Some give homemade soaps, naturally-dyed t-shrits
With the Chuseok holidays approaching, many South Koreans are scrambling to find a gift fitting for their relatives, friends, or business partners. For middle-income earners, pricey foreign liquor or ginseng gift sets sold in department stores are out of reach. But boxes of instant coffee or housewares may not be welcomed as presents, either. Baek Sㅕ-yeong, 47, may have the answer. She plans to give homemade cosmetics and soaps to her mother, sister, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law during the holidays. She has already sent homemade cosmetics - including skin lotions and nutritional skin creams - to six teachers at the Korea Environmental Education Association, where she learned how to make the natural cosmetics. Unlike mass-produced cosmetics, homemade cosmetics and soaps contain no chemicals such as antiseptic substances, artificial coloring, emulsifiers, or surfactants. Homemade cosmetics are instead based on natural ingredients such as aromatic oils and butters. Baek has been making her own cosmetics and soaps since early last summer. She also uses her own products, saying that her face stays naturally moisturized."Because my skin was too dry before, I had tried every possible cosmetic. However, since I began using natural cosmetics, my face has stayed moisturized, even in winter." She also makes a special cleaning solvent without using detergent. Combining natural ingredients with the water leftover after washing rice, she says her cleaning solution is very effective. Baek said of her all-natural enterprise, "I don’t expect a big change. It’s just good to give people a chance to think about the impact of chemical cosmetics and soaps to their body and the environment." Another uncommon, homemade Chuseok present is a handkerchief or T-shirt dyed using onion skins. When you boil water with the skin of 10 onions for 10 to 20 minutes, a dark orange brew results. After removing the onion skins, one can dye cloth naturally using the water.
