Homemade skin care can be as easy as mixing up a small amount of oatmeal and milk and making a body scrub that costs you pennies on the dollar compared to comparable products at the grocery store. Plus, they are fun to make, you know exactly what went in them and if you have any form of allergic reaction, you don't have to make any more than what you need at a time. Sometimes store bought items lose their potency before you can use it at all. By making your own products, you can have as little or as much as you need. Here are some popular homemade skin care recipes you can enjoy.

Before you can make your own skin care products, you need a few recipes. Let's start by making our own lip balm. Most people forget to include their lips in their skin care regimen, but the skin on them can get as chapped and dry as the rest of the skin on our face. By keeping a lip balm on them, they stay moisturized and soft. This citrus based lip balm uses the following ingredients:

1 teaspoon of natural beeswax
1 teaspoon of calendula oil
1 teaspoon of apricot kernel oil
A few drops of orange, lemon, or lime essential oil

Start by melting the beeswax and adding the apricot and calendula oils to the pot. Continually stir the mixture until it is well blended and the wax mass has the same consistency throughout. Keep stirring the wax as you remove it from the heat and let it cool. Add the essential oil and stir it into the wax well, then store it in a plastic container or jar and use everyday to keep your lips soft and smooth.

Chocoholics can rejoice because we've been saying for years that chocolate is good for you. It's a great way to make your skin feel silky and luxurious and it's also great to protect your skin from free radicals. This chocolate facial mask is not only decadent, but it will exfoliate the dead skin from your face. To make it, combine 1/3 cup cocoa (chocolate powder), ¼ cup of honey, 2 tablespoons of heavy or sour cream, and 3 teaspoons of oatmeal powder in a large bowl until consistent. Apply it to your face and gently massage it into your skin to exfoliate the dead cells from it. Leave the mixture on your face for about 20 minutes and then rinse off with warm water. You'll notice the difference in your skin right away.

Our hands are the most used and most seen parts of our body. We subject them to the torture of dirt, harsh chemicals, and over washing. We tend to forget to treat them to the same care that we give the rest of our body. By using a hand soak or masque, we can help make our hands soft and pliable with little to no work. The easiest way to do this is by soaking your hands in a ½ cup of warm olive oil. This helps moisturize not only your hands, but also your nails. Another way is by using a masque. Cook and mash two potatoes, mix in a little butter or olive oil and one capsule of Vitamin E to make the masque. Cover your hands with the potatoes, let it dry and then rinse with warm water.

Homemade skin care products are very cost effective in this time of economic crisis. You can save not only money, but the gas it costs to go and buy new products. And, if you find that you enjoy making these recipes, why not share them and introduce your friends to the joy of homemade skin care products. They will thank you.