Eye Make-up Remover and Natural Skin Cleanser

Eye Make-up Remover (Safe and Gentle)

• 1 tablespoon canola oil,
• 1 tablespoon castor oil, and
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• For use on your entire body, put some castor oil in a little spray bottle. To maximize absorption, spray it on your skin after showering and gently rub it in while your skin is still warm and your pores are open.

Natural Skin Cleanser

Tales of the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, tell of her beauty and her radiant skin. Her secret? Apparently she used to take frequent baths in fresh milk. Researchers now have found that the lactic acid in milk is the cause of the stunning skin. Alpha hydroxy acids help loosen dead skin and give healthy skin a deep cleansing.

• As the tub fills, pour in two cups to one quart of fresh milk or butter milk. Fresh milk can be substituted with one cup of powdered milk. A few drops of lavender essential oil may increase the relaxing effects.
• Soak in the tub for at least 20 minutes and gently massage your skin with a wash cloth or a loofah to rub off all the dead skin.
• After taking your bath, drain the tub and take a quick shower to rinse off all the milk on your body.

• 1 tablespoon canola oil,
• 1 tablespoon castor oil, and
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• For use on your entire body, put some castor oil in a little spray bottle. To maximize absorption, spray it on your skin after showering and gently rub it in while your skin is still warm and your pores are open.

Natural Skin Cleanser

Tales of the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, tell of her beauty and her radiant skin. Her secret? Apparently she used to take frequent baths in fresh milk. Researchers now have found that the lactic acid in milk is the cause of the stunning skin. Alpha hydroxy acids help loosen dead skin and give healthy skin a deep cleansing.

• As the tub fills, pour in two cups to one quart of fresh milk or butter milk. Fresh milk can be substituted with one cup of powdered milk. A few drops of lavender essential oil may increase the relaxing effects.
• Soak in the tub for at least 20 minutes and gently massage your skin with a wash cloth or a loofah to rub off all the dead skin.
• After taking your bath, drain the tub and take a quick shower to rinse off all the milk on your body.

From The Old Farmer's Almanac (almanac.com)

Oatmeal Soap Recipe

Oatmeal Soap Recipe

If you have leftover soap slivers in the bathtub or sink, you can recycle them into this yummy new soap! Oatmeal has proven moisturizing benefits.

• Gather these ingredients: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup small soap pieces, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil, 1 tablespoon water
• Put the soap slivers in a plastic bag and pound them into small chunks.
• Put chunks in a blender, add the oatmeal and pulse until grainy.
• Pour into a bowl and add the oil and water.
• Mix with your hands, removing any remaining bigger chunks of soap.
• Shape the mixture into a ball and let sit until hard, about two hours.
• Be sure to wash the blender thoroughly to remove the soap residue.

From The Old Farmer's Almanac (almanac.com)

4 Homemade Sugar Scrubs that Go from Your Pantry to the Bath

Posted by Condo Blues (condo-blues.blogspot.com)

As much as I am all over power tools and DIY projects I really am a girly girl at heart. I like pamper myself now and again and using a sugar body scrub is an excellent way to do it. Sugar is as a natural exfoliate but is still gentle enough to be used on skin. The oil in the sugar scrub can protect your skin against moisture loss. Add a few natural essential oils and you have a wonderful way to make an expensive professional spa treatment from ingredients you may already have in your kitchen!

Here are four of my favorite natural sugar scrub recipes. They make great gifts too!

1.Basic Sugar Scrub Recipe

All of my sugar scrubs are based on this basic recipe. The key is to make the scrub in small batches and use it fairly quickly because it doesn’t have any preservatives in the mix.

Ingredients
An empty jar with a lid (a small jelly or condiment jar works great for this project)
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
Label (if desired)

Make it
1. Pour the granulated white sugar into the jar.
2. Pour the olive oil into sugar and mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended. (I prefer the screw on the lid and shake method to mix my ingredients.)
3. Label the jar as desired.

2. Variations for the Basic Sugar Scrub Recipe

• Oils: You can substitute sweet almond oil, jojoba or coconut oil (coconut oil may be already heavily scented and interfere with the addition of any extra essential oil or scent)
• Extra moisturizer: 1 teaspoon cocoa butter
• Natural preservative: 1/2 teaspoon vitamin E oil
• Scent your scrub using:
  - A few drops of your favorite essential oil (Lavender, Jasmine, Sandalwood, etc.)
  - Vanilla (A wonderful scent but it will color your scrub brown)
  - Body splash or perfume (This is a great way to use up bottle of body splash or perfume that you usually don’t usually wear. However you may want to avoid this method if you don’t like items made with synthetic ingredients.)
• Color and texture: A handful of dried herbs or flowers for color (lavender, rosemary, chamomile, thyme, mint etc.)

I usually use the things that I have in my pantry – olive oil and white granulated sugar (ironically organic sugar doesn’t work very well for this project) and my suger scrub works great. Even better, it’s less expensive than the body scrub I saw in Sephora that was $32 for a small jar of plain olive oil and sugar!

3. Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Scrub
This one is curtsey of Crunchy Chicken. I made her candy cane scrub and gave it to some ladies on my Christmas list last year. My mom loves it!! And she’s, shall we say, selective about things, mmmkay? So consider that a serious stamp of approval.

Ingredients
An empty jar with a lid
1 cup granulated white sugar
6 candy canes/peppermint candy (approx ¼ cup), finely crushed into a powder
1/2 cup olive oil (or any of the oils in the basic recipe)
6 drops peppermint essential oil (optional)
Label (if desired)

Make it:
1. Pour the granulated white sugar and crushed peppermint into the jar.
2. But the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into sugar mix.
4. But the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
5. Label the jar as desired.

Notes:

• If you can find it, a bag of precrushed peppermint candies for baking are excellent for this project!
• Once the candies are broken into chunks, I use my blender or food processor to further pulverize the candy into a fine powder.
• I didn’t use peppermint essential oil and my scrub still smelled very pepperminty. As always, your mileage may vary.
• The courser grains of the broken candy could do damage to delicate facial skin. It may be best to use this scrub strictly as a body scrub and not as a facial scrub.

3. Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub aka Kahlua Sugar Scrub
After some experimenting I came up with this brown sugar scrub that smells just like Kahlua! Although I wouldn't recommend drinking it unless you like the taste of olive oil.

Ingredients
An empty jar with a lid
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup granulated brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil (or any of the oils in the basic recipe)
6 drops of vanilla
Label (if desired)

Make it
1. Pour the granulated white sugar and brown sugar into a bowl and mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
2. Pour the sugar mixture into a jar.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into sugar mix.
4. But the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
5. Label the jar as desired.

I'm going to make a few of these sugar scrubs and give them out as Mother’s Day gifts. So Mom, if you’re reading this, act surprised when you open your gift, OK?

Homemade Natural Deodorant

 

Homemade Natural Deodorant

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By Lockerz

Did you know you can make your own wonderful deodorant with just a few completely natural ingredients? This recipe is awesome! It is frugal and very effective! Aaron & I have been using it for over a year now, and it has worked wonders. It smells wonderful, but very faint, so the hubby does not mind! We have tried all natural brands without much success, until we tried this! It is especially important for women to take thought to the harmful aluminum materials in deodorant as it has been linked to breast cancer, being that the armpits are so close to the chest.
Ingredients:
5-6 Tbsp Coconut oil
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch
Combine equal portions of baking soda & arrowroot powder. Then slowly add coconut oil and work it in with a spoon until it maintains the substance you desire. It should be about the same texture as the store bought kind, solid but able to be applied easily. You can either scoop this into your old dispensers or place in a small container with lid and apply with fingers with each use. After applying the product, you can just rub the remains into your hands as a lotion! This recipe lasts about 3 months for two people with regular daily use.
Read here and here for more wonderful uses of coconut oil!

For the best price around on organic quality coconut oil, check out Mountain Rose Herbs. Delicious for so many uses!


Thank you to Passionate Homemakeing at passionatehomemaking.com

Homemade Hair Detangler

by Crystal on January 26, 2012

Both of my daughters have wavy hair. I love it, but it’s taken some getting used to–especially since I have pretty near straw straight hair. We’ve purchased numerous products over the years: curl spray, frizz spray, gels, and lots of detangling spray.
Because of this, I was quite excited when I saw that you could make your own homemade hair detangler with just conditioner and water. I don’t know why the thought never crossed my mind before, but I’m grateful to have stumbled upon this blog post describing how to make it.
And after reading the simple instructions, I wondered why on earth I’d ever let myself actually pay for hair detangler when I could be making my own for pennies?! It’s kind of like the light-bulb moment I had when I discovered how simple it was to make homemade foaming soap.
At any rate, now that I know how easy it is, I’ll never go back to buying hair detangler again.
Here’s how to make it:

Homemade Hair Detangler

1. Squirt a teaspoon dollop of conditioner into a spray bottle (if using a smaller spray bottle like I show above, use a half teaspoon.) This is the perfect way to make use of some of those free shampoo/conditioner samples you can often sign up for. There’s about a teaspoon or two in each packet.
2. Fill the bottle with warm water and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds until conditioner is well mixed with the water.
3. Spay on wet or dry hair to help remove tangles.

This recipe was found here: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/01/do-it-yourself-experiment-homemade-hair-detangler.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

And that’s it, folks. See? I told you it was super simple!

Liquid Hand Soap Recipe

By Erin Huffstetler, About.com Guide

Learn how to make your own liquid soap, and you'll wonder why you ever paid for it:

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 10 minutes of hands-on time

Here's How:

1. Grate or finely chop a bar of soap (about four ounces of soap).
2. Bring four cups of water to a boil.
3. Turn off the heat, and add the soap. Stir to melt the soap. Continue stirring until the mixture is fully combined. At this point the mixture will be very liquidy.
4. Allow the mixture to cool for at least 15 minutes. Then, stir again. At this point, the soap should be slightly thicker.
5. Allow to cool for another several hours or overnight.
6. Stir to check the consistency. If it seems too liquidy, reheat and add more soap. If it seems too thick; reheat and add more water.
7. Once you're satisfied with your soap, add a few drops of essential oil and coloring, if desired.
8. Then, pour your soap into dispensers, and enjoy.

Tips:

1. Want to make a bigger or smaller batch? Just use one cup of water for every ounce of soap.
2. This recipe stores well. Make up a big batch, a few times a year.
3. Results will vary depending on the type of soap used. Tweak the recipe until it meets your needs.
4. For a super-smooth consistency, run the finished soap through a blender before pouring into dispensers.

What You Need

• A bar of soap
• A knife or grater
• Water
• A sauce pan or pot
• Essential oil (optional)
• Soap coloring (optional)
• Empty soap dispensers

Super Easy Hard Lotion Bars

Posted by Common Sense Homesteading (commonsensehome.com)

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These have been wonderful for my winter dry skin. I used to coat my hands at night with petroleum jelly, because it was the only thing that helped with the dryness. Normal lotion didn’t help much at all, plus I don’t like the fragrance of most lotions, and many have questionable ingredients. Since I do a lot of dishes and wash my hands frequently, these bars have been a godsend. No more dry skin for me! My only regret is that I didn’t try them sooner, since they are so easy to make. The smell is light and pleasant, and they absorb fairly quickly.
Most homemade lotion recipes involve quite a few ingredients, blenders and more mess than I’d prefer to clean up. In contrast, all you need for these these bars is three ingredients, one pot, and molds – that’s it!
I used a recipe from Jo’s Health Corner, a site that I highly recommend. Jo has tons of neat ideas for natural health products.

Hard Lotion Bar Recipe

Ingredients
1 part each

• Cocoa butter or shea butter
• Oil
• Beeswax

Melt all ingredients together, pour in molds, let set until hard, unmold, and you’re done!
I used plantain infused olive oil, almond oil would probably work nicely as well. I made one batch with cocoa butter and one with shea butter, just to compare. For the wax, I used granules from Frontier, but will probably switch to some sort of unrefined beeswax in the future because it is more therapeutic.
Here’s a shot of all the ingredients as they begin to melt. In this batch, I used two ounces by weight or volume of each ingredient. I weighed the wax and cocoa butter, and used a liquid measure for the oil.

When everything has melted completely, pour the liquid into molds of your choice. I had molds available that I used for melt and pour soap making. You could also use muffin tins or some other small container. 6 ounces of product filled two molds completely and one partial mold.

After several hours, the lotion will be firm and hard and should release easily from the mold.

My mold set has a lot of fun shapes. I’m rather fond of the basic oval bars, but the boys like the stars and moons better. I bought these years ago at a local craft store, but there are some super cute molds available now like this fish, frog and turtle mold.

Shea Butter Lotion Bars

Both the shea butter and cocoa butter work well for moisturizing. I find the shea butter bars to be a little tackier and take longer to absorb into the skin. They also smell a bit “planty”, not bad, just not as good (to me) as the cocoa butter.

Cocoa Butter Hard Lotion Bar

The cocoa butter bars smell good enough to eat! My younger son loved the smell so much I caught him rubbing the bar all over himself after he got out of the shower – even in his armpits. I had been using the bars as a lip balm, too…oops… The next time I made a batch, I poured some into smaller containers to use as lip balm, and made my son his own special bar.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. This one’s a keeper in our house! Please pass the post along if you find it helpful, and leave a comment if you have any questions or ideas.
Update: – You can find these ingredients (and containers and molds) at Mountain Rose Herbs (link below), amazon.com (linked within the post), soaperschoice.com, and many other sites around the web. I do have affiliate accounts with Mountain Rose and Amazon, so I get a small payment if you purchase from either through the links below. Keep in mind that two ounces of each ingredient made three bars, so a bulk purchase would make a LOT of bars.

How to Make Pore Strips

by Allison for petitelefant.com


You know those Biore pore strips you buy at the drugstore for about $12 a pop? Yeah, those. Today I’m going to teach you how to make your own homemade pore strips.
Are you here from StumbleUpon? Thanks so much for visiting! If you like what you see, I have plenty more where this came from. Use the FOLLOW US buttons on my blog to subscribe! THANK YOU!

Why? Because:

1. I’m obsessed with beauty products
2. I’m obsessed with cheap
3. Homemade {mostly} = cheap. Mostly.
4. Cheap Beauty = HAPPY Allison

Ready? Ready.










Pore Strips Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon Unflavored Gelatin
• 1 1/2- 2 Tablespoons Milk {any kind}

Dudes, 2 ingredients and your pores will look like magic. What’s not to love?

1. Measure 1 Tablespoon of unflavored gelatin into a disposable container {if you put say, green jell-o on your face, there might be trouble}
2. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of milk into the gelatin
3. Until it looks like this
4. Mix it up, and be quick about it, until you get a chunky consistency. Add more milk if you’re uncomfortable with the amount of chunk.

Microwave the gelatin for about 10-15 seconds. It will get creamier in the microwave. Stir that around and start applying it IMMEDIATELY to your face. This stuff hardens up fast so you’ve got to act fast.

This is pre-pore strip. Wash your face before you apply.

I chose to put the stuff all over my face because I have thirty-year-old acne. You can put it wherever your little heart desires. You need to act fast though, because this stuff turns to gelatin pronto. I know I’ve said that three times already, but I really mean it.
Smokin’.
Let it dry for about 15+ minutes. I waited longer, but you’ll know it’s time when you can’t talk for fear of breaking something.

Grab whatever you can and start peeling. This is the gross/fun part.

It’s a good thing you can’t see the photo all that well. Do this until you’re all peeled and your face will feel like a baby’s bottom.
Clean, practically hairless, with clean, dirt-free pores.

The Avocado Face Mask and Other Natural Beauty Experiments

Photo: Frenchbyte

In my ongoing effort to use natural resources and still stick to my frugal lifestyle, I do things that perhaps the average person may not do. In fact, when I wrote about washing my hair in baking soda for a week and making my own laundry detergent, many of my friends laughed at me, until I explained the savings. This time we're talking about putting something on my face or body that would normally go in recipes, and am here to tell the tale. (See also: 5 Hair Conditioners You Can Make at Home)

Face Masks

Egg

I remember as a kid that a sweet old lady in our church had the most amazing skin. As I got into my teens, I asked her about it and giggled when she revealed her secret: egg.
Egg? On your face?! At 15 I wasn't as willing to try such a treatment as I am now, but with a little encouragement, I did as she suggested: baked a batch of cookies! Now, this isn't the key to the story but it sure helps because you're not using the whole egg. Once you've used the yolk, the white part that remains in the shell is what you need. Yup, that tiny little bit at the end. Simply rub it on your face and wash it off when it turns hard.
It's not the kind of thing I do every day, by any stretch, but when I'm baking, I always use the leftover egg as a quick, inexpensive face mask.

Avocado

Mashing up an avocado until it looks like guacamole and then putting it on your face is not only incredibly cheap, but it's good for you and easy to apply. Leave it on for about 15-20 minutes while you relax and then wash off with warm water.

Banana and Milk

I have a friend who swears by this one, and once you get beyond the thought of adding breakfast to you face, it is a fun recipe that makes your face feel soft. Simply mash up one ripe banana, and then add enough milk to make a paste. Apply to your face for 20 minutes, and then rinse off.

Hand Exfoliator

What do oatmeal, an egg, and lemon juice make? If you're thinking yummy cookies, you're a little off base. While most people use such ingredients to cook with, some friends and I used them as a relaxing hand exfoliator and love it. Sure, it's a little gooey and gets all over (towels required!), but it works and we all gave it a hearty thumbs up. This gently exfoliating scrub will make your hands noticeably softer and smoother.
In a small bowl, mash:

• 1/4 of a peeled avocado
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine well and apply to your hands. Leave the mixture on for 20 minutes, then rinse in warm water and pat dry.

Foot Bath

For smooth and pretty feet, combine these ingredients in a foot bath:

• 1 cup of lemon juice,
• 2 tablespoons olive oil,
• 1/4 cup milk and enough water to fill the basin.
• Optional: Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil for fragrance.

Soak feet for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water. Do this once a week for several weeks for noticeably softer, smoother feet.
These recipes are not only simple and frugal but probably include many ingredients that you already have on hand — making them perfect for a relaxing evening.

This is a guest post by Clair Boone. She bought diapers for 20 cents a pack and earned the applause of the cashier checking her out. Over the past year, Clair's money-saving tips has helped thousands of people all over the U.S. save hundreds of dollars. Read more articles by Clair at her blog, Mummy Deals:

How to Do a Homemade Hot Oil Treatment

A hot oil treatment restores the shine to dry, damaged hair; many stylists recommend a once-weekly treatment to keep locks in stellar shape. You don't have to run to the store to purchase a costly hot oil treatment or make an appointment at the salon. You probably even have the ingredients for a hot oil treatment right in your kitchen cabinet. The natural oils add needed moisture to thirsty, dry hair and help repair split ends and damage caused by styling aids such as blow dryers and flat irons.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 3 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. honey
• Saucepan
• Spoon
• Comb
• Towel
• Shower cap

Suggest Edits

1. • 1
     Combine the olive oil and honey in a saucepan and heat the mixture over high heat until it boils.
   • 2
     Take the saucepan away from the heat and allow the mixture to cool down. Stir the olive oil and honey so they're well blended.
   • 3
     Put the honey and olive oil mix onto your hair. Comb it through for best results. Wrap your hair in a towel or put it up in a plastic shower cap and leave the treatment on for between 15 and 30 minutes.
   • 4
     Shampoo your hair as normal.

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Tips & Warnings

• Add essential oils for a pleasant scent.

Read more: How to Do a Homemade Hot Oil Treatment | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2182609_do-homemade-hot-oil-treatment.html#ixzz1l1T5njz3

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe – Easy and Frugal

As posted by DIYNatural.com


This recipe will take less than 5 minutes to prepare.
Why do I make my own homemade products? It all started when I made my first batch of homemade laundry detergent a few weeks back… since then I’ve been hooked! Now I am on a mission to make as many household products as I can. It saves me money and gives me a sense of joy and accomplishment! Up this week… homemade toothpaste!
When I make products I FOCUS ON EASE OF PRODUCTION, EFFECTIVENESS, and COST SAVINGS.
I am not only making this homemade toothpaste for the benefit of me and my family… I am also doing it for your benefit. I am passionate about empowering readers with the means necessary to increase both frugality and self-sufficiency.

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 4 tsp fine sea salt (optional – gives paste extra scrubbing power, but is okay to leave out if the taste is too salty)
• 1 – 2 tsp peppermint extract or 10-15 drops peppermint essential oil (or add your favorite flavor – spearmint, orange, etc.)
• water (add to desired consistency)

COST BREAKDOWN & SAVINGS

Here is the breakdown in cost analysis for 5.33oz of my homemade toothpaste (same amount as one tube of my old toothpaste):

• baking soda @ 16oz = $1.00 | 2/3 cup is 5.33oz which = $0.33
• fine sea salt @ 22oz = $2.00 | 4tsp is .66oz which = $0.06
• peppermint extract @ 1oz = $3.00 | 2tsp is .33oz which = $1.04 | Better yet, use 1tsp is .17oz which = $0.52

(**note** you can use as much or as little peppermint or other flavor as you wish, add the flavoring little by little until you reach an amount you enjoy.)
Prior to making our own, we were using Tom’s of Maine Spearmint Gel® costing an average of $5.00 for a 5.2oz tube. Based on the calculations above the same amount of my homemade toothpaste will cost me between $0.91 and $1.43 for 5.33oz, depending on how much flavoring I use.

The cost savings will be between $4.09 – $3.57 per tube!

Aside from cost, there are many other benefits of homemade products. By making this toothpaste not only are we cutting costs by upwards of 300%, we also know the exact ingredients and count time spent as fun, educational, and useful for all involved!

A SIMPLE RECIPE & MAKING OF A BATCH

Remember, each batch yields the equivalent of one 5.3oz tube of toothpaste which you can store in a small storage container somewhere close to your toothbrush. When you are ready to brush, simply wet your toothbrush, scoop or spread as much paste as you like, and begin brushing.

**Update** If you are grossed out by double-dipping with others but don’t want to make separate batches – do as DFA reader Lakita of Paneh Praise suggests – put the paste in a Ziploc bag and cut the corner off for a homemade squeezable tube. Thanks Lakita!

1. Start with these ingredients:

2. Mix together and add water until paste reaches desired consistency.

That’s it! You’re done. Now go get rid of that bad breath!

A few FAQ’s and answers:

1. Where should we store the paste? In a container of your choosing close to your tooth brush. I use a small plastic ware container.
2. Should we each have our own container, or can we share with others in our family/roommates? If cooties bother you then get your own container… if not then don’t worry about it. My wife and I share one.
3. How do we get it onto our toothbrush? Simply wet your brush, scoop or spread on some paste, and brush away.
4. Does this really work? Yes. I actually like it better than store bought and find it gets rid of onion and garlic breath better than any toothpaste I have ever used.
5. Where do I get the ingredients? At pretty much any store, or you can buy them online through the links above.
6. Is this toothpaste bad for me? No. But that is just my opinion since I am not a dentist, and because these claims have not been evaluated by the FDA. That said… all ingredients are commonly used products and otherwise regarded as utterly safe.
7. What about fluoride, don’t we need it? Not in my opinion. Research I have done reveals fluoride as a toxic poison. Dentists typically say it is beneficial when applied to the teeth of children, but I encourage you to do a little research of your own… I’m guessing you’ll come out holding the same opinion as me.

DIY: Homemade Mouthwash

by Nicole on SimpleOrganic.net  

in personal care & beauty, repurposing & diy

Recently, I finally went back to the dentist after a lazy year of no visits. I was due for my six-month check-up right as my morning sickness kicked in… as someone who has serious dental-visit-anxiety, the last thing I wanted to do during my first trimester was visit my dentist.
Well, as you can imagine, it wasn’t pretty. I’m pretty adamant about my dental hygiene (although I’m not the most consistent flosser), but despite that, I was born with cavity-prone teeth. I ended up having to go back for some fillings and let’s just say after that reminder, I decided to become even more serious about my tooth care routine.
I thought about the bottle of electric-green-colored mouthwash under the sink and how good it would probably feel to start using, not to mention the healthy benefits of it for my teeth.
But then I thought about the ingredients in it and figured there had to be a better way. Maybe a natural version at my local natural food store?
And then it hit me, we’ve talked about homemade deodorant, and I’ve tried my hand at homemade toothpaste, how hard could be to make my own mouthwash?

Luckily I had a great reference book on hand from the library, Do It Gorgeously by Sophie Uliano. I had to return it before I could really make good use out of it but I was at least able to successfully use one recipe from it and that was the Mint Zinger Mouthwash.
Before I get to that, can I just point your attention to what’s in that green bottle under my bathroom sink?

Photo by Inha Leex Hale
While its active ingredients are simply derivitives of natural oils, those “inactive ingredients” leave a little to be desired and include cancer-causing, mouth-flora-altering ingredientssuch as alcohol, sorbitol, polaxamer 407, flavoring, sodium saccharin, and and a couple of types of artificial food colorings.
A simple google search of any of those will bring up pages of concerning (and conflicting) information. And you know what? I’d just rather not take a chance with the artificially colored stuff.
It reminds me of that old commercial from when we were kids where the kid is looking for a drink in the fridge… what does he see? “Milk, purple stuff, Sunny D.” I’m starting to become more and more suspicious of the purple stuff. And the blue stuff. And the green stuff.

Homemade Mint Mouthwash

Mouthwash is great for our mouths. This homemade version is antibacterial so it will not only help keep your teeth and gums healthy and free of unwanted debris, but it also will help with breath freshness. Making this recipe from scratch will even save you money as many of these ingredients you probably already have on hand at home.
This recipe makes about fourteen ounces and can be stored for two weeks in a dark, cool cupboard. Use it in the morning and the evening.
Mix the following together and pour into a repurposed bottle of some sort.
1 cup aloe vera juice (fairly inexpensive at Trader Joe’s among other places)
1/2 cup distilled water (I just used filtered)
1 tbsp. witch hazel
2 tsp. baking soda
20 drops peppermint essential oil
The taste of this mouthwash definitely differs from the store-bought conventional type, but I got used to it after a few times. It leaves your mouth feeling fresh and minty, using nothing artificial to get you that feeling!

Homemade Shampoo & Body Wash For Men

 

This morning my husband informed me that he is almost out of his conventional shampoo & body wash. Hooray!!! That means it's time to replace it with a good ol' homemade product void of nasty chemicals and questionable ingredients... I love experiments!

Since I have not made a homemade version of body cleaner for him before, I decided to make a small amount of the following recipe & re-purpose an adorable empty travel shampoo container. If he likes it, I can always make more!

Homemade Shampoo & Body Wash
1.5 tbsp liquid castille soap (I used peppermint scented)
1.5 tbsp boiled water
1/2 tsp castor oil
8 drops tea tree essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl and stir until mixed well, then place in your bottle of choice (I used a little funnel because it made it easy). It smells heavenly!

My husband has naturally oily, acne prone skin. The castor oil should help with the oily skin (same as with the oil cleansing method) as well as the acne & the tea tree essential oil should help with the acne, too. If your man doesn't have oily and/or acne prone skin, you could leave out the castor oil & tea tree oil.

This only made about 1.5 oz of product, but it was the perfect amount to fit into my little bottle and use as a tester. I assume that hubby will get at least a weeks worth of use out of this little bottle. I will let you all know how it goes!

To make an 8 oz bottle, try this:
1/4 cup liquid castille soap
1/4 cup boiled water
1 1/4 tsp castor oil
20 drops tea tree oil

If you try this, let me know how you & your man like it!

As posted by Faithful Womanhood on www.faithfulwomanhood.com

Tub and Shower Magic

Ingredients:

Serves: 1

Yield: 3 cups
3 3.0

 

• 12 ounces white vinegar
• 12 ounces liquid , blue dawn detergent

Directions:

1. 1
   Heat vinegar in microwave until hot and pour into squirt bottle.
2. 2
   Add the Dawn soap. Put the lid on and gently shake to incorporate.
3. 3
   You now have a powerful cleaning product that will melt soap scum and tub and shower buildup, clean sinks, appliances and just about anything. Just spray it on, scrub, rinse and be amazed. For tough soap scum build-up, spray the mixture on and allow it to sit as long as overnight. Then, scrub and rinse.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/tub-and-shower-magic-434275#ixzz1kyo6A7Ks

"Fake" Clorox Cleanup

"Fake" Clorox Cleanup, 2 Cents/Bottle!

I've been meaning to try this recipe that I found on Thrifty Fun for DIY Clorox Cleanup. My bottle finally ran out tonight, so I figured I'd give it a go!

Credit

I changed the recipe slightly since the original called for combining Dish Detergent with Bleach and that is a big No-No. For some reason, many Dish Detergents contain Ammonia, and combining Bleach with Ammonia can literally kill you with a toxic fume. YIKES!

It's best to stick with chemicals that you know are OK to combine, like Laundry Detergent and Bleach. Those are made to go together in the washing machine!

Fake Clorox Cleanup
1 Empty and Rinsed-Out Bottle of Clorox Cleanup/Empty Plastic Spray Bottle
1/4 Cup Bleach
1 Teaspoon Laundry Detergent
Fill the rest of the bottle with Water and Shake!

Just like my other Fake Cleaners, this one is mostly water, too. Doesn't it just make you crazy that we are all paying too much money for what is mostly water?

Credit

To make this, I picked up a gallon jug of Bleach at the Dollar Tree, so with 16 Cups to a Gallon, that one jug could potentially make 64 Bottles* of Fake Clorox Cleanup! WOW! The laundry detergent I had on hand, of course.

The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Fake Clorox Cleanup (Bleach, $1.00/Gallon, Laundry Detergent, negligible)

Total Fake-It Cost: $0.02/Bottle

Compare to Real Clorox Cleanup: $4.99

Total Fake-It Savings: $4.97

*Just For Fun: 64 Bottles of Fake Clorox Cleanup: $1.00,
64 Bottles of Real Clorox Cleanup: $319.36,
Total Savings: $318.36 Wow! Isn't that incredible?

Thank you to FakeItFrugal.blogspot.com for this post!!

Fake Febreeze

I came across this great idea to Make Your Own Febreeze over at Homemade Mamas, and I just had to give it a try to see if it's as good as the real thing.

Well, it is as good as the real thing. No. Actually....It's Better!

Credit

I changed their recipe up a bit to Refill my already existing 32 oz Febreeze Spray Bottle:

1/8 Cup of Your Favorite Fabric Softener
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
Hot Tap Water - To Fill the Bottle to the Top

Shake it up in your Spray Bottle and you're ready to go and fight those Stinky Dog Odors!

I found that Fake Febreeze actually has a bit more "staying power" than regular Febreeze, too!


Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Fake Febreeze ($0.15 or less for 1 oz Fabric Softener)

Total Fake-It Cost: $0.15 Each

Compare to Actual Febreeze ($5.59 Each, seriously?)

Total Fake-It Savings: $5.44 Each*

*Let's say you purchase 1 Bottle of Febreeze per month, that's a Savings of $65.28 per year!

PS - If you've never visited Homemade Mamas before, go check out their incredible catalog of DIY household and beauty products, among all of their other great tutorials

GREEN and FRUGAL - DIY Disinfectant Cleaning Wipes

I used to be obsessed with disinfectant wipes. I kept them everywhere. In the kitchen, bathrooms, dining room, toy room (of course they were high enough so the kids could not get into them), I even kept some outside to wipe down the patio table. They were so convenient. Sticky fingerprints on the table - grab a wipe, bathroom counter needs cleaned - grab a wipe, sticky kitchen counters - grab a wipe, teething toy fell in the dirt - grab a wipe.
Of course this obsession was short lived when I realized how much I was spending on those bad boys. Not to mention all of the harmful chemicals that they contain.
Here is my new solution

DIY Disinfectant Wipes
Want to make your own?
Here is what you'll need

1. Paper towels
2. Vinegar
3. Air tight container (baby wipe containers are perfect)

I had the select-a-size paper towels and started folding them in an accordion fold. After folding the desired amount (I used around 20) tear off from the rest of the roll and cut your paper towels in half.

Stack the two halves on top of each other and place inside of your container. Pour 1 cup vinegar into container. close and set aside until paper towels soak up all the liquid. And voila...

Notes:

1. I found several websites that suggested cutting the entire roll of paper towels in half and sticking one half inside a larger container such as an old coffee grounds container. This would be a lot easier than folding all of the paper towels but it would not fit in the container I had. Do what works best for you.
2. I used vinegar as suggested in this article. If you do not like the strong vinegar scent there are several other recipes found online.

Thank you goes to DIYhshp.com for the recipe and tips.

How To Make Your Own Dish Soap

 by Kelly Laffey @ DIYLife.com

Make your own dish soap at home! Photo: sea turtle, Flickr

Making your own dish soap is a great for so many reasons. Homemade soaps tend to not dry out your skin and they work well for people who are allergic to commercial cleaners. But, my favorite perk is that you save money by eliminating dish soap from your shopping list. Dish soap can be made using liquid castile soap, soap flakes, or soap scraps -- so pick your preferred ingredient and those plates will be clean in no time!

Recipe #1: Liquid Castile SoapThis method is by far the easiest because the base is pre-made within the castile soap.

1. Grab some liquid castile soap from your local health food store. Castile soap refers to any soap that is made entirely from vegetable oil.
2. Mix 2 cups of castile soap with 1/2 cup of warm water in a recycled dish soap squeeze bottle.
3. For scented dish soap, add a few drops of essential oils.
4. Shake well before using
Recipe #2: Soap Flakes
Buy soap flakes where you usually purchase laundry detergent.

1. Combine 2 cups of soap flakes with one gallon of warm water.
2. Place the mixture in a large, non-reactive pan and warm over medium heat until the soap is completely dissolved.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of glycerin and remove from heat.
4. After letting the soap cool, add a 1/2 cup of lemon juice or 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Either of these 2 ingredients will help the soap to fight grease.
5. For a scented soap, add a few drops of essential oils. Mix well.

Recipe #3: Solid Soap Shavings
You can save even more money by making dish soap from leftover pieces of bar soap! Just be sure to chop them into very fine pieces first.

1. Place 2 cups of soap shavings into a large bowl.
2. Add 2-3 cups of hot water and let it sit overnight to soften.
3. Stir the mixture until it becomes smooth. Add more water to reach the desired consistency.
4. Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice or white vinegar to help fight grease.
5. Shake well before using.