Frequently Asked Questions
The questions I get asked most — answered plainly.
These are the questions that come up again and again — in emails, at markets, on the website, from people who are curious about DIY but not sure where to start, or who have started and hit a problem they can’t explain. I’ve answered each one as plainly as I can.
No jargon where it isn’t necessary, and no glossing over the parts that matter.
GETTING STARTED
Share information about your brand with your customers. Describe a product, make announcements, or welcome customers to your store.
Do I need special equipment to get started?
No.
Most beginner recipes require only what you’d find in a reasonably equipped kitchen: digital scales, a heatproof glass jug or bowl, a stainless steel spoon or spatula, and clean bottles or jars. A stick blender is the one addition worth having specifically for DIY — it’s essential for stable lotions and emulsified personal care products. A few heated recipes (balms, lip balm, deodorant stick) benefit from a double boiler setup, which you can improvise with a heatproof bowl over a saucepan.
pH strips or a digital pH meter are necessary for water-based personal care recipes. They’re inexpensive and available online. The full equipment list with explanations is in the New to DIY section at the front of this book.
How do I know which recipes are right for a beginner?
Every recipe is tagged with a difficulty level: Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced. If you’re just starting out, begin with the no-heat Level 1 recipes — surface sprays, laundry powder, bath soaks. They take under ten minutes, use a small number of ingredients, and produce results that are immediately usable.
My specific recommendation for a first recipe is the All-Purpose Spray Cleaner (1.1). It takes five minutes, uses four ingredients, and the result is better than most commercial equivalents. It’s also the recipe that shows you straight away that DIY doesn’t require any special skill — just a willingness to follow the steps. The Where to Begin section at the front of this book lists my recommended starting pathway across all categories.
Why do I need to weigh ingredients rather than measure by volume?
Because volume measurements are unreliable for formulation work. A tablespoon of water and a tablespoon of shea butter contain very different amounts of actual material — butters and waxes are much denser than water, and oils vary too. Recipes are developed by weight for this reason: 50g means 50g regardless of the ingredient, the container, or how you’ve packed it.
A digital scale with 1g precision is all you need. Once you start weighing rather than scooping, your results become significantly more consistent batch to batch.
Is DIY expensive to start?
The upfront investment is real but modest. You’re buying ingredients in quantities that will make multiple batches, rather than buying a finished product once. The cost per batch drops significantly once you have the core ingredients on hand.
The most cost-effective approach is to start with the cleaning and laundry recipes, where the ingredients are inexpensive and the saving over commercial products is immediate. The personal care recipes involve more specialist ingredients and a higher initial cost, but they produce products that are difficult to find commercially at any price. As a rough guide: most beginner cleaning recipes cost under $2 per batch to make. Personal care products vary more depending on ingredients, but the cost per use is typically lower than the commercial equivalent.
What are your favourite ingredients to work with?
The ones that do the most across the most recipes. Liquid castile soap appears across the cleaning, kitchen, laundry, and personal care chapters — a genuinely versatile plant-based surfactant I rely on constantly. Bicarb soda is the backbone of half the cleaning and laundry recipes. Vegetable glycerin goes into almost everything — it’s a humectant that improves how products feel and perform without adding complexity.
In personal care, Olivem 1000 is the ingredient that changed everything for me. It’s a plant-derived emulsifier from olive oil that creates a genuinely skin-compatible emulsion — the reason lotions and creams made with it absorb properly rather than sitting on the surface. Geogard ECT is the preservative I use in all water-based products. It’s broad-spectrum, effective at low concentrations, and produces no known endocrine disruption at use levels — which is not something you can say about most commercial preservatives.
What is pH and why does it matter?
pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is, on a scale from 0 to 14. Seven is neutral — the pH of pure water. Below 7 is acidic (cleaning vinegar sits around 2.5–3). Above 7 is alkaline (washing soda is around 11).
It matters in DIY for two reasons. First, skin has a natural pH of around 4.5–5.5. Products applied to the face and scalp that fall significantly outside this range can disrupt the skin’s acid mantle, causing dryness, irritation, and imbalance. Water-based personal care recipes — shampoo, conditioner, facial cleanser, toner — should be pH-adjusted to match the skin’s natural range. Second, cleaning chemistry relies on pH: acidic products
dissolve mineral deposits and soap scum, alkaline products cut grease and lift stains. Understanding where your cleaning ingredients sit on the scale explains why they work — and why you should never mix vinegar with bicarb soda expecting a better cleaner. The acid and alkaline neutralise each other. You get bubbles and salt water, not a better clean. The pH reference table in the front of this book shows where common DIY ingredients sit.
What’s the difference between a fragrance oil and an essential oil?
Essential oils are concentrated aromatic extracts from plants — steam-distilled or cold-pressed from flowers, leaves, rinds, wood, or resin. They contain the actual chemical compounds of the plant, some of which have documented therapeutic and antimicrobial properties. The lemon essential oil in the glass cleaner recipe contains d-limonene — a genuine solvent with degreasing action. The tea tree in the bathroom spray contains terpinen-4-ol with real antimicrobial activity.
Fragrance oils are synthetic compounds manufactured to replicate a scent. They’re used in most commercial cleaning and personal care products and are one of the primary delivery vehicles for phthalates — the hormone-disrupting compounds that show up in blood and urine testing of people who use conventional products regularly. All recipes in this book use essential oils only. ‘Fragrance’ or ‘parfum’ as an ingredient never appears.
Do chemicals actually absorb through the skin?
Yes — and the extent of absorption depends on the compound, the concentration, the area of skin, and the duration of contact. The skin is not an impermeable barrier. It is the body’s largest organ and one of its most absorptive surfaces.
Transdermal absorption is not theoretical — it’s the basis of a significant category of medical treatment. Nicotine patches, hormone replacement therapy, certain pain medications and blood pressure treatments all work precisely because the skin absorbs compounds effectively. The same mechanism that delivers medication also delivers whatever is in the personal care products you apply daily. Parabens have been detected in breast tissue. BPA levels in the blood measurably increase after handling receipts printed with BPA-coated thermal paper. Phthalate metabolites are found in the urine of people who use fragrance-containing personal care products regularly. These are not theoretical risks. They are measured outcomes of daily exposure.
Do I need a preservative — and when does it matter?
Yes, for any recipe that contains water or water-based ingredients. This is non-negotiable.
Water is the medium in which bacteria, yeast, and mould grow. A water-based product without a preservative — regardless of how carefully it was made — will begin to develop microbial contamination within days to weeks of manufacture. You may not be able to see or smell it, but it’s there. For products applied to the skin, eyes, or scalp, the consequences can be serious.
Anhydrous products — balms, oil blends, waxes, dry powders — do not contain water and do not require a preservative. Ingredients like aloe vera gel and hydrosols count as water-based even if they appear ‘natural’ — any recipe that includes them needs a preservative. The preservative used throughout this book is Geogard ECT at 0.6–1%. It is broad-spectrum, effective, and compatible with the low-tox philosophy of the brand.
Are essential oils safe around babies and young children?
Not all of them, and the guidance differs significantly by age. This is one of the areas where well-intentioned DIYers cause the most harm through misapplication of ‘natural’ assumptions.
The essential oils of most concern for infants and young children are eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, and any camphor-containing oil. These contain compounds — cineole, menthol, camphor — that can cause respiratory depression in young children. They should not be used on, near, or around babies under two years of age, and should be used with caution on children up to ten.
The Essential Oils section of this book covers infant safety in full, including which oils are considered safe from birth (Roman chamomile, lavender at very low dilution), which are safe from three months, and which should be avoided entirely until two years. The Baby and Nursery chapter (Chapter 7) contains no essential oils in any product designed to remain on infant skin — fragrance-free by intention, not omission.
What does ‘anhydrous’ mean and why does it matter?
Anhydrous means water-free. An anhydrous formula contains no water, no water-based ingredients (aloe vera gel, hydrosols, herbal teas), and no ingredients with significant water content.
It matters for two reasons. First, preservation: without water, most bacteria, yeast, and mould cannot survive or replicate. Anhydrous products — lip balm, body oil, beard oil, scrub, pomade — do not require a chemical preservative, which simplifies the formula and removes the preservative-related concerns some people have. Second, shelf life: oils and butters oxidise over time but do so much more slowly than water-based formulas can spoil. Most anhydrous products have a shelf life of 6–12 months or more when stored correctly. You’ll see this distinction throughout the recipes — anhydrous formulas note ‘no preservative required’, while water-based formulas note that Geogard ECT is essential.
Can I substitute grams for millilitres in recipes?
For water-based ingredients, yes — water has a density of 1g per ml, so 100g of distilled water and 100ml of distilled water are the same thing. For most dilute water-based
solutions (sprays, cleansers, toners) the difference is negligible and volume measurement is fine.
For oils, butters, waxes, and denser ingredients, no — they are significantly denser than water and the conversion doesn’t hold. 100ml of shea butter is not 100g of shea butter. For these ingredients, always weigh rather than measure by volume. The recipes in this book give weights (grams) as the primary measurement, with volume equivalents included for water-based ingredients where relevant.
Can I substitute ingredients in a recipe?
Sometimes, with care. Substitutions that are generally safe: swapping one carrier oil for another with a similar profile (substituting jojoba for sweet almond oil in a massage blend, for example), or swapping one essential oil for another in the same recipe. These changes affect scent and minor performance characteristics but don’t alter the chemistry of the formula.
Substitutions to avoid: swapping the emulsifier in a lotion or cream (different emulsifiers have different HLB values and phase requirements — the emulsion may not form or may be unstable), substituting the preservative (different preservatives have different usage rates, pH requirements, and efficacy spectra), and replacing distilled water with tap water in personal care products (mineral content in tap water can affect preservative performance and product stability). The right-hand page of each recipe spread explains what the key ingredients are doing in that formula — if an ingredient is listed as a key ingredient, treat it as non-substitutable without understanding the implications.
What if my product separates or doesn’t set properly?
For emulsified products (lotions, creams, conditioners): separation usually means the emulsion failed during manufacture. The most common causes are temperature (oil and water phases were not at similar temperatures when combined), insufficient mixing time, or an incorrect emulsifier concentration. Reheat the separated product gently and re-blend with a stick blender — this often rescues it. If it separates repeatedly, check your emulsifier weight against the recipe.
For balms and set products (lip balm, deodorant stick, pomade): too soft means insufficient wax or too much oil — reheat and add a small additional amount of beeswax. Too hard means the opposite — reheat and add more carrier oil. Adjust in small increments. For powders that have clumped: moisture has entered the container. Ensure your storage is fully airtight and your measuring equipment is completely dry before use.
My shampoo lathers less than commercial. Is something wrong?
Nothing is wrong. The lather difference is real but it’s a perception issue, not a performance one.
Commercial shampoos use sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) or sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) as their primary surfactant because these compounds produce exceptionally rich, dense foam. That foam has become associated with effective cleaning, but the two
things are not the same. The natural surfactants in this book — cocamidopropyl betaine, coco glucoside — produce a lighter, finer lather that cleans just as effectively but doesn’t foam as dramatically. Most people who switch to natural shampoo find the lather adequate after a short adjustment period. The bigger adjustment is the scalp recalibration period of 2–4 weeks — hair may feel heavier or more oily than usual as sebum production (elevated by years of sulphate stripping) normalises. This is normal and resolves on its own.
Can I sell products I make from these recipes?
In most jurisdictions, selling personal care products triggers regulatory requirements around labelling, safety assessment, and sometimes manufacturing standards. In Australia, the ACCC and TGA have specific requirements for cosmetic products sold commercially, including ingredient listing in INCI format, batch traceability, and in some cases safety substantiation.
Research your local regulatory requirements before selling. The recipes in this book are designed for personal and household use. They are not safety-assessed for commercial sale, and the formulations would need professional review before being offered commercially. Making for personal use, gifting, and household use is entirely appropriate without any additional requirements.
How do I know if a product has gone off?
Discard any product that shows the following: unusual or unpleasant smell, visible discolouration or cloudiness that wasn’t present when made, mould growth (visible as spots or film on or inside the container), a change in texture or consistency that isn’t explained by temperature, or any skin reaction on application where there wasn’t one before.
Water-based products that weren’t preserved correctly may not show obvious signs before microbial contamination reaches a level that can cause skin irritation or infection. This is the reason the preservative is non-negotiable in water-containing formulas — not visible spoilage, but invisible growth. When in doubt, discard and make a fresh batch. The cost of ingredients is always less than the cost of a skin infection.
What containers should I use?
Amber glass is the first choice for most products. It protects light-sensitive ingredients from UV degradation, doesn’t leach compounds into the formula the way plastic can over time, and is reusable indefinitely with proper cleaning. The specific container types that cover every recipe in this book are detailed in the New to DIY section.
For the shower and bathroom, where glass is a safety concern, food-grade PET plastic (usually marked with the recycling symbol #1) is a practical alternative. Avoid standard translucent or coloured plastics for products containing essential oils — some aromatic compounds will leach into or react with certain plastics over time. All containers from Homemade Haven are selected for compatibility with the products they’re designed to hold.
Do I need to use distilled water, and why?
For cleaning recipes — surface sprays, floor cleaners, laundry products — tap water is generally fine. The mineral content in tap water is not a significant factor for products that are rinsed or wiped off surfaces.
For personal care recipes — anything applied to the skin or hair that isn’t immediately rinsed — distilled water is strongly recommended. The mineral ions in tap water (calcium, magnesium, chlorine compounds) can interact with emulsifiers, preservatives, and active ingredients in ways that affect product stability and shelf life. Hard water areas are particularly problematic. Distilled water has had these minerals removed and produces consistent results batch to batch. It’s inexpensive and widely available. Every personal care recipe in this book is developed using distilled water.
Can I use tap water instead of distilled?
For cleaning products, yes in most cases — see the previous question. For personal care products, I’d recommend against it, particularly if you’re in a hard water area or making products with a preservative system. The mineral content can compromise preservative performance, which is the one thing you really don’t want compromised in a water-based product you’re applying to your skin.
If distilled water genuinely isn’t accessible to you, boiled and cooled filtered tap water is a reasonable second option for cleaning recipes. For personal care, stick with distilled.
Where do you buy your ingredients?
All of the ingredients used in this book are available from homemadehaven.com.au in sizes designed for household DIY use — not bulk manufacturing quantities. Each ingredient listing on the website includes a plain-English explanation of what it does and which recipes it appears in, so you can see exactly what you’re buying and why before you order.
Sourcing from a single supplier with clearly explained ingredients is one of the things that makes DIY genuinely accessible rather than frustrating. The alternative — sourcing from multiple chemical suppliers in bulk quantities, often with minimal information about purity or intended use — was one of the barriers that led to Homemade Haven being created in the first place.