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

The Official Website:
http://www.drbronner.com/index.html

Article about Dr. Bronner - Interview with Son Ralph Bronner:
http://www.thesunmagazine.org/bronner.html

More Ralph Bronner interviews:
http://www.mkeonline.com/story.asp?id=390451

Movie by Ralph Bronner - "DR. BRONNER'S MAGIC SOAPBOX"
http://www.magicsoapbox.com/

More movie websites:
http://movies.go.com/dr-bronners-magic- ... ocumentary

Ralph Bronner "Wisconsin National Anthem" film by Toe Knee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mFjKxJM5g8

Rotten Tomatoes review of Movie:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_bron ... c_soapbox/

Okay, enough OCD for a Sunday morning....

I still say the Trader Joe's version is just as good, if not better, and cheaper. And since the closest source for Dr. Bronner's IS my local TJ's, why not buy TJ's?

Not that I have anything against Dr. Bronner's form of insanity. He's a wacky pop culture icon that I definitely support.

FREAKS RULE!
Babette - Forum Freak and Aging Hippie-Child

It's California Baby shampoo

As an infant, my son reacted to johnson's baby wash. Read: sodium laureth sulphate! Argh! You are right, Babs, it is disgusting. And its in everything cleanser-wise except for a few natural brands.

I just found this thread, don't know how I missed it b4 tonight. I'm busy printing and taking notes--what fun!

I will prob be making Dr. H's knockoff cleanser tomorrow! Oh, the creativity! Gotta love it!

And it was me with the eczema scalp. I will be using my ocm oils on it next time I have a leisurely morning. Hasn't been too leisurely lately!

I'm on day 8 of ocm and MAN! It is like a freaking fountain of youth! My pores are smaller, the few blemishes I'm getting come up as small whiteheads that I get with my blemish extractor and they are gone within days instead of weeks. My complexion isn't nearly so ruddy. Just pink and smooth. I'm very excited. Even my husband noticed!

The only thing is I am not going to need my zeno acne device as much now, so it is hard to justify the $100 I paid on ebay for it.

I used it twice so far and am very pleased with it. It does get hot, but not hotter than hot tap water that I used to soak washcloths with and put on my face (basically accomplishing the same thing). It is working so far. Had a couple of non-whiteheads that are totally minimized by the zeno. I will appreciate this tool over the long haul, I'm sure!

jen

Hi All,

I haven't posted in a while, but this thread caught my eye. My daughter has had a scalp irritation for a few years, we have tried several OTC shampoos and RX shampoos and nothing really helps.

A few weeks ago I happen to mention this at a neighborhood gathering and a hairdresser heard my conversation. She is allergic to Sodium Laureth Sulfate and created a shampoo and conditioner that is SLS free. Here is her website https://www.touchofanangel.com/index2.php
The shampoo and conditioner has really helped my daughter.

Read the information about Laura and the testimonials on her website, she is great.

If you decide to use her products I hope it helps you.

Best,
Teri

Yeah, nothing like putting industrial detergents in something we use on our skin!

I just use shampoo/conditioner from the health food store since I'm there anyway frequently. They have a few brands that are sodium laurel free. It is helping my scalp eczema, but it isn't gone. It is really embarrassing when I'm talking to someone and happen to touch my hair and the flakes drift down like snow! It isn't every day, it kinda takes me by surprise like once a month.

Christine, Babette's old-timey soap website says not to use washing soda on fiberglass showers. Do you think this is safe in your diluted recipe? It doesn't seem like this small amount would hurt. Probably the vinegar just counteracts its alkalinity (I'm assuming its alkaline like baking soda?).

I'm eager to try it and save money--I've been using Method products which I love, but this sounds similar or better and a whole lot cheaper. I am about out, so perfect timing if I can find the ingredients. I know I've seen borax around. I'm not sure where I'll get the washing soda. Maybe a drug store? Hardware store? Should I call around?

Here are a couple of links to places to buy oils for making lotions, soaps etc: http://www.pinemeadows.net/index.php

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/Default.aspx

I have fun on occasion browsing thru these sites. There is some good info there on uses for diff oils and the prices are good.

This is a very interesting thread--keep it going!

jen

Babette wrote:

Hey Rosemary, not a hijack at all! In fact, I was going to post a request this AM for someone to post their favorite brand of body lotion. I'm not happy with any of mine, and looking at the TJ's brands yesterday I couldn't make a decision

Look for "Kiss my face" brand at tj's or health food store. Their peach scent is yummy, but I also like their lavender, very herby! Lots of natural ingredients in these. This is my fave non-petroleum based brand. Who wants to use dead dinos on their skin?

Jen

Babette wrote:Thanks for the link Gasp! I still want some specifics. I really can't "cook" without a recipe.

Okay, my current OCM ingredient list:
Castor Oil
Jojoba Oil
Tea Tree Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Sweet Almond Oil

I don't like alot of scents, so I'm skipping the Essential Oil additive right now. Do you think I need any Olive Oil or any other oil in my mix?

I'm no chemist or expert in this field, but here is my two cents. Feel and smell each oil. Decide which one feels like it should be most present and which pervasive smells you don't want lingering, such as tea tree oil - very pungent. In addition, it takes very little tea tree oil to act therapeutically and more Jojoba oil. You'll need to like the smell of sweet almond oil to put much of it n the recipe : )

First wash your left arm (if you're right handed) so that there is no lotion or scent on it. You'll use it to test your mixtures. Have a notepad handy to write down your formula.

Next you'll write your first formula; one drop of each oil. Drop a tiny drop onto a non porous surface such as glass. I like to use really tiny glass bowls that I use for holding spices waiting to be added to a recipe when I'm cooking. If you don't have those, you can use a small mirror, glass plate, etc. Non porous is key. Your mom should have something like this

After putting a drop of each oil into the glass bowl, stir it with a non porous, non metal object, I use a tiny plastic spatula that come with cosmetic creams. Smell the mixture. Put your pinky in it and dab it on your inner arm. Leave enough space between tests so that one doesn't interfere with another. Rub it around and see how it feels. Too thick - won't soak in? Your next recipe you will add one drop of a thinner oil. Too thin . . . you get the idea. If it smells too much like tea tree oil, then don't add another drop of that in the next recipe. Voila! You create exactly the recipe you want.

After you've determine your favorite recipe, rub a bit of it on your unused inner arm (such as the right arm) to test for reactions.

You're not going to use it on your face at night are you? It might interfere with the mask/tubing materials, such as the side tubes on your NAII.

BTW, could your mom suggest a better method of developing a recipe?

Good luck!

You're not going to use it on your face at night are you? It might interfere with the mask/tubing materials, such as the side tubes on your NAII.

I have been using ocm for over a week now and my skin is just as clean and free of oil after "washing' as it used to be with regular soaps.

In fact, my skin is far LESS oily than it was before. I attribute this to the rebound effect that happens when you clean your skin with soap--you remove ALL the oils from your face and your skin goes, "hey, wait a minute, I need oil to protect myself!" and makes a bunch more. Hence the oil slick many of us experience at the end of the day, or night between soap washing sessions. If you clean your skin with oil, there is some left behind, but not much. Your skin isn't so much stripped of oil as it is cleaned.

Petroleum products (which are in most skin lotions) are not recommended for use with plastic and silica tubing etc, but there is no reason regular oils would be any more harmful than a minimum amount of human skin oil.

JMHO!

Jenmary: Didja try it? Didja, didja? Huh? Huh?

Jen

Jeez, I thought I was all alone here yesterday...

Gasp... Far too much work. Good research methodology, but not working with my MTV brain. I blended up a batch and have been using it. I do feel a little "oiler" than usual, but not in a BAD way. But this AM, just felt like I was OILY, so after all the washing, I put a teensy drop of TJ's castile soap in my hands, lathered well, and did a 7 second wash of my face. Rinsed immediately. Tighter than before, but not SQUEAKY like with modern detergents. Just felt the need to CLEANSE a little more.

Did the cold rinse, hopped out of the shower, and put a drop of oil on my finger and smeared it on my eyelids, a bad spot on my chin, and another between my eyes.

Felt good all day!

Hard to describe the oiliness I feel right now. Not SLICK, just "dewier" than usual. Not sweat. Not gallons of oil... Probably this is NORMAL and I'm so unused to it, I can't quite figure it out....

Laundry felt softer coming off the line this AM than it did when dried on the line after regular laundry soap. And I use the "green" brands, too. Not FABRIC SOFTENER soft, just not as CRUNCHY and residue-filled. I really like the NON SMELL of the clothes. I'm really hoping the itching in my nether regions will dissipate with cleaner panties. Sorry, and yes it's not yeast, it's not ANYTHING (doc tried various things on me), it's just a random and yet PERSISTENT itch. I'm really betting it's irritation from soap residue on the undies. We shall see.

Christine, I too want to know if you're washing your fiberglas shower with the formula using Washing Soda. Haven't done that yet, because of that stricture I read on the box.

BTW, tried making Christine's recipe WITHOUT Washing Soda, and the borax never fully disolved. It clumped up and left the cleaner cloudy with this residue in it. I poured it out and started over WITH WS, and added borax and WS together, then poured in Vinegar. Let them do their bubbly dance. Then added dish soap and hot water. Liquid is now mostly clear, and working GREAT on the counters and stove!

Bought the Method O Mop the other day. Read it's brochure, and assembled it and used it this AM. Worked great. Until I leaned too hard on the handle and it broke. Just the plastic handle part. I think I can glue it. Don't lean on it. Get down on your knees and scrub by hand. Was AMAZED at how clean the microfiber pad was just with rinsing it. It was pretty grungy after mopping, but it just RELEASED IT ALL down the drain quick like a bunny. No washer required. No extra soap. Poof!

Can I keep using SLS-based dish soap until I run out? Have the giant Costco bottle.... What should I buy when that's gone?

Jen, I'm doing everything you say. I'm running out to buy Kiss my Face body lotion next. Got any land or religion you want me to buy?

Thanks all of you! I'm having a blast with all this!!! My friends today were flabbergasted that I made my own laundry soap, and spray cleaner and then the whole OCM story. I sent this thread to one of them, who'se anxious to try the OCM. 55 can hit you square between the eyes that way...

LOL,
B.

Jen, I'm doing everything you say. I'm running out to buy Kiss my Face body lotion next. Got any land or religion you want me to buy?

OH MY GOODNESS! I am ROLLING! I am in HYSTERICS! Could you please come over and give my 4-year old LESSONS in LISTENING TO ME! I swear to goodness, the rolling the eyes and ignoring gene kicked in this week!

What to wash with when you finally banish sodium laurel sulphate and all its hoodlums too? I like the "next to godliness" (very affordable, lasts for ever and very lightly scented in a sweet lavender smell) handwash at tj's. Sorry I keep sending you back there. I'll bet they know your name by now! You could have made it easier on yourself by just asking all your questions in one day! Good grief, girl!

Make sure you are using a sodium-laurel-free wash on them there parts that are itchy, k? Could be yer whole problem!

My husband (who handed down the rolling of the eyes gene) is disgusted with my newly patchouli ways and went out and bought some stuff that had not only SLS, but also the dread TRICLOSAN. Even though he himself talked to one of the inventos of said chemical (remember he's a chemist) and they said they are still testing it because it has only been tested on non-organic surfaces (read counters, not hands) and they think when it hits water it *might* have a chemical reaction that *may* produce carcinogens.

This is why I don't trust big companies to have my best interests at heart. I once heard someone say that their daughter worked for Green Giant and had to quit because she couldn't ethically work for a company that sprayed chemicals on the fields while the people were out working in the fields! Ugh. Yet another brand to try to avoid.

I'm kinda crazy like that.

And, no, I don't really like the scent of patchouli.

And I would have spent some time here yesterday, but the site was down.

jen

Oh yeah SURE! The Site was down! Sure!

You know, I posted so much in this thread yesterday, I think I crashed the entire cpap.com empire... Seriously, I thought that when I couldn't get on later in the day...

As for your child - TSK! Did you listen to YOUR MOMMY? No, and neither did I. I still have to take 1/2 of what she says for what it's worth - NOISE - and just digest the stuff fit for human consumption...

So, you want me to wash my dishes with TJ's Castile Soap? I can do that.... No reason not to. I'd like my dishes to be minty fresh, just like my va-jay-jay. Sorry. Talk Soup has been making fun of Oprah for that comment EVERY NIGHT FOR A WEEK and it's just BURNED in my brain...

After typing the last bit, I've decided my OCM mixture needs a tweak. I think it's too oily for me. I'm going to pour it all into a larger bottle, with the remaining grapeseed oil, swish that about to dilute it, pour it back into the pump to about 80% full, and top off with Castor oil.

Yes, Gasp, I do hear you snickering. Hush up or now barbecue for YOU, Missy! BTW, when's our trip to Camlann?

Jen, dying to hear your homemade DHCC story!!!

Gasp, do you use that $39 for 1 oz bottle at TBSP at a time every morning and night to do OCM? I think I'm missing something here... Isn't that just a moisturizing oil, not a CLEANSING oil?

If you ARE, then I definitely want to be your friend and we should go to Camlann Real Soon.

Maybe Christine spritzes her face with Apple Cider Vinegar after her OCM ritual to cut that "oily" feeling afterwards? Christine, I need your input. You can't just take the weekend off like this when I'm in crisis...

LOL,
B.

If you are feeling oily, then cut back on any olive and or castor oil in the mix, both of which are fairly oily/viscous. Add more of grapeseed, almond, apricot kernal, hemp seed, or avocado oils. Any of those will be "thinner" and easier to absorb/wipe off.

I've been doing excessive research tonight on essential oils OH CRUMBS!

So many ideas, so little time, so little moula!

Essential oils I want to add to ocm for their properties:

lavender: antibacterial, soothing and healing, reduces scarring

bergamot: astringent, good for balancing oily skin, aids in healing wounds and scars

geranium: sebum balancing, cleans toxins, fungicidal, good for oily, dull skin, reduces inflammation, good for eczema, acne

Clary sage: antiseptic, regenerating of the skin, wrinkles, anti-inflammatory, useful for hair/dandruff, discourages hair growth (think leg shaving oil). But not for use during pregnancy, supposedly.

Lemon: gently exfoliates, antiseptic, atringent, controls sebum prod

ylang ylang: antiseptic, soothing, helps control sebum, smooths skin, stim new cell growth, dandruff, eczema, stimulates hair growth.

I also want to try avocado oil because it is very moisurizing and has lots of good fats and vitamins and doesn't contribute to acne. And Hemp seed oil because it is the dryest oil. Fastest to absorb.

I did all my research off the links you provided, using them as a starting point.

Obviously I won't use them all at once--maybe 2 or three at a time. Just for fun! Probably starting with Lavender and geranium and ylang ylang if I can find them for reasonable prices.

Obviously these would be used in just drops per large amounts of the other oils, just like tea trea oil. Too much could damage the skin.

jen

So, you want me to wash my dishes with TJ's Castile Soap?

You could. I use seventh generation lavender scented. This stuff is everywhere now, even Target.

But, you don't have to do everything I do, ya know? I am a reluctant leader. I'm kinda like the postman on Cheers. Full of info, kinda boring!

OK, if I can't remember his name, I better go to bed.

Jen

CLIFF CLAVEN!! That's me, the female Cliff Claven of cpaptalk.com. Take what I say with a GRAIN OF SALT!!!!

Jen...I am ashamed to say I have not tried it yet. I just havent made myself go to the store to tell the truth. But I am going to stop by the store on my way home tommorow.

The pores on my nose have all been grey/black since I was in like 4th grade. I used to go for facials every 2 weeks....the nose pores would look good for about 3 days....then back to black. The are always filled with crud. I can push it out if I really feel like an excersize in futility. But it always comes back. Funny thing is I dont get nose acne. lol strange.

But I am thinking the OCM might help clear out some of the nose pore gunk....so I am going to do it this week and see how it goes. I saw a pic of my face close up on 4th of july.....it was scary how bad my skin looked.

OK....I lied. I went to the store at 11pm after posting that last post and got what I could from walgreens (its 24hrs.lol) They had the extra virgin olive, the castor and the tea tree. I got all three and mixed. about 60/40 or the olive/castor and a few drops of tea tree....which spilled a bit in my bathroom and now it smells. lol I recognize that smell....but I can not remember from where. I do know that it is a powerfull memory because it hit me hard and I had some strange mixed emotions, but I can not fully get the picture in my head....does that make sense?

Ok to the point. I tried it. My skin feels incredible. The nose pores are ALMOST clear....I didnt expect them to fully disapear on the first try. I still think I look a bit oily....but I dont feel oily. So I am going to stick with this for a week and see how it goes. Funny thing is that my hands actually feel more dry than normal. They are usually oily as well....but for the first time in a long time I think I might need to put on lotion. But I will hold off on that.

I will try other oils when I get paid....as the three I got tonight cost me $25 and I really cant affort to get anything else right now. I think lavendar might be nice not only for the properties but for the nice scent.

JenMary,

If you only get one more oil, make it one of the following and use it to replace most of the olive oil. Olive oil is reputed to be a bit more on the oily side.

jojoba
grape seed
almond oil
apricot kernal oil

Any of these would "lighten up" your mix. Just get whatever is cheapest at the local health food store, when you get a chance.

Glad you had good first time results. I feel like an evangelist or something.

Jen