Let's Get Crunchy...

Many people are aware these days of the potential toxicity of household products. We work to reduce the toxins we are aware of in our food and in our cleaning supplies but what about... deodorant??

Commercial deodorant / antiperspirant does two things: prevents odor and moisture. Sweat is a natural process of cleansing the body, it doesn't actually smell. Foul body odor is created when the moisture reacts with bacteria on the skin. Many scented deodorants (like other fragranced items) don't eliminate the odor but simply overpower it. People like the feeling of staying "dry" because they associate sweat with stench. If  there are toxins in your body they will come out through your pores and it will probably smell. If a person consumes adequate amounts of water throughout the day and limits the bacteria causing "junk" they ingest the sweat will be odorless.

Aluminum is the targeted ingredient in many antiperspirants because it has been linked to skin allergies, cancer and alzheimer's disease along with other ailments. Preventing the release of sweat can cause a buildup of sebum inside the sweat gland resulting in a painful and unsightly cyst. The yellow stains in the pits of your white shirts are not from sweat but from the reaction of the sweat with the antiperspirant. 

Another common but known dangerous branch of ingredients called parabens are widely used in cosmetics to increase shelf life. Nobody wants to smell bad, and when the thought of giving up deodorant is mentioned certain images come to mind; it doesn't have to be like that.

You can make a powerful yet gentle deodorant with ingredients from your kitchen. If the ingredients are safe to eat, you can bet they won't increase your risk of cancer or degenerative diseases. 

You will need:

• Coconut Oil (found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores)
• Cornstarch
• Baking Soda
• Fine ground salt (optional)
• Essential oils (optional)
• A container to put it in

To Prepare:

Start by measuring out the coconut oil (CO). You will need different amounts depending on the size of the container you are working with. I'd start with 1-2 Tablespoons. 

Coconut oil is used because it is an easily accessible plant based oil that is solid at room temperature. It is very gentle and moisturizing on the skin. Side note: also great for cooking at high temperatures and is full of healthy fats!

Coconut oil with baking soda and cornstarch added

Heat the CO in the microwave for 15 - 30 seconds until softened. It doesn't have to be completely melted. Add equal amounts of both cornstarch and baking soda i.e. if you used 1 Tbsp CO use 1 Tbsp each of baking soda and cornstarch.

Baking soda works as a natural deodorizer while cornstarch absorbs moisture. This will not keep you 100% dry, however, I have found it works much better than the "natural" deodorants I have tried.

If you'd like to add a little salt at this point you can add about 1/2 tsp per 1 Tbsp of the other ingredients. Too much will be too drying and it will have a grainy feel. You can stop the process here if you prefer an unscented deodorant. Most likely you won't stink, but you won't smell nice either. 

Salt is also a natural deodorizer, it helps absorb moisture and has antibacterial properties - further neutralizing odor. 

After the dry ingredients are well mixed with the CO you can add a few drops of pure essential oil. I like to start with a drop or two of tea tree, peppermint, and lavender because of their soothing scent and antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. Remember: if there's no bacteria, there's no stink. 

 You only need a few drops! I use about 2 drops of each oil because they are very powerful and too much can sting or irritate your skin. 

Voila! Let the mixture cool to room temperature and its ready to use. This 2 oz container lasts me about 2 months. I apply a small amount with my fingers after I shower and I'm good. I haven't timed the longest it has worked for me but I'd say at least 12 hours. 

I put it to the test a few weeks ago when I sat at an outdoor tennis match in the Florida heat and humidity; I was sweating like crazy and was sure the deodorant wouldn't hold up but it did. I was definitely hooked after that. 

It even helps soothe razor burn and irritation so there's no reason not to try it. It melts quickly in the heat and becomes very solid in the cold but neither affects its effectiveness. You can always move it from fridge to microwave to find what works best for you.

More information on aluminum, sweat, and deodorant can be found here and here. 

Antibacterial Soap

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of household antibacterial cleaners. They are made to keep your house and body free from harmful bacteria, but often they are harmful in themselves (they are intended to kill bacteria after all). One problem is that they kill all bacteria, so when you come back into contact with dangerous bacteria there is no defense to protect you from it. Another problem is the evidence that common ingredients used, like triclosan, are harmful to our bodies and the environment; but many common diseases are viral and cannot be prevented by antibacterial products anyway (Priesnitz).

Of course places like hospitals and restaurants need to clean and disinfect to keep people safe but for most healthy people your home is better off without these chemicals.

As you all know, I try to keep my home and my body as free from synthetic chemicals as possible. I did a post on the wonders of Dr. Bronner's Sals Suds not too long ago and today I'd like to tell you all about the wonders of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. 

These soaps are vegetable based castile soaps which have been around for a very long time. They have retained glycerin so they are much less drying than many soaps without added junk. 

These can be used for just about any household job but I like them most for bathing and hand soap. They come very concentrated so you'll probably have to dilute before using.

 In the shower I dilute it 1:1 in an empty container and use it to wash head to toe. My skin stays soft and I rarely need extra moisturizer. It works wonders as a face wash because it is oil based; it removes makeup easily but you don't get that tight feeling afterwards. My skin has also cleared up tremendously and I am giving credit to the soap. 

In my bathrooms I dilute it in an old foaming soap dispenser, filling the dispenser with 3/4 water and 1/4 soap. I buy the unscented and add essential oils myself, but many are available. 

If you still can't kick the antibacterial habit there is lavender, tea tree, peppermint and eucalyptus scents which all have antibacterial properties without the risk of harming your body, the environment or creating super germs. 

Learn more about the safety and efficacy of essential oils

The REAL All-Purpose Cleaner

Ok, it's been a while. I don't have a good excuse.

Today I feel the need to tell you about my new favorite find. It's called SAL SUDS and it's made by Dr. Bronner's - the wonderful people who make my favorite gentle, biodegradable, vegetable based soaps. More about them later.

Sal Suds is a vegetable based hard surface cleaner with a high pH so it will clean just about anything. I've been using a pleasant-smelling "environmentally friendly" household cleaner for a few years for the counters and the floor but that's where it stops. I'm still searching for cleaners for the bathroom, laundry, dishes, what-have-you and biodegradable products are expensive - if you can even find them!

I was running low on dishwasher detergent and started looking up recipes to make some. We have hard water which creates a problem for dishes and laundry all on it's own. In searching for laundry and dish soap I kept seeing recipes that called for castile soap. While I love the versatility of castile soap for washing, it seemed to leave a film or residue when used on the counters so I wouldn't dream of putting it in a washing machine or dish washer!

Then I find Sal Suds. Made with a similar process and equally biodegradable, it breaks down hard water and leaves no residue. It claims to clean virtually any hard surface as well as dishes and laundry so I was intrigued. I found a 32 oz bottle at my local health food store and decided to give it a whirl.

One thing I like about Dr. Bronner's is that they disclose all the ingredients and their uses. It does contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which I try to avoid, but it is quickly biodegradable and doesn't come into direct contact with skin so I'm okay with it. It also contains other vegetable derived surfactants along with fir needle oil and spruce oil which sounds like pine-sol but it really has very little scent to it whatsoever. It contains no preservatives or dyes, is made in the U.S.A. and is not tested on animals.

First attempt was in the dishwasher. It recommended 1.5 tsp for a sink of dishes. I dolloped in a little over a tsp into the dishwasher and filled the rest of the detergent compartment with distilled white vinegar. We'd been using vinegar as a rinse aid for a while now and it works as well as the commercial stuff. I have to admit I was a little worried that when I turned the washer on my kitchen would be a sea of bubbles but that wasn't the case. In fact, the dishes looked great! I was sold on this point alone since nothing so far has gotten rid of the hard water marks on our glasses.

Second attempt was the washing machine. It recommended a 1/4 cup per load but I used about half that. Again, I turned on the machine expecting a bubbly explosion. The clothes came out as clean as they do with regular detergent. I even rubbed a little directly on some waterproof makeup smudges on my pillowcase before washing and they came out with no problem! The only thing it did not clean completely were some old stains on a cleaning rag - but that didn't bother me. I was really impressed because I wash as much as I can in cold water and the soap still worked.

Next attempt was the shower. I filled a bottle with half water, half white vinegar, some eucalyptus oil, and a small squirt of Sal Suds. That concoction made my tile sparkle!! The eucalyptus oil works as a disinfectant and helps cover the vinegar smell, which disappears when the vinegar dries anyway.

Then I filled a bucket with water and added a small squirt of Sal Suds to mop my floor. The key term is a small squirt because many reviewers online explained that it creates a LOT of bubbles and too much soap may require an extra rinsing and lets face it - we want to clean the floors as quickly and effortlessly as possible. It actually worked! By this point I'm not sure why I was surprised but I was. It cleaned well and dried with a good "clean floor" finish... not too shiny but not dull.

Now, I usually just clean my windows with a vinegar/water solution but what the heck; after the tile in the bathrooms I went out on a whim and sprayed some on the mirrors. After wiping with a microfiber cloth they were clean and streak free! I cleaned all my windows with the solution and it really got the pollen off my sliding glass door on the porch. 

I'm am convinced Sal Suds really will clean anything. It is not recommended for hand or body washing so I'll stick to regular castile soap for that. If anyone finds more uses for Sal Suds I'd love to hear them!

Find of the Day: Makeup That is Good for You??

Day two!

I’d like to let you all know that one of my passions in life is beauty. Being in the cosmetics industry for the past four years and just being very girly - I like to get ready! I like to do my hair and makeup and nothing beats good products. My biggest challenge is finding products that work well, but aren’t killing you in the process. Some of my old favorites (I won’t name names) contain ingredients that are very foreign to your body and some all-natural versions just don’t work. Thats why I get really excited about products that combine health and beauty. 

My new treasures I bought today are by a company I had never heard of before called tarte; which after a little research I found out prides itself on being a green beauty company. YAY!  I purchased two staples: an oil-free tinted moisturizer and a cheek stain. I’m trying to stop using foundation day-to-day but I don’t like how uneven my skintone is so I’ve been on the hunt for a tinted moisturizer with decent coverage. I only bought them today so I haven’t *really* tried them out yet. I’m still wearing the application from sephora. 

So far I really like them both. The moisturizer is smooth and lightweight with enough coverage to even things out a little but still look natural. It contains: 

• Chamomile extract
• Vitamins A, C & E
• Mineral pigments
• Sodium hyaluronate 
• SPF 20

I like to know my products (ask my husband - I’m an AVID label reader!) So I looked up Sodium Hyaluronate because it sounded scary. According to this article on TruthInAging.com Sodium Hyaluronate is basically a form of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) which is a naturally occurring acid in the body that helps the skin retain moisture. As we age, the amount of HA the body produces decreases, leaving the skin dry. HA is the third component of youthful, vibrant skin along with the well-known elsatin and collagen. Applying it topically helps the skin retain moisture. Okay, not so scary. 

What attracted me to the product more than what it does contain, is what it doesn’t contain. All of tarte’s products

• Are made in the USA
• Paraben free
• Phthalate free
• Sulfate free
• Synthetic fragrance free
• Use recyclable and post-consumer recycled packaging
• Cruelty free (no animal testing)

My moisturizer also contains no:

• Petro-chemicals
• Gluten
• Dye
• Talc
• GMOs

Besides all those wonderful things, my cream cheek stain contains what tarte calls their “ T-5 super fruit complex” which is a blend of antioxidant rich extract blend to help fight aging. It contains acai, acerola, goji berry, passionflower and pomegranate. 

I’m hoping I can give a better review after a week or so of wearing it but right now I’m just so excited!