Last week’s post on The Story of Cosmetics inspired a lively discussion on natural beauty alternatives. Many thanks to everyone who commented! I’ve decided to gather up the information that was shared, plus a few extras, and consolidate it into a Minimalist Beauty post.
So here you have it: eleven ways to minimize the chemicals in your beauty routine (and still look gorgeous!).
1. Wash your face with honey. Used as a facial wash, honey tightens pores, moisturizes skin, and is believed to help treat and control acne. Simply wet your face with warm water, massage with a tablespoon of raw, unprocessed honey, and rinse well. Or, apply it as a mask, and let it sit 15-20 minutes before washing it off. I’ve been doing this for some time, and have been quite pleased with the results.
2. Use witch hazel as a toner. It’s natural, gentle, and alcohol-free, and won’t dry out skin like chemical-based formulas. Witch hazel refreshes your skin, and removes excess oils and impurities. I tried this a while back, and was perfectly happy with it — just too lazy to keep it up. Although I don’t currently feel the need for this extra step in my beauty routine, I would use witch hazel if I did.
3. Moisturize with olive oil. Other suggestions from the Comments included coconut oil, almond oil, and jojoba oil. I’m a little nervous to try this, as I’m afraid to break out or look greasy; when I work up the courage to give this a whirl, I’ll let you know.
4. Shampoo with baking soda, and rinse with apple cider vinegar. This natural combo is a popular alternative to shampoo. First, dilute a tablespoon of baking soda with enough water to make a loose paste, then massage it into your scalp. After rinsing it out, pour an apple cider vinegar and water solution over the ends. (See Nature Moms No ‘Poo post for complete instructions.)
5. Make a facial with oatmeal. I’m not really a facial kind of gal, but if I ever fancy one, I like the idea of oatmeal. The simplicity of it appeals to me: just mix dry oatmeal and water into a paste and spread it on your face. Let it dry, then rinse with warm water. It’s supposed to have a wonderful calming effect on the skin, reducing irritation and inflammation.
6. Use tea tree oil for blemishes. Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic that kills bacteria without chemicals – simply dab a bit on the inflamed spot morning and night. It’s a great way to avoid the harsh ingredients in acne creams (which can further irritate skin).
7. Use one natural bar soap for body, hair, and teeth. This tip was mentioned a few times in the Comments; and while I was aware that one could use the same bar soap for hair and body, I would have never considered brushing my teeth with it! Cool idea!
8. DIY. Search the internet, and you’ll find plenty of recipes for making your own soap, lotions, shampoos, facials, and cosmetics from natural (and edible) ingredients. Check out Tammy’s (Rowdy Kittens) recent post on How to Make Your Own Cosmetics.
9. Choose products with natural ingredients. If you don’t want to cook up your own potions, start reading labels more carefully. Dawn Michelle lists chemicals to avoid in this post on her Minimalist Beauty blog, and the Skin Deep cosmetics database provides safety ratings for thousands of personal care products. “Natural” brands recommended in the Comments include Dr. Bronner’s, Fresh Line, Giovanni, Dr. Hauschka, Suki, and Aubrey’s Organics.
10. Drink plenty of water. Drinking eight to ten glasses of water per day hydrates your skin, helps it maintain its elasticity, and gives it a healthy, natural glow. An added bonus: it’s also good for the rest of your body, helping to lubricate joints and flush out toxins and impurities.
11. Get your beauty sleep. Sounds simple, but this can be a tough one for night owls like me (I do my best work at night!). Lately, however, I’ve been making a real effort to get the recommended eight hours of sleep. I’ve noticed that when I do, my skin looks smoother and more radiant. It’s also a great way to avoid dark, under-eye circles (and the concealer or makeup needed to cover them up!).
Keep the tips coming! I’d love to hear more about your natural (and minimal) beauty routines.
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Wow, thanks a lot for this great post! I haven’t read the comments to your post on The Story of Cosmetics so I’m quite surprised to see so many natural and frugal ideas here. Will try as many of the them as I can!
I’m 55 years old. When I discovered as a teen that I’m allergic to almost every beauty product known to man (I rarely use Eucerin creme as hand lotion–everything else makes me break out in a rash) I stopped washing my face with soap. Instead, I wash it with water. After 40 years of washing my face with just water, I’d say my skin looks as good as anyone else’s (if not better). What could be more minimalist?
My mom had a bout with very sensitive skin, and her dermatologist suggested moisturizing with Crisco! Apparently vegetable oils are not occlusive, so they don’t block pores…
Witch hazel *is* a chemical, btw. It is derived from a plant, but it’s still a chemical….
Thanks for the Honey tip. I recently tried the oil cleaning method for my face and was surprised by how gentle it was and didn’t leave me with as many break outs as regular face washes (notice I said not as many so I keep searching for a better option). I am excited to try the honey one now. I hadn’t heard of that.
I also use jojoba for my dry skin spots (elbows, knees, and the insides of my ears) and it works really well. When I was using it on my face (wipe off with a warm wash cloth). I didn’t look the least bit greasy. In fact my skin never looked better! You just have to be really brave (especially those of us that are prone to break out).
I’m a no’pooer and loving it! I am looking for some good suggestions of essential oil combinations that won’t break the bank to make the apple cider vinegar more pleasant smelling though…?
I recently went to my hairdresser and she asked if I was using any vitamins because my hair was “pretty much perfect” and I told her I was “no’pooing” and told her not to judge!
I use the oil cleansing method after camping and sitting at a campfire to clean my pores and when my skin is dry after I use a baking soda scrub paste to remove dead skin. Other than that, I’m just washing with water with no breakouts (which is surprising because I had terrible acne when I was younger), so I’m glad to see there’s someone else out there that has had good luck with just water too.
I also use olive oil as a moisturizer in the winter. I’m going to have to try the honey tip, I’m curious!
Miss Minimalist.You must go to bed when the sun goes down and wake up when the sun rises.Keep your curtains open and follow the patterns of the sun.That is how nature intended us to live.Our brain releases a chemical when it gets dark to tell our bodies to rest.Specific organs in our bodies follow patterns in the evening to rejuvenate.It begins to happen from about 10pm.Electric light is an artificial Sun going against the nature of our bodies.Many people who work at night go on to develop cancer.Good health and sleep well and healthily.Plenty of info online about this.
Great tips! I like 10 and 11 since it not just applies to our skincare regimen but our overall health and wellness. Very important in order to keep our bodies fluid and the best it can be. Thanks for the tips, Francine!
Great tips! My only complaint is that there doesn’t seem to be a good alternative to sunscreen. Despite questionable chemicals, there’s no doubt that sunscreens keep you from getting burned while out enjoying the sun. If the best we can do is “wear long sleeves, a hat and stay out of the sun from 11 – 4,” (tips given in a comment on your last post) I’m in trouble. In 98 degree weather, it’d be miserable to wear long sleeves. Not to mention the afternoon is the best time to be out on the lake. Does anyone have a more organic solution for sunscreen?
Francine – Great tips on the facial mask. The one I use right now has paraben in it – which I know can be harmful in the long run. I’ll definitely try honey!
I’m loving honey as a face wash! I usually use rhassoul clay, yet honey is more moisturizing. I also love making an exfoliating mask with honey as one of the ingredients as well. Honey is so good for the skin. Beauty in a no fuss way is so appealing. Thanks for such an awesome article!
Have a beautiful day,
Dawn Michelle
I love these tips and can’t wait to try some out.
I second the need for a natural sunscreen. I get up at the crack of dawn to get all my outdoor work done before 11. We live in southern IN and our summers are Hazy Hot and Humid (like 95 degrees with 88% humidity). We don’t have an AC but we do have a small above-ground pool. I love to sit in it when I reach my personal “boiling point.”
Water is the key to having radiant skin. I get compliments on mine all the time, and the only thing I’ve used for years is Oil of Olay – and not even that on a regular basis. The key is all the water I drink – at least 6-8 glasses a day every single day. I’m a strong believer that what you put in your body shows up on the outside eventually.
The honey and oatmeal are great tips – I’m going to try them.
PS – Got your book yesterday and just started reading it – fabulous!
What a great and comprehensive list! Some of these I’ve tried and others are new- thanks for the compilation.
~Deirdre
I feel like using honey on my face would create a giant sticky mess and I wouldn’t be able to leave the house for days!
I quite often make a footsoak with a basin of warm water and a handful of oatmeal which feels really luxurious and leaves your feet smooth and soft. I sometimes add a couple of drops of lavender too just to make it smell even better.
Great post and your book arrived today so off to get to work on it!
I second the comment about jojoba oil. I recently trialled it for a review for Australian Women’s Health and I was thrilled with the result. I use it on my face and body and my skin has never been softer. While I have dry skin my t-zone is oily and prone to breakouts so I was dubious about putting it on my face, but I’ve had no problems. You can also use it as a makeup remover – its the ultimate multipurpose product!
Hi again, MM! Just wanna add that you can also use baking soda or salt as an alternative to toothpaste.
Oh, and this one’s not really for looking gorgeous but I was just reminded of it while thinking of disposable products. Instead of using disposable menstrual pads, women can use a reusable menstrual cup, as you’ve probably already heard of. I’ve been using this great product called “the keeper” (http://www.keeper.com/) for more than 5 years now and I’m very satisfied with it.
Mia — I am a Keeper gal too!
Glad to hear that, Kim! I love my keeper and can’t imagine going back to using menstrual pads!
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nice post! I buy only natural organic beauty products, which a very common over here (germany) so I save a lot of time and a have enough honey and oatmeal for my breakfast
All of these products have chemicals in them. Everything is made of a chemical or combination of chemicals. Check the Wikipedia entry if you don’t believe me.
What is all this irrational fear of ‘chemicals’? Just because something is ‘natural’ (whatever that _really_ means) doesn’t mean it is benign or beneficial. (Arsenic, anyone?). And just because something is ‘artificial’ (same problem) doesn’t mean it’s necessarily harmful (think of many modern life-saving drugs).
You have no idea how refreshing it is to see someone post this besides me!
I am chemical free in my routine! It took me forever to find out what worked and ‘how’ it worked for me but now that I have it’s a dream.
Instead of shampoo I use baking soda (occasionally vinegar if I really need conditioner).
Instead of face wash I use straight up water. That’s right, just water. If I need to remove eye make up I use a little bit of coconut oil. It’s amazing how the skin regulates itself after you stop using chemicals!
Instead of moisturizer I drink tons of water.
I use dry brushing and coconut oil before showering to keep my skin soft and renewed!
Seriously, I LOVE your blog sister. It rocks.
I discovered using olive oil as a moisturizer, completely on accident. I used to work as a waitress at an Italian Restaurant. Every day it was someone’s responsibility to refill the olive oil and vinegar containers. In no time, I began to notice that after refilling oils (during which at least a little oil would get on my hands) and then washing my hands, they would be amazingly soft. It even helped my nails and cuticles!
I have really sensitive skin and am allergic to a lot of stuff so I stopped using perfume a long time ago. I also wash my face with just water in the evening, works great. I am thinking of trying the no shampoo thing – right now, I wash my hair every other day, which so far seems to be about right for me.
I love the idea of using honey for a face wash – I just wish that raw honey was a little cheaper… any ideas about that?
I love these ideas, even when they don’t work for me. I tried to skip shampoo in favor of baking soda and cider vinegar – but after about a month of it, my hair was dry and tangled. I have very long hair, so I decided that if I want it to stay healthy I needed to go back to traditional hair products.
I’ll try the honey, good idea.
I found out that my $15 Aveeno rosacea face cream was actually pretty strongly discouraged in the Skin Deep database, due to toxic ingredients. That made me mad, considering how “natural” they market themselves… guess arsenic is natural though, to be fair
So instead, as what started as a stopgap measure, I’ve been using *petroleum jelly*, which seemed like it would clog my pores and make my rosacea-breakout skin go crazy – but it’s been great. My super-dry skin has been great, and no breakouts. Who’dathunk?
I haven’t tried olive oil yet, but I sometimes use sweet almond oil or jojoba oil as a base for massage oil, and afterwards my hands feel *amazing* and the moisturization lasts through several hand washes.
Someone asked about good essential oils – I buy them on eBay in tiny batches (with a big lot of medicine droppers) and then try them out that way. They’re great in massage oil (as I mentioned), in after-shower moisturizer (I use baby oil, even though it’s actually not an ideal carrier oil for essential oils, but hey it works), and in the laundry. My favorite oils for scent are bergamot, freesia, and black currant – my favorites for massage are chamomile (expensive tho!) and melissa.
Ok, that was just my experiences, thanks for the great ideas. Honey, here I come! Maybe olive oil too
Ok, I just tried the honey face wash, and you were totally and completely right. I was a bit skeptical, and thought about how sticky it would feel and how hard to wash off – nope. With the warm water first, it made nice clean circles on the skin, and then when I washed it off, my skin not only felt clean and smooth, its texture was like one of those expensive smooth REI camping towels… can I say that my skin was like buttah? Cuz it was.
I followed up with Vaseline, which has been such a great thing for my skin, although I am wondering if the “petroleum” in petroleum jelly is such a great thing for my inner organs. Google hasn’t really helped me on this one – anyone else know?
Anyway, the honey works. Try it!
Oh, and question for commenters – what is an example of a natural bar soap? I’ve heard of, and used (and liked) Dr Bronner’s, crazy as that man’s packaging is… what is a good bar soap though, I don’t have any clue.
Thanks!
I love natural products, but it stops at my face. I’ve tried everything under the sun over a decade of trial and error, and I am very grateful for the chemicals I put on my face every night in the form of Retin-A
I’m jumping onto the bandwagon a bit late, but this is something I try to advocate and people always look at me funny.
Like others, I don’t use face wash–just water and I break out a lot less. I haven’t had a single pimple in 13 weeks. Not only do I love oatmeal masks for occasional dead-skin removal, I also make a lavender oatmeal milk bath. Its 1 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup dry powdered milk, 5 drops lavender oil in a warm bath. Its amazing how good it feels!
I’ve seen quite a few confirmations that “food” oils are quite good for the skin and don’t clog pores. I use Sweet Almond oil as a full-body massage oil and it rubs in really nicely and doesn’t feel greasy. I also have never noticed extra break-outs afterwards and I have pretty oily skin in the first place. My sister-in-law used Coconut oil and loved it.
While I totally agree with not buying commercial body products and I definitely worry about some of the chemicals in them being harmful, I definitely agree with the comments about everything being made of chemicals and “natural” not meaning good. Plenty of “organic” and “natural” products I see still contain parabens & sulfates–two things that are linked with the potential to increase the risk of cancer.
All the pre-shave oils I use on my face contain olive oil. I can attest to it being a great moisturizer. My face feels smooth and healthy all day when I use it on my face before the shaving cream (and not just any shave cream either — good stuff like Proraso or American Crew that have eucalyptus oil in it).
Just wanted to say you don’t have to do a light color in the bathroom. Some of us like color sprinkled about although I would say khaki green is the darkest I like (now anyways). I have it as an accent wall in my apartment. I do think it works better to do darker in a bigger room versus small and a light color on the ceiling will make the room look bigger. So using it in the bathroom would depend on the person and may be best as an accent wall than all walls. But yeah, you don’t have to give up color for a minimalist look.
Rosehip oil is fantastic for your face. It’s very moisturising without being too heavy and supposedly helps to fade pigmentation. I use rosehip oil and a drop of tea tree or lavender on spots.
Coming from Australia, going without sunscreen isn’t an option (Ever seen people have skin cancers burnt off their face? It’s gross.) So I double up and use a tinted sunscreen instead of foundation. I could probably also use it as a motisuriser too in summer.
Coconut oil is supposed to be wonderful as a moisturizer. I’ve not tried it but a good friend swears by it!
[...] Miss Minimalist – Minimalist beauty- 11 ways to look gorgeous without chemicals [...]
[...] Go with a mild cleanser. Miss Minimalist uses honey, others recommend oatmeal, avocado, strawberries, papaya skins. For exfoliation, try a teaspoon of [...]
Love washing my face with Honey! You can also use Lavender Hydrosol as a yummy toner for oily skin!
Great Post!
Sesame Oil is a great body cleanser (Fall/Winter) and Coconut Oil is a great body cleanser (Spring/Summer). Also, reduces the need for (additional) moisturization
Also, baking soda/apple cider idea is good ~ important note to “not” wash hair everyday… this combo will dry out hair if you do (for most folks). Other days, just using a mild conditioner (in replacement of this combo is good) ; )
I used to work in a half way house that took jail overflow and the inmates that came from the jail raved about jail hand cream. Seems it was made from a mixture of one cheap bottle of hand lotion for fragrance and a lot of CRISCO. They said it works wonders even on feet. The folks who had been out on the streets loved it. Yea for Crisco.
Instead of Retin-A, try Rose water. Rose water is fairly cheap, and has retinoids in it. Works wonders! My favourite is Cortas, although Heritage also has good products.
Yikes – some of these may not be so good if you follow the research done by Paula Begoun http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn-skin-care-facts.aspx In some cases, “natural” can have terrible consequences for your skin.
There are no FDA standards for the word “natural” so it can be used with almost any product. Essential oils and products that we might categorize as natural (we know what it is on the label, and it isn’t petroleum derived)should be used with caution because they can irritate skin and cause allergic reactions for some people. Double check that they are safe to used during pregnancy. A skin patch test is recommended. To learn more about chemicals, carcinogens, and hormone mimikers in household cleaning and personal products, as well as furniture, plastics, etc. I recommend starting with the books What’s in this stuff? by Patricia Thomas and Slow death by rubber duck by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie. Learning about these things motivated me and allowed me to toss or give away most of my cosmetics and personal products that I never used or wanted, guilt free.
[...] been using honey as a cleanser for her face. She had gotten the recommendation from a post on the Miss Minimalism blog. She said that she loved it. It worked well and left her face very [...]
[...] already been adding honey to my conditioner for a while before I found this other suggestion at missminimalist.com. Honey as a face wash. I tried it, and I love it. In fact, I don’t think that my skin [...]
Two questions…are you particular about the honey, such as organic or farmer’s market or will any store brand do? Also, any concerns with the oatmeal on the drains(clogging) when you rinse it off?
Many thanks!
7. Use one natural bar soap for body, hair, and teeth??? What bar soap would this be?
Great tips here, thank you! I am going to try almond oil, because while olive oil is great (I’ve tried it) the distinctive smell bothered me.
Also, I didn’t see any mention of shea butter. Pure shea butter (I bought some from Amazon, a huge tub!) is fabulous for every sensitive skin. We use it for our children who suffer eczema. It is very thick and has a distinct smell, but if you are trying to avoid all those awful steroid creams and so on, I recommend it! (Also, applying a cool compress washcloth works wonders for night itches, which can be bad in hot weather).
What about Milk of Magnesia as a primer? Has any of you girls tried that?
what would you recommend as a facial wash other than honey? Since the bee population is declining, I want to ensure their survival as much as possible, and that means (in addition to lowering pollution and using cell phones less) going easy on the bee products
A little side tract from cosmetics… With regards to chemicals, I would like to encourage current users of insecticides to reduce and eventually stop using it. Where I live, there are roaches. I used to be very frightened of roaches and use insecticides to rid them. That was some years back. I learned that these chemicals are harmful to humans as well as the environment. Now, I’m still quite afraid of the roaches but I no longer use insecticides and I would rather wack them with thick rolled-up newspapers or a broom. I also encourage my family to seal up rubbish bags whenever possible and wipe areas where food were place or prepared. There are many new allergies /illnesses nowadays and it pains anyone to see someone affected by it. I hope everyone here stay healthy and try to reduce reliance on chemicals. To Miss Minimalist, I enjoy reading your posts and the posts from your readers. Thanks for creating this blog!