go even more natural by making your own!

Try these awesome DIY beauty projects to make your very own natural, homemade products and know exactly what’s going on your skin, hair, and body!

1. DIY Lip Balms to Ward Off the Chap

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Lips can chap due to lip licking, dehydration, medication, mouth breathing, weather, etc. But, once it has happened, we scarcely care why; we just want some relief. However, lip balms are often petroleum-based parabens and/or contain animal-based products like beeswax. Paraben is questionable for our skin at best, and for many, a plant-based lifestyle means avoiding animal products. To help you make your own lip relief balm, check out these DIY Lip Balms to Ward Off the Chap by Jonathon Engels.

 2. DIY Chemical-Free Cleanser and Moisturizer for Healthy Skin

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Bridget Besoner‘s DIY Chemical-Free Cleanser and Moisturizer helped her skin become rejuvenated. Using chemical-induced products strips your face of oils, thus causing an overproduction of oil or even dryness, and the scent on your product most likely comes from fragrance which is known to be a skin irritant. That’s why it’s worth trying this DIY project!

3. Prevent Chapped Lips With These 5 DIY Healthy Food-Based Solutions

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Balms made with poor-quality ingredients, parabens, and hard-to-pronounce ingredients don’t last long and sometimes cost a ton just for one small tube. To keep your lips nice and soft, you need a solution, but those chemical-laden balms are not the answer. That’s why you should try Annalisa Palmer‘s healthy, food-based DIY solutions!

4. Easy, Inexpensive DIY Hot Oil Hair Treatment

Days in the sun and hot weather can dry out your hair like nobody’s business. Give your skin a moisture boost with this Easy, Inexpensive DIY Hot Oil Hair Treatment by Erin Trauth.

5. DIY Tea Tree Oil Shampoo

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Nicole Overstreet started making her own DIY Tea Tree Oil Shampoo after years of using store-bought shampoo. Her blend combines coconut milk and tea tree oil and works well for all types of hair, including color-treated hair and curly hair like her own.

6. Quick and Easy DIY Blackhead-Clearing Mixes

In the pursuit of perfect skin, blackheads can be some of the toughest little face monsters to combat. After all, they’re the ones that dig in deep, holding on to your pores for dear life, and getting stuck in what seems like every crevice you have on your face. Usually, blackheads are treated with abrasive washes, rinses, and masks of the store-bought kind. But these mixes can be expensive and also filled with not-so-great-for-you ingredients that will seep from your skin right into your body. The key with face and body washes should always be — if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin! Because the fact of the matter is that your skin absorbs a majority of what you put on it. That’s why Erin Trauth created these Quick and Easy DIY Blackhead-Clearing Mixes.

7. DIY Eye Shadow Using Natural and Simple Ingredients

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Raise your hand if you enjoy wasting all your hard-earned money on cosmetics and beauty products! Yeah … didn’t think so. Each year, women spend a lot of money on health and beauty products. Even worse, often these products are loaded with synthetic ingredients like parabens, phthalates, chemicals that are tested on animals, and a whole host of other additives that can cause skin irritation and additional health problems. That’s why you should try Taji Mortazavi‘s DIY Eye Shadow Using Natural and Simple Ingredients.

8. DIY Natural Perfumes

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Studies show that ingredients often found in store-bought perfumes and colognes can trigger a slew of health problems. For example, these common chemicals can trigger allergic reactions, asthma-like symptoms, and chronic headaches. And what’s even more alarming, the toxicity levels can be so high that they have been linked to certain cancers and thyroid complications. That’s why Vanessa DuFoe makes these DIY Natural Perfumes and explains why you should too!

9. 10 DIY Exfoliators and Sugar Scrubs

It’s easy to make your scrubs. It’s also super fun and can be the main event at your next party. Get some cute jars, make labels, set out bowls of different ingredients and scrub recipes, and let guests make their own products and have something useable and smelly-good to bring home! Try these 10 DIY Exfoliators and Sugar Scrubs!

10. How to Make DIY Natural Make-Up

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If you’re looking to switch to more natural makeup, you should read AlexRaye Kieta‘s tips on why you should make the switch. Even better, then you can follow her formulas for making your very own DIY Natural Make-Up.

11. DIY Pink Himalayan Salt Scrub

Source: DIY Pink Himalayan Salt Scrub

Jennifer Strohmeyer‘s DIY Pink Himalayan Salt Scrub is such a great recipe if you need a good cleaning scrub for your hands. I use this all year round and it is fabulous and makes my hands so soft! Himalayan pink salt is one of the purest salts, derived from ancient sea salt mines, and is prized for its therapeutic properties on the skin. The minerals nourish, replenish, and aid in detoxing the skin. This scrub also nourishes the skin with moisturizing coconut and jojoba oils, plus the scent of lavender and lemon essential oils is calming and relaxing.

12. 5 DIY Alternatives to Conventional Hair Sprays, Mousses, and Gels

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According to the EPA, there are over 10,000 products in your conventional hair products, and only 11 percent of these products have been tested for safety! Your internal organs have several ways of eliminating toxins from harming your body like your liver and excess fat reserves. But chemicals that are applied to the skin have almost no barrier from entering the bloodstream, making them very dangerous. Instead of subjecting yourself to loads of chemicals, try these 5 DIY Alternatives to Conventional Hair Sprays, Mousses, and Gels from Taji Mortazavi.

13. 5 Awesome DIY Beauty Projects For Your Used Coffee Grounds!

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You may drink coffee for the eye-opening caffeine, the rich aroma, and the comforting warmth. But don’t toss out those old grounds when your morning pot is empty! You can infuse your beauty routine with the caffeinated effects of your wake-up ritual by reusing coffee grounds in Libby Baker‘s Awesome DIY Beauty Projects.

14. DIY Homemade Bath Bombs

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Bath bombs are quite the experience, something like bathing in fragrant, fizzy paint. They make bath times lots of fun. But it’s not a good policy to buy just any old bath bomb. They can be pretty pricey, but making them at home is like buying them on clearance. At home, they can be customized, and there will be no doubt as to what goes into them, i.e. you can stick to organic and natural ingredients. Follow Jonathon Engels‘ tips and have fun making DIY Homemade Bath Bombs. 

15. DIY: How to Make Your Own Beard Oil

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For those with beards, a nice squirt or two of beard oil smoothed makes quite a difference. That oil can be infused with scents like mint or citrus that inspire our eyelids to raise. It could be infused with stress-relievers, such as lavender or cedarwood, to ease the thought of another day on the job. What will become evident almost instantly is that, damn, it’s pretty nice to use a little beard oil in the morning. As a person with a beard, Jonathon Engels knows what he’s talking about when it comes to this DIY Beard Oil.

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