DIY Natural Mascara

Making natural mascara is perhaps the most difficult of creating your own cosmetics from ingredients that are not artificial – and possibly toxic. A lot of trial and error is involved when making anything from scratch, but mascara poses a unique set of problems. The space the mascara must be placed, the eyelashes, is thin, small, and moves a lot.

Women have worn mascara dating at least as far back as ancient Egypt – long before commercial cosmetics counters existed. The simplistic formulas used to make mascara were oil and wax based and contained some basic natural pigmentation ingredients.

A Few Tips Before We Get Started

DIY mascara recipes must not be running, that is the most important part of any recipe. No one wants “raccoon eyes” or worse yet, oils and butters flowing into their eyes and causing great discomfort. If natural mascara drips and runs into your eyes while you are driving, operating equipment, or engaged in homesteading tasks, the temporarily blocked vision could be a safety risk.

All of that being said, there are DIY natural mascara recipes that tend to work well. Yet, I still must caution you to be mindful of wearing it in hot climates or during the summer months, especially if using coconut oil as a base ingredient, due to the potential for runny mascara.

Personally, I would prefer being cautious about wearing homemade natural mascara in intense heat over wearing commercially manufactured products.

I’ve never come across a way to make waterproof mascara naturally, keep that in mind when going out to play in the rain while wearing makeup created from the recipe below.

You can store this DIY natural mascara in a glass or plastic container with a firm-fitting lid that will accommodate the brush you plan on using during the application process. Empty mascara containers can be purchased online with a syringe being used to force the homemade makeup inside.

Tools Needed

For this recipe, you can also use a double boiler, or a glass dish positioned over the small pot that has water boiling inside, to help avoid burning your ingredients. I’m going with the second option…

• saucepan
• small heat resistant glass container (should fit inside the saucepan)
• measuring spoons (or teaspoon)
• cosmetic spatula (or other mixing utensil)
• cosmetic jar
• mascara applicator
• paper towels

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon beeswax
• 1 teaspoon of shea butter
• 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon of cosmetic-grade black iron oxide (CI 77499) – this is FDA-approved for facial cosmetics

Directions

1. Clean your equipment: the saucepan, applicator, spatula, the jars, everything!
2. Fill saucepan with 2 inches (5 cm) of water on low heat.
3. Mix the beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil inside the smaller glass container.
4. Place glass container inside the saucepan and leave it on low hear
5. Stir often to avoid scorching. Do it until all of the ingredients have melted and mixed uniformly.
6. Stir in the activated charcoal once all of the initial ingredients are melted.
7. Remove glass container from heat.
8. Start adding the teaspoon of black iron oxide, little by little, while stirring constantly.
9. Let the mixture cool.
10. Apply using the applicator.

Tips

• Make this in small batches only. Remember this is a homemade recipe and, while the individual ingredients are safe, there is telling how long the mixture itself will last, or how stable it is.
• If you add one drop of lavender essential oil to the recipe, it might help your lashes appear fuller and help them grow.
• Stop using it if your eyes get irritated (obviously!)

I highly recommend always washing off your mascara brush or wand after each use, and allowing it to dry thoroughly. This practice will help prevent any bacteria from your face or surroundings from being transferred back into the mascara storage container – and potentially into your eyes.