Writing
this, I’m wondering, “Do I do the beauty angle, the money angle, or the
environmental angle?” There’s also a “we’ve been manipulated far too long”
angle. (Damn gluttonous corporations.)
Here, it all started with cleaning products. About the time
I had to call poison control because my toddler licked commercial furniture
polish, I switched over to more natural cleaners. Mostly baking soda, vinegar,
lemon, and some tea tree oil. Years later it occurred to me…if I’m so concerned
about the chemicals in the stuff I clean my house with…how incongruous is it to
not be concerned about what I put on my body & down my shower drain? (You might
have gotten there faster; I’m slow to change.)
PSA: The secret to great hair, skin,
and teeth is to do less, with less, and pay a LOT less. Bonus
points for lessening your impact on the environment. How’s that for a secret?
I'm really happy with my hair. Shiny, soft, manageable, smells nice, and
it cooperates with me daily. The purpose of saying that is to add this: I
haven’t used shampoo in going on 2 1/3 years. It started as a way to manage an increasingly
sensitive scalp. Research drove home the environmental benefits. I forgo
several more body products now. The thing that strikes me the most is how much
BETTER everything feels and works. It’s like….wait for it….they were completely
unnecessary all this time, and even
caused a few problems.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the human design is pretty fantastic & quite
low maintenance if we’ll stop screwing with it.
After the hair thing went so well and my scalp was no longer
itchy/dry but my skin was, it seemed
logical to try different methods of cleaning skin as well. So I did, and the laughably
simple “recipes” are below, and my skin is great. Different method for face
& body. Then there was this weird bump on my face and—via other research--
I stumbled onto the “no fluoride” thing. Stopped using fluoride. Teeth got
whiter. Bump went away. Found a “no fluoride” dentist. Teeth are great.
Going “green”/lessening my negative impact on my body and on
the environment is a work in progress. The more I become aware of, the more I
want to do, and because I research a lot that “to do” list is overwhelmingly
long. To make it manageable, I try something, do it for a while, then add a bit
more, do that for a while….and if I am to give advice here, I’d say slow change
is best for me but you do it your
way.
What to Buy or
Upcycle:
Products: Baking
soda, Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV), tea tree oil, essential oil of your choice (I
like mint), pure olive oil soap, organic virgin coconut oil, pure aloe.
Containers: 6 oz-ish
tub container with tight fitting lid, squeeze bottle
Recipes:
Main Mix: Fill the
6oz-ish container with baking soda, a few drops of tea tree oil, and a few
drops of essential oil. Add enough water to make it a paste. Stir well. Secure
lid.
Shampoo: For long
hair, get into shower, put 2 Tbs Mix into squirt bottle, add warm water, shake,
pour over dry hair, give yourself a little head massage, rinse hair and squirt
bottle.
Conditioner: For
long hair, while in shower, put 2 Tbs ACV into squirt bottle, add warm water,
shake, pour over shampooed hair, massage in, wait a few minutes, rinse well.
Face Wash: Smear
a thimble sized amount of coconut oil on face, concentrate on areas where
makeup was applied, rinse off with washcloth and very warm water. Reapply if
mascara is stubborn. (My advice is do this at the sink so you don’t risk a slippery
shower floor). Your face should not feel greasy.
Face lotion: After
cleaning with face wash, apply a little more coconut oil to really dry areas,
apply aloe to the rest of face/neck.
Body wash: Put
some of the main mix on your hands or a wash cloth and get busy cleaning body
parts. Unless you are super dirty, using lots on drier areas like legs, arms,
& torso isn’t really necessary. Focus on areas that stink. You know what
they are.
Body lotion: Mix
equal amounts of coconut oil and aloe in palm. Rub palms together to emulsify,
apply to dry areas.
Toothpaste: Scrub
toothbrush against olive oil soap, the dab brush in Main Mix (a tiny bit will
do ya). Don’t forget to floss. (Bet you were wondering what that olive oil soap
was for, huh?)
Expect:
·
fewer
skin/hair problems over the course of a few weeks
·
a
need to wash hair less often
·
more
manageable hair
·
a
fatter wallet
That’s it. As for shaving…I’m still working on
that. Coconut oil works well but as stated earlier, can make your shower
slippery (note: Main Mix cleans well too). I usually steal some of my husband’s all natural (yet, commercial)
herbal conditioner. Deodorant…well, some would argue to just keep armpits clean….but
there are interesting recipes out there. One on my list to try has coconut oil,
cornstarch, tea tree oil and essential oil.
Shout out to http://ohsailyes.com/, friends living out
their dream on a boat, for inspiring this post after quite the hiatus.
