Janice Cox grew up in a small Oregon town where natural bath and beauty products were hard to find. So she learned how to make them herself. She is one of a growing number of beauty experts who advocate making your own beauty creams, moisturizers and hair treatments. Their ingredients come from their refrigerators and kitchen cabinets: Avocados, honey, baking soda, yogurt, you name it. They find a use for just about anything. In my quest to spend less on beauty products -- which can have staggeringly high price tags -- I came across Cox's Web site, www.janicecox.com, which offers tips and recipes. 'People spend an average of $25 a week on a manicure and pedicure. If they just cut that out and do it at home once a month, they'd save hundreds of dollars,' she told me. I asked her for some easy things people can do to cut down on their beauty budgets. Here are a few: Facial Masks: For normal skin, use a tablespoon of sour cream or plain yogurt. For dry skin, mash up half an avocado or a banana. For oily skin, mash up some fresh strawberries, blueberries or egg whites. Spread the mixture on your clean skin. Keep it on for 15 minutes then rinse it with warm water. Then apply your favorite cream or moisturizer. Body Oil: Massage light sesame or olive oil onto your warm damp skin after bathing to lock in the moisture. Body Scrubs: Mix together 1/2 cup of kosher salt with 1/4 cup light oil or a liquid cleanser. Massage it into your skin before bathing. It will exfoliate your skin. Hair Treatments: To treat dry, damaged hair, use pure honey as a hair conditioning pack. Massage a tablespoon or two into your damp hair and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. It will feel sticky at first but have no fear. It rinses out easily with warm water. 'Create your own day spa at home,' Cox said. 'Go for a walk, whip up a healthy meal and treat yourself to pampering treatments from facial masks to pedicures. With all the money you will save you can buy yourself a set of new bath towels and your own fluffy spa robe.' Nancy Trejos, a Washington Post financial reporter, contributes to the 'Small Change' blog on washingtonpost.com, from which this article is adapted. 