DIY Beauty: DIY Witch Hazel Toner

I have almost run out of my witch hazel toner, which means.... It's time to make my own!!! I love saving the last of my bottle of witch hazel toner to use in making my own. It is a great way to make everything last longer. It means I can go twice as long before picking up a new bottle of toner. If you don't use witch hazel toner, you can buy a plain bottle of witch hazel at the drug store and put a few teaspoons into your toner mix instead. When buying a witch hazel astringent at the drug store make sure it is alcohol free.

To make a witch hazel toner there are a few main ingredients you will need. Everything beyond these is optional.

- Distilled Water: about 1 cup. I don't normally measure I just fill my bottle about halfway. You can buy distilled water at most grocery or drug stores.
- Witch Hazel: Either what is left in your bottle of witch hazel toner like me, or 3-4 teaspoons of the kind found at the drug store. If using the end of a bottle of your own toner, it wouldn't hurt to still add 1-2 tsp of regular witch hazel still.
- Glycerin: About half a teaspoon. This helps to even out your skin and provide a smooth surface to put your makeup on to.

Those were all the essential ingredients. So far, this is a pretty boring toner and won't do all that much for your skin, so I like to add a few extra things.

- Tea Tree Oil: You can buy this at the drug store. This helps to clear acne and cleanse the skin. I add about 4 drops of this. If you aren't adding any other essential oils, or you have severe acne, you can add a few more drops.

- Gurjun Balsam Essential Oil: This is the essential oil I decided to add in addition to everything else. I haven't tried this one before, but I think the scent will go well with the tea tree oil. I'm not sure exactly what effects it has on skin, research hasn't shown much yet, but I found it listed in ingredients for a few skincare lines so I decided to go for it. I ordered this online from this Etsy store. It is called Fabulous Frannie's and they sell some great essential oils! They have a really large selection too at pretty great prices.

You can add any combination of essential oils that you like as long as you don't add too many at once. Once you have decided what you want in your toner pour it all into the bottle that has your leftover toner in it and shake well. It's that easy! I like to store this toner in the fridge, since it doesn't have any preservatives or anything in it. It is also really nice to apply this to your face when it's cold! In my experience, when kept in the fridge, this will last about 6-8 weeks. If you leave it out of the fridge it will probably last a few weeks less.

Well, that's it for my first toner recipe. I have a few more coming soon for those of you who don't have witch hazel!