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!