So here are a few of my toiletry recipes for those who would like to dabble in making their own. I love knowing I am keeping my family free of chemicals and harsh ingredients and making great gifts! You may want to have a designated pot/spoon for soap and lotion making, especially when using Shea or cocoa butters and oils...they are VERY hard to wash from the pot!
Deodorant
Notes: You can make this harder or softer according to you climate or where you store this by increasing/decreasing the amount of beeswax but be warned, a little goes a LONG way! Don't be afraid to keep trying, you can always remelt. This will make 2 bars (I just use empty deodorant containers but you can buy some or use a shallow jar) Melt the following ingredients in a pot...
5-6 TBSP of coconut oil (grocery store)
1/4 c cornstarch OR arrowroot powder for aluminum free
1/4 c baking powder (again consider A free)
1/2 TBSP beeswax pellets
1 TBSP Shea butter
20 drops essential oil of choice (I use Rosemary-Mint), add last when others have melted
Stir all ing until melted, remove from heat and continue to stir occasionally until it has cooled and thickened slightly, enough to pour into your deodorant tubes without separating and dripping through the bottom. Allow to harden and enjoy!
Honey Soap
This is an easy soap to start with, I use a square honey bee mold with 16 soap squares. Melt (careful not to scorch) ...
1 lb soap (white or clear glycerin or I like coconut oil soap base)
Add:
5 TBSP honey
approx 30 drops honey fragrance oil
approx 15 drops honeysuckle " "
20 drops orange food color
3-5 drops black food color
When mixed over heat, pour into mold and allow to harden. Remove from mold and package as desired.
Laundry Detergent
You will need a 5 gal bucket with a lid. Once you make your own laundry detergent you won't believe how easy and CHEAP it is! This cost me less than $2 a batch and lasts our family of 5 three months.
Grate 1 bar of ZOTE soap into pot. Cover with water and heat/stir until melted. Stir in 1 1/2 c Borax and 1 1/2 c Washing Soda. Fill bucket about 1/3 of the way full with water. Pour combined ingredients into the bucket and stir. Continue to add water until the bucket is pretty full. Allow to sit overnight. Stir again. It will be a really crazy consistency like snot or won ton soup but it's fine ;) I use about 1/2 c per load in my HE washer. If you have a really dirty load you can add some of the Borax or W S to the load.
OK ya'll have a go at those and I will add more later ;)
