Looking for household alternatives to expensive face products? Need a cheaper alternative to Rodan & Fields or month facials?  Check out my 12 alternatives to expensive skin care products!

I’m a huge sucker for fancy and expensive face products. The only problem is that I hate spending money on them and I also hate all the preservatives and strange ingredients that often irritate my face. I have such sensitive skin that I pretty much have to rely on nothing but Dr. Bronner’s and a little face oil to get me through the day.

However, I’ve been in the position where I’ve wanted to use fancy and expensive face products. At that point in my life I researched all of these alternatives. While I don’t personally use many of these alternatives anymore, I do love that these are cheap and somewhat natural alternatives to popular skin products.

Cheap alternatives to popular face products

When I had kids and could no longer afford the time and money that went into monthly facials, I started looking into DIY alternatives.

After tons of research, I’ve put together a list of safe and cheap alternatives to popular face products.  Check the hyperlinks for source information. These are all really fun to do!

• Salicylic acid- use the side of a knife to mash-up an Aspirin, mix with water until a paste forms and use it as spot treatment or overnight. 
• Lactic acid– make a mask with Greek yogurt
• Alpha Hydroxy Acid- make a mask with Greek yogurt and lemon juice
• Retin-A– make an egg yolk mask (I prefer egg yolk mixed with honey)
• Glycolic acid- pineapple juice or pure sugar cane mask
• Sulfur- make an egg yolk mask
• Toner- use apple cider vinegar or witch hazel
• Eye cream- witch hazel works wonders on puffy eyes.  It’s one of the ingredients in Preparation H, which is an old wife’s tale solution for tired eyes.
• Benzoyl peroxide- make a 5% tea tree oil solution (see directions below)
• Exfoliant- add baking soda to your face wash or wash with baking soda before face masks
• Makeup remover/ night/ cold cream- coconut oil
• Antibiotic to fight acne- honey
• Fade spots- lemon juice or lavender oil

Where to find the best mask recipes on the internet

There is no point putting face mask recipes on here when tons of them exist on the Internet.  My favorite place to find face mask recipes is Home Made Masks.  She has the best info!

When in doubt, less is more

As a reminder, make sure you know what products work for you before trying these alternatives. This isn’t the time to experiment with things you haven’t tried before.  I wouldn’t experiment with my skin too much.  I find it better to stick with what I know works.

Even now I tend to go as simple as possible and just use Dr. Bronners for washing my face. Then follow up with a skin oil like sesame or rose hip oil.

How to make a tea tree oil dilution with 5% tea tree oil

• A 5% solution consists of 5mL oil to 95% mL of water.  The easiest way to do this is to break it down to a 1:19 ratio.  For every tsp. of tea tree oil you should add 19 tsp. of water or roughly 2/5 of a cup.

*I’m an awful chemist so I had a pharmacist friend do this for me!