Laurann O'Reilly: Make your own natural beauty products...here's all you need to know!

Just like our bodies need food and pure nutrients for optimum health, it’s important to use good quality beauty products with high quality ingredients too.

Here, nutritionist Laurann O’Reilly and owner of Nutrition By Laurann, brings us through her top homemade natural beauty hacks so you’ll be glowing from head to toe.

1) Hair Products: Speaking of head to toe, the hair is a great place to start with many of us striving to have a full head of hair and/or flowing locks:

- Hair Rinse: The combined use of hair products and also the presence of lime in many people’s water supplies can cause a build-up in our hair. My favourite natural hair rinse is pure apple cider vinegar.

Tip: Mix one part apple cider vinegar (for example The Apple Farm or Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar ‘with mother’) with one part water, then rinse your hair with the solution after shampooing

- Conditioning Treatments: Our hair can get overworked and tired sometimes too so why not show it some love with homemade treatments.

Tip 1. Banana & Avocado: Mix 1 banana with 1 avocado, massage into your hair, pop on a shower cap, leave for 15-20 mins and wash thoroughly (expand).

Tip 2. Coconut & Honey: As coconut oil and honey are both ‘emollients’, which mean that they lock in moisture these are the perfect duo. Simply mix two tablespoons of melted coconut oil with two tablespoons of raw honey, massage into your hair, leave on for at least 30-40 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.

2) Hair Removal: For some who want to go the other way of removing unwanted hair from unwanted places the natural approach may be the way, particularly with those who have sensitive skin.

Papaya & Turmeric: According to myglam.com this combination works as “papaya contains an enzyme called ‘papain’ which helps reduce hair growth and turmeric contains antioxidants to fight bacteria”.

Tip: Mash 1 cup of papaya, mix with 2 tablespoons of turmeric powder and apply to the body where hair removal is required. Leave for 15-20 minutes and wash thoroughly (courtesy of myglam.com).

Note 1: Always do a patch test on a small part of your skin first to ensure that your skin is suitable. Note 2: As home remedies are natural and gentler, you may not achieve instant results (it a could take few months before you actually see a difference)

3) Make Up Remover: Why not take off the day with your own homemade makeup remover using jojoba oil, witch hazel and aloe vera. Jojoba oil is the type of oil that most closely resembles the skin's natural oil" whilst witch hazel acts “as a natural oil-control ingredient” combining these two ingredients makes a great solution for combo and oily skin types.

Tip: To a small container add 2 tablespoons of witch hazel, 2 tablespoons of jojoba oil and 1 tablespoon of aloe vera (which can be purchased from a health store). Simply combine the ingredients and use a cotton pad.

4) Face Mask: There are many factors which can take a toll on our skin so why not feed it with a pure and nutritious face mask.

- Cocoa, Sour Cream, Honey & Egg White: Whilst this may seem like a strange combination, these ingredients have functional properties for the skin. For instance, raw cocoa has potent antioxidant properties and “sour cream is a form of lactic acid that hydrates as it gently exfoliates, honey is a humectant that boosts hydration whilst the protein in the egg white acts to tighten and firm skin” (Good Housekeeping).

Tip: Combine 1 tablespoon of raw cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon sour cream, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 egg white. Apply to face and let dry before rinsing (courtesy of goodhousekeeping.com).

5) Puffy Eye Reducer: There are many reasons for the dreaded eye puff, whether it’s late sleepless nights, stress or over-indulgence, anti-puffy to the rescue

Tea Bags: Whilst we’re partial to a cup of tea or two, why not recycle your tea bags for this beauty hack. That’s because tea bags can help to reduce eye puffiness and redness.

Tip: Soak two tea bags in warm water (or set aside after you’ve made your tea) and then place them to chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Once cool, place one tea bag on each eye for 5-10 minutes, for refreshed eyes.

Cucumber: My personally tried and tested favourite, perfect for tired eyes.

Tip: Chop up a cucumber, divide into ziplock bags (2 slices per bag) and place in the freezer. Remove as you need them and place on your eyes for at least 5 minutes to instantly awaken and reduce swelling or puffiness

6) Luscious Lashes: For those who want to enhance the quality of their lashes whilst you sleep, we can condition our lashes just like we do our locks. The best natural conditioners are oils which include almond, castor and coconut oil.

Tip 1: Apply the oil of your choice with a cotton ball/or cotton bud at the base of your lashes before bed.

Tip 2: If you would like to try a combination of oils, mix two parts vitamin E oil, one part castor oil, and one part 100% pure aloe vera gel and apply using a clean mascara wand, which can be washed off the following morning.

7) Teeth Cleaning/Whitening: It’s not just important to have white teeth but to also ensure we’re cleaning properly and maintaining our overall oral health.

- Oil Pulling: Oil pulling helps remove many types of bacteria from the mouth. Tip: This involves swishing oil around in your mouth. Whilst oil could be used for oil pulling, sunflower, sesame and coconut oil are mostly used.

- Banana Skin: It’s been suggested that banana skin may help whiten your teeth, but the jury is still out.

Recommended: “Rub the white side of the peel onto your teeth for a few minutes and brush your teeth like you usually would. Do this two or three times a week” (Miramar Beach Dental).

8) Body Scrubs/Exfoliants: We can spend a pretty penny on expensive scrubs and designer exfoliants when we often have some of these ingredients in our cupboards at home.

- Coffee Grounds: Don’t throw out your leftover coffee grounds just yet as mixed with coconut oil and some sugar you’ve got yourself the perfect scrub. It’s also thought to help combat cellulite as both the scrub and the caffeine help to stimulate circulation to the area.

- Sugar Scrub: As many of the shop bought scrubs contain artificial microgranules that can enter our water systems and damage the environment, making our homemade natural scrubs can definitely be an incentive and sugar works a treat!

Tip 1: Mix equal parts pure granulated sugar (white or brown) with olive or almond oil and then exfoliate by rubbing the mixture all over your skin and then rinse to reveal the softness.

Tip 2: Why not add scent your scrub with few drops of essential oils for example orange or lemongrass can be lovely and refreshing.

- The Walnut Whip: A combination of soothing and moisturising yogurt and the healing, oily properties of ground walnuts make the perfect exfoliant.

Tip: Add half a cup of walnuts to a food processor and pulse until they’re finely ground. Then mix the nuts into a cup of plain yogurt, scrub to your heart’s content and then rinse.

9) Spot Zappers: We’re all prone to pesky spots at some stage of our lives so it’s great to have some natural remedies in the cupboard.

- Manuka Honey: Not only is it packed with vitamins and minerals, it also has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties which speed up the healing process.

- Ice: Pop a couple of ice cubes in a Ziplock bag and hold up to the spot, for as long as you can, try 6-7 minutes (or until the ice cube melts). This serves a few purposes in numbing painful spots, helping to reduce inflammation and promoting healing.

- Baking Soda: Due to its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties may be used for a mild breakout.

Tip: Mix 2 teaspoons of baking soda with a little water, apply the past directly to the spot and leave for 20 minutes before thoroughly washing off, once or twice per week.

Note: If you have sensitive skin, or a skin condition please check with your GP first.

10) Sunburn Soother: With the amazing sunshine we’ve been having recently, some of our skin has been left a little worse for wear and a little more than sun-kissed in some cases.

- Yogurt: As yoghurt has an amazing cooling effect on the skin, it works a treat with sunburns, rashes and irritated skin. It’s also full of lactic acid enzymes that have brightening and hydrating properties.

Tip: Choose the creamier Greek yoghurt which has more moisturising properties.

11) Hard Skin Removers: Whether you’ve overworked your hands, or your feet need a little loving, here are some ideas for softening your paws.

- Citrus Fruits: Why not try lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit or a combination of the above for removing hard skin. This is because the citric acid helps to break down and smooth rough skin

- Listerine Foot Soak: Commonly used as a mouthwash, Listerine can also serve another purpose in repairing our feet as it contains “four essential oils with alleged antiseptic qualities: eucalyptol, menthol, thymol, and methyl salicylate” (birdie.com).

Tip: In a large basin (big enough to fit your feet), add 3 tablespoons of honey, 1 ½ cups of Listerine, ½ cup of Apple Cider Vinegar (with mother), and half fill the basin with warm water.

Dip in your feet for 10 to 15 minutes and enjoy!

12) Nifty Nails: To keep our nails in good health it’s important to keep our cuticles in good nick too.

- Coconut Cuticle Oil: This provides extra nourishment for dry/cracked cuticles as “the heavy oil provides long-lasting moisture” (goodhousekeeping.com).

Tip: Melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, rub on to each fingertip, wrap in a little cling film for 10-15 minutes and allow it to absorb (courtesy of good housekeeping.com).

13) Blister Banisher: The word on the street is that rubbing clear deodorant on your feet, shoes or anywhere where your feet are in a tight squeeze helps to prevent rubbing by acting as a lubricant. It would definitely save on the plasters!

For further information contact Laurann at info@nutritionbylaurann.ie or see www.nutritionbylaurann.ie 

Laurann O’Reilly is a qualified and experienced nutritionist with a BSc. Degree in Human Nutrition from University of Nottingham and a Master’s in Public Health Nutrition from University College Dublin.