Homemade skincare solutions
CRAFT YOUR OWN PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
AS I step into the shop tucked away on the upper floor of a building in 10 Boulevard, Petaling Jaya, I see jars and bottles that seem to contain strange stuff and a host of tools that wouldn’t look out of place in a science laboratory.
Rather intimidating at first but upon closer inspection, I’m pleased to note that many of the bottles don’t house complex chemical compositions with unpronounceable names.
Instead, they hold easily recognisable ingredients like peppermint, rosemary and lavender essential oils as well as natural clays, shea butter and beeswax, many of the commonly used components in personal care products. Craftiviti is a place that embraces and encourages the idea of making your own soaps, shampoos and other skincare products and it provides consumers with all the ingredients and tools they need to get started.
More importantly, it debunks the myth that doing so is a complex, time-consuming process. It teaches you to keep things simple because the goal is to make your own products in the comfort of your home.
When we look at the label on a bottle of shampoo or lotion, most of us can’t decipher half the ingredients listed. It makes you wonder what goes into the making of a single personal care product and is it really as complex as it seems? DO IT YOURSELF Craftiviti founder Weiyein Leong wants more Malaysians to embrace DIY products, especially personal care products and to understand that the process is simple, even for someone who has never ventured into that field.
Do you know that to make an effective lip balm or body cleanser, you only need four ingredients?
Commercially-made products cannot be created to suit you.
You have to suit the product. But with DIY products, the approach is the exact opposite. Weiyein Leong
For a lip balm, you just need beeswax, shea butter, a soft oil (like jojoba or almond oil) and some essential oil.
It takes just 10 minutes to make a 1kg bar of soap that will last you probably two to three months.
And body lotions? Well, you just need water, emulsifier, and a good oil such as coconut or extra virgin olive oil.
It doesn’t cost as much as one would imagine either. Leong says bath bombs which are so popular now can be very expensive if store bought, around RM40 a piece. But if you were to make a batch yourself, it would probably come to RM5 a piece.
Leong says making your own personal care products is a rising trend in Malaysia. In the United States, it’s already an industry worth billions of dollars.
“People are becoming more conscious about the ingredients on a label and what
they want or don’t want on their skin, leading to more consumers making their own products.”
Crafting your own personal care products allows you to have complete control over what ingredients to put into your soaps, shampoos and lotions.
More importantly, one can personalise the product to suit one’s individual needs or concerns. GETTING PERSONAL Leong says people with itchy or irritated skin, for example, can incorporate tea tree oil into their soaps while those with scalp concerns may want to include good oils for the hair such as neem, moringa or castor oil into their home-made shampoos.
When you make your own products, you can avoid unnecessary ingredients like synthetic fragrances, pearlisers and thickeners, which give a pleasing texture or appearance to a formulation but may not be good for the skin.
“We try to keep things as natural as possible here. For example, our soap bases for soap-making are from cocoa butter, mango butter or shea butter and we also have good quality clays such as French green clay and pink clay which can be incorporated into masks and scrubs.”
Leong adds that with DIY products, what you use is up to you and things that you don’t need you can eliminate and personalisation becomes possible.
“Commercially-made products cannot be created to suit you. You have to suit the product. But with DIY products, the approach is the exact opposite.”
Craftiviti regularly conducts workshops where consumers can learn the basics of making their own personal care products.
Leong says many of those who attend are surprised at just how easy it is to craft their own products. An increasing number of them start to experiment further in their own homes, creating even more beautiful and effective products.
With DIY products, creativity knows no bounds. You get to choose the colour, texture, shape and fragrance of your product and decide how rich or nourishing it’s going to be.
Leong says mothers, for example, choose cute moulds to make colourful, moisturising soaps for their children. Some even embed tiny toys into these soaps during the soap making process so kids will be excited and diligent about washing their hands.
“The more they wash, the closer they get to the toy so it’s really a fun process for them too,” says Leong.
But she stresses that they always encourage customers to do a patch test first before using any ingredients to make personal care products.
Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s completely safe because some people do get a reaction to certain natural ingredients.
“Many customers who come into our shop are looking to create something of their own because they have problems with commercially made products. We don’t claim to be a pharmacy. We just provide the necessary raw ingredients and the tools and it’s always good to test it out first.”
Craftiviti does offer small bottles for people who want to test certain formulations.
Leong add that one of the most important aspects of DIY personal care products, aside from having safe, effective solutions for the skin, is the satisfaction that comes from making something on your own.
Most consumers feel excited and empowered when they create something from scratch and see the results.
DIYprojectscanalsobeveryde-stressing and therapeutic. More importantly, in the case of personal care products, you have control over what you’re applying on your skin.
“It empowers you to make your own decisions and choose safe options for your skin.”
meera@mediaprima.com.my