I am gradually replacing disposable items in my life with reusable ones to minimize waste and cost. I used to use those little pre-soaked eye makeup remover pads, the cost of which is pretty outrageous! When I ran out, I would use coconut oil until I made it to the store to get more disposable makeup remover pads. ..How dumb is that?? Coconut oil is so dirt cheap and not full of chemical ingredients, you’d think given my DIY and thrifty ways I would have had that DUH moment long ago. Alas, even I am a product of marketing sometimes, thinking I had to buy a specific-use product at a stupid-high price, and that the eco alternative was only to use in a pinch. ANYWAY.
When I made the conscious effort to think through every product and purchase, I ditched the disposable eye makeup remover pads for coconut oil permanently. And because I didn’t want to have to use cotton balls, I made my own little cotton pads from scrap fabric I already had. (What did you do with your New Years Eve? Go out and party? Ha!)
I grabbed a small piece of cotton fabric I had leftover from another project. I hoped to use up the rest since I think it’s so colorful and pretty! For the back I used an old piece of a flannel burp cloth (which had a previous life as a receiving blanket a friend handed down to me… quite the purposeful piece of fabric, eh?)
I cut little squares (about 2×2) of each (one of the cotton and 2 of the flannel for each finished square to make them a little thicker). I made 9 because that’s exactly how many I could get from the cotton scrap. Then I sewed around the edge with a zigzag stitch. No time-consuming turning right-side out and stitching closed – just enough to keep them from fraying too badly. This little project cost nothing and took maybe 20-25 minutes at the most.
They aren’t perfectly square because I didn’t measure or use a ruler, but they are still cuter than a cotton ball!
I just apply a bit of coconut oil to the pad and wipe off my eye makeup, then rinse them out a bit and toss in the towel hamper. Could not be simpler!
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Excellent idea! I use coconut oil made up into a spray leave-in conditioner, but never thought of it for make-up removal.
Good use for fabric scraps too.
Thanks much! It works really well for me. I’m curious about the leave-in conditioner; how do you thin it for spraying? That sounds really interesting. I have the driest hair!
I mix a teaspoon of coconut oil with hot water and a squeeze of conditioner. Then I put it on the radiator before I need it to warm it a bit (not sure how sensible that is) and give it a good shake. Although to be honest you could probably skip the radiator bit, it never really solidifies again.
I have frizzy curls and it works great!
Brilliant! Coconut oil is amazing for so many things.
That is a really clever idea!!!!
Thanks!