Avoid chemicals and whip up your own beauty potions

Women are wising up to the chemical nasties that could be lurking in their bathroom cabinets.

September is the perfect time for a product detox, but the labels used by the natural beauty market can be difficult to follow. Since there are no legal standards for organic beauty products, some brands can label an item ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ even though it may contain as little as 1% of organic ingredients. But there is one way to be sure your lotions and potions are completely natural — by making them yourself.

“Most people don’t realise how easy it is to make beauty products at home,” says Karen Gilbert, author of new book Natural Beauty, which is packed with ’recipes’ for homemade cosmetics.