Whether you make the conscious choice of resorting to a more natural beauty regime or are simply on a budget, you’d be surprised how many simple ingredients can be mixed at home to replace a shampoo or a face wash when necessary.

Sometimes you don’t need to look any further than your own bathroom or kitchen for natural alternatives that are kind to sensitive skin, or strong enough for more problematic skin types. Look no more, here are the five most beneficial and effortless homemade recipes for all essential hair and skin needs. Mix in a bowl, a cup, or in your hands, and there you have it!

Shampoo

For dry to normal hair: mix a quarter cup of water, with half a teaspoon of baking soda and a tiny bit of honey. Pour onto wet hair and scrub for a couple of minutes, which stimulates hair growth. Then mix another quarter cup of water with a bit of apple cider vinegar and apply to ends.

For oily hair: mix a quarter cup of water with a full teaspoon of baking soda. Pour onto wet hair and scrub for a couple of minutes to stimulate hair growth. Then mix another quarter cup of water with lemon or lime and apply to the ends.

Feel free to add a few drops (4-6) of your favourite essential oil to the second cup in both cases. Tea tree, lavender, and rosemary are all great for itchy scalps. Peppermint is used to stimulate hair growth, and olive or coconut oil is great for dry hair.

Face Wash

Mix one teaspoon of baking soda (a trusted cleanser and toner), with one teaspoon of coconut oil (the definitive moisturiser). Work evenly onto face, scrub very lightly then rinse well. Simples. Add four drops of tea tree oil for acne-prone skin.

Face Mask

Mix one tablespoon of coffee powder (a powerful antioxidant and rejuvenator) with one tablespoon of honey (to soothe and moisturise), mix well and spread onto face and neck and massage in circular motions, leave on for 20 minutes and rinse off.

Hair Mask

For dry hair: Mix one teaspoon of honey with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and an egg. For damaged hair add half an avocado and one tablespoon of olive oil.

For greasy hair: Mix juice from half a lemon with the egg white only, which contains enzymes that remove excess oil.

Mix well and apply whichever combination to hair. Leave on for 30 minutes to an hour and rinse thoroughly. Avoid hot water.

Lip Balm

More of a quick lip fix than an actual balm. Add a tiny bit of honey to a small bit of almond oil (highly recommended, improves lip colour) or coconut oil and apply onto lips, add sugar to create a lip scrub and remove flaky skin but scrub oh so very lightly to avoid irritation.

Each recipe is easy to create, and ingredients can be easily found at home and replaced with others when more suitable. These steps are only guidelines, which do not need to be strictly followed, you can add more or less of anything, and all are guaranteed to satisfy all skin types on the go! Happy days!