"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." ~Lin Yutang

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

back on the wagon

i've back on the NATURAL kick.  i used up all our store bought deodorant/anti-perspirant a couple days ago.  i also found a great deal on some really good coconut oil on amazon about a month or two ago.  i really wanted to make my own deodorant a while back, but when i went to purchase the coconut oil... i just couldn't!!!  so i went back to my storage pantry and found a stick of deodorant/anti-perspirant that i had bought before i detoxed my pits.  and i used it.
anyway, i used this recipe for homemade and natural deodorant:  1/4 c. cornstarch.  1/4 c. baking soda.  6-8 Tbsp. coconut oil (in it's natural "hard" state).  it wasn't that hard.  it took me about 10 minutes.  you just mix together the two powders and slowly add the coconut oil, mashing/cutting it together until it's the consistancy of solid deodorant.  then i put it in my old deodorant bottles and stuck it in the fridge to really harden up more. 
have you ever tried "natural" deodorants?  they work for me, i just have to reapply about every 5 hours.  i really was stuck on anti-perspirants because i sweat.  like a soldier.  on an everyday basis.  i was impressed when my friend gave me a sample of this homemade deodorant and at the end of the day i didn't smell.  at all.  i didn't smell so much, that i could stick my pit in my husband's nose and there still wasn't a smell!!!  so, i dare you.  try it.  allow yourself to detox.  and i wish i could meaningfully gaurentee it, but i can't give you back a month of smelly pits.  just try it. 
today i went back off the shampoo and back to the soda wash.  it is natural and it is cheap.  and it works just great.  i stopped because of itchy scalp... but after using shampoo and conditioner again, the scalp was still itchy.  i figured out that it's just dry, just like the rest of my skin.  so, i rubbed in some coconut oil to my scalp and wa-lah!!!  all better.  last year this happened and i used vegetable oil.  that works too, but it's messy. 
for my new shampoo, i mix about 1 Tbsp baking soda in 1 c. water and shake it up vigorously.  (i use a peri bottle, so i use a double recipe.  i use it for soap as well.)  before i get in the shower i brush all the tangles out of my hair and pull all my loose hairs out.  before wetting my hair, i spray the soda-water on my scalp.  i get really close to my scalp and spray and then use my finger tips and scrub scrub scrub.  i don't scrub anything but the scalp.  i have to flip my head over to do the back.  after i'm sure that i've scrubbed every inch of my scalp, i go ahead and rinse.  i just shower it off, continuing the scrubbing motion of my scalp with my fingertips.  do not wad up the rest of the hair though.  the soda water will rinse down it to clean it.  then i apply the apple cider vinegar.  this is apple cider vinegar in one of those airplane-safe shampoo containers with a squirt top.  i just squirt it on the ENDS of my hair.  i put all my hair over to one side and squirt it well.  i then get a super-wide toothed comb and pick through it.  it's pretty de-tangled just from the vinegar, but this will get the rest out.  then you rinse the vinegar out well with water.  just shower it off.  and that's it.  when you get out, it will be just as if you used shampoo and conditioner.  plus cheaper (i think.  i haven't compared penny to penny, like laundry soap, but it seems cheaper) and all natural!  so, with that in mind, it's WAY cheaper than the "organic" or "natural" shampoo that almost always have some sort of chemicals in them! 
so, that's my natural post for the day.  go ahead... try it.  try it all. 
i'm reading up on lots of other homemade natural stuff to share.  i get a lot of great ideas from this great blog.  feel free to take a gander at some of her stuff, but don't dump me for her.  i wouldn't forgive you!  you can read us both. 

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

3 comments:

Alexis said...

Love this! I actually just bought some coconut oil the other day. It smells soo good and is great for diaper rash. Yay for Poo Free!! I have been contemplating going back but I think I will wait until after this baby so my hormones can adjust again because I will have a detox period that I know will last a month.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting,