Herbal Hearth - Homemade Healing Balm/Moisturizer

Calendula, Tea Tree, & Lavender Coconut Oil Healing Balm

A while back I made a post titled Healing Acne With Simplicity. I talked about my experiments with NOT washing my face and how much it has helped me. I still am not using soap on my face and am still touting its benefits. Today I'd like to expand on this a bit and talk about my homemade facial moisturizer. I have found this simple concoction to be helpful not only as a wonderful facial moisturizer but also as a balm/ointment for wounds & acne. 

I first started using this moisturizer as a simple oil infusion. I took raw organic extra virgin coconut oil, mixed it with dried calendula flower petals from my garden and set it in a sunny spot for about 4 weeks. Every day the sun would heat up the coconut oil (which melts at aprox 76 degrees) and melt it, helping the petals to infuse in to the oil. In the evenings the oil would re-solidify. After 4 weeks, while the oil was melted, I strained out the petals using cheese clothing and poured the oil in to an old moisturizer container. I used this every morning & every night for a while. 

It's important to note, when using coconut oil as a moisturizer it works best if you apply it while your skin is still wet. It helps lock in the moisture. 

Recently I have been having some stress break outs and felt like I needed a little extra help in the moisturizer department so I amped up my recipe a bit by adding some Tea Tree & Lavender oil. I am so in love with this new mixture. It smells amazing and works great no only as a daily moisturizer but also as a minor wound ointment. 

Coconut, tea tree, & lavender oils are all naturally antibacterial, and the calendula is anti-inflammatory and aids in healing. 

Give it a shot and let me know what you think or if you have an alterations to the recipe you prefer. 

Healing Acne With Simplicity

As each year passes I move more and more down the path to simplicity. Each step seems to ease a small load off my back and clear just a little bit of my mind. I document some of my steps here but most I choose not to. This next one wasn't going to be one I shared, but the results have been great and I'd love to pass this on in case it could help anyone else out there.

I have acne. I'm 27 and it still plagues my face. The second puberty hit the little beasts arrived, and they haven't gone away since. Until recently there hasn't been much that has offered any relief either. I have religiously washed my face every morning, and every night for just about as long as I could remember. I've even had friends comment on their amazement of my ability to make it a priority even after a night of drinking and staying out late (something which is no longer part of my life). Instead of crashing right to bed and passing out, I always made sure to wash my face and drink as much water as I could stomach first.

It never occurred to me that all this washing could be part of the problem. Though the years I moved from nasty paraben filled toxic concoctions to more "healthy" brands of cleaners. My first breakthrough came when I thought "maybe my skin is just sensitive" so I started trying ultra calming soothing cleansers and moisturizers. I saw a slight improvement and thought I was on to something. Then I went to visit my sister. She lives states and an expensive plane flight away so I rarely get to see her. While visiting her she casually mentioned during one of my face washing fits that she never washed her face. It struck me as amazing! He face is a beautiful porcelain, seemingly perfect. I just assumed other factors were at play...she got the "good" genes, her body chemistry changed after giving birth, she had found the perfect combo of foods that works just right for her body.
I filed this knowledge away and continued washing my face. Slowly I started meeting more and more people who simply never wash their faces. "I just throw a little water on my face every now and then" or "I only wash when I shower...which is about once a week". Once a week??? I had been washing mine 14 times a week!

Finally my curiosity got to me and I decided to give it a shot. With very little confidence and bracing myself for it to "get worse before it gets better", I began simply wiping my face with a wet washcloth (cold water) every morning and night. If needed, I still added moisturizer. Even if I had put on makeup that day, all my face received was a cold washcloth wipe down. Once or twice a week, when I showered I would wash with an ultra gentle cleanser. You know what happened??? My face NEVER "got worse before it got better", it just got better!

This is an ongoing process of course, but at this point I'm no longer washing, even in the shower. No cleansers touch my face, just water. I've even moved from store bought moisturizers to an amazing homemade one using coconut oil infused with calendula (grown right here in my front yard).

This small act alone has made my skin smoother than I ever thought possible, dramatically improved  my acne problem, dropped two expensive items from my shopping list, stopped a trail of energy use and waste, saved me a little time everyday, and given me just a few less things to worry about. I really wish I would have tried this sooner!

I'm not going to show you before and after photos. It would be impossible to give an accurate representation of something that is constantly in flux. And I don't want to give the impression that my face is magically cured and will never have a pimple again. They still show up, but a lot less often and they seem to heal a lot quicker now too (I think that's due to the calendula).  I just wanted to share this and let people know there are other options. Other things you can try beyond just buying more products and hoping that the next one will work. As time passes I grow more and more convinced that letting everything in life go as naturally as possible seems to give the best results.

I'm a "Craftster" Best of 2010 Winner!

My Deodorant Recipe has won a "Craftster Best of 2010" Award. 

You like me, you really like me!

I'm a Craftster Best of 2010 Winner!

Homemade Toothpaste Revisited

A while back I made a post about making your own toothpaste: Toothpaste alternatives: homemade teeth cleaners that will leave you smiling

This has proven one of my most popular posts finding it's way on to many forum discussions and re-posted on to many other blogs.

The only issue I have heard in the feedback is that some people just don't like the taste. I've decided to offer up a solution to either ease your taste buds in to the less sweet direction or just help stretch your current toothpaste so it will last longer, require purchasing way less often, keep less plastic out of the landfill and cut down on all the energy that goes in to its production.

Mixing!
Mix together the homemade toothpaste recipe with your preferred store bought toothpaste. You can do this in any % to fit your taste, but I would recommend at least doing a 50/50 split. Slowly, every week or so, you can add a little more of the homemade recipe. This will thin out the store bought toothpaste changing the flavor little by little giving your mouth time to adjust to the change. Eventually your old toothpaste flavor will be gone and you will be strictly using the homemade recipe.

Of course, if you are not willing/ready to give up the flavor you are hooked on, you can always keep it at the 50/50 (or other) mixture and effectively double the amount of toothpaste you get for the same price you would normally spend.

There! Now you have no excuse.
Get out there, mix it up, and make your grill sparkle.

Toothpaste alternatives - homemade teeth cleaners that will leave you smiling

As some of you may know, I strive for sustainability. If I can make it myself, I try to. You may remember my post a while back about Homemade Deodorant. If you haven't seen it yet be sure to check it out.
Today I decided to share my homemade tooth powder and tooth paste recipes. The taste will be different than you are used to, since they use no sweeteners, so you may need a few days to adjust to the flavor. Once you do, you will be so glad you switched. You will notice your teeth are actually smooth and clean! You will also notice your teeth getting whiter, naturally. I never noticed how terrible commercial toothpaste was till I tried these recipes. I know that sounds like a cheesy infomercial but test it out then come back and tell me I'm right.

Tooth Powder
This is super basic, you already have this stuff in your cupboards.

Simply mix together:
Baking Soda (roughly 1/4 cup)
and Salt (1 teaspoon) in a small dish.
To use: run your toothbrush under running to water, shake out excess water, dab in powder, and brush as normal.

Tooth Paste
I prefer using the paste these days. It creates a nice foam in my mouth and I like the flavor. Less salt, more mint.

In a small container with a lid, combine:
Baking soda (1/4 cup),
Water (1/2 teaspoon),
and Dr. Bronner's liquid soap(1/4 teaspoon) till you have a paste.

Grab a little bit (about a pea size amount) with the tip of your toothbrush and brush as normal.
This paste tends to thicken so you may need to add a few more drops of water every now and then to keep it easy to scoop up with your toothbrush.

Not only does this stuff save the energy it takes to make, package, advertise & ship commercial toothpaste, but it also works better, and you use less of it making it last longer.

If you're not familiar with Dr. Bronner's you should be. Its an amazingly simple product that can be used for pretty much all your cleaning needs. For this tooth paste I would recommend using their Peppermint, Almond, or Citrus flavor/scent liquid soaps. Or you could try getting the "unscented" Dr Bronner's and add you own food grade flavorings to it.

Have fun with it, experiment and find what works best for you.

SMILE!

Homemade Deodorant

I recently stumbled across a recipe online for homemade deodorant and decided to give it a try. After some tweaking of the recipe, I am pleased with the results and don't plan on buying the store brand stuff ever again.

Here's what I did:
Girl on bikes homemade deodorant.
*1/4 cup baking soda
*1/4 cup cornstarch
*1/2 tsp tea tree, lavender, &/or your favorite scented oil
(tea tree works best because of it's antibacterial properties)
*1 tbsp+ coconut oil

Mix baking soda & cornstarch in a bowl with the oil or oil blend of your choice. Stir in coconut oil in until it’s the consistency you like. (mix it quite a bit before adding more)
Shape into disk or smash in to empty deodorant container. The cornstarch needs some heat in order to begin thickening so I put mine in the dehydrator at 145 degrees for about 15 minuets. The bar will be gooey until it cools so try to resist touching it. Once cool it will be firm and easy to handle.