Posted by Les Mauvaises Herbes
Why make your own cosmetics and household products? There are so many good reasons that once you start doing it yourself, you never go back. In fact, it's quite simple: you become UNSTOPPABLE. It can even become... an obsession.
True story.
Oh yes. Learning to make your own body care and cleaning products means realizing the benefits you get from them, the versatility of the ingredients you have on hand, their interchangeability, and everything you can replace with homemade alternatives. It is a process that makes you independent and minimalist, which is decidedly ecological and saves you so much money and trips to the store!
We talk about all this below. We’re warning you: we are really enthusiastic about the subject.
“Why should I make my own cosmetics and cleaning products?”
1. For your health and that of your family
It’s common knowledge: industrial cosmetics and cleaning products contain harmful (even toxic) ingredients for human health: endocrine disruptors, carcinogenic substances, substances toxic to the reproductive system, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to asthma and chronic bronchitis... Some substances even accumulate in our tissues and fat and can lead to chronic toxicity. Brilliant?
Not really.
Yet, we slather ourselves in them every day and breathe them in deep (yes, the air quality in our homes is greatly affected by the products we use).
Just that alone is chilling.
Moreover, it is impossible to determine what results from the mixture of dozens of cosmetic and household products that a single person can use daily. The components of these products interact with each other and form even more unnecessary threats to the human body.
Big chills.
2. For your planet
You guessed it: everything you read above has exactly the same consequences on you as it does on the environment, wildlife, and flora. Think about it: our cosmetic and household products inevitably end up in the shower drain, the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink. Then, they head straight to groundwater and waterways!
Lipstick that stays on for 3 days, long-lasting extra-glitter nail polish, and miraculous gentle exfoliants? Translation: microplastics, heavy metals, and fragrances that make their way into wildlife and flora, accumulate in the seabed, and enter the food chain. Great!
Ultra-cleaning-foam-no-need-to-scrub-your-tub?
Flashy-blue-cleaner-for-a-bone-sterile-toilet-bowl?
Wall-mounted-scent-with-notes-of-Barbie-flowered-field?
Hey thanks, those must be great products for the planet and for us! Plus, we pay to self-pollute. Fan-tastic.
It is also obvious that industrial cosmetic and household products generate astronomical amounts of containers that go straight to the trash. Some might be recycled. Maybe! When you start thinking about everything that thousands and thousands of people throw away every month to apply makeup, nourish their skin, and clean, it’s mind-blowing.
3. To emancipate yourself, see things more clearly, and be a bit minimalist!
Doing it yourself also means reclaiming a whole wealth of knowledge about medicinal plants, the properties of oils and butters, and the virtues of essential oils, for example. As dear Miles Davis said, "knowledge is freedom." On many levels!
In the same vein, this process allows you to:
- develop critical thinking skills
- take an informed and clear-eyed look at the industry
- break free from the grip that advertising has on us
- reclaim your consumption
For real. It’s wild.
When you start to be better informed on the subject, you see through the attempts at greenwashing that we are confronted with and the advertisements we are constantly bombarded with, which push us toward overconsumption.
Thus, we become capable of understanding that our skin doesn't need 5 different creams, that our hair doesn't need 7 supposedly miraculous products to look good, and that we can wash everything at home with only 2 or 3 household products.
We make conscious, informed, and lucid choices!
We talk about all this in more detail in our books À fleur de pots : simple homemade cosmetics and Remue-ménage : homemade household products. Must-haves for a little revolution!
You guessed it: it’s quite a lifestyle change that takes place when you step through this fabulous door that is DIY. It is an exceedingly healthy transition for yourself, your family, your planet... and your wallet. We finally reached that last, but not least, point!
Savings? You bet.
In addition to all the reasons we have told you about so far, there is the reason of economy.
As we write these lines, several factors are affecting the global balance: pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, increasingly important climate issues...
In short, we are going through a great period of instability, and the economy (among other things) is feeling the effects. Many individuals and families have to tighten their belts and think about alternative solutions to manage to make ends meet.
We firmly believe that DIY is an ideal solution for saving money. We can get so much mileage out of our ingredients, take advantage of their versatility; we can do so much with so little! As a general rule, making your products at home is less expensive than getting them in stores.
The result is quality products that are ecological, organic as much as you want, safe, and natural.
To illustrate the savings generated by this type of DIY, we brought out our greatest mathematical talents! Here are concrete examples based on some of our key recipes*: These are everyday product recipes that often serve as an introduction to DIY and to a more autonomous... and more thrifty lifestyle.
* The cost calculation of these recipes and the comparisons with what is on the market are based on prices as of August 26, 2022.
Marshmallow solid shampoo – for curly and dry hair
A solid shampoo is shampoo... without water! In recent years, we have started to see this concept on the market, and it is SUPER easy to make, in addition to being less expensive. It involves mixing a surfactant (a substance that foams and therefore dislodges oils!) with vegetable oils and butters, clays and powdered plants, and essential oils if desired.
Such a shampoo can last for months and proves to be more cost-effective than even very cheap pharmacy shampoos, in addition to being safe for you, the environment, and being zero-waste.
- DIY Cost: $8.85 for a yield of 100 g (which is equivalent to about 2 bars of soap).
- Retail cost: between $13.25 and $40 per 100 g.
Mango and hemp solid conditioner – for normal hair
Here is another reason to relegate to oblivion the numerous plastic bottles that clutter your shower and pollute your view! Just like solid shampoo, a solid conditioner is conditioner without the water! Based on vegetable conditioner and overflowing with vegetable oils and butters that are sensational for hair health, one small bar will last you for months. Months as in, like, "a year." You’ll definitely get your money's worth.
Bonus: solid conditioner is used as a shaving bar by many "mauvaises herbes" (bad weeds)!
- DIY Cost: $9.06 for 100 g (about 2 bars of conditioner).
- Retail cost: $13.25 to $38 per 100 g.
"Underbrush" version deodorant (yes, deo can be poetic like that)
If you are just getting to know DIY and you are saying "huh-what-sorry-what’s-going-on?!", it’s normal.
Yes, you can make your own deo (and its effectiveness will blow you away).
Yes, without baking soda. Homemade deodorants often contain baking soda which, although very effective, can be irritating to some people (#truestory). We therefore developed this recipe for deo without baking soda, and it is for-mi-dable.
Deodorant, antiperspirant, can we agree that we understand that this. costs. money. Except when you do it yourself!
- DIY Cost: $8.89 for a yield of 125 ml. This quantity lasts so long that you will save... 5 to 8 tubes of pharmacy deo or antiperspirant (estimate based on real life).
- Retail cost: multiply the price of your current deodorant by 8...!
Dish soap bar
Just like solid shampoo, a dish soap bar is simply dish soap, without water. Made up of surfactants (remember: substances that foam and dislodge fats!), citric acid, and washing soda, the dish soap bar changes lives, haha! Used properly, it can last for months.
The surfactants you bought to make your solid shampoo? They are used in the preparation of this recipe.
The washing soda? You can use it as is to maintain your pipes or even add 1 or 2 tablespoons to your laundry for its whitening and scrubbing action.
Citric acid, meanwhile, can be used alone to descale coffee makers and kettles. As a bonus, you can use it to concoct an effervescent bath powder! Because we believe that drinking your coffee from a freshly descaled coffee maker while contemplating your child happily playing in their bath with their magic powder is priceless, hahaha!
- DIY Cost: $8.00 for 180 g.
- Retail cost: between $12.99 and $23 for 180 g.
So there you have it.
Believe us: the feeling of pride and consistency that we experience every time we use our own products is incredible... and daily. Many of us can testify to this: we never get tired of feeling that our bar shampoos, deos, serums, and dish soap bars correspond deeply to our ecological values.
We feel something positive every time we hold these products in our hands, and this feeling does not wane over time.
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