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Part of living sustainably involves making your own health and beauty care products. Sure, you can buy these things, but doesn’t it feel good to make products that you know are safe? When you make it, you know exactly what went into it. When you grow it, you know exactly how it was grown. That is the benefit of growing your own plants and making beauty products out of those same plants.
Many of the edible plants in our foodscape are also useful topically. For example: well known immune boosting herbs such as chamomile and lavender, tasty in a wellness tea, are wonderful for skin care. Both have antiseptic properties and heal in a gentle way. In this post we will show you how to use these herbs along with fresh aloe to make your own beauty and skin care products.
We have all heard about the benefits of the aloe vera plant. It heals sunburn, right? Yes, that is true, but it can also be used in a host of beauty and self-care products.
Today, we want to show you how to safely harvest aloe vera that you have grown at home. Then we will show you how to make a conditioning hair rinse, which I can attest to that it makes your hair shiny and silky (even my hair that had become a bit dull and had a tendency to get knotty). Lastly, we will show you a simple recipe for a gentle and cleansing facial tonic using the freshly harvested aloe vera gel.
Harvest Aloe Vera
Select a good healthy leaf and slice at the base using a sharp knife. Be careful not to nick the other surrounding leaves because this could damage them.
Drain the Latex
If you are allergic or sensitive to latex, be warned that this plant has natural latex within its leaves. You will notice the thick yellow substance oozing from the cut end of the leaves. It reminds me of a runny egg yolk. This stuff smells terrible, and it is a skin irritant, so it must be drained off before harvesting the usable parts of the plant.
Place leaves upright with cut sides down in a bowl you don’t care about staining. I let mine drain overnight, outside because I don’t want that smell in the house. Discard the latex and wash the leaves.
Remove the Outer Layer
You can use a veggie peeler to remove the green skin or cut in half and scrape out the clear gelatinous substance. This is the good stuff we are looking for to make our beauty products.
Give it one more good rinse before processing and cube into smaller pieces.
Process the Cubes into a Puree
Use a food processer or blender to puree the chunks of aloe vera gel into a liquid form. It will look foamy for a little bit. Let the bubbles settle before adding it to any beauty care recipes.
Hair Tonic Conditioning Rinse
In this recipe, the mild antibacterial effect of chamomile is paired with the soothing, moisturizing effects of aloe vera gel to create an effective hair rinse.
Prepare Chamomile Infusion
An infusion is a liquid mixture created by pouring boiling water over the flowering parts of an herb. Prepare your infusion by placing two tablespoons of dried, loose chamomile herbs in a heat resistant dish. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over the dried herbs. Cover immediately with a clean cloth and let it sit for ten minutes before straining.
Strain the Spent Herbs
Use a fine sieve to strain off the herbs leaving behind a liquid infusion. The properties of the herbs are now infused into the liquid. Let the mixture cool down a bit before continuing with the recipe.
Add Aloe Vera Gel
To the chamomile infusion, add 1/4 cup of the aloe vera gel. Stir vigorously to blend.
Wash your hair as normal and then work the hair rinse through from roots to ends. Let it sit for a minute or so before rinsing back out.
Facial Toner
This recipe combines the healing properties of essential oils, moisturizing and toning effects of aloe vera, astringent qualities of witch hazel and cleansing, soothing effects of lavender herbs.
Prepare Lavender Infusion
Much the same way as you made the chamomile infusion, you will make the lavender infusion.
Place two tablespoons of dried, loose lavender buds in a heat resistant dish. Pour 1/3 cup of boiling water over the dried herbs. Cover immediately with a clean cloth and let it sit for ten minutes.
Keep the buds in the mixture and let the infusion cool to room temperature.
Add Aloe Vera Gel and Witch Hazel
In a sterilized container, start mixing your ingredients. Add one tablespoon of aloe vera gel to two teaspoons of witch hazel. Stir to combine.
Mix in Essential Oils
You can use any blend you like of the essential oils, as long as you know how you will react to them. Essential oils are highly concentrated oils that can be irritating to the skin if you are sensitive. It makes sense to test it on a less sensitive area first if you are unsure.
For my facial toner I added 5 drops each of lavender, rosemary, and peppermint essential oils.
Blend in Lavender Infusion
Now that the lavender infusion has cooled down a bit you can mix it with the other ingredients to complete your revitalizing facial toner.
Cover and store in a cool dry place away from direct sun. Apply a splash nightly after washing your face using just your fingers. The tissue under your eyes is especially delicate so remember to dab carefully in that area. Avoid contact with your eyes or lash line. The essential oils can cause burning and irritation to these areas (same with nasal passages).
You will probably have some aloe vera gel leftover. Place it in a clean container with a lid and refrigerate for up to 3 months. Use it as a moisturizer or for after sun care. The possibilities are endless!
