15 DIY Recipes for Beauty on a Budget

Beauty on a budget is more and more of a concern for today’s women who know they should be maintaining a skincare routine but might lack the resources to invest in the latest Korean skincare craze or TikTok trend. The truth is that glowing, healthy skin isn’t actually connected to expensive products. A lot of that overpriced stuff doesn’t even work! So instead of reaching for your credit card, you should be reaching for your kitchen cabinet – that’s where you’ll find tons of effective, inexpensive ingredients for DIY beauty.

We rounded up 15 of our favorite beauty on a budget recipes, all of which require five ingredients at the most. A lot of them are single-ingredient, readily available, and today’s economy-friendly: 

15 DIY Beauty Recipes on a Budget

Rice Water for Hair

You only need rice and water to naturally strengthen your hair. Benefit from the essential starch, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids found in rice to give your hair a boost without breaking the bank. Boiled, soaked or fermented, there are different ways to make your own rice water, each of them 

Whipped Coconut Shea Body Butter

Made with just two ingredients, this whipped body butter is the perfect solution for dry winter skin. Not only is this recipe affordable, it’s also very simple: after melting the two oils, you whip them to the desired consistency and your moisturizer is ready. 

DIY Bronzer Lotion

Use a natural face or body lotion you already own to create the best fake tan at home. You probably have the other ingredients in your kitchen as well: cinnamon and cocoa powder for color, and corn starch to thicken the lotion and help it stick to the skin. 

DIY Hair Lightening Spray

Lightening your hair might be easier than you thought, and definitely cheaper than at the salon. To make your own hair lightening spray, you’ll need chamomile tea and lemon, along with small amounts of coconut oil, honey and cinnamon. 

Green Tea Moisturizer

Coconut oil on its own makes a great body moisturizer. But adding green tea to the mix means you will benefit from its anti-aging, anti-acne, skin-calming properties. Plus it’s such a fun color, don’t you agree? 

Black Tea Foot Soak

With just black tea and ice cubes, you can soothe swollen, puffy feet at home. Other benefits of this treatment include improved circulation and reduced odor. 

Coconut Oil Hair Conditioner

If you have a jar of coconut oil, you already have dozens of beauty products in your arsenal. Use it on its own as a hair conditioner, to tame frizz or soothe your scalp. 

DIY Lip Scrub

There’s really no reason you should buy lip scrub, when it’s this easy and cheap to make your own. You just need honey, sugar and a carrier oil, but you are free to include fun add-ins, such as strawberry, cinnamon or matcha. 

Baking Soda Face Scrub

Baking soda an absolute treasure, despite its low price. Simply mix it with some water to make your own gentle face scrub, or add different add-ins to customize the exfoliator for your skin type. You can make face scrubs on a budget with other kitchen ingredients, too. 

DIY Sugar Wax

Once you start making sugar wax, it’s likely you won’t go back to the waxing salon. Made with just three ingredients, sugar wax promises less ingrown hairs, more time between waxing (up to 6 weeks!), and a more gentle and eco-friendly alternative to regular depilatory wax. 

Banana Foot Scrub

Make use of that half of a banana that your toddler left on the kitchen counter to treat your feet. Coffee grounds, salt and oil are the only other ingredients you’ll need. 

DIY Shimmer Lotion

Shimmer lotion can surely be fun, and it’s so much fun to make your own. Simply mix in some eyeshadow, highlighter or glitter to get the perfect amount of shimmer for your taste. 

Exfoliating Sugar Scrub

If you have sugar and oil at home, you have most of the ingredients to make an exfoliating sugar scrub for the face, lips, scalp or hands. Mixing the ingredients together is all you need to do, no heat or fancy equipment required. 

Apple Cider Vinegar Acne Treatment

Apple cider vinegar and water are the base for a homemade face wash, toner, spot treatment and more ways to soothe and prevent acne. So easy, so affordable. 

Brighten Blond with Kool Aid

The trick to brightening up your blond hair between salon appointments might already be in your kitchen drawer! Just make sure you use purple kool aid, any other color won’t do the trick. 

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