We know we spend a fair amount of our time warning you all about the hazards of whipping up DIY skincare in the kitchen, and rightly so, too. Skin is a sensitive organ, and using raw ingredients like baking soda, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and egg on your skin is nothing if not a recipe for disaster. We may sound like a broken record when we say this, but we’ll just go right ahead and say it anyway because it’s a fact: there’s a reason that good skincare products take ages to formulate. There’s a reason companies spend vast amounts of time, money and resources figuring out how to get the concentration of active ingredients, the texture, the pH of the product, and everything else in between just right. Now think about what you’re really doing when you casually mix raw, undiluted kitchen ingredients together in a bowl  – you have no way of knowing what concentrations you’re using. Not only will you be putting your skin’s pH level out of whack (with very acidic ingredients like lemon juice, or basic ingredients like baking soda), you can also end up with red, blotchy, inflamed, sensitized skin if you’re not careful. So the next time you feel like concocting a chickpea flour face mask or sugar scrub for your face – don’t. It’s not worth damaging your skin to save a few bucks when effective and safe skincare products are available on the market for affordable prices.

With that being said, there are certain DIYs that we do actually like. That’s right. It is true that the ingredients we’ve mentioned above belong squarely in your pantry and not your skincare cabinet, but there are a few exceptions. Not all edibles are off limits when it comes to DIY skincare, as you will see in the four recipes we have for you below.

Here are a few of our favourite kitchen ingredients that actually benefit the skin - and why they totally deserve a place in your beauty regimen:

Honey: We’ve featured this one in our blogs before, and you can read all about one Primary girl’s experience of how her skin changed when she cleansed her face without nothing but honey for a full week here. Honey remains a particular favourite of ours, and for more than one reason. Long fabled for its skin smoothing, brightening, hydrating, and healing properties, honey is packed with antioxidants and natural enzymes that gently renew the skin and protect it against oxidative stress. It’s a humectant, which means that it will draw water into your skin, and it also fights acne-causing bacteria due to its anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties. And it’s so gentle that you can even use it every day, and it will suit even the most sensitive skin!

Rice water: This is an ingredient that you’ll find in a lot of Korean skincare products, like rice water essences, toners, and moisturizing masks. And it’s Primary approved! Rice water brightens the skin, hydrates it, and also helps fight dark spots. You can also use pasta water to reap the same benefits if you don’t have rice water on hand.

Turmeric: This little superstar packs a punch – it’s anti-inflammatory, brightening, and blemish-fighting abilities make it a staple in (safe) DIY recipes for skin. When taken orally via supplements, it also may help boost immunity.

Aloe: Given how cheap and easily available aloe is, you’d never guess that it does what any expensive hydrating gel or sleeping mask claims to do for the skin! It acts as a humectant, pulling moisture into the skin, and FYI, that’s also why we put it in all three of our products!

Yogurt: Yogurt naturally contains lactic acid, which exfoliates dead skin cells on the surface to renew skin and reveal a bright, fresh complexion underneath.

This one-ingredient mask is all you need to liven up dull, dry, and lackluster skin. Take a dollop of raw honey and spread it across your face in an even layer. Keep on for about 20 minutes and rinse it off with water from your tap.

Try this one to brighten dull skin and exfoliate away dead skin cells by combining the powers of turmeric and yogurt. The aloe will moisturize and hydrate your skin, and make the texture of the paste wonderfully smooth. Take 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt from the refrigerator, add in no more than a pinch or two of turmeric, and a teaspoon of aloe. This one may get a bit messy, so be sure to have your hair tied back before you go about putting this on your face! Leave on for hlf an hour and rinse off thoroughly with lukewarm water.

Rice water is a BIG DEAL in Korean and Japanese skincare culture, and has been for centuries. Rice starch has been found to soothe skin and help repair the skin’s moisture barrier. It also helps maintain skin elasticity and replenish the skin’s moisture levels, as well as fight blemishes and brighten dark spots and dull skin.

There are several different ways that you can prepare rice water. You can choose either one of these two:

1. Take about 100 grams of rice. Rinse it under the tap to clean it. Pour three cups of water into a large bowl, and soak the rice in it. Keep it soaked for about an hour, after which you can strain the water into a bottle. Refrigerate the bottled rice water and use when it has cooled down. Use within a week.

2. Alternatively, you can choose to make fermented rice water. Rinse a 100 grams of rice and soak it in a bowl with three glasses of water. Let it soak for two days. After two days, give the water a stir and then strain it into a bottle. Refrigerate and use within a week.

And most importantly - don't forget to enjoy yourself during your DIY skincare ritual!