Update on Homemade Soap

I gotta tell you, I am loving the homemade soap that I made with my friend, Kristi.  It really has made a difference in my skin! I can definitely tell that its improving the texture, look, and even clearing it up my skin a bit! I dont need to use anything else on my face, no moisturizer, nothing. I also ran out of soap the other day,while I was in the shower , I grabbed the baby's "natural" baby wash instead to use on my face, and it made my skin tight, itchy and red. Needless to say, I am using homemade soap on all the kids now, instead ;)

Gonna be making some more today and I am sooo excited!
Have a great day :)

More alternatives to deodorant and coming soon....

Just a tip I thought I would share for those of you without the ingredients I posted for deodorant:

If you are unable to make the deodorant recipes I posted here or here , you can use baby powder, cornstarch or just plain baking soda as an alternative to deodorant! Some days I prefer the powders over the cream deodorants, especially when I am going out and will sweat more. The powder seems to control perspiration much better.

Some other projects I am working on:
I am going to make some hair lotion today for my daughter, will post the recipe later today or tomorrow along with pics of her hair :) She is a true curly girl! I stopped using shampoo on her as well and her hair is doing great :) I do still use conditioner for now, but only about once a week. Her hair is really dry and needs something until I make up her hair lotion.

I am also sewing together some canvas storage boxes for our school room. I am a beginner in the sewing department, so these will not be posted for some time, but wanted to share some of the other things I am working on besides health and beauty stuff...there is more to my frugality than that! LOL

What else? Oh I am going to cut out ALL high fructose Corn syrup out of our diets! This article really made me realize how we should become more self-sufficient with growing our own foods and making things from those foods. Soon I will be sharing frugal recipes, our garden plans, plans for chickens, and my canning skills...or lack there of...all in the next few weeks :)

Ok gotta run and get my day started! Have a blessed day!

Week 3- No poo update

I am just starting my 3rd week of going no-poo and a lot has changed since last week. My hair is no longer as greasy at the scalp or dry on the ends. It seems to finally be settling down a bit. Last week I told you all that I started using conditioner...well I quickly dropped it after noticing an increase in oils again and itchiness. I am beginning to think I am allergic to one or more of the chemicals in shampoo and conditioner and if going no-poo doesn't work out for me, I'm gonna have to figure something else out. BUT for now, it seems to be going great! Got past what I think is the "icky" stage of no-poo (from what I have read anyways) and just used up my first 21 oz bottle of vinegar/lavender/tea tree oil rinse today (so that cost me maybe $0.50 for 2 weeks worth?)

One thing that I tried this week that is ABSOLUTELY wonderful is a brown sugar scalp scrub. Oh my....that was awesome. It took care of some flakiness and just felt great. All you do is get a tablespoon or two of honey and add about 2 tbsps or so of brown sugar on top of the honey. DON'T mix it until you are going to use it though, the brown sugar will dissengrate and not be much of a scrub. I washed my hair with baking soda as usual, flipped my head over and applied the honey/brown sugar mixture to my scalp. I have a lot of hair and its heavy....so this way I was really able to get it worked in there. After I was done I let it sit on there while i used the rest of the scrub for my face and body...talk about a great exfoliater! I think this will be a wonderful once a week treatment for the hair! The brown sugar is the exfoliant and the honey is a humectant. I really noticed the difference in my hair after I used it.

OH and btw, I CUT my own hair. Am I crazy, probably, but it was WAY too long and a friend of mine does her own and her hair is beautiful, so I went for it. I MAY be brave enough to show pics tomorrow....we'll see ;)

"No-poo" or for some of my dear readers "Shampoo-less"

I recently gave up using Shampoo after finding out how to do it on this site.
This past Sunday was my last day of Shampoo, and so far, I haven't had any major issues. I *will* use Shampoo sometime or another (because I really like my hair to *feel* squeeky clean) but hope that my scalp's natural state can be returned somewhat after trying this. I think years and years of prolonged use of cheap shampoos have caused my scalp to produce much more oil than needing and thus causing me to wash my hair more....its a vicious cycle! Not to mention, there are ALOT of chemicals in some shampoos and I really don't want those on mine or my childrens hair or skin anymore!
So far so good after 5 days of no-poo so I thought I would share what I have been using/doing:

What you'll need:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar
2. 2 empty bottles (one that holds about 3 cups of water or less if you have shorter hair) I used empty shampoo bottles that are about 21 0z each. One I fill with vinegar and leave in the shower.
   
3. Essential oils (optional) I use Tea tree and Lavender. They are both medicinal and help to clarify the hair/scalp. Add a few drops to the filled bottle of vinegar.
   
4. Baking Soda
5. Small container that has a lid to hold the baking soda

The first step is to COMB your hair through BEFORE you even get in the shower! I made the mistake of skipping this step and my hair was hard to comb out.
The next step is to make a solution of baking soda mixed with water (i use a small bottle for this as well) and wash with it as you would with regular shampoo....taking more attention with your scalp than your ends, and then rinse.
The next step is the vinegar rinse. I re-used two old shampoo bottles (saved them because I knew i would be doing this) and filled one bottle with 3 Tbsps of water to make a line to know where to fill my vinegar to. You are supposed to use 1 Tbsp of vinegar per cup of water. I use 3 to 3 ratio because I have lots of hair and its long. Anyways, enough vinegar solution to your empty bottle with the pre-measured line and pour all over your hair. I leave it in for a few minutes and then rinse.

The smell of vinegar is very faint and once your hair dries its gone! I'm enjoying the "clean" feeling my hair has and the extra oil in my hair seems to be diminishing daily. I did mix a little baking soda with baby shampoo 2 days this week just to tolerate the change a little but it wasn't that necessary :)

Leave me a comment if you are going "no-poo" as well..I'd love to hear your experiences!
I'll update in another week!

Homemade Deodorant #2

I found this recipe for homemade deodorant and made it yesterday. It was super easy and I am actually wearing it today! I'm not sure if it's going to work when I'm working out or really active, but hey, its natural and doesn't contain harsh chemicals! I took pics of how I made it of course:

Here's what the recipe called for:



You mix all of the ingredients(except essential oils, I used Lavender) , throw it in the micro to melt and mix till nice and smooth.



Pour into a jar and stick in the fridge till the oils firm back up.



You use your fingers to scoop some out of the jar and apply under your arms. Thats it!





If you have any good recipes for natural body care, leave me a comment!

Melt and Pour Soap- Lavender- Orange

I made my first batch of soap last week. Rather than making it from scratch using oils and lye, I used a melt and pour base..the ingredients were safe and I added my own twist to it :-)
Here's what a pound of melt and pour looks like..it's solid, but you melt it down to make your soap..

Here's unrefined, unprocessed cocoa and shea butters:

I also added some Vit E from these caplets:

I used Orange Essential Oil but added a little Lavender at the last minute:
This is what I used as a mold for the soap...it didn't make a very pretty soap...but was functional ;)
So the first steps are melting your melt and pour base and your butters (I used a few tbsps for a 1LB of melt and pour..which wayyy too much :-D Use 1tbsp of any extra oil or butters for 1lb of melt and pour:

Add the melted butters to the melt and pour and combine..then let cool a bit before adding in your EO's....
Then pour into your mold...
This is the end result after it had cooled for a couple of hours...You can use it instantly..no curing involved :-)

I can't wait to try lye soap making...it seems to produce a creamier soap..this is more of a clear, glyceriny type of soap...I have been using it on my body and face all week and enjoy having one more thing that I can make myself :)
Happy Soap making!

Lotion Making- Calendula Citrus Lotion

This lotion was extremely easy to make and made about 6 oz or so...

I first started with 1/4 cup of calendula infused olive oil (I added about 1/4 cup dried calendula leaves to about 1/2 cup of olive oil and kept in a dark jar in a cabinet for about 2 weeks) and to that I added 1/4 cup of apricot kernel oil.

I then measured out 2 teaspoons of beeswax granules..

You then add the beeswax to the oils and melt at 30 sec intervals in the microwave or over a double broiler.

Now you need 1/8 of a teaspoon of Borax..yes....borax

And then you need 1/4 cup of distilled water.

Add those two together..

And bring just to a boil..


Once your oils and wax are melted together and your water and borax and just at a boil you add the water mixture slowly to the oil mixture using a hand blender or whatever you have on hand ;-)

It should look well blended and a lotion-like consistency but still thin..

Once it cools some you add your essential oils....make sure to look up their usage info as some EO's are not good directly on skin for children, pregnant women, or nursing moms :-) I added Lemon and Orange because I LOVE the smell of citrus. I also added a little Tea Tree for it's medicinal properties and supposedly it prolongs the shelf-life of the lotion. (I am not that fond of the smell tho and will probably omit it with the next batch...we go through lotion fairly quickly here)

Now for a quick pic of my adorable helper who has been so good while mommy is engaged in her new found hobby :-D OK..back to the lotion..

Now one important thing is to make sure you have a funnel and a clean, sterilized container to put your lotion in...you can use anything from a mason jar to a bay food jar..I picked up this plastic bottle from the place I bought all of my supplies from..here
Here's my finished product..Calendula citrus lotion...It will thicken as it cools but will genrally be thinner than commercial lotions. You can use any type of oil...my next lotion will be made with coconut oil and grapeseed.

Homemade deodorant

I got this recipe from Clean, Naturally by Sandy Maine..except I tweaked it to death and added what I have on hand

Ingredients: (This recipe was tripled to make 3 deodorant bars and I got all my ingredients from brambleberry.com)
1 ounce of beeswax
1 ounce of cocoabutter
1/4 cup of organic olive oil
10 drops of apricot kernel oil (it calls for castor oil if you want to use that)
1 tsp lemon juice
3 drops teatree oil (it calls for coriander EO in the book)
Directions:
Melt waxes and oils in double boiler or over a very low flame (this is what I did and it was fine)Stir until warm and add lemon juice and tea tree oil (or coriander oil)...Pour into an old deodorant-stick container (i bought new ones for 1.00 from the site above)and allow to harden. (make sure you do this quickly as the liquid hardens very quickly..lol..ask me how i know!)


I have had to apply this twice on some days (as I have cleaned or been really active), hubby has been wearing it to work and so far so good! The next time I do make it I will add some lavender EO to mine and some kinda manly scent to Dh...but this works great (other than needing re-application once in a while) and is very easy to make...