Summer is the season of travel, adventure and sun-kissed skin. However, with all the fun comes the challenge of packing light while ensuring you have all the essentials to keep your skin healthy and glowing. This is where summer optimized DIY cosmetics formulas come to the rescue!
Following few simple tips, you can customize your homemade cosmetics to meet your specific needs, ensuring they are safe and effective… and saving space in your baggage!

This blog post and the related YouTube video will guide you through creating travel-friendly, multi-use DIY cosmetics, highlighting the best ingredients for summer skincare.

Why Choose Solid and Multi-Use Cosmetics for Your Travels?

Traveling with a bulky bag of skincare products can be very uncomfortable, especially when trying to keep everything organized and spill-free. Solid and multi-use cosmetics are the perfect solution in this case. They save space in your baggage and reduce the hassle of dealing with liquids and potential spills. Moreover, these products can serve multiple functions, simplifying your skincare routine and allowing you to carry fewer items.

The Importance of Effective, Versatile Ingredients

Choosing the right ingredients is crucial for crafting versatile DIY cosmetics. Ingredients that serve multiple purposes reduce the number of products you need and enhance their overall functionality. For example, non-comedogenic oils can be used in formulations suitable for both face and body, ensuring you have a single product that meets various needs. Additionally, selecting ingredients like geranium essential oil can provide the dual benefits of fragrance and mosquito repellent, making your cosmetics even more useful during summer.
 

Top Ingredients for Summer DIY Cosmetics

When it comes to summer skincare, certain ingredients stand out for their ability to soothe, protect and nourish the skin. It’s also essential to ensure they are non-photosensitizing and non-phototoxic. This consideration is key for safe and effective summer products.

Here's a comprehensive list of my favorite ingredients to incorporate into summer DIY cosmetics formulas:

1. Aloe Vera: Known for its soothing and hydrating properties, aloe vera is a must-have for summer skincare. Using the dried powder form (1:200) is economical and practical, allowing you to create fresh aloe gel as needed.
   Click here for my enriched aloe vera gel.
   
   
2. Edelweiss Extract: This extract offers excellent soothing, anti-inflammatory and reparative properties, making it perfect for after sun care. It also has anti-aging and antioxidant benefits, suitable for various skincare products. Not photosensitizing. I love it in aftersun formulas that allow hydro soluble actives. I used it in the enriched aloe vera gel I mentioned above.
   
   
3. Physalis Angulata CO2 Extract: A liposoluble extract that soothes and heals the skin, ideal for oil-based solid lotions.
   I talked about it here.
   
   
4. Geranium Essential Oil: This oil provides a pleasant scent and helps repel mosquitoes. It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties and is safe for use in the sun, unlike other photosensitizing essential oils like lavender or citrus oils.
   
   
5. Blue Tansy Oil: Known for its powerful anti-inflammatory and soothing properties, blue tansy oil is great for sunburns and irritated skin.
   It has a distinctive aroma that repels mosquitoes. While it possesses potent skin loving properties, its scent isn't for everyone. If you enjoy the fragrance, feel free to incorporate it into your summer skincare products, keeping the maximum recommended dosage at 1%. However, avoid using it on the lips due to potential toxicity. For those who are not fond of the scent, it's best used sparingly in targeted treatments, such as balms for mosquito bites or areas of irritated skin. I used it in my supersoothing summer salve. Find the related video recipe here.
   
   
6. Oat Oil: an incredible vegetable oil that I've absolutely fallen in love with. It's highly effective, offering remarkable soothing and regenerating properties, making it ideal for kids as well as for dry and very sensitive skin. One of its standout benefits is its ability to restore the skin barrier, thanks to its ceramide content. Although it's a bit pricier than other oils and not so easy to find (but Amazon sells it), I consider it a must-have, especially for sensitive skin. Its pleasant, velvety texture is non-comedogenic, making it perfect for facial or all-over formulas. However, it's important to note that oat oil shouldn't be heated, so be cautious when working with this fantastic ingredient. I used it in this summer formula.
   
   
7. Pequi Oil: Perfect for aftersun products, pequi oil offers soothing, regenerating, and antioxidant benefits with a light, tropical scent that let you avoid using a fragrance. It may be comedogenic, so it's best used for body care. Find Pequi oil and mango butter solid aftersun recipe here.
   
   
   
8. Monoi Oil: This coconut oil infused with tiare flowers offers moisturizing, nourishing, anti-inflammatory and regenerating properties. It has a heavenly scent and is great for hair care. Comedogenic.
   
   
9. Cupuacu Butter: Known for its anti-inflammatory properties and ability to retain moisture (retains over 240% of its weight in water), cupuacu butter is excellent for hydrating and restoring sun-damaged skin. My favorite butter for summer skincare. I talked about it in this video.
   
   
10. Mango Butter: This butter is anti-inflammatory and regenerating, with a low comedogenic rating. Click here to see my oils and butters chart with all the properties.
    
    
11. Raspberry Oil: With soothing, antioxidant, and regenerating properties, raspberry oil is light and non-greasy. It also has mild sunscreen properties, offering an extra layer of protection (but it doesn’t replace your sunscreen!). 
    
    
12. Bisabolol: This ingredient is known for its soothing and regenerating properties, making it a valuable addition to many formulations. I use it a lot.
    
    
    
    

Tips for Creating Solid and Multi-Use Travel Friendly  Cosmetics

Solid cosmetics are ideal for travel due to their convenience and space-saving properties. Here are some tips for making your own solid and multi-use cosmetics:

1. Molding: Pour your solid lotions into molds to create something that sparkles joy and easy-to-use bars. This method adds a touch of joy and aesthetic appeal to your DIY cosmetics creations.
   
   
2. Containers: If you prefer a more practical approach, use paper or reusable plastic tubes, similar to larger lip balm containers. You can find them here. This packaging is perfect for easy application and transportation.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Mini Bars: For short trips, consider making mini bars using molds designed for candy gums. These compact bars are perfect for saving space and are easy to carry. Great for the weekend!
   
   

All-in-One Solid Lotions

An all-in-one solid lotion can serve as a hydrator, nourisher, sun damage repairer and mild mosquito repellent. Use non-comedogenic ingredients like candelilla wax and kokum butter for a non-greasy and non-comedogenic finish. To enhance the feel and reduce greasiness, include lightweight oils like fractionated coconut oil and esters. Find my all-in-one solid aftersun lotion here!

Solid Shampoos

Solid shampoos, or syndets, are another great travel-friendly option. These compact bars are perfect for hair and/or body use. Just remember to store them in a tin box after use to keep them dry. You can even formulate a shampoo bar that doubles as a body wash by choosing the right ingredients.
Check my rice starch and murumuru butter solid shampoo recipe here.

Other summer cosmetics formulas

Find below other summer and travel friendly DIY cosmetics formulas you might like:

• Dry shampoo: to refresh your hair on the go!
• Sugar scrub paste: with soothing ingredients and to make your tanning last longer removing dead skin cells.
• Sugar scrub cube: same as above, but solid.

Happy crafting and enjoy your sunny travels! 🌞