Essentially, I would be debilitated by choice," says Mitali Parekh, 39, when explaining why she switched from buying facewash from the market to making her own. "I hated the whole drug store thing and would try to use products that weren't tested on animals. To match my ethics with products that were good for my skin and look pretty, became an anxiety trigger," she adds. Her own homemade facewash then became something of a dadi ma ka nuska. An air tight bottle that sits in the bathroom of her Navi Mumbai apartment includes besan, multani mitti, ground coffee powder—leftover from a morning cuppa—aloe vera and anything else she comes across while travelling—even rakta chandan (red sandalwood powder). "There's no recipe, no proportions. I just see how it feels. If it doesn't feel fresh, I add more besan, run it once in a mixer to aerate it and it's ready again." There's the additional elimination of is-this-right-for-my-skin-type worry.

Bamboo charcoal toothpaste