OT - Cleaning the Natural Way - You, Your Mask, Your Home

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:40 pm

I'm sticking it on the ceiling next to Val Kilmer and Clark Gable.

I have diverse tastes in men...

Let Aunt Ruth get her own fella!
B.

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:08 pm

jennmary wrote:Made lip balm! It is great. I always like the tingly feeling...so I added peppermind EO. It tingles....and feels great. I am so excited. lol

I didnt measure anything. Just threw in some beeswax, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, peppermint and some castor oil for shine. I threw a bit in the freezer to test...seemed a bit hard to added more jojoba and more peppermint to get to my tingly level. It is now perfect. The beeswax was super hard. I guess I didnt think it would take an axe to get a few small peices off. But it was a quick fun project. I only made 5 little pots for this batch. Plus I used natural beswax (not white) and the color still came out nearly white...I was worried the color would be funny...but it looks fine.

I am going to change my last name to stewart. lol

Yaaaaaay! I have been putting mine on all day and I LOOOOVE it!

Beeswax: the soft beeswax was a natural beeswax and oil whipped together, that is why it was so soft! i just ran across it during my cleaning spree.

Peppermint: if you like the tingle and you make your own soap, make it extra strong and your privates will tingle when you shower. I use Dr. Bronners peppermint soap a lot and it isn't terribly tingly, but one time I used some homemade that a friend made--TINGLE CITY, BABY!!!!

You guys are just cracking me up with this pic of the blue eyed guy. Guess every body has to have diff taste! Just looks like an artistic middle aged intellectual to me.

tee-hee!

jen

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:12 pm

And what the heck's wrong with an artistic middle aged intellectual? I'd kill for one of those!!!
B.

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:13 pm

BTW,

WE MADE SOAP TONIGHT!!!!!

It was fun, a bit nerve wracking due to dealing with the scary lye. Annoying at times because you have to get the lye and fat at approx the same temp b4 mixing them and I didn't realize one of the thermometers I was using couldn't go down that low. Ug. But once we figured it out, it was fine.

Next time should be waaaaaaay easier. Made a pretty big batch because I want to experiment with milling and making diff scents and stuff from a basic batch. Used olive oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, macadamia butter, palm oil shortening. Mostly it was kitchen stuff with a few exotics thrown in for good measure. I used the mms lye calculator after typing in what I had on hand. Very cool and easy.

I won't know if I have soap for a good long time, but about the same time I should be well and truly recovered and ready to play with it some more. Yah!

jen

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:16 pm

Babette wrote:And what the heck's wrong with an artistic middle aged intellectual? I'd kill for one of those!!!
B.

I'm not middle aged!

BTW, where did you get the best price on the lip balm tubes, do you remember?

Jen

SleepingBeauty · Post by **SleepingBeauty** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:25 pm

Middle aged intellectual. You mean he can TALK TOO!!! Swoon...
-------------------
I so wish I could watch you make a batch of soap. I'd love to do that. I actually looked into taking an all-day soap making class, but can't find a suitable one near me.

Lip balm tubes - the absolute best price I've found is 50 tubes for $5.99 with 4.95 shipping. The seller's name is genegenejr. She currently has white tubes for sale and usually lists shrinkable plastic sleeves to package the tubes. It makes it nicer when you give it as a gift and also - if you're like me - helps you to stay out of the gift tubes you made and forces you to go find one of your 37 opened ones!

Good luck on your surgery tomorrow, Jen! I'll be thinking of you!

Edited to add - the lip tubes are on ebay

jennmary · Post by **jennmary** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:31 pm

I actually just got the small pots at a craft supply store. I will get tubes for my next batch. I have a whole pound of freaking beeswax here....so I will be making another batch....or 500. lol

Good luck Jen! So glad you got to do a fun project before surgery. I will be praying for ya.

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:49 pm

SleepingBeauty wrote:Middle aged intellectual. You mean he can TALK TOO!!! Swoon...
-------------------
I so wish I could watch you make a batch of soap. I'd love to do that. I actually looked into taking an all-day soap making class, but can't find a suitable one near me.

Lip balm tubes - the absolute best price I've found is 50 tubes for $5.99 with 4.95 shipping. The seller's name is genegenejr. She currently has white tubes for sale and usually lists shrinkable plastic sleeves to package the tubes. It makes it nicer when you give it as a gift and also - if you're like me - helps you to stay out of the gift tubes you made and forces you to go find one of your 37 opened ones!

Good luck on your surgery tomorrow, Jen! I'll be thinking of you!

Edited to add - the lip tubes are on ebay

Funny, that is exactly the seller on ebay I was looking at. That works out to 12 cents per tube. Other online sellers go for as much as 14 and 16 cents.

Thanks for the well wishes. I'm staying up late because I slept in til 10. I'm just now starting to feel sleepy. Mitch is prob already asleep with the light on, I really should go. . . .

I would also want the shrink wrap--tooooooo coool!

I learned the soap thing from a book and from watching it on tv. There is an episode of "B. Original" on DIY channel tomorrow that is about soap making. Check your local listings! LOL! I just happened to remember bc it is on the same day as my surgery.

I actually don't feel that worried right now. Won't stop me from taking a xanax in the next 5 minutes since who knows what will happen when my head hits the pillow.

Night, Night Girls! I'll check in in a few days! Thanks for all the love--you guys are great!

Jen

SleepingBeauty · Post by **SleepingBeauty** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:04 pm

Oh, before you order your lip tubes, that seller has black tubes too if you like black. I bought those. Really nice and different than the typical. I also purchased her plastic pipettes. It was much easier to fill the lip tubes that way. I put about 20 tubes together and placed a large rubber band around them to make them all stand up straight. Then I used the pipette to fill them. I know there are tube filler trays that fill 50 at a time, but I will probably never be making 50 of the same flavor at once. Although, at the rate my friends are asking for them... I need to stop giving them for free!

The shrink wrap strips are really nice and work fabulously with a hair dryer to set them. You could make a cute label for under the shrink wrap too.

I can't watch the soap show - I don't have cable TV .

Treesap · Post by **Treesap** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:33 am

Babette wrote:And now I'm off to start the "Dave Trimier Diet Program." Dave's a friend of my Alabama Dad's, and a major HOTTIE, and I was telling Dad I was gonna put a pic of Dave on my fridge with a note "If you lose 75 pounds you can have Dave". I told him to tell Dave I wouldn't expect him to spend the night. 15 minutes would be fine.

http://www.davidtrimmier.com/

You're killin' me here!! But hey, if it works.... I've had to resort to doing step aerobics again. I haven't worked out in over 3 years. Gosh it was kicking my arse. I was huffing and puffing on the easy stuff. The DVD is 45 minutes, and I HAD to stop at 26 minutes. It's hard to see how unfit I am right now.

I've been married for 3 1/2 years now. I've been really happy, but now I am unhappy with the way my body is. It seems I've had health issue after health issue since gaining this weight. I've been up and down my whole life. But now is the absolute worse for me. And being over 40 doesn't help either. Gosh aging sucks. I'm noticing my close up vision is starting to get bad now too.

I will get around the weight thing though. I HAVE to. I know once I start working out regularly, I will be more aware of my eating.

And you ladies here really inspire me to do more things for myself instead of buy it all from the store. Has anyone had good experience making a body scrub with salt or sugar?

gasp · Post by **gasp** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:09 am

Treesap wrote:That lip balm sounds very nice. Where do you get all of those ingredients to make it?

When we move to Vancouver, Washington, I'm thinking about buying a tanning salon (one with Mystic tan). I want to make some of my own body scrubs. I bought one from Beauty Control, but I was shocked that it cost $25. It was made with mint oils, and I LOVED how it felt on my skin. That one was actually called Show of Hands Instant Manicure. It worked well on your hands too. It made them really soft for the day.

I think I'd like to make my scrub with dead sea salts. I've seen some stuff on ebay, but I am not very knowledgeable about the quality of salts for beauty products.

My absolute favorite is Burt's Bees Therapeutic Bath Crystals. Sooooo relaxing and my skin is ultra soft. I should try using them again - combined with Pur-Sleep, I bet I'll be asleep fast!

This from their site:

Therapeutic Bath Crystals

WHY THEY WORK: Indulging in a warm bath of salt crystals and essential oils after a workout helps to relieve and prevent muscle aches. That’s because lemon oil, rosemary, and eucalyptus help prevent the build up of lactic acid in your muscles. So, it’ll make you feel better after the gym and it even helps relieve guilt for those who chose to skip the gym.

HOW THEY WORK: Add several tablespoons of crystals to warm water running at full force. Let the tub fill and allow salts to dissolve. Step in and soak your entire body for 15 minutes to chase the aches and pains away.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:10 am

Since I came into this discussion around page 16, I am going back and reading and following links to some really great stuff. I started pasting some of the recipies to save for later.

As I was driving in to the office this morning, I decided to assemble a recipe book broken into types of product and a section in the back for resources.
I am going to set up a template for it tonight. If you have any recipes other than what you've already posted (I will steal those, if no one minds!) either post them here or email them to me and I will put them in the booklet. When it's full, anyone interested is welcome to a copy. I do papercrafts in my spare time (!!) and even have a wire binding system to put it all together.

amandalee · Post by **amandalee** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 4:26 pm

Neat thread. Just thought I'd add my $0.02 to all of the "natural" fun.

I use Apple Cider Vinegar on my face too. It smells gross, but has some good anti-bacterial properties. I just put some on a cotton ball and pat it onto my skin before bed. It stings a little, but I have seen a difference, even though I mostly just use it when I remember to. I get nasty cystic acne and the ACV always helps clear it up, even after just a few days.

I also use ACV as a hair rinse, between using shampoo and conditioner. Now after reading all the nasty stuff about SLS on this thread, I'm definitely going to look for an alternate method for washing my hair. But anyway, this is another thing I do just whenever I happen to remember and it always makes my hair soft and shiny.

I've found that coconut oil makes a good deep conditioning treatment. I try to use it once a week after washing & conditioning (although maybe the coconut oil by itself is enough, I haven't tried it. I take a spoonful and put it on the ends of my hair, working it through until I've gotten it all off of my hands, then comb it through. It does feel a bit greasy though, so I always wear my hair pulled back in a bun on the days I use the oil. But even after I've washed the oil out, my hair is soft and silky for days.

I've also used coconut oil as a moisturizer, but only before bed because it can be kind of greasy. It's very soothing for dry irritated skin.

I haven't seen this site mentioned, so I thought I'd pass it along:
http://earthclinic.com/index.html
It's got alot of information about natural remedies for various health conditions. The standard disclaimer applies of course: consult your doctor or other medical professional before taking supplements, making changes to your health care regimen, etc. Your opinions/results may vary on some of their remedies, but it's interesting reading if you have some spare time. This is the site where I first read about ACV and coconut oil.

A few pages back, there was some discussion about various soaps. I recently ordered some from this website:
http://www.codashaven.com/our_products.html

Their soap is handmade with milk from their dairy goats! Other than that, they don't use any animal products, just vegetable and essential oils.
Pictures of their soap making process can be found starting here:
http://www.codashaven.com/making_soap.html
(By the way, I haven't been paid for this endorsement, I'm just a satisfied customer passing the word along).
The soap doesn't irritate my skin, and actually helped calm it down during the yucky winter months when it always freaks out. Plus it smells pretty nice, it's inexpensive, the shipping is fast, and the proceeds from the soap sales help support the couple's rescue farm for abandoned/unwanted animals.

Anyway, I hope this info will be helpful to someone!

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 4:58 pm

AMANDALEE!!!!!!!!!! What great stuff! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

And welcome to the thread for obsessive compulsives!!!

I've decided the ACV on my face is not working well for me, so I've cut it out right this minute while I'm FLARING UP LIKE A 15 YEAR OLD BOY!

Maybe I'll try it again when my face calms down a little.

Love the soap site, have to go explore it some more. Can't argue with animal rescue.

Cheers, welcome, and give us more!
Barbara

SleepingBeauty · Post by **SleepingBeauty** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:15 pm

HI AMANDALEE!!!

I'm so excited to find another one of "us" !!!!!

Thanks for the links - I will check them out tonight!

I have decided I will only use soaps that are natural from now on. My skin has been so much better.

I love the fact that proceeds go to taking care of animals.

I've been using shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley and so far, my favorite bar has goat's milk and carrot oil. I'll have to check to see if your link sells shampoo bars too.

I have been using shea butter for all the things you described that you are doing with your coconut oil - a switch up would be nice! I'll give it a try.

Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: Pursleep, Padacheek, Regenesis™ Pillow, Neti Pot, Travel Buddy hose hanger

OT - Cleaning the Natural Way - You, Your Mask, Your Home

My experience with natural products