Kitchen Pantry Staples To Boost Your DIY Beauty Care Routine

lifestyle

Sep 17

With Tradwives content everywhere these days, you may have seen a bunch of DIY beauty recipes coming through your feed and been a bit intrigued. But some of the ingredients can be a bit obscure or require buying for the sole purpose of making the recipe. I love a good beef tallow moisturizer or arrowroot starch deodorant, but what if you try it and don’t like it? Then you are stuck with a tub that you *fingers crossed* will want to use for cooking. You may not be wanting to take that plunge.

So let's dig into our pantries and fridges and look for some kitchen staples that bring the power and can elevate your beauty routine without an extra trip to the store or commitment.

Read on to learn the most effective kitchen pantry staples, how to use them and the benefits they will bring to your clean beauty routine.

Why Choose Natural Beauty Care?

woman applying non toxic skin care — Photo credit: Retha Ferguson

You probably know that limiting your exposure to potentially toxic chemicals is a good move for your overall health, including gut health. This is especially true if you are pregnant—nearly 300 environmental chemicals were detected in neonatal cord blood! While it’s not clear exactly how this affects our future generations, I think we can all agree that limiting our exposure when we can is beneficial.

But it also feels good to do something that helps you look and feel your best. I know, I know—we should care more about the inside than the outside. I agree, and a healthful diet is foundational to that.

But I also know, for me personally, when my hair is feeling all sorts of shiny or my skin is looking a little brighter, it gives me that little boost that snowballs into more good feelings throughout my day. And I don’t know about you, but I want to look good because it makes me feel better, not because some beauty brand is telling me that without their product I won’t be 'irresistible' or 'effortlessly chic.' But I digress…

So, when building my clean beauty routines, I want simple, effective, and easy. Enter the kitchen pantry DIY hacks that have become staples in my beauty routines.

I'm here to introduce your superhero ingredients that I'd bet most of you have in your home right now: apple cider vinegar (ACV), honey, coconut oil, and lemon.

These powerhouse ingredients are not only part of a healthy, nutrient dense diet but can do wonders for your natural beauty and skin care game.

Kitchen Pantry Staples for DIY Non Toxic Beauty

Let's discuss how these ingredients can benefit your hair, skin, and nails, and how you can easily incorporate them into your beauty routine.

Hair

Why It Works: Hair cuticles naturally have a lower pH, and many shampoos, conditioners and hard water elevate the pH, leading to frizzy hair. Adding some acid helps bring down the pH to lock the hair cuticle and help it lay flat for super soft, frizz-free hair. An added bonus is that it may help to remove buildup as well.

How to Do It: In a glass jar or spray bottle, mix 1 part ACV with 5 parts water. I usually go for about 2 tablespoons ACV to a little over a cup of water (2 tbsp over to be exact). Then, in the shower after shampooing (skip the conditioner this time), pour or spray the mixture over your entire head from root to tip. Leave on for about 3-5 minutes, then rinse. I like to do this about once a week.

Safety Tips: Never use undiluted ACV and use cautiously if you have sensitive skin. Spot test your dilution on your skin to make sure it doesn't irritate you.

Face

Why It Works: Naturally occurring enzymes in honey gently exfoliate the skin. Its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties can help soothe and minimize acne and redness, and its humectant properties allow more moisture to be maintained in the skin barrier.

How to Do It: After cleansing your face in your usual way, pat dry but leave your face slightly damp. Spread a teaspoon of honey all over your face and leave it on for 20+ minutes. I sometimes go an hour while watching a show at night, and my skin feels silky smooth after. Also, take a few minutes and gently tap your skin all over the areas where you have the most pore buildup—maybe your chin and around your nose—and the tackiness of the honey acts to lift out the buildup from those pores. This can be so satisfying when you really get all that buildup out. I opt for manuka honey for it's added antimicrobial properties, but any honey will work!

Safety Tips: Use raw, unfiltered honey as it has the effective enzymes and antimicrobial properties still intact, but make sure you are not allergic to honey or bee products. And while it is safe to eat or use honey during pregnancy and breastfeeding, make sure any little ones under 12 months don't eat or use honey products.

Body

Why It Works: Coconut oil is rich in medium-chain fatty acids, leading to its emollient and moisturizing properties. It is also rich in lauric and caprylic acid, which gives it natural antifungal and other antimicrobial properties. Bonus tip: coconut oil can be a highly effective diaper rash cream for your baby due to its antifungal properties.

How to Do It: Opt for cold-pressed coconut oils since heat processing can diminish some of the naturally beneficial properties. After your shower, lather on a tablespoon or so of coconut oil wherever your body needs some moisture.

Safety Tips: This is not really safety since coconut oil is incredibly safe both on and in the body, but I would avoid using it on your face, especially if you are prone to acne, as it does have a higher comedogenicity rating. Keep that in mind if you are prone to acne on other parts of your body as well and discontinue if it aggravates that.

Nails

This is said to be a French girl beauty secret all the women of France are in on, and since I'm always trying to channel my inner Parisienne grandmother, it had to make the list.

Why It Works: The citric acid in lemon helps to exfoliate and brighten stuck-on stains. I've also read that the vitamin C in it helps to strengthen your nails, but I think that happens more from the inside than the outside, so be sure to incorporate lots of vitamin C-rich foods like bell pepper, oranges and strawberries in your diet to help strengthen your nails too!

How to Do It: Mix lemon juice with equal parts water and dip your nails in for up to 10 minutes. You can also save the rinds and rub them on your nails in a pinch. Rinse your hands well and immediately use that coconut oil from above, rubbing it into your nail beds and cuticles to moisturize and prevent dryness and cracking.

Safety Tips: I would limit doing this to 1-2 times a month to minimize the chance of damaging your nails. As with ACV, spot test the lemon solution to make sure it does not irritate your skin.

Simple, Practical and Effective

As the interest in DIY beauty grows, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by all the ingredients you may think you need. And while these ingredients definitely have their merits (I definitely have Tamanu oil on my wish list as we speak), it's understandable not to want to invest in an apothecary of ingredients without knowing if they'll work for you.

So, thank goodness you don't have to look much further than your kitchen to up your beauty routine. Natural and DIY beauty care isn't just about avoiding potentially harmful chemicals—these hacks are also about simplifying routines while not skimping on effectiveness.

It's also just so nice to marvel at all the goodness that nature has provided us. Each one of these 1-ingredient wonders has tried-and-true benefits: ACV for frizz-free hair, honey for soothing and exfoliating, coconut oil for perfectly moisturized skin, and lemon for bright and fresh nails.

As always, when trying out new body care ingredients, you should start slowly and patch test first. For any doubts, reach out to a dermatologist.

Not only do these pantry staples offer practical solutions, but they also bring the focus on how you can repurpose what you already have in your home, so you can avoid unnecessary impulse buys and embrace a more simple and sustainable approach to your beauty routine.

So, I invite you to try one of these on for size today! Grab that little bit of honey and tap away as you (love or hate) watch the new season of Emily in Paris. You may just find your new favorite in your beauty arsenal without even spending a dime.

Let me know in the comments below if you have any experience or additional tips with these ingredients and share your thoughts after trying them out!

Looking to boost your hair, skin, and nails not just from the outside, but from the inside too? Book a 15-minute complimentary consult with me here to see how a whole and healthful way of eating can help you reach your goals!

Allison Gregg MS, CNC

Certified Nutrition Consultant specifically trained in nutrition for fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and baby’s first 1000 days.

I also hold a Masters degree in biology with an emphasis in microbiology and have expertise in the gut microbiome, probiotics and food safety.

I started Flora & Fauna Nutrition to provide critical gut health and nutrition information to give babies the absolute best foundation and to help mothers not only recover—but thrive—to be able to feel their best for themselves, their families and their community.