beauty from the kitchen 3

Hey there. =]

So.  I'm pretty much switched over to all homemade bath and beauty products now! (Excluding makeup, which I don't wear everyday.)

About a week ago I finally bit the bullet and decided to try making deodorant.  I know it's probably the worst because I was using antiperspirant.  It took me awhile to finally do it because, well, I didn't want to be stinky.  And guess what!  I'm not!  There's some pretty interesting (if you're interested in armpits) info on deodorant and antiperspirant here.

I can't for the life of me find the website that I got the recipe from, so if you come across it let me know and I'll link it up!

Deodorant

1/4 c coconut oil
2 T cornstarch (NOT cornmeal - I almost made that mistake...)
2 T Baking Soda

Mix.

I didn't want to go out and buy a whole jar of coconut oil (about $10) at this point, so I borrowed that 1/4 cup from my mom and brought it home in a baggie.  Then I just added the other two ingredients to the baggie, closed it up and smooshed to mix.  I keep it in the baggie, and use about a pea sized amount for each arm.  You can put it in a jar or an empty deodorant container.  BUT - coconut oil has a low melting point (76 degrees) so if it melts, the oil and powders will separate.

I've been using the deodorant for about a week now and I really like it.  It even got up to 80 yesterday and you better believe I do frequent sniff checks! ;]  I know everyone's body chemistry is different, but for me (so far) this works so I thought I'd share!

tshirt goes play dress

We are soaking up the sunshine and warm weather here!

The Z girl needed some "new" warm weather clothes, so I pulled out last year's summer stuff to see what would still fit.  (She's grown up, but not out.)  I also decided to go ahead and chop up some of my old shirts to make some play dresses.



I liked this shirt but it had gotten stretched out and misshapen so I decided to give it new life.
 




For the skirt, I just cut...


Gathered...


Pinned to one of last year's tank tops...

(I like the raw edges showing, and since it's knit fabric it won't fray.)

Sewed in place twice, then I cut off the remaining 4-5 inches of tank top that was on the inside.  You could sew a zig zag stitch on the raw edge of the tank top but 1) it shouldn't unravel since it's knit, and 2) no one will see it.



Then you're ready to play!

Green Clean

Have I ever mentioned how amazing white vinegar is?  Probably not.  But it is.

I use it in all my homemade cleaners.  I keep a spray bottle of 1:1 water & vinegar on the counter for spraying down the table and counters.  It's efficient and more importantly, it's safe for my family to breathe.  Not that it smells great, but it's safe.

I had a bit of a mishap with steel cut oats the other night.  I'm not sure why, but the bottom burned on, badly.

I scraped, scrubbed, soaked.  I tried my go-to for stainless steel pots and pans - salt.  Nothing.  I tried baking soda and vinegar.  I let it bubble and sit overnight.  Nothing.  I tried lime juice.  (I didn't have any lemon on hand.) Nothing.  I was seriously ready to give up.



{this is how it looked, only covering the entire bottom.  Thick, black, crusty, burnt!}

Then I googled.  (Why didn't I do that first??)  I came up with this site and decided to try boiling 1:1 water and vinegar.  While it heated I scraped the pot with a wooden spoon.  And guess what.  The burnt bits started chipping off!  The photo above is how it looked after heating (I didn't really bring it to a boil) and scraping for 5-10 minutes.  I had to go so I decided to let it sit then finish later.

Tonight I dumped it and added new water and vinegar and finished it up!  It looks good as new!  I couldn't be happier with the result!

What amazing things do you do with vinegar?

beauty from the kitchen

So.  I've been kind of scared to post this, but...

I don't use shampoo.   I clean my hair with baking soda and condition with apple cider vinegar.

What?  You think I'm disgusting?  Here's a picture of me this morning:

 {awkward face - no make-up - on a baking soda/acv day - oh yeah and I need a haircut}

I decided to jump on the 'no poo' train at the end of January, and here we are almost April, and I'm still doing it, so I thought it was safe to post about. ;]

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel, because there are a lot of great posts about going no poo.  My favorite is this post from Simple Mom.  She explains it really well, and why it works, plus links to more good posts.

Why did I choose to do it?  Firstly, I always struggle with finding a shampoo and conditioner that is free of chemicals.  Secondly, to save money.  (Lots!)  Thirdly, I'm really trying not to rely on buying traditional body care products - and making my own, or using stuff I would eat makes me feel really happy.

Here's my basic routine:

I keep two 8 oz disposable party cups in my shower.  On days that I do baking soda and acv, I simply put a tablespoon of each in a cup, then add water to the top of the cup while I'm in the shower.  I start by slowly dumping the baking soda water on my head and massaging it into my scalp.  I let it sit then rinse really well, then do the same with the acv.  You want to make sure you rinse quite well, or you may smell like a pickle. =]

I like to do this once or twice a week, depending on how my hair feels.  The rest of the time I just wet my hair and do a scalp massage to stimulate the roots.

I've been doing this for about 2 months now and my hair and scalp feel so healthy.  My scalp would always itch and flake with traditional shampoo, but not with this.  I still dry my hair (at least my bangs) most days, and sometimes I straighten it.  I don't use any other product on my hair right now.

And even though I've been doing this for 2 months, sometimes when I step into the shower with my two little cups I think to myself, "There's no way this is going to work."  But it does.  

What natural beauty routines do you follow?

Growing Up Green!

I stumbled upon this book last Friday while browsing at a discount store. I didn't really scan through it much, but it was $2.99 and I thought, "Hey, what have I got to lose?"

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

It has so much helpful information for parents who want to live a more natural lifestyle with their little one(s). Just last night I used it as a reference while choosing a natural sunscreen for my sweet girl. If you have ANY interest in going green for your family, definitely check this book out. You can buy it on amazon.com for .01. If you buy it and hate it, then sell it to me and I'll give it to one of my friends!! haha!

Being Green =D

I thought I would take some time to share some products our family uses and different ways that we consider ourselves to be "green" or natural. I'm just going to list some things and possibly talk about them a little bit.

**I will add more to this list as I think of things or as we do more to be green!**

-Reusable water bottles. We use either stainless steal or BPA free plastic.

-Stainless sippy cups. Z doesn't use hers yet, but we have one!! =]- Dr. Brown's bottles. These are made of BPA free plastic. Z is exclusively breastfed, but she take the occasional bottle of breastmilk if I'm not able to be with her for a feeding.
-Reusable shopping bags. When we get groceries (or anything), we use a giant LL Bean canvas tote, and then the store reusable bags for everything that won't fit.

-Reusable Produce bags. (Which we fill with locally grown & organic produce as often as possible!) I purchased ours from AMK designs and they're great! No more plastic bags to throw away when we get home!
- Cloth napkins & towels. We don't buy paper napkins or paper towels.

-7th Generation Dish Soap.
-Planet Laundry Detergent.- We recycle. Everything our transfer station will let us. Plus we save #5's for the 'Gimme 5' program at Whole Foods.

- Cloth diapers. We use cloth diapers full time. Even at night and when we go out!- 7th Generation Baby Wipes. We had previously used cloth wipes, but switched to 7th Gen when our little one's diaper rash appeared to be going away when we used them.

- CJ's BUTTer. We use this on Z's bum at every diaper change and as a moisturizer all over. You can read the review I did here.

-Burt's Bees baby wash.- Burt's Bees Shampoo & Conditioner for me.-Dr. Bronner's soap for me. (And occasionally Z.)

-Tom's of Maine toothpaste.