3 natural beauty products you can make at home

Tonics, scrubs and moisturizers -- satisfying your skin and hair's hunger for TLC can be costly. But you can save a few bucks by getting your beauty fixes from your kitchen, where the things inside your cupboards and fridge can pamper and nourish you from hair to toe.

Making beauty products from food comes with other perks, too. "Natural ingredients absorb better into your skin whereas many commercial products are petroleum-based," explains Kristen Ma, an esthetician and co-owner of Pure and Simple spa in Toronto. "Petroleum molecules are too large to fully penetrate into your skin." Plus, Ma warns that unnatural preservatives and additives in some products can be harsh and irritating. Feed your hair and skin's needs with the following recipes, developed by Ma. You won't need more than three ingredients and a minute each to make them.

A helping hand sugar scrub
Smooth out dry or tired hands and give your feet and body a softening touch with this good-enough-to-eat scrub. The brown sugar's gritty texture provides deep exfoliation, says Ma, while the oil moisturizes, leaving you with velvety skin.

This recipes makes just enough for a hand scrub. You'll need at least triple the amount if you want to polish your whole body (skip your face -- the mixture is too rough for its tender skin). Use daily if you wish.

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp sesame or olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a small bowl or a cup, combine the sugar and oil.
2. Place the scrub into your hands and massage them together, over the sink, for about 1 minute. Rinse thoroughly.

For your body and feet, apply the scrub in the shower. Massage it over your skin, then rinse thoroughly.

Lovely locks cider vinegar rinse
When product buildup weighs down your hair and irritates your scalp, use this rinse. The apple cider vinegar and lemon juice's astringent qualities help to clarify or strip away residue left behind by style aids and excess oil, says Ma.

The result: hair with more bounce and shine and a renewed scalp. Ma recommends rinsing your locks with the following concoction up to once a week for a good cleaning. This recipe makes enough for medium to long hair -- you'll need half the amount for shorter 'dos.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Clean out an empty shampoo bottle. Pour in the vinegar, water and lemon juice, and shake well.
2. If you have styling products in your hair, wash with shampoo. If your hair is clean, proceed with dry locks. Part your hair into sections and squeeze the rinse onto your scalp, then pull or comb it through your strands. Repeat until your entire scalp and locks are coated with the rinse.
3. Leave it in for 15 minutes. Using only water, wash out the vinegar rinse.

Click to continue for an all-natural face mask recipe...

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Two-way mask
Egg whites and plain yogurt make for excellent face masks. Egg whites are helpful for acne-prone and oily skin types. "What I like is that they make an astringent and clarifying mask that doesn't dry out your skin," says Ma.

Yogurt isn't as skin-type specific. It does wonders for most complexions by helping to zap acne-causing bacteria, replace moisture and reduce inflammation. Choose the mask that best suits your needs. Use egg whites up to twice a week and yogurt as often as you wish.

INGREDIENTS
1 raw egg white
OR
1/2 to 1 cup plain yogurt