The ANSES vigilance bulletin in May, highlighting the dangers of do-it-yourself recipes for home maintenance, gardening and cosmetics, prompted Labosphère’s Estelle Dehier to take stock of this phenomenon: a now-obsolete fad or an ingrained consumer habit?
A quick search on the French Internet turns up a number of sites offering recipes for do-it-yourself products.
Joli’essence
All product categories are covered (except suncare). There’s even a recipe for an anti-lice product, and recipes for pregnant and breast-feeding women, babies (to be used from 3 months)… Animals are not spared either!
Disclaimer on user responsibility.
A nice way for the site to disengage itself? After all, this is a recipe, not a finished product. Is there a notion of Responsible Person? The site refers to good practices in home cosmetics, but I couldn’t find them on the site.
There’s no mention of precautions to be taken when using raw materials, nor any reference to toxicological evaluation.
Aroma-Zone
There are no special recipes for children, but for example, the special milk for dry skin was made for a 4-year-old. A recipe developed for an adult target has therefore been hijacked by a consumer… I have the feeling that, in the end, it’s the users who have tested the recipes who give their advice. Some add a few drops of essential oils and voilà, a “recipe” adapted to their specific needs…
The temptation to adapt a recipe is …
