I was scrolling through Tik Tok, as one does late on a school night, and I came across a video of a girl making a homemade version of the critically acclaimed Mario Badescu drying lotion. The treatment, which is widely accessible on Amazon for a whopping $22 (literally pocket change considering the results), is spoken about with high regard in the beauty community.
However, the Tik Tok in question uses only three ingredients to create the dupe, and they are all household items. The Tik Tok ingredient list is as follows:
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Calamine lotion
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10% tea tree oil
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water
Yup. Water.
How can this be? The masses have been undermined by this capitalistic venture of pretty packaging and calamine lotion. This was something that needed to be investigated for the sake of humankind.
I’ve done some digging and according to the Mario Badescu website, the drying lotion seems to have other ingredients such as: isopropyl alcohol, camphor, zinc oxide, sulfur, glycerin, salicylic acid, talc, and titanium dioxide, along with the ingredients mentioned in the Tik Tok.
In the videos defense, the other ingredients were mentioned a little further down the list, meaning that they are in smaller quantities, but the Tik Tok did get the calamine lotion right, which is the main ingredient.
What I did not see on the list was the tea tree oil, however many of the other ingredients include drying agents, which tea tree oil is naturally acclaimed to do.
Some of the other ingredients in the lotion surprised me a bit. For example, zinc oxide is used for reducing redness and is commonly used in treating diaper rash I believe this whole heartedly because one of my nutrition teachers in high school told me to use baby rash cream to reduce redness on my pimples [better get me some of that).
Also what I found interesting was the effects of salic acid for the skin. Salic acid is a peeling agent and is used to peel off the first layer of your skin, and is commonly used in acne treatments.
Okay, so what we are making here is not the real deal, but what did you expect? I don’t have the arsenal of a chemist in my house. We will make do with the guidance of a Tik Tok.
Apparently with reference to the Tik Tok, all these ingredients should be found in your house, but I have not used calamine lotion since the time I got the chicken pox in Grade Four, and the only tea tree oil I have is the one I put in my diffuser. In other words, I had to go shopping. The upside was that I knew what everything was and was familiar with their effects on the skin.
I arrived at my local Shoppers Drug Mart and began searching for calamine. I looked in the after sun section (calamine is also used for sun burns) and found nothing. The same went for the tea tree oil; nothing. What I must note is that 100 per cent tea tree oil was easily found, just not 10 per cent as the Tik Tok recommended.
At that point I gave up and just asked my mom to buy me some the next day, which to her generosity, she did. She told me she got it at Guardian Pharmacy (which is more of a pharmacy than Shoppers Drug Mart) next to the ich creams.
The 10 per cent tea tree oil was impossible to find, even on Amazon, and as this investigation progressed and the deadline became more daunting, I succumbed to 100 percent tea tree oil. A big jump, I understand, but I am trying to make this as practical and realistic as possible.
The Tik Tok also said to use a dropper bottle, but even that I could not find at my local craft store, so I just went into the dollar store and bought plastic travel containers. Those worked just fine and are most likely a cheaper option anyway.
So with my ingredients in hand I went home and started crafting.
It was fairly easy, all I really had to do was to dilute the tea tree oil (a lot) with water and shake the calamine lotion before pouring it in my container.
And just like that, I had my own homemade Mario Badescu drying lotion for a shocking total of $15.
It’s not that much of a bargain (the tea tree oil makes up most of the cost), but in it’s defense I ended up with way more product than the Mario Badescu drying lotion and I had a tonne of calamine lotion left over.
Now it’s the part you have all been waiting for: Does it work?
I’m going to give you the rundown, the subject that this was tested on (my lovely, beautiful best friend) had just started birth control, which resulted in a huge break out. She was directed to put the lotion on before bed with no other products on and then wash her face with water the following morning. This is identical to the directions of the Mario Badescu drying lotion.
Here are her before pictures:
- Before
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- After
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Huge difference. Under my judgement, I would say it worked. I have used the Mario Badescu drying lotion myself multiple times and it delivered identical results.
The next day when I followed up with her, she told me that after a month of trying to heal her acne this was the one thing that actually worked. She even told me that she felt confident enough to not wear foundation after using the lotion.
Here are her results after two days of using the drying lotion:
- Two days later
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I couldn’t believe how the effects were so similar to the real thing.
Go ahead ladies make yourself some homemade drying lotion and save a few dollars.
Oh and also, never underestimate the power of a Tik Tok.
Home-made Mario Badescu Recipe
Ingredients
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1 bottle of calamine lotion
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1 bottle of 100% tea tree oil
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Water
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A small container
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Shake calamine lotion well and pour into a small bowl.
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Pour one bottle of 100 per cent tea tree oil in a separate bowl.
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Triple the amount of water to tea tree oil and mix well.
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Pour calamine lotion into small container ⅓ of the way full.
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Fill the rest of the bottle with the diluted tea tree oil.
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Let the lotion sit before applying.
Do not shake lotion. Apply on affected areas daily. It is recommended that the lotion is applied at night for optimal results.