One of the easiest ways to detox your skincare routine is by swapping your existing products for all-natural alternatives. DIYing your skincare allows you to know every ingredient that you’re putting on your body. Plus you make only what you need, so they’re natural AND sustainable.  We have designed these 5 DIY swaps to be easy, effective and use minimal ingredients, taking the hard work out of making your own.

Make Up Remover

For healthy skin, removing all residue of your makeup is important, so it doesn’t clog your pores. Unfortunately, the most common products on the market contain harsh sulphates, microbeads, alcohol, synthetic preservatives, and whole bunch of other ingredients that are either not ideal for the skin, or not friendly for the environment.

Swap For: Coconut oil

That’s it! Warm a small amount in the palm of your hand and rub into skin. Wipe off with warm water on a face washer or makeup pad. Coconut oil not only helps to cleanse your skin of makeup and dirt, but hydrates the skin and provides antibacterial properties. If Coconut oil doesn’t agree with your complexion, try Almond oil instead.

Hair Treatment

Chemist or Salon hair treatments leave your hair feeling amazing, but not for the right reasons! Synthetic ingredients such as silicons are used to coat the hair, which builds up and leads to heavy, dull and chemical laden locks.

Swap For: Macadamia Oil + Ylang Ylang Oil

Mix together 100mL of Macadamia oil and 1mL Ylang Ylang oil for an all-natural hair treatment. This balancing and nourishing hair mask hydrates and protects, while balancing your natural oils. Massage into the scalp and apply liberally to your ends. Leave in for at least 15 minutes before washing out with gentle low-tox haircare products.

Lip Balm

Your lips are one of the most sensitive areas of your skin and proximity to your mouth means incidental ingestion of ingredients can occur. Some of which you probably wouldn’t choose to consume! A lot of lip balms on the market are either full of petrochemicals, colours and flavours, or contained in excessive packaging.

Swap For: Shea Nut Butter + Mandarin Oil

Simply melt 20g of Shea Nut Butter and add 2 drops of Mandarin oil. Apply to your lips in any season for a fresh and fruity protective salve. Shea Nut Butter is a nourishing ingredient that helps to soothe dry and cracked skin. Mandarin is the perfect addition to a lip product, providing not only a softening effect, but creating an aroma and flavour so good you could almost eat it!

Face Mask

Forget acid peels, pore strips and chemical masks that strip your skin of natural oils. These expensive and harsh products are packed with synthetic ingredients, preservatives and fillers that feel good on the skin but increase your exposure to chemicals. Look out for products that promote the small amount of natural ingredient present in their otherwise synthetic offering. 

Swap For: Natural Clay + Water

Add 1 tsp Clay of your choice to your palm then drop by drop add either water, an infused water or hydrosol until the mask is the consistency you like. Apply to your face and décolletage and leave on until the mask dries. Wash off with warm water. Clay detoxifies the skin and leaves it soft and smooth. Choose White Clay for sensitive, fine and mature skin, Pink Clay for normal and Green Clay for robust skin and a superior detoxifying action. If you like the addition of an essential oil, try Sage’s Clay Mask Pack.

Face and Body Scrub

Toxin free skincare goes hand in hand with eco-friendly ideals, and when looking at exfoliation, microbeads are a big issue. Tiny bits of plastic are widely used in popular products and can be found all through the chemist or supermarket aisle and end up polluting waterways and harming wildlife. Scrubbing your skin does not require synthetic ingredients, nor the heavy environmental toll.

Swap For: Sugar + Sunflower Oil

For a simple and effective scrub, mix 100g sugar with 40ml of Sunflower oil. For a coarse body scrub, try using raw sugar. For a finer granule, use caster sugar on the face and lip. Sugar scrubs are a fantastic addition to your skincare regime as they help to remove dead skin cells and stimulate the circulation, leaving your skin soft, bright and invigorated.

We hope you enjoy these simple DIY swaps and can create some gorgeous low-tox products from home.