RECIPES!

Here are recipes for the things I did while lazily laying on my couch.
(Note: I'm so lazy I still haven't strained my facewash!  Ha!)
(More Important Note: I learned all of these things and got the recipes from Little House in the Suburbs.  It's my favorite go-to blog for most DIY homey things)

FACEWASH:
(I double the recipe below)

- crush 5-7 uncoated aspirin
- add 1TBSP Aloe (i generalize this, just use as much as i feel like scrapping from my plant)
- add 2TBSP Witch Hazel (i use WAY more - but i used to use pure witch hazel as an astringent)
- add 7-10 drops essential oil
(anti bacterial essential oils include tea tree, lavender, and i THINK eucalyptus - i use it a lot)
- add water to dilute as necessary (fill up your small container, or add as much water as you have STUFF)

Combine all ingredients, Set for 24 hours (or more - in a cool place), Shake up as often as you can remember to, then Strain through a paper towel (my preference is a flour sack rag).
In the original recipe it says to use for 2 weeks, but I just use it until I'm out and it's always been fine for me - of course I use it 2-3 times a DAY.




DEODORANT:
(sensitive skin recipe)

- 6TBSP cornstarch
- 2TBSP baking soda
- 2+ TBSP Coconut Oil

Combine ingredients using the Coconut Oil last - (coconut oil is optional, this is only so that the deodorant is in "stick form" the way we are used to it commercially.  This can be made with just cornstarch and baking soda and be used as a powder - I have not tried this.  Commercialization has influenced me).
The first time I tried this recipe I made the mistake of not making the sensitive skin version (cuz I don't have sensitive skin) but I used it right after shaving my pitts, and OWUCH!!!  Red painful bumpies.  It also "balled-up" a lot and I stored it in a bunch of small containers so I always had to use my fingers....annoying.  But my fingers smelled good!
This time I got a special deodorant case - the kind for gel deodorant with tiny holes at the top.  I thought I was being SOOOOOO smart, because the last batch I put in an old deodorant container - it kept melting!  Oh coconut oil, so finicky.  So the first day or two it was fine, it was soft enough to come up through the holes and it was easy to USE A LIGHT LAYER - IT WORKS BEST THAT WAY.  But recently the house has gotten colder (heat broke!) and now the coconut oil is SO SOLID...I had to pry the cover off of the case just to get to my deodorant (but now my fingers smell good.....).



APPLE CIDER VINEGAR HAIR RINSE:
(for use with the 'no-poo' regimen)

- 1 part water
- 1 part apple cider vinegar

Combine ingredients!
Fuzband goes the soap-route, and I tried that for a while but ended up going back to the baking soda mix.  Also, I've been using White Vinegar for my rinse because it's just what we had.  The Apple Cider smells better (but it STILL smells like vinegar ~ and don't get it in your eyes ~ ow.)  I don't think that I fully got the soap out of my hair when I was using it (and not for lack of trying!).  I went back to baking soda this morning ~ I went RINSE, BAKING SODA, RINSE.  And my hair looks and feels so lovely!  Really light, soft, and tangle-free.  Better than shampoo and conditioner ever did for me.  I think it dries faster too....


BAKING SODA "SHAMPOO" MIX:


- 1 TBSP Baking Soda
- 1 Cup Water

Combine ingredients, I shake well before I use it each time.  Apparently you can adjust the mixture level to match your hair type, but I haven't played around with it because I haven't needed to.
<3!!!


DRY LAUNDRY DETERGENT:


- 2 cups finely grated soap
- 1 cup Borax
- 1 cup Washing Soda

Combine ingredients, use as little as 1TBSP or as much as 1 cup per wash, depends on the dirt level and size of the load.
This recipe can be made into a liquid detergent, but I just don't see the point; it takes about a gallon of HOT water, it has to sit overnight, and you have to use 1 cup of it or more per wash.  Just isn't logical to me.
I haven't tried this one yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted when I do.  Also, be sure to use a cheap soap (one that is 25cents a bar or something) and I grated mine with a large cheese grater while watching a movie with the Fuzband.  You can use a coffee grinder, chopper, or blender ~ just get the soap fairly fine.




Hope you enjoyed the lesson, it may sound like quite a bit of work, but I started out with just one thing at a time, and made it roughly once a month or every few weeks while taking in a tv marathon or sitting around the house sick....  By now it's almost become second nature, and I can spend a day lazily on the couch, with my supplies surrounding me, and come out of the day PRODUCTIVE!  I'm also saving a ton of money and protecting my body from chemicals that are allowed to be put into beauty/health products that actually contain chemicals that have Material Safety Data Sheets to warn you about them!
Anyways, I'm getting off-point.
I absolutely love the facewash, and the deodorant (now that I'm learning the right mixture for me), AND THE NO 'POO MIX AND RINSE!  I would never go back to store-bought products for these things.  And I want to share them with the world!  I always feel like an ALCHEMIST when I'm making things, and it thrills me.  It's FUN, I swear!  You must think I'm crazy.

Well then ~ I guess I'm crazy!
<3,
~ miss moustache ~