Lavender Triple Milled Soap

I have gone through a few bars of Dr. Bronner's soap, and have enjoyed them very much.  I have also been using Dr. Bronner's liquid soap for the bathroom sink.  I ran out of my smaller bottle, and needed to purchase some more.  Trader Joe's has a very good deal on a large bottle of Dr. Bronner's peppermint liquid soap.

As I was looking, I found another bar of soap that I have been very interested in trying as I was researching on natural soaps.  Bisous De Provence Lavender Triple Milled Soap Enriched with Shea Butter.

It has lavender in it, and it smells AMAZING!  

I cannot find a list of the ingredients- but here is a list of what I know is in it:

All pure, natural ingredients enriched with shea butter and pure essential oils.

 Free of parabens, ethyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol and DEA. 8.8oz/250g

I plan on trying out some of their other "flavors".

The soap does leave pieces of lavender in your wash cloth, but it smells amazing, and it comes in an extra large bar.  It's also the same price at Trader Joe's as Dr. Bronner's bar soap.

I will let you know how long it lasts, but it appears not to melt fast, and again, it smells wonderful!

Thank you again for reading.  Any and all comments are welcome.  

Organic Shampoo for dry or damaged hair

So, I have still be trying to find a slightly cheaper version of the soap nut shampoo, and I am still using the natural shampoo I purchased from Cheryl's Herbs, but after a while, my hair still gets a little greasy.

I was out of town about two months ago visiting my fiance and I found an organic shampoo at Walgreens.  I was stunned to find this, so I purchased it(it was 10 dollars).  I washed my hair, and used my conditioner, but, and it came out greasy.  So I thought to myself, oh well, another fail.  This past month I decided to try it again, but to not use the conditioner and VIOLA!  My hair was happy, and not greasy.

The product is made for people who have very dry hair(the reason why I don't need to use conditioner with this product, I don't have dry hair).  It's made by Shea Moisture, called Moisture Retention Shampoo.



Here are the ingredients:

Deionized Water, Decyl Glucoside (Sugar Beets), African Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Argan Oil, Panthenol (Pro‐Vitamin B‐5, Rosemary Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Vitamin E, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract. *Denotes Certified Organic Ingredient.

Ingredient Attributes: silicone free, sulfate free, paraben free, organic, glycerin free

It's a great shampoo.  I am still using what I have left from Cheryl's herbs, so I will be purchasing this next for my home.  I love the list of ingredients.

This again is just a journey to see which products work best, and I will keep you posted on what I find or try next.

Thank you again for reading!  :)

Summer Heat

As you have noticed, the posts are not coming out once a week as they have been.  Summer has been SUPER busy, and with the heat, feeling driven into trying new stuff hasn't been happening (and I haven't had to replace anything as of yet).



I was working on a garden made in pots in the backyard, however, with the drought my state is facing, I am having a difficult time keeping what I am growing alive.  Hoping the fall with be a better time to plant.

Starting in August I will post one a week again.  But I wanted to make sure everyone knows I haven't gone anywhere, except out of town to avoiding the heat!

Hope everyone is having a great summer, and I'll talk to you soon.

Thank you again for reading.

Herbal Shampoo

I have returned from a wonderful family trip and had a great holiday week.  I hope everyone else enjoyed their festivities and didn't get too over heated.

I wanted to share a product that I purchased between running out of the Soap Nut shampoo and waiting to make my DIY Soap Nut shampoo.

Cheryl's Herbs, which has a complete online store, also happens to be located only 15 minutes away from my house.  They have ALL sorts of products, and are very eager to help you with any questions you have.  Here is a link to their website:  http://www.cherylsherbs.com/




They make their own shampoo and I thought I would give it a try.  I do like this shampoo, but not as much as my beloved online purchase of the Soap Nut shampoo.



Here is a list of the ingredients in this shampoo(my hair is a darker blonde, so I went for he blond highlighting shampoo brand).

Contains: Mullein Flower Verbascum thapsus, org/wild, Marshmallow Root Althaea officinalis, org., Rhubarb Root Rheum palmatum, Chamomile Flower (German) Matricaria recutita (M. chamomilla), org. and the essential oils of Lavender Lavandula angustifolia, wild and Lemon Citrus limon blended into a soap base of the most simple ingredients: Purified Water, Decyl Polyglucose, Vegetable Glycerin, Apple Cider Vinegar and Xanthan Gum.

With continual use, it should bring out the highlights.  I have started to notice it.  The only problem I have with this type of shampoo, is after a few weeks, my hair becomes greasy.  Not right away, but over time, so I have to use another shampoo to get rid of the grease(just like a couple of drops), but my hair does feel good after I wash with this. Also, their shampoo doesn't have the greatest smell.  I might add a couple of drops of essential oil to fix the smell, but with the oil problem, I have been hesitant to do so.

I'm still working with my DIY Soap Nut shampoo also, after a few uses, my hair started to turn greasy with that as well, (I added too much oil).  I will end up going back to my NaturOli Soap Nut shampoo, but for the time(and price- less than 8 dollars for the smaller bottle) I will continue to use what I have purchased here.

Cheryl's Herbs has EVERYTHING you could possibly imagine.  And it's just one store(not a chain), so I do highly recommend that anyone getting into DIY products to please check out their web page.  Even though I am not in love with their shampoo, I still love their store, and their Vast amount of essential oils.  If you can think of it, they will most likely have it!

Thank you again for reading.  Any and all comments are welcome.

DIY Deodorant

I absolutely loved the deodorant that I bought, but once things started to "warm up", it started failing me.  Not near as bad as the regular ones, but it still was failing.  I did a couple of experiments.  Since I travel between my fiances place in Seattle and St. Louis, I have two bottles of Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal, Spray Mist.



I heard that Tea Tree oil was a good way to stop the smell, and I have also heard that baking soda was also helpful.  The bottle in Seattle I doctored with some baking soda, and it really helped!  But then again, when I am in Seattle, it doesn't get very hot there, so the baking soda trick worked there.(about a table spoon added to the deodorant- be careful when adding, it will foam over if too much is added).



Here in St. Louis, I added tea tree oil, and that also helped, but it gets much, much hotter in St. Louis.  So it would somewhat fail towards the end of the day. (I added about 10 drops to a full bottle)



I decided to start from scratch once I ran out of my first bottle in St. Louis.  I had already went out and purchased the Crystal Body Deodorant Rock for 3 bucks.  I was been told by a good friend of mine that these last MUCH longer. You set next to your shower, and wet when you are done showering, and rub your arm pits with it.



I took a small bowl of water and let the rock sit in it for a couple of hours(about a cup- cup and a half of water).  I ran some errands and when I got back, some of it had dissolved, then I put this back in my empty spray bottle and added about 10 drops of tea tree oil and about a table spoon of baking soda.

It has been reaching the 90's here in St. Louis, and I only need to use it once in the morning.  It totally rocks(get it)!    I have been using this for a few weeks, and I am completely happy with it.  It works so much better than any deodorant I have ever used.  Yes, I sweat some, but you sweat in St. Louis.  It's just a fact!

Again, I hope you enjoyed reading .Any and all comments are encouraged.  I love sharing my information and hope it helps others.

Thank you again!!

DIY Shampoo

I loved, loved, loved my shampoo purchase(which is my first product post on this blog), and it worked very well on my hair.  I purchased this bottle of shampoo back on January 31st, 2012, and it was delivered to me on February 2nd, 2012.  I used the last of drop of it on June 10th, 2012.  I used it every other day(but sometimes would wash a couple days in a row- just cause), and my son even used it a couple times a week, and it survived that long!  So a little over 4 months, I paid $23.93 (that included shipping) for it, and my hair loved me for it!  So it cost me about 19 cents a day to have that shampoo.  Not terrible.  But I thought, hey, why not try to make my own version!

I ordered just the "trial size" from NaturOli of Soap Nuts(cost about 3 dollars with shipping), and made a small batch last night.

First you boil about 2-3 cups of water, and then put the soap nuts(also called soap berries- with out the nut, just the shells), in a bag(they come with a cloth bag), and put it in the pot and let it boil for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot off the stove and let the whole thing cool before you remove the bag.

I read that the smell isn't that great, so I used my old shampoo bottle, and put about 9-10 drops of essential oil in the bottle(pick your favorite).  I also put a couple of drops of Jojoba Oil and about a tea spoon of olive oil and about a half a tea spoon of witch hazel extract.  The essential oils and witch hazel will help it last longer, and the oil will help soften your hair.









After that I used a small funnel and pored the Saponin liquid(what is released into the water from boiling the soap nuts), into the same bottle.  I shook it up, and it was done!

It will be watery, but you don't need much to clean your hair.  I just use a little, wash my scalp and rinse, then a little again to wash my hair.

My hair is still soft, and doesn't feel oily.  I still use just a "tiny" bit of conditioner to fight fly away hair.

I'm very pleased with soap nuts, and I hope you take time to try to make it yourself.

Any and all comments are welcome, and I hope you enjoyed reading my path to living a healthier life style.

Exercise=Better Mood

This week has been a rough week, and I really needed to get out and move!

We are not far from the start of summer, and if you live in a place like I do, summer came early this year.

The stresses of daily life can put anyone under a rock, and make you want hide in your house with cool A/C, but it has the same effects as the winter blues on me. (wait- did we have winter?)

My warm weather happiness was cut short from a medical problem that kept me indoors for over a month while I recovered. And I was not getting my daily walks in (at all), so the blues were there.

Yes, I have a gym membership, and I hardly use it. But a really awesome way to get out, and get over the blues, the answer, my friend, is a walk in a park. No, literally, go walk, in a park!

My city has great parks in and just outside of the city(and some nice day trip ones as well).

Find some headphones, a nice calm mix to listen to, and head out to the woods! A twenty minute walk with nature will flip the mood and put your mind at ease.

Take some fun photos too! If you don't want to be by yourself, grab a friend! Don't forget water!

Thank you again for reading! More to come over the topic on the weekend!

DYI Toothpaste

Up to this point I have replaced all my shower items.  Organic Shampoo, organic conditioner, soap, and shaving products.  Then as I step out of the shower, I reach for my organic deodorant.  I have managed to avoid the chemicals that I was using on my body every day, and I feel clean and refreshed and happier about what I am doing.

The next few products that I will blog about will be the products used everyday in front of my bathroom mirror.  Toothpaste, I used at least twice a day!  I did a lot of research on toothpaste.  The last toothpaste I was using was Crest Toothpaste, whitening with Scope.  Here are the list of ingredients from it:

Crest Whitening with Scope
Active Ingredients: Sodium Fluoride 
Inactive Ingredients: Hydrated Silica , Sorbitol , Glycerin , Tetrapotassium Pyrophosphate , PEG-6 , Disodium Pyrophosphate , Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate , Flavor , Sodium Lauryl Sulfate , Alcohol 1.14% , Xanthan Gum , Sodium Saccaharin , Carbomer 956 , Polysorbate 80 , Sodium Benzoate , Cetylpyridinium Chloride , Benzoic Acid , Domiphen Bromide .0002 wt% , Titanium Dioxide , Blue 1 , Yellow 5

It has a lot of stuff in it that is just not good for you.  And I put this in my mouth twice a day, every day!

I started researching better alternatives to toothpaste.  There was a lady who found a kind of toothpaste made from goats milk, but she bought it from a local farmer.  After researching more, I found a way to make my own, that included only 3 ingredients.  Baking Soda, Hydrogen Peroxide, and Mint Extract!  It took me a little bit to get used to, but wow, I like it.  And my teeth have become whiter.  (what a trade off).

Use a half Cup of Baking soda, mixed with a fourth cup of Hydrogen Peroxide, and then a few drops of mint or peppermint extract or peppermint essential oil.  (I usually add more hydrogen Peroxide for a better consistency).

My first batch I used mint extract, my second batch I used the essential oil which seemed to cut the salty taste.  Extract is cheaper, but if you can find a good essential oil, it does taste better.













My recommendation would be to make sure to keep up with dentist appointments when doing this.  I still let me son use regular toothpaste since his teeth are still forming.  I didn't get cavities till I was in my early thirties, so I don't mess with a good thing (or my sons teeth).  He has a cleaning every 6 months.  I have one every 4 because of some plaque issues and gum issues.

I have been very happy with this change(and my teeth look cleaner).

Again, any comments would be great.  Thank you again for reading and following me as I become a little more Organic every day!

DIY Laundry Detergent

For most of my life, I used Tide laundry detergent.  I grew up on it, my mom still uses it. I never questioned it because of this.  I have used powder and liquid, and they both worked just fine.  I had to change to unscented once I had our son, so he wouldn't break out in a rash.



Here is the list of ingredients in Tide liquid detergent:


water
alcoholethoxy sulfate
linear alkylbenzene sulfonate
propylene glycol
citric acid
sodium hydroxide
borax
ethanolamine
ethanol
alcohol sulfate
polyethyleneimine ethoxylate
sodium fatty acids
diquaternium ethoxysulfate
protease
diethylene glycol
laureth-9
alkyldimethylamine oxide
fragrance
amylase
disodium diaminostilbene disulfonate
DTPA
sodium formate
calcium formate
polyethylene glycol 4000
mannanase
Liquitint™ Blue
dimethicone

Then I switched to Purex.  Actually, my fiance has used this as long as he can remember(what his mother still uses), and I did notice it was much cheaper than Tide.  So I have used it for the past three years.  I have only used the liquid version.



Here are some of the ingredients in Purex liquid detergent.

Water

Sodium Laureth Sulfate

Ethoxylated Alcohol

Sodium Carbonate

Sodium Dodecybenzenesulfonate

Sodium Chloride

Polymer

Fragrance

Sodium Edta

Brightener

Preservative

I ran out of Purex and decided to make my own detergent.  I opted to make the powder detergent since I had most of the ingredients already.  The recipe listed below is pretty standard and you can find this all over the Internet.  I have used it for over a month and it works great!  It smells nice too.

1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Bar of Fels-Naptha- grated







Mix and put into a jar or a plastic container with a lid.  Put between 1 to 2 tablespoons in every wash.

Fels-Naptha you will find in your laundry aisle.  It's bar laundry soap.

There are certain ingredients in Fels-Naptha that I'm not super happy with, and I might try another soap, but I'm still on my first batch, and it works great.

It was very difficult to find ingredients for the other detergents, so that is why I am posting them here.  I hope this information was helpful and look forward to all comments?

DIY Dishwasher Detergent and Rinse

I will get back to the bathroom products, as I need to make some adjustments, so I will now talk about homemade dishwasher detergent!

I have never been in love with doing dishes by hand.  I grew up with a dishwasher, and when I haven't had one, my dishes don't get washed very often. Right now I have one of those dishwashers that rolls around so I can hide it in my pantry when company is over

Once I started my organic trend, I decided that every time one of my products was empty, I would look for a more natural, less toxic product.  I started to read about Homemade Dishwasher Detergents, and the recipe is hit and miss when dealing with where your water source comes from. If you have hard water, dishes may come out cloudy.  My dishwasher is old, and they were slightly cloudy when I used the store bought stuff(I do plan on buying a new one in the future).  So I thought, what do I have to lose?

Here are the ingredients to what I would normally buy at the store:

Aqua 
Sodium Laureth Sulfate 
Sodium chloride 
Cocamide DEA 
Triclosan 
Aloe barbadensis 
Cocamidopropyl betaine 
Glycerine 
Parfum 
Citric acid 
Benzoic acid 
Benzyl alcohol 
Benzyl salicylate 
Butylphenyl methylpropional 
Methyparaben 
Methylchloroisothiazolinone 
Methylisothiazolinone 
Magnesium nitrate 
Magnesium chloride 
Propylene glycol 
Triethylene glycol 
Cl 42090 
Cl 19140
AAlu OOH2pCO2
Pks

There are only 4 ingredients to the Dishwasher Detergent.

1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax
1/2 Cup Salt
1/2 Cup Citric Acid(or two small packets of unsweetened Lemonade- don't use another Kool Aid, or you will dye your dishes- Lemonade is colorless).



Here are the ingredients in Washing Soda- which you can find in your laundry detergent aisle.
100% Sodium Carbonate




Here is a description of Borax- which again you should be able to find in the laundry detergent aisle.
Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.

You can use Regular Salt or Kosher Salt.  Supposedly Kosher Salt works better, I have been using what I have, which is regular.



Here is the definition of Citric Acid from Wikipedia:

 a weak organic acid. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic, or sour, taste to foods andsoft drinks. In biochemistry, the conjugate base of citric acid, citrate, is important as an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, and therefore occurs in the metabolism of virtually all living things.

Citric acid is a commodity chemical, and more than a million tonnes are produced every year by fermentation. It is used mainly as an acidifier, as a flavoring, and as a chelating agent.

Combine these four ingredients, the citric acid or lemonade will make your new powder dish washing detergent stick together, so it's best to shake it a couple of times the first few days so it doesn't stick together.  The lemonade (if you use that instead of Citric Acid), does make a nice fresh lemon scent.

It's best to rinse your dishes so they clean well, but again, my old dishwasher hates all food particles, so I was already doing this prior to the change.

Now you ask, but what about my rinse?  Yes, dishes do dry better when you have a rinse agent.

Replace your Jet Dry, with white vinegar.  It works great!!



And now you have it.  Your own dishwasher detergent.  And when you run out, you make another batch, and don't have to run to the store.  It's one less product you have to buy!

Again, all comments are welcome.  I hope you enjoyed this entry and look forward to hearing from you.

Mouthwash

My next post would be about lip balm or lip gloss, but I am still working on perfecting my own recipe for it.  Again, my friend Emily has her own line of lip balms at A Precious Welcome-Herbal Skincare.  She makes them in 5 great scents.

I will move on to Mouthwash!  There are tons of information about mouthwash and how they have alcohol and toxic ingredients.  For instance, Listerine is an antiseptic mouthwash, but look at the list of ingredients for it:

INGREDIENTS: Alcohol, Sorbitol, Aroma, Poloxamer 407, Benzoic acid, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium saccharin, Eucalyptol, Methyl salicylate, Thymol, Menthol, Sodium fluoride, CI 42053, CI 47005

So I started looking into a Do It Yourself version of mouthwash.  Most of what I found directed me to a a video by Sophie Uliano, and her version of how to make a non-toxic mouthwash.  I made it and it worked wonderfully.  It is made for bad breath and are also anti bacterial.  Here are the ingredients to make your own.

1/2 cup Distilled Water
1 cup Aloe Vera Juice
2 Tbsp Baking Soda
1 Tbsp Witch Hazel Extract
20 drops Peppermint Essential Oil

Witch Hazel does contain 14% alcohol, but you are only adding a tablespoon into this mix.  You can find it at drug stores, and I was lucky enough to find it at the dollar store, for $1!  


I was stuck on the Aloe Vera Juice, and yes, you can purchase it at Trader Joes,  or even Walmart for about 8 bucks, but I thought, hey, why can't I make my own?  So I started searching for ways to make it.  I ended up spending about 70 cents on an aloe vera leaf at my local international grocery store.  I cut up the leaf(pulling just the gel out), and put it in distilled water in my refrigerator over night.  I did read up that you can boil it and make it quicker this way, but that kills the "good stuff" in the plant, so I went for this option.  


Once you put these ingredients together(in a used empty bottle of mouthwash- or a container you can seal), store in your refrigerator and it will last since it has the witch hazel and essential oil in it.

It lasted me a month, and my fiance LOVED the fact that I didn't taste like chemically mouthwash at night.

I have posted the video on how to make this on my NEW Facebook page at
Becoming Organic- My Inner Hippie Facebook Page

If you "Like" this, go ahead and like my page.  I will update more info about information I find.

Thank you again for reading, and I look forward to any and all comments.

Natural Powders

I am still trying to figure out a good homemade moisturizer for my face, and have been using straight up oils, but I want to skip that for now till I find a good remedy for that.  Oh the joys of trial and error.

So, makeup has been a part of my life since I was in Jr. High.  I was a child of the 80's!  Eyeliner, bright eye shadow, mascara, and whatever lip sticks I could get my hands on. (no, the pic is not me- but it's a good example).

As I got older, I found less was better.  I live in St. Louis, Missouri, where the summers are very hot and humid, and wearing makeup during the day is kind of silly since it just melts off your face anyway.  I thought when I was younger that freckles were a curse, but have found that they are nice on my face in the summer, and why would I cover them anyway?  :)

But when I do want to go out on the town, I still want to look put together just a little bit, but with me moving to the organic side of life, maybe putting on all the chemical filled makeup on my face seemed counter productive.  So I started searching and searching and searching for alternatives to my powder and blush.  Then I found a very simple solution that was confirmed on some other all natural blogs on a simple way to make your own face powder.  

So, if you want to just give yourself that fresh powered look, it's SO SIMPLE it's silly.  Corn Starch and Cocoa Powder.

And, you smell nice too!  You will need one of those powdering brushes too, but if you are like me, you already have one.  Just blend some corn starch with cocoa powder and put it in a small container with a lid, shake, and see if it's close to the color you normally use.  Fair skinned folks don't need much cocoa powder to add, but enough to give it a "tint".  And it smell WONDERFUL!

I had also heard about using cinnamon.  So I did the opposite that I did with the power, more cinnamon and less corn starch, and I have made a tint for my cheeks.  You don't need much, because cinnamon is so fine, but it works, and I smell great!

My next goal is to use beat powder, but I am still working on that process, but for now, both these allow me to continue my make up routine, and to stay natural.

Again, thank you so much for reading.  I have come up with some new things to add to this page.  Be on the look out!  Please response or comment, love to hear them.  

Organic Face Scrub

A few months ago I was invited to a organic beauty party.  At this point I had not been inspired to change my ways with products, but I enjoyed hanging out with my girl friends and not being pressured to purchase anything(which is why I normally do not enjoy those types of parties), but I did buy some bug spray, cause I had used it the year before, and liked the fact that it didn't smell like, well, bug spray!  Our friend Emily started this process of making organic products after the birth of her daughter.

My friend Lori ended up lending me some of her Lavender Almond Oat Face Scrub that Emily made, and after a day or two, I was HOOKED!  I used to have acne when I was a teenager, and used all sorts of products to help me with that.  In my 20's I stopped using soap on my face, and it helped a lot, and it was great, however, I still would break out during that "period" of the month.  Once I started using the Face Scrub, I actually made it through that time with no acne.  It was AWESOME!

Here are the ingredients in the Lavender Almond Oat Face Scrub:

Grapeseed oil, colloidal oatmeal, almonds, vitamin E oil, essential oil of lavender, raw sugar

It's food!  So if you get a little in your mouth, you don't taste chemicals.  It's wonderful!  And because of the oil in the product, your face feels better after you wash.  Make sure to rinse with warm water after you scrub, and to pat your face dry with a towel.  

An 8oz. jar costs $11.50 off of her website.  The product is NOT 100% organic, but it is all natural, and free of chemical preservatives, stabilizers and fragrance.

Update: Here is her website!  A Precious Welcome  Go to the herbal skin care section. All her products are organic.

I learned a long time ago that chemical washes on my face made my skin worse, the reason why I washed with just water for so long.  Using this product has helped my skin more, and I love it.

Thank you so much for reading again.  Any and all comments are welcome.

Shaving with Olive Oil and Baking Soda

I was still determined to replace all of my shower products!  So, I started reading on what were good products for shaving that are considered "organic".  Not much out there to purchase that are truly organic and not expensive.

Then I started to read on how to Make an organic shaving cream.  Most of the recipes were very, very involved, all involving a double boiler.  I kept thinking(um, this is shaving cream), and started to remember that back in the day, I used to shave with all things, baby oil. Yes, it also made my bath tub VERY slick.

I started searching for alternatives to shaving cream, and found that Extra Virgin Olive Oil was a great substitute.  It's nice to your skin, and you don't need much. After talking to my friend Lori, she said that a friend told her that Baking Soda was another great alternative to shaving(make the hair dry out so the razor has something to grab).  We both didn't realize that if you use a both, Olive Oil AND Baking Soda, it softens the skin and helps grab that hair(which is what she found out later from that same friend).






I put my finger tips in the Olive Oil, then grab a little Backing soda, rub it together, and put on the area that I plan to shave.  Yes, your razor will need to be rinsed out well after you shave that area, because it gets filled with the Baking Soda.  It does work though!  Getting used to not seeing where you shaved might bother some, but I have always used my hand as a guide(feeling) to see if an area was shaved enough.  It works great!  And your skin is smooth because of the oil.

I keep the Olive Oil and Baking Soda in separate containers that can be closed near my shower.  I just open them and set them to where I can reach them when I plan on shaving.

It works! I am very happy with it!  And I don't have to run out and buy shaving cream anymore.   I WIN!

If anyone has another recipe or idea for shaving, let me know.  Thank you again for reading and following my path to becoming Organic.

Bar Soap and Hand Soap

I have been a firm believer for a long, long time that deoterant soap was the way to go.  I grew up using Dial Soap, which would dry my skin out in the winter, and then I discovered Zest!  Maybe it was the catching jingle, but I did love the fresh smell.  (click on link to see watch)

Old Zest Commercial

I would sometimes even use Irish Spring, and yes, I do love both of these "soaps". But once again I wanted to use things that were better for me.  I searched, SEARCHED for the ingredients to Zest, and this is all I could find from their website:


Zest products are kosher, but the tallow ingredient in our bar soap is derived from beef fat
Zest soap is neither antibacterial or deodorant, but it is PH balanced


I started to read about better soaps, and then I read more about  Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps!  So, on the same trip where I purchased my hair conditioner at Vitamin World, I purchased a bar soap(for my shower routine) and a liquid soap(for my bathroom sink).

I bought Lavender Bar Soap, and Oh My Gosh does it smell lovely. It washes me just fine, and does not dry out my skin.



Here are the ingredients in this bar of soap:

INGREDIENTS:
Organic Coconut Oil*, Organic Palm Oil*, Sodium Hydroxide**, Water, Lavandin Extract, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Lavender Oil, Salt, Citric Acid, Tocopherol 
* CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS
** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin

The best thing about this soap is that it doesn't "melt" like Zest or Irish Spring.  As long as you don't let it sit in a big pool of water, it lasts much longer.

The liquid soap was another great find for my bathroom sink!  You barely have to use any at all.  Just a couple of drops on your hand(don't squeeze the bottle), and you have plenty of soap.  I purchased Baby Mild and it's very mild. No strong scent.




Here are the ingredients to this liquid soap:

INGREDIENTS:
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol 
* CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS
** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin




I would love to learn how to make my own bar soap, and liquid soap eventually, but the liquid soap is very economic.  Trader Joe's sells a big bottle for 10 bucks, and that is plenty to last all year long(according to my friend Jason D. who was raving about this stuff the other night).  His personal favorite it Peppermint.

Here is the link to their webpage sharing info on their soaps:

Dr. Bronner Soap making

Again, any an all comments are appreciated.  If anyone has a great recipe on how to make soap, I would love to see it.  Thank you again for reading and listening to my daily trip to becoming more organic.

Organic Deodorant

Realizing that I had removed most of the bad stuff out of my hair, I started thinking about other products that I could replace.  Deodorant was the next in line.  I have for a long, long time, been in a battle with deodorant.  For years I used the Dry Idea spray(which they no longer make- because it was an aerosol), and had been searching for a better deodorant.  I would switch back and forth from gel to stick.  They seemed to work o.k., except when it would quit completely.  I realized this on a recent trip to Seattle from St. Louis.  I had a lay over in Phoenix, and even though I had showered 5 hours before the lay over, my deodorant completely FAILED on me.  I didn't pack any because I had another stick waiting for me in Seattle, so I had to buy some at the airport at an inflated airport price.  I started to keep that stick in my carry on in case I had another "fail" for future trips.  So, why the heck not check out a non toxic version?  It wasn't like the toxic stuff was working anyway.  I was using Dove, and I would have to re apply when going out for the evening.

I started to read and was very confused by all the information.  So I thought, the fewer ingredients, the better.  So I found this:  Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal, Spray Mist

 

The first day I used it, was two days before a plane ride.  I found out I could pick it up at Whole Foods, so we went to the store after I got to Seattle.  I couldn't stop doing a "pit smell check".  I felt like I was in a terrible version of a deodorant commercial.

(watch)
Sure Deodorant Commercial

I wouldn't shut up about it either.  Here are the ingredients to this product:

Purified Water, Natural Mineral Salts 

No Preservatives, Not Tested on Animals 

So, I was simply amazed I found something that actually didn't have a bunch of stuff in it AND it worked VERY well!

After a few weeks, it would fail a little, but not NEAR as bad as the other stuff I was using.  My "close to the armpit sweaters and shirts" I was no longer putting directly into the laundry because of a fowl smell in the pit region.  Now, it might have only failed slightly because of taking meds for a headache for a day or two, because your body does smell and process things which can come out making someone smell bad for a day or two, but I'm still sold.  It works SO MUCH BETTER than anything I had used for a long, long time.

Again, all suggestions and comments are appreciated.

Next week I move to soap!  :)

Organic conditioner

After I purchased my new shampoo, I used the old conditioner that I have been using for a long time.  I typically run out as quick as the old shampoo. I started reading the label on that bottle and figured out why.  At least 3 different kinds of alcohol.  No wonder my hair dries out!  So I started my search on the internet again for an all organic conditioner.  Lot's are listed there, but finding the ingredients was difficult.  Amazon.com lists ingredients, if they are available to list.  So, instead of shopping blind, I found myself at The Vitamin Shoppe, by my folks house. They sell health food medication, and to my surprise, hair products!

I started looking at all the labels(and prices) of the conditioners, trying to find stuff with no alcohol in it!  Even the "organic" stuff, still had at least one type of alcohol.  Then, I finally found a brand and read all the ingredients.  Aubrey Organics Conditioner- Rosa Mosqueta- Nourishing.



Here are the ingredients:

INGREDIENTS: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Coltsfoot Extract, Horsetail Extract, Organic Rosa Mosqueta® Rose Hip Seed Oil, St. John’s Wort Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, Organic Aloe Vera, Amino Acid Complex (Cysteine, Methionine), Organic Evening Primrose Oil, Balsam Oil; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile and Yarrow; Organic Rosemary Oil, Organic Sage Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

I did ask about Cysteine and Methionine, and was told they are Amino Acid Complexes.  I would love to know if these are things that need to be in a conditioner, but I was looking for a quick fix to my conditioner problem(finding one with out alcohol).

I started using it and quickly realized I did not need to use very much at all.  Maybe a dime size(or smaller) squirt in my hand.  I leave it one while I wash the rest of myself(so it stays in my hair for a couple of minutes), then I rinse it out. If you use more, your hair will feel slightly oily(I found this out the hard way).

This was still expensive, $17, but again, I'm using very little at a time.  I have been very pleased with it. I didn't like the smell at first, but it has grown on me(not "as" floral then my old conditioner).  It compliments my new shampoo very well.

Again, I would like to make my own conditioner, and will be looking at recipes for that(researching for the right one), but for now, this conditioner is doing the trick!

I hope you are enjoying these entries.  Any comments or suggestions are welcome.  Next week I will talk about my next product that I have changed out.

Shampoo Change

About two months ago I was sitting in my living room with my friends, one who is a hairdresser, for Sunday ritual(watching a bad B movie and eating dinner).  He had just finished cutting my friends hair, who has a mane that is to die for(curly and kind of red).  They started talking about products and how most shampoos have terrible things in them that dry out your hair.  I didn't make a comment, I just continued to watch t.v., but I listened.

The next few days I researched, and researched and researched the Internet, trying to find out the facts on shampoo.  I'm still a little confused by it because of all the advertisements that appear when you TRY to look this stuff up, but it became quite clear that the problem with shampoo is the chemical that makes your shampoo have suds.  It's the same chemical that is used to clean car engines(found this over and over on the Internet).  But then I also found that most hair products also have alcohol, which dries out, um, anything.  I finally found a shampoo, that seemed to be the most organic, and I bought it.  Yes, I bought a shampoo that costs 19 dollars. I know, my inner cheap skate got a little angry too, but OM Gosh does it work!  The Shampoo is called NaturOli, Soap Nut Shampoo(which uses Soap Berries).



Here is my pic(notice the awful conditioner I was still using when I first got it).

Everything I read said that you don't need conditioner when using this shampoo.  That might be ok with some peoples hair, but oh so not mine.  My hair becomes fly away, so I continued to use the same awful conditioner for a few weeks.  I could so tell a difference. My hair felt softer. I couldn't keep my hands out of my hair.  I was no longer stripping it!  My hair is naturally oily, and because I'm not longer stripping all the oil out, my head is not trying to over produce oil to compensate.

You do have to wash your hair twice, but you don't have to use so much of it, and so it "should" last longer.  I'm not half way through my first bottle yet, and I have had it for over a month(I do wash my hair every day).

Directions to use:  Use a small nickle size dab on wet hair and wash your scalp.  It will not suds the first time, but you are only focusing on your scalp.  Rinse then use a slightly larger dad on your rinsed hair and wash your hair.  It WILL suds.  And then rinse.  Use a conditioner if you have fly away hair like I do. Or experiment and don't(I also did this, and yes, I need conditioner).

Best thing is that since there are no chemicals, if you get a trickle in your eye(which I have a habit with shampoo), it won't burn for 10 minutes.  I let my son use this stuff, and he hasn't screamed for a towel to get the shampoo out of his eyes since he started using it.

I will end here for the shampoo portion of my blog.  I will post next week about the next product I replaced.  I want to try to make my own shampoo, but it might be a bit. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you for your time.
Your Inner Hippie!

Organic Products and DYI products

Welcome to my new Blog!  I will be posting about the ways I have been experimenting with changing products and would LOVE to have suggestions from others for what works for you.  I am describing this as my "inner hippie".

I have been over the past few months switching my products to organic products.  It started with a purchase of an completely organic shampoo and it has now morphed to finding recipes to replace my everyday makeup and cleaning products.  I have only scratched the surface, but I want to continue this trend.

I hope you can join me in discussions about what is best.  The fewer ingredients, the better is my belief!

Thank you for listening.  Time to add more info to my new blog page.  :)

Your Inner Hippie!