I understand the feeling of overwhelmed and intimated for trying to make your own beauty products. You have doubts like “is it going to work?”, “what do I need?” etc. In this blog, I am going to reveal what you are going to need to start making your own skincare products. With the help of the right tools, you are going to be at a good starting point. Below items are essential DIY equipment & tools for DIY beauty crafters. They are what I am using and what I think good quality for long-term use.
1. Electronic balance precision 0.01g
In the DIY beauty world, it is very important to scale each of your ingredients precisely. You will need an electronic balance with a precision of up to 0.01g. Why? that is because when it comes to accuracy and quantity calculated from percentage, and also for creating a small volume personal use cream, you will need one. The more accurate the better. Get it here[ US / Europe ]
2. PYREX Beakers
If you have 2 double-boilers, you will not need this. But it will make your life so much easier for some particular DIY projects like soaping. The pouring spout and handle make them much nicer to handle than a bowl, especially when hot (oven mitts deal with handles much better than smooth surfaces). The pouring spout is also lovely for decanting whatever youāve made into its container. You will need at least two, one for the heating oily phase and one for the heating water phase during an emulsion project. For volume, I would say 250ml for the least, so that it is not too small for your water bath over the stove and so that it can be handle easily. It has to be pyrex because their beakers come with thick good quality glasses which could prevent them from breaking when you cold them down right after heating. I got mine here [ US / Europe ]
And, since theyāre glass, you can also use them with food after a good cleaning.
3. Inox double boiler
I use this double boiler [ US / Europe ] for almost all my DIY projects. They are so handy, easy to use, and easy to clean off. The pouring spout and handle make them much nicer to handle than a bowl, especially when hot. The pouring spout is also lovely for decanting whatever youāve made into its container (especially lip balm!). Like the pyrex beakers, you will need at least two double boilers as well for an emulsion project.
And because it is inox and non-porous, it makes it easy to clean off without worrying about cross-contamination and can be reused again even for cooking or chocolate melting.
4. silicone spatula
I use this silicone spatula from Norpro [ US / Europe ], I have tried other icing spatulas, and Norproās are the best. I love them particularly mostly because they are more dexterous and flexible than most spatulas, and the edge is very fine. This means theyāre brilliant for scraping the last little bits of anything out of a container (which really cuts down on clean-up time). Theyāre small enough that they do really well with small batches of things, which is usually what Iām making, so I really appreciate that.
5. Mini inox whisk
They are adorable but wonderfully useful for small batches of lotion, salve, and butter. I love that theyāre small enough to not devour an entire recipe and hide it in their wirey clutches, leaving me whacking my whisk against my dish in futile attempts to dislodge whatever it is Iām trying to make from inside the little whisky cage. This is what I am using [ US / Europe ]
6. Mini electronic whisk
Many DIY crafters proposed to use the kitchen handheld whisk for DIY beauty projects. I found that it is only useful when you create a large batch. You can continue to use it for your whipped body butter projects. I got myself this mini electronic whisk [ US / Europe ], one that can alternate between 3 speeds. And I have no problem using it to create an emulsion either. It is portable and handy, I can’t recommend it enough.
7. thermometer
When it comes to emulsion projects, you will need a thermometer because emulsion happens at a specific temperature. I use this non-contact digital temperature laser gun[ US / Europe ] and so far, I have never had problems with it, touch wood.
8. Funnels
Yes, funnels. you will need different sizes of funnels to have a mess-free preparation and mostly to avoid pouring liquids everywhere on your countertop. I use this mini inox funnel [ US / Europe ] for my roller recipes, like this one. And I use this standard-size plastic funnel [ US / Europe ] for household detergent recipes.
9. pH Meter / pH paper
If you have been following my recipes strictly, you will not need a pH meter to adjust the pH. However, I do strongly recommend you to get a pH paper [ US / Europe ] for quick verification of the end product, to be sure that they fell into the recommended pH range. Please read this post to learn how to measure and adjust the pH of a beauty product.
If you are creating your own skincare formulation like me, you will need this pH meter to adjust your pH easily. This pH meter is very robust and easy to be calibrated. I used to work in a lab before, and we had no problem using it for more than 10 years!
10.Measuring Syringe Tools (20 ml)
I agree that life is so much easier when you use a disposable pipette for your DIY projects. But my whole point in creating homemade beauty products is to reduce plastic waste. So no thanks, I would rather wash it each time after I use this pipette [ US / Europe ]. Anyway, I always have some washing to do after each DIY project.
11. Measuring spoons
For a tiny wee bit of measurements like micas or active cosmetic ingredients, I use these measuring spoons. Because the volume is so little, it is not easy to get an accurate dose with an electronic balance. Not without tipping it on and off the ingredients a thousand times to get it correct. This set of measuring spoons can help you to measure accurately for up to 1/64 teaspoons which are 0.08g. It can measure a tad, dash, pinch, smidgen, and drop precisely, amazing right? I use these from Norpro, the same brand as the silicone spatula that I’ve recommended above. You can shop it here [ US / Europe ]
A little tip when using these measuring spoons, be sure to flatten the surface each time after you scoop the ingredients, to be sure that no extra ingredients are wasted and stay as accurate as possible.
12. Small glass prep bowl
I use them to measure out the additives before starting so theyāre ready to go when you need them. Theyāre also useful in the kitchen, and since theyāre glass you can easily get them properly clean again to use with food. Look for glass bowls that are about 125mL/half cup in size. Get it here [ US / Europe]
13. Safety goggles and Silicon gloves
You will be surprised that how often that we will need safety goggles [ US / Europe ]and silicone gloves when it comes to DIY your own beauty products and soaps. When comes to creating your own emulsion projects or homemade solid soap or natural household detergents, you will definitely need safety goggles and gloves. The reason being that you will not want those irritants from your raw ingredients to get into your eyes and cross-contamination between your hands, tools, and ingredients.
The above picture is one of the DIY hair shampoo bars that I have created using sodium coco sulphate, in this project I have suggested using safety goggles and gloves to avoid irritants get into your eyes during preparation.
It is true that when it comes to emulsion projects, it is advisable using disposable gloves to avoid mostly to avoid microbes from your hands get into your emulsions and stay as clean as possible during the preparation. But as an environmentalist, I don’t really like the idea of single-use. So when it comes down to reuse your silicone gloves again, please be sure that it is specifically for DIY projects, wash, dry well, and disinfect thoroughly each time you use it, and store it in a clean, dry, and sanitised box.
14. DIY Facial Mask tools
If you have been following me, you probably already read my DIY facial mask blog posts. I have made this and this.
When it comes to DIY your own mask, you will need these tools for a mess-free and easy-apply facial mask. The brushes help to apply to your face easily without making your hands dirty. And you will definitely need a hairband to keep the hair away from your face! Get it here [ US / Europe ]
15. Spritz Bottle
You will need some 10ml spritz bottles [ US / Europe ]. I use them for the prep work for each DIY project. You will need to disinfect your tools and packaging each time before you start working on it. It is useful to help to spray the alcohol evenly on the surface of our tools. It is useful also for DIY projects like bath bombs.
16. Dedicated washing tools
It is optional because it really depends on your personal hygiene habit. I have a set of washing tools dedicated just for my DIY tools as I prefer to don’t use the sponge and brush that I would use to wash my dishes usually.
17. Craft Labels
Clearly, craft labels aren’t tools per se but I often get asked where did I get mine. It is important to label all your final products and write down the date of creation. The craft labels that I am using for all my DIY projects are from Avery [ US / Europe ]. They are made from recycled paper. I like how vintage it looks and how you can create any design you want using their free design tools.
18. Formulation Note Book
The last one is obviously not a tool neither equipment. But when it comes to crafting and formulating, it is important to note down each time the dose of ingredients you use for each recipe. Obviously, the texture, penetration, absorbance, oiliness and etc of a beauty product are very subjective. What is fast penetration and not oily for me might turn out not so much for you. With the written note, you could scale up or down the ingredients that make you feel greasy or too slow in absorbance. And from there, it becomes your very own recipe book.
Get this Lab Notebook [ US / Europe ] to help you stay organised. A must-have notebook for DIY crafters as it is organised in tables so you can keep track of all your best natural skin care recipes.
Conclusions
Chinese has a phrase “å·„ę¬²åå ¶äŗļ¼åæ å å©å ¶åØ”, it means literally if you want to get a job done nicely, one should have sharpened his/her tools. Well in today’s words, to get the best result of your project, we should be well-equipped ourselves beforehand. I hope my reviews help you to determine which tools are right for you. Welcome to embark on your own DIY journey, I promise this journey is going to be fulfilling and you will be having so much fun!
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Calleigh
Hi, I am Calleigh, MEng Chemical Engineering and a process engineer, and I'm here to show you how to DIY your skincare and household products with the correct formulation and using only natural ingredients. I believe that eating good food (Yes I have cooking recipes too!) and living in a chemical-free environment are the keys to having a healthy lifestyle. And that doesn't need to be expensive.
