Whether you have pale skin or darker skin, applying eyeliner always helps your face look attractive. It can instantly get rid of the tired look in your eyes, and make them stand out and accentuate your face and makeup. However, like any other makeup products, the eyeliners that you purchase from the market contains a lot of additives, preservatives and harmful chemicals that may irritate and damage your eyes.
You can switch to using more natural forms of makeup products like organic or mineral-based ones but usually, these are much costlier than the cheaper versions that you can pick up at the drug store and might not be as easily accessible.
If you like to occasionally spice up your look with a little eyeliner, investing a lot of money in a product that you will end up using less frequently might not be well worth it. To solve this problem and have much stronger control over the ingredients in the makeup products you use, the best option is to do it yourself! This article will enlist a few ways that you can use to create your own eyeliner which is safe to use and made with completely natural ingredients.
What is the difference between water-based eyeliner and oil-based eyeliner?
The simple difference between water and oil-based makeup products is that the former have water as the main ingredient. Water-based eyeliners will have a relatively light texture and they do not bind to the skin as strongly as oil-based eyeliners do. Hence, they are not as durable and might not last throughout the day. The consistency of oil-based liners is thicker and this might render them a bit harder to apply as they do not offer you the precision of a liquid liner. But they are great for a smudged eyeliner look, to tight line your eyes and will last much longer than an application of water-based liner and will only be removed when you rub them off with an oil-based makeup cleanser.
Ways to Make Eyeliner at Home
1. Water-based eyeliner using activated charcoal
This is one of the easiest and most widespread methods used to make eyeliner at home using activated charcoal as the main ingredient. It is a fine black powder that is made of bone char, petroleum coke and coconut shells. These components are activated by subjecting them to a very high temperature which changes their intrinsic structure, characteristics and makes it much more porous than unactivated charcoal. It has a very dark, black pigment and in most cases, is completely safe to apply on the skin with no risk of side effects.
Make sure that the water has been distilled to ensure its purity. If you use normal tap water, you might end up facing problems with contamination in the product at later stages of time.
Requirements:
For this recipe, you will need the following things:
- Activated charcoal
- Distilled water
- A small bowl
- A clean spoon
Recipe:
In the small bowl, add half a teaspoon of activated charcoal and a few drops of distilled water and blend this mixture with a clean spoon. You can add more water if required until the mixture shows a consistency similar to a paste. If there are any lumps in it, do not worry as they will be gone with time. Transfer the paste to a small jar. You can use an old makeup container for this purpose. Now your eyeliner is ready for use for up to a few weeks after you make it and can be stored in a refrigerator when not in use.
You will need a very narrow brush to apply the eyeliner with precision. Whenever you need to use the eyeliner, make sure to take a little bit of the paste separately on a glass plate and then dip your brush into it. If you directly dip your brush into the main container and repeatedly do so as you apply the liner, it will transfer the bacteria into the paste in the container and make it unfit for use. Clean your brush well before and after you use it and make sure that no moisture remains stagnant in it. You can easily remove the liner by gently swiping a cotton pad dipped in coconut oil across your eye as many times as required to get rid of the pigment with ease.
2. Oil-based eyeliner using activated charcoal
If you like the deep black pigment that activated charcoal can give you but want it to last longer than the above method, then this method is the one for you. Oil-based liners are much handier when it comes to tight lining the eyes, that is, applying the eyeliner directly on to your upper lashline. Tight lining the eyes is a great method to accentuate the eyes of a person who has hooded eyes and lesser space to work with on their eyelid while lining their eyes.
Activated charcoal is very easily accessible and you can buy it from any drug store or a natural health store. Sometimes it may be available only in the form of capsules, but you can easily split them open and take out the pigmented powder inside them. If you still cannot find activated charcoal around your neighbourhood, you can just order one bottle online. It will last a month and will not be very expensive either.
Requirements:
- Half a teaspoon of grated beeswax
- Half a teaspoon of oil (You can use coconut oil or almond oil)
- A quarter of a teaspoon of activated charcoal (you can extract this from capsules if required)
- A few drops of distilled water
Recipe:
In a small bowl, add the oil and beeswax and then microwave it for a few seconds to melt them. Mix the contents of the bowl well and then add the activated charcoal. After giving the contents of the bowl another mix, add a few drops of water and blend it again. The paste should be ready by now and you can refrigerate it after storing it in a suitable container. Keeping the eyeliner in a cool place when not in use will prevent the growth of bacteria and keep it safe for use, Keep taking out little bits of the liner as per your requirement each time and use a brush to apply it.
You can use coconut oil to remove it but remember to not use the mixture for any more than a few weeks. After it has been around thirty days since you made it, simply discard the remains of the old mixture and repeat the process to make some more of this homemade eyeliner! This is because, with time, bacteria will inevitably start to grow in the mixture and it will not be suitable to be used on the eyes anymore.
Additionally, the ingredients are pretty cheap and once you have tried this process a couple of times, you will know just how much of the eyeliner you will need to make for it to last a month. It is recommended that you use this eyeliner for outer application purposes only and make sure that it does not get into your eyes as this can cause some irritation.
3. Use an almond to create the perfect homemade eyeliner
Did you think that you can only use almonds to add some texture to your homemade cookies? You will be surprised to know that you can also use it to create some homemade eyeliner! When you burn an almond, the soot that is created is very deeply pigmented and can look work pretty brilliantly as an eyeliner. If you are finding it hard to get your hands on some activated charcoal to try the above recipes, then this is the perfect option for you.
Requirements:
- A raw almond ( make sure it has not been salted or roasted)
- A candle or a lighter
- An old pair of tweezers that you do not need anymore
- An old dull knife
- A small bowl
Recipe:
To get our hands on the soot of the almond, we will need to burn it. For this, firmly grip the almond in between a pair of tweezers so that your hands do not end up getting burned in the process. If the tweezers you are using do not give insulation against the heat, your fingers might get burned when it eventually heats up with time. If this is the case, you should wear heat protectant gloves while handling the tweezers. Now use a lighter or a candle to get a steady flame and hold the almond over it for a while.
The almond will start to burn, will turn black and emit smoke in the process. Make sure that you keep changing the angle at which you hold it against the flame so that it evenly burns from each side. Hold the almond over the flame until only half of it remains and the rest has turned into black and smoky soot.
To extract the soot that will be the main ingredient of the eyeliner, use an old dull knife and scrape it off of the surface of the almond onto a small bowl. It will have a fine, powdery texture. Be careful as you scrape off the soot and make sure you do not accidentally tear off chunks of the raw almond into the small bowl. Remove any such bigger chunks of unburnt almond from the bowl later, if any. If you feel you require more soot, you can continue burning the almond and scrape off some more until you get the appropriate amount that you can work with.
Now the eyeliner is ready to use. You can simply dip a brush into it and apply it on your skin without the need to add anything else. It will naturally stick to the oil on your skin as you apply it to your eyes. To get a different texture you can add a few drops of water or oil to give your eyeliner a paste or gel-like consistency.
You can use various oils such as almond oil and coconut oil. Make sure to not add more than a drop of any liquid at a time, lest the mixture becomes runny and attains a texture that will trouble you when you try to apply it.
3. Create eyeliner in other gorgeous colours
Cocoa powder:
Using raw cocoa without added sugar, you can create a pigmented, gorgeous brown coloured eyeliner. All you need to do is mix a tablespoon of the cocoa powder with a few drops of water or oil such as almond or coconut oil. This will give you a paste or gel-like texture which will ease the application process and you can proceed to try it on using a narrow brush. It is suitable for use on the lower as well as the upper lash line.
Spirulina powder:
If you want some homemade vibrant green eyeliner to spice up your outfit, this is the perfect recipe for you. Spirulina powder is an edible substance made from algae and it has a beautiful dark green colour that you can use to create a pigmented eyeliner. Just add it in a bowl and mix with a few drops of water, oil or aloe vera gel and apply it along your upper lash line to get the perfect eyeliner.
Beetroot powder:
If you like experimenting with bolder shades like red, this is a great idea for you. You can even mix the beetroot with some cocoa or activated charcoal for a more subdued, reddish-brown colour that would accentuate dusky skin. All you need to do is just use it with some oil or water as you prefer and your eyeliner will be ready to use. Beetroot powder is not hard to come by and is easily available at most health stores.
If you want other colours, you can always use mica powder which is available in as many colours as you could imagine. As explained in the previous recipes, all it would take is a few drops of oil or water and you can easily transform your favourite eyeshadow colour to eyeliner in minutes!