Skincare Hacks - Repurpose Expensive Skincare

If you’re a skincare junkie like me you may find yourself with a mound of products that you’re that just not using. Or maybe you just accumulate so much stuff, you can’t get through it fast enough. Here are a few skincare hacks - different ways you can use those products instead of throwing them away.

As a serial experimenter – and believe me, there’s always something new to try – so it means I accumulate a lot of stuff. I’m always testing new products for my face, body, hair, nails, even makeup.

Let’s be honest, not everything works. I’ve had some real winners (I’m talking to you Augustinus Bader) and a few complete disasters (sorry Elf, your Holy Hydration was anything but). 

But I hate waste. I generally do my research before purchase and I look for ingredients that are good for my skin. In other words, I’m not taking a risk on crappy products. And I’m spending my own money, so this can be expensive! So if something doesn’t work out, I’m loathe to just throw them out or watch them go off. 

Why I stop using a product

For me, there are 3 reasons I generally stop using a product:

1.    It hurts. 
My body tells me if there’s a problem. If it stings, peels or itches, I stop. For me, allergies or reactions often come in the form of rash or bumps. There are some products that I know in advance could be irritating (i.e AHAs or tretinoin) so I factor that in and make sure I start ‘low and slow’ when introducing a new product. This reduces potential for bad reactions. 

2.    They don’t do the job for which they’re intended. 
Sometimes products just don’t deliver what’s promised. I want a hydrating product to hydrate; a soothing product to soothe; a plumping product to plump. If they don’t…then what?

3.    Scent.
This can be a biggie for me. I am not a believer that all fragrance is bad, though I do wish companies wouldn’t add fragrance. But if I just don’t like the smell of something (sorry Rihanna, but Fenty Skin was a bust because of this) I don’t want it near my nose. I actually really liked the Fenty products but couldn’t tolerate the smell. 

As as result, I end up with a number of products that aren’t fit for purpose – MY purpose, anyway. So I had to figure out what to do with them. The obvious first choice is to give these products to people they’ll might suit better. My Fenty Skin collection went to my 18 year-old daughter.

Here are 10 skincare/beauty hacks to use up product:

1. Cleansing Oil

-       Use as body oil in the shower

-       Use to clean makeup brushes

2. Serum

-       Use as body serum. It’s great for the decollate, arms and shoulders

-       Decant into spray bottle, use as mist for face

-       Decant into spray bottle, use as mist for body in the shower

-       Use as a conductor for microcurrent (just make sure it doesn’t contain any oil) either with brush or in a spray bottle as a mist 

3. Face cream

This is where many of my face products are put to use.

-       Hand cream

-       Elbow, knee cream

-       Foot cream

4. Face oil

-       Use on cuticles

-       Add to bath for softer skin (it can add a lovely scent, too)

-       Mix with my hand cream to up the hydration factor

5. AHA acids/toners

-       Apply directly elbows, knees and heels to soften the tougher bits

-       Place cotton rounds into an empty jar and pour acid/toner over to create your own pads 

6. SPF for face
Things often go very wrong for me with SPFs because so many don’t play well with makeup. 

-       Use on hands, neck and chest

-       Use on body when in the sun

7. Loose powder

-       This works brilliantly as dry shampoo

8. Conditioner

-       Use as shaving cream

I hope some of these tips help you use up some of those extra products you have lying around. If you have any other uses, please let me know!