Homemade Face Wash and Toner

So here's another couple of recipes that I have fallen in love with. The first is face wash. It's SUPER simple to make and my skin feels so good after I've used it. And no! My skin isn't oily after using it. Oil dissolves oil so it's great for getting out the dirty oil in your pores. And after using it I don't even need a moisturizer anymore. So here is how I make it. 

Take 1/4 cup coconut oil whip it with a mixer, I used my kitchen aid.

Then take some cold pressed caster oil and slowly stream it into your coconut oil while the mixer is running. The amount of caster oil really depends on your skin type. If you have super oily skin then you might want equal parts, but I find caster oil to be pretty drying so I just add about 1-2 tablespoons. 

After you slowly add you caster oil (you may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl) it should start to look like stiff egg whites.

Then you can add the oils of you choice and mix throughly in your mixer. Again this is up to you, but I use lavender and melaleuca. I am one of those lucky adults who still gets acne and this is a good blend of oils for that. 

When you're done mixing, put your mixture into a container. When you're ready to use this is what you do.

Apply to dry skin and throughly work it in. Take your time! Don't rush this! Then take a hot wash cloth, as hot as you can handle, and hold it on your freshly oiled face for a good minute! Enjoy this time. Breath in those amazing oils! When done just wipe off thoroughly and dry your face. Then follow with toner.

 And this is how I make the toner. I blend about 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon witch hazel to a small bottle. I then add essential oils of my choice. I still just use lavender and melaleuca and sometimes add frankincense or geranium. I love the combination of the lemon juice and witch hazel and they work way better than any commercial toner I have ever used! And I know exactly what's in it and I LOVE that!

To apply just take a cotton ball or round and apply a good amount of toner to the cotton ball or round and then rub liberally on your face. I find that it has a slight tightening effect and it has also lightened quite a bit of my scarring! BONUS!!!

It's important to note that you might have to play around with these recipes to find what's just right for your skin! But thats whats great about these is it's so simple to make it work for your needs! So go try it out! You won't be sorry! 

Carpet Deodorizer

So I just made my own carpet deodorizer and it ROCKS! And it only takes a few simple ingredients. Baking Soda, Borax, and essential oils of choice! That's it! For me I went with Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Lemon. What's great about this is that not only does it deodorize but also serves as pest deterrent such as ants, spiders and dust mites.  So here's how you make it... 

Combine 1/2 cup soda, 1/2 cup and several drops of oils of your choice depending on how strong you want the scent. I did quite a few drops because I like to be able to really smell it. 

Sprinkle your mixture on your carpet and let sit for about 15 minutes and then vacuum it up! It's that simple! Now go! Clean your carpets! Your home will smell AMAZING!!!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

So lately I have had some inquiries into how I go about making laundry detergent. I made my first batch awhile ago and went with a liquid version. It worked really well, but I thought I would try a powder version this time. If you are interested in the liquid version here is the recipe. The ONLY reason why I decided to try a dry version was to omit the cooking step.

Here is the recipe.

1. Grate one bar of soap with cheese grater or food processor.
2. Put grated soap in pan with 2 quarts water and gradually heat, stirring constantly until soap is completely dissolved.
3. Put 4.5 gallons of really hot tap water in a 5-gallon bucket (available for free in bakeries at grocery stores, just ask them) and stir in 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda until completely dissolved.
4. Pour soap mixture from pan into 5-gallon bucket. Stir well.
5. Cover and leave overnight.
6. Shake or stir until smooth and pour into gallon jugs or other containers.
7. Use 1/2 to 1 cup per load.
8. You could add a few drops of essential oils to each container and shake well, but that is completely optional.

Now if you want to go with the dry version here is what I did. 

I went and gathered my materials. 1 box Borax, 1 4lb. box Baking Soda, Washing Soda, FelsNaptha, Zote, and Essential Oil for scent.

Then I pulled out the trusty food processor.

Then I put on the grater attachment and grated up the felsnaptha and zote.

After grating, plop it into a bowl.

Then fit your standard blade onto the food processor.

Dump your gratings into the processor and whip it up till the gratings look like little bright pink and yellow pearls. You could probably make this with various soaps, but I REALLY like the color pink. And the pink Zote and yellow felnaptha were only 98 cents!

Then take a small portion of your baking soda and put it into a bowl.

 Then add a bunch of essential oil to your soda and mix well, breaking up any clumps as you go. You could also use Purex scented crystals if you wanted to bump up the scent a notch.

Next, grab a HUGE bucket and dump everything in (all the soap shavings, whole box of borax, whole boxes of baking and washing soda, essential oil mixture) and get mixing. Make sure you really scrape the bottom and get all those pretty soap colors distributed evenly throughout all the powder stuff.

 After its mixed well, put your mixture into a vessel of choice. I LOVE glass containers, so that's what I went with. There wasn't enough room in this container for all of my mixture, so I put the rest in a plastic bag to store for later. 

 If doing the liquid option you might want to choose old laundry soap containers or large juice containers. 

Hopefully this has inspired you to go make your own AWESOME and INEXPENSIVE homemade laundry detergent.

When you go to do your laundry you only need 2-4 tablespoons depending on your load size and it is safe for HE machines as well as septic systems. Pretty sweet, right?!

Note: You could add oxyclean to the mix, but I think that that stuff can be kind of harsh on sensitive skin so I opted out on that stuff, but you might want the extra boost.

Homemade Deodorant

O.K. First, I want to go on the record by saying that I am not a granola or a hippie or whatever else you might think I am by hearing the word homemade deodorant. I am however concerned about what is in my deodorant. I have tried more "natural" alternatives but they did NOT cut it, especially when working out. So I have been using my yucky, aluminum filled, cancer causing antiperspirant deodorant. That was until my sister in law let me try out some of her homemade stuff. I tried it last Saturday before a trip to the zoo. By the end of the day I was not smelly nor "moist"(please forgive me if that grosses some of you out).  Anyways, I thought that was pretty awesome but I also thought there was NO way it could hold up to Zumba or Hot Hula, which I do 6 days a week. But today I was brave and decided I was going to make some and give it a try.  In Zumba I stood slightly away from everyone else just in case this stuff totally failed and I started to smell like death.  But guess what?! By the end of class NO SMELL and I was less sweaty than with my regular antiperspirant!  AMAZING!!!!  So if you are interested this is how I made it. 

I used this coconut oil that currently can be found at Costco. I like it because it smells like coconut, but you can also get coconut oil that doesn't have a smell if that particular odor doesn't float your boat.

Then I used baking soda, cornstarch and these three oils . . . lavender, melaleuca, and purify.

 So here's the recipe

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup baking soda

1/4 cup cornstarch

8 drops purify

3 drops melaleuca

3 drops lavendar

To combine: take the 1/2 cup coconut oil and put it in a small saucepan. Warm it on low heat just until it melts and then turn off the heat (it won't take long). Then add the soda, cornstarch, and 3 different oils and stir to combine. Put the mixture in a small glass bowl and put in fridge or freezer to harden. I did the freezer cause I'm too impatient to wait and when I made this particular batch I was in a hurry to use it before Zumba. Once hardened either leave it in your glass bowl and just use your finger to apply a small amount under your arms or you can do like I did and use your empty deodorant container and shove the stuff in there and apply as you would normal deodorant.

This is my finished product from today and I LOVED it! Totally worth trying! Maybe I am turning granola, but don't tell my parents! :)