10 Ways to Save Money with Natural Skincare in a Recession

You may have heard the word “recession” on the news with the inflation and other economic stress in the world right now. This might make you feel like you need to prepare to cut back and have less luxury or self care in your life. We are here to tell you that when it comes to beauty products, it simply isn’t true! Our mission at Better Shea Butter is to help you make your own beauty staples with our pure skin foods and what’s already in your kitchen. You can save money, have more product per ounce, and see real results from switching to natural ingredients. 

Here’s a list of our best tips to cut your beauty budget while still treating yourself with upgraded skincare:

1)  Make your own body butters instead of buying lotions: Our #1 tip is making your own body butters instead of buying lotion. Body Butters are more concentrated, contain more nutrients and last longer on the skin.

Let’s talk about the most popular body butter bases:

a) Raw African Shea Butter: Shea Butter is our top choice as a body butter base, for good reason! It suits every skin type and contains the healing factors that are known for soothing a multitude of skin issues  including eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and more.

Here’s some popular homemade body butters made with Shea Butter: 

Whipped Shea Body Butter

Deep Moisture Face Butter

b) Mango Butter is a vegan butter that is lighter than Shea, it has a long list of benefits and contains similar levels of skin-loving nutrients. It’s perfect for an all-over summer body butter, such as in the mango body butter recipes here: 

Whipped Mango Body Mousse

Cold Whipped Mango Body Butter

c) Cocoa Butter moisturizes deep layers of your skin, and is perfect for extra-dry skin or the driest parts of your body: elbows, knees, and feet. It’s also a well-known solution for stretch marks, scars and a list of other skin issues.

Don’t worry about the products that only contain a little cocoa butter, and get the concentrated real deal to use in cocoa body butter recipes like: 

Scar and Stretch Mark Cream

Whipped Cocoa Body Butter with Vanilla Bean

2) Use Organic Rosehip Oil as a natural High End Face Serum: Rosehip Oil also known as the “Oil of Youth” has a long list of powerful benefits and is great as a replacement for most high end face serums. Rosehip Oil has skin brightening properties that help restore the skin’s natural color and tone while lightening any unwanted dark spots and blemishes. It is loaded with Vitamin A and antioxidants, which promote skin regeneration and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and age spots. This oil is also a great deep moisturizer for dry skin and its astringent and nourishing properties make it an effective solution for diminishing scars and stretch marks.

Rosehip Oil is considered a “dry oil” due to its thin consistency which absorbs into the skin quickly and does not leave a greasy residue. This oil is non-comedogenic so does not clog pores. It is also completely safe and beneficial for all skin types.

You can also make a face serum with one part Rosehip Oil and one part Apricot Oil…let it sink into your skin and watch it glow.

3) Make your own natural deodorant and anti-chafe balms is our next tip: We love that natural deodorants are being embraced. We think sweat is natural and doesn’t need to be avoided, but we still love smelling fresh and delicious. With this trend, however, the more natural-leaning deodorants at the store (especially those with real essential oils) come at a premium. Don’t spend $15-$20 on a tiny stick that will run out quickly when you can make up a fresh batch of your own for half the cost every few months. We included anti-chafe balms in this tip because it’s the hottest part of the year – those products usually come at a huge markup, which isn’t necessary to find relief:

100% Natural DIY Deodorant Recipe

Anti-Chaffe and All Purpose Vegan Balm Recipe

4) Lip products: lip scrubs, lip balm, and lip cosmetics: During a recession, the Lipstick Index shows that people still love to buy fun beauty products as a way to feel beautiful and express themselves. Not to mention the importance of keeping your lips moisturized so they stay hydrated and protected from the elements.

Here are a few of our favorite lip recipes:  

DIY Sparkling Lip Balm Recipe

NARS Lip Cream Hack

DIY Chocolate Lip Scrub

Peppermint Lip Scrub

5) Make your own natural hair products: An inexpensive way to try out new styles, deep condition (without the harmful buildup), and keep your hair healthy for less is to make your own hair products using a few natural ingredients.  Some tips and recipes we like are:

5 Reasons to Apply Shea Butter on Hair

6 Benefits of Using Jojoba Oil for Hair

Simple Hair Butter Recipe

5 Keys to Making Your Own Natural Hair Care Products

6) Sugar scrubs for exfoliation and smoother skin: Try a soothing, delicious cocoa, vanilla, lemon or brown sugar scrub to exfoliate your skin and remove dead cells. Each recipe includes moisturizing ingredients so your skin will be silky smooth.

These are easy to make and only require a few ingredients:

DIY Brown Sugar Scrub Recipe

Vanilla Body Scrub Recipe 

Lemon Sugar Scrub 

7) Simple DIY massage and bath products: for stress relief that costs very little and can be made easily at home. You can dupe your favorite massage bars or relax in a moisturizing bath soak:

How to Make Your Own All Natural Mini Massage Melts

How to make a Bath Soak at Home

Kokum Butter Lotion Bars

8) DIY Candles: to set the mood, try making your own 100% natural candles and place them around the house or include them in your spa routine: 

DIY Candle Recipe Using Natural Ingredients – DIY Recipe Video Included

9) Use organic carrier oils as a natural makeup remover – better than harsh soap which strips your skin barrier (thereby causing more skin issues) or makeup wipes (a money sink that doesn’t fully clean your face) is using an organic carrier oil like Apricot or Jojoba Oil as we cover in this article here:

Natural Makeup Remover | Clean Skin Without Harsh Chemicals

10) Homemade Gifts: Having a collection of butters, carrier oils, pigments, and other everyday ingredients ensures that you always have gifts on hand that are customizable for every occasion or holiday: 

Holiday gifts:

Top 10 Homemade Gifts – DIY Skin Care – Holiday Themed

Pumpkin Spice Lotion Bars | Easy DIY Tutorial | Perfect for Fall

Celebration gifts:

Mom and Baby Gift – A skin care recipe by Better Shea Butter

White Chocolate Milk Bath Recipe

Benefits of Making Your Own Beauty Products:

Ready to get cooking? Here’s just some of the benefits of making your own beauty products:

• You’ll save time instead of researching products with questionable ingredients
• You’ll know your products are always fresh with effective ingredients
• Many of the listed recipes are multi-use: hair, face, and body. Use one product for many uses which saves time and money
• Customizable to your exact skin needs – no more hunting for that holy grail product
• Create a side gig for extra income – people will love your creations once they see the difference
• Products are unisex and great for the entire family
• (Our personal favorite) relaxing, creative crafting time by yourself or with your loved ones

Have we convinced you to try out some recipes? We estimate that you can save at least 30% on your skincare budget just by incorporating these hacks into your daily routine. Try it and your skin will love the difference. If you need ingredients check out our shop with many natural and organic options.

As always, we love to hear from you, please feel free to comment below with any feedback or questions!