For the past two years, the leaders of the 3rd Bowmanville Guide Unit have been teaching girls all about natural beauty on a budget. It’s important to us because our own children have gone away to college and one has just finished. We know what it is like to have kids on a very tight budget, and the importance of having the knowledge to do things for yourself that are fun and very inexpensive. We wanted to guide the girls in our unit to learn how to cut costs on things they enjoy but may not be able to afford, especially as they get older.

The great thing is we do it in a fun way: First we teach the girls about face masks by mixing plain yogurt with oatmeal and honey in a blender, then spreading it on their faces and placing cucumber slices on their eyes. Then we show them how to soften their hands with a little bit of baby oil or cooking oil. Next it’s using a teaspoon of sugar and rubbing it in to help remove dead skin from their hands. This is very economical and environmentally safe.

Finally, we make homemade lip palm with Vaseline and Kool Aid packs and place it in small containers from the dollar store. We use the unsweetened kind so that it tastes like sour candy. All three crafts cost very little money and are very natural and easy to do at home on a budget – and also fun when having friends over for a sleepover party!

We like to teach the girls the importance of finding creative and inexpensive ways to do things on a budget so that when they go away to university and money is tight, they can do little things to boost their spirits and not break the bank.

By guest blogger Laurie Palmer, a.k.a. Guider Beans of the 3rd Bowmanville Guides.  

Note: Making your own beauty products counts as one of the two activities required for girls to earn their National Service Project: Operation Earth Action crest. Check out all of the Operation Earth Action activities and be sure to log your actions!