Homemade Beauty Gifts

I keep reading that many families have to take a "home made/hand made" vow for holiday presents this year.  Instead of feeding the rampant commercialism that came crashing to earth with the financial collapse last year, these families are returning to the idea of simpler times when there were fewer presents but the presents will be hand made. 

For the frazzled and frenzied among us -who in days past may have received a gift certificate to a fancy day spa- why not think about making some wonderful beauty products for a "spa at home" experience.

You might begin with a Chamomile Bubble Bath.  The light, clean scent of chamomile has been used in teas and by herbalists for years to calm and soothe the soul.  Start with simple ingredients: Chamomile tea, powdered milk and liquid castile soap (found in many health food stores) to stir up the soothing, milky liquid.  Pour into a pretty sealable bottle and this gift is ready for to give for teacher gifts, hostess gifts or anyone on your list who needs a little pampering.

Who would say no to Chocolate Lip Balm?  A simple stocking stuffer, hostess gift, or simply an add-on to any other present. Belsey uses ingredients you can find in a grocery store or drug store to create her lip balms.  The inspiration for this flavor?  She used to

 ...wait till my kids were sleeping to slather vaseline over their
chapped lips because they hated any kind of moisturizer. So I invented
this recipe to tempt them into voluntarily using chapstick, but it's so
tasty and moisturizes so well I now make it for myself. The kids love it too!

Perhaps a bit too personal for many a gift, but Amy Karol at Angry Chicken made the decision to create her own homemade deodorant.  The natural deodorants weren't working well, and her choice seemed to be make her own or stink.  She chose to experiment with making her own.  Combining some shea butter, baking soda, corn starch, cocoa butter, vitamin E capsules (these act as a preservative) plus essential oils.  This formula works quite well.

I can scoop a little bit out of the jar, roll it into a pea-sized ball, and rub it in. I am very very happy with it. I found other recipes online for cream deodorants that have beeswax, vegetable glycerin—all kinds of combos.

I had hoped to find wonderful facial cleansers and masks to gift -but none of those recipes seemed quite appropriate as gifts. Moisturizers for the winter-cold faces?  Not so much.

And you?  Have you tried any home made beauty gifts?  Would you care to share what you've made?

Debra A Stitch In Time Weight for Deb