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DIY Sunscreen Cream 

Ingredients:



  • 1/2 cup Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter or Shea butter
  • 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
  • 1/4 cup Almond Oil, Argan Oil or Avocado Oil (these oils have natural sunscreens in them, almond is high in sulfur content so bugs don't care for it!)
  • 1 tablespoon Beeswax Pellets
  • 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil (I use T-50)
  • 5-10 drops Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil (or you can use your favorite "skin friendly" essential oil)
  • 2-3 drops Fragrance Oil of your choice (optional)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of Zinc Oxide Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Titanium Dioxide Powder


 Directions: 

1. Melt the coconut oil and butter until liquefied in a saucepan over low heat. (glass or enamel cookware preferred) Do not microwave as this will ruin the oil.
  1. Remove from heat and pour in the almond oil, vitamin E and essential oil, stir together. Work in the 2 powders. 
  2. Next place it in the fridge for an hour to harden, it needs it to be a little firmer than room temperature butter.
  3. Blend it until it has been whipped into butter. If you are having problems getting your butter to whip it is probably not cold enough-put it back in the refrigerator and get it colder. You may also just mix well and use as a liquid.
  4. Use a clean spatula and scrape into a clean 8 oz container, I'm using some small plastic containers with lids so I can put them in a few locations.
  5. Use a small amount on skin-a little goes a long way. Your skin will thank you!
This cream is water resistant and does a really good job on keeping the sun from burning your skin. I used this and it lasted for 2 hours-no burn. The parts of me that I didn't cover, burned. Ouch. Next time I will put it on more spots when I go out to float around the cove of the lake. :) 

As far as an SPF rating goes I would say for sure it is at least a 15-30 SPF. Just reapply it every 1-2 hours if you are in direct sunlight. Remember this is a block style sunscreen. It works when applied.


DIY Bug Repellant

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 oz Water boiled in Sassafras 20 minutes and strained
  • 4 oz Witch Hazel
  • 1/2 t.Glycerin
  • 10 drops Rosemary EO
  • 10 drops Clove Bud EO
  • 10 drops Cajeput EO
  • 10 drops Lemongrass EO
  • 10 drops Eucalyptus EO
  • 10 drops Citronella EO
  • 5 drops Cinnamon Oil
  • 5 drops Peppermint Oil
  • 5 drops Catnip EO
  • 1 1/2 t Sweet Almond Oil
  • 1 t. Preservative

Place ingredients in a misting type of spray bottle, shake and use. 

Smells wonderful, won't stain skin or clothes and bugs will leave you alone. Doesn't make the skin feel oily or sticky either. 

Aloe Bug Repellent & After Sun Care

Ingredients:

Fill the bottle with each item, give it a light shake and use. It turns a white milky color when shook up. I've never had it stain clothing as I use a light mister. 

Optional: You can add potassium sorbate as a preservative. You can also add Lecithin or polysorbate 20 to emulsify the oils with the other liquids. Works great to cool and heal a sunburn!




DIY Texturizing Spray

This is a very easy to make spray, and it literally costs about 1/50th of the store bought versions. It adds great texture and volume to hair without the harsh chemicals. If you make it yourself it gives you more options to customize it for your hair type to get the texture you want.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of hot water (not boiling) or Chamomile Tea for blondes, any type of black tea for brunettes-I use Oolong mixed with Chai,  and raspberry or black berry for red heads.
  • 2 tablespoons Epsom Salts (or more for extra texture)
  • 1/2 tsp  Salt-Himalayan or Sea Salt (optional but adds stiffness)
  • 1 teaspoon Aloe Vera Gel
  • 1 teaspoon potassium sorbate or other preservative
  • 3-4 drops light weight oil-I use Argan Oil or a few drops of essential oils
  • 1 drop Lecithin
  • 10 oz or larger Spray Bottle
To lighten the hair add 1 teaspoon lemon juice
To darken the hair add ½ teaspoon rosemary or black walnut extract
Scents are optional: I use a ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, but any type of extract you like will work, or use a spritz of your favorite cologne.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a glass or bowl and transfer to your spray bottle (I use a funnel because I’m not good at pouring into a small opening) or put all the ingredients directly into your spray bottle and shake until the salts are dissolved.  This will last 3-4 months but if you use it every day like I do, you’ll be making more next month! ;)

Use:

Spray on damp hair and scrunch with a towel to dry for loose natural waves. Or use a blow dryer with diffuser. I used a blow dryer on mine. You can also spray on dry hair at the roots for volume without the waves. 



98% Natural Lotion

(For more instructions refer to lotion making blog)

Ingredients:

  • 30% of any type of oils (Shea, Coconut, Olive, Argan, Sesame, etc.)
  • 60% liquid-can be tea, water, aloe vera, milks 
  • 8% Emulsifier (you can adjust this 5-8%, it depends on how thin or thick you want your lotion)
  • 2% Preservative

Directions:

  1. Melt/warm your oils and Emulsifier to 170 degrees C in a clean glass, porcelain or stainless steel pot and hold for 20 minutes. 
  2. Heat your liquid solution 170 degrees C,  and hold for 20 minutes.  Use a thermometer if in doubt!
  3. After 20 minutes allow to cool to 140-120 degrees. 
  4. Pour your oils into glass mixing bowl, set your mixer at a low speed and slowly pour the hot liquid in. Continue mixing for a few minutes. You should see a nice thin lotion. 
  5. Cover with clean cloth or paper towel and allow to cool to about 110 degrees-stir every few minutes.
  6.  Add in your fragrances and preservatives at this time. It depends on the temperature your preservative can handle. Stir manually to get any air bubbles out of the mixture.
  7. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature you can pour it into your bottles. If you pour it sooner condensation will form in the bottle. You will need to shake the lotion to mix it back into the lotion where the preservative will take care of it. 
  8. Put your caps/pumps on, label and enjoy!

Natural Deodorant
Top fill container

Making natural deodorant is easy. Deodorant lets you sweat but keeps the bacteria from forming and causing you to stink.You can use various ingredients to do the job and not worry about the dangerous additives of antiperspirants, such as  aluminum. I have tried using baking soda and other ingredients, but this is the combination that works the best for me.

First you need a container, if you have an old antiperspirant tube you may wash it thoroughly and repurpose it for your recipe. If it is a bottom fill style you will remove the plug from the bottom and put tape across the top to keep it from running out as the bottom fill style needs to be done upside down. I prefer my top fill! You simply pour it in and let it harden! Much easier. If you don't have a a deodorant container any type of small container is fine but you will need to determine how much you will need to make, based on the size of your container. The ingredients I use are:


  1. Zinc Oxide Powder
  2. Coconut oil (or any hard butter such as Cocoa, Mango, Tucuma, Kokum, Cupuacu, or Sal) 
  3. Beeswax or Floral Wax
  4. 2 drops of T-50 E
  5. Optional: essential oils and/or fragrance oils


Example: For a 3 oz container I use 2 oz butter, .25 oz beeswax, 1 T Zinc Oxide Powder, a few drops of lavender, rosemary and lemongrass essential oil.

Use a small enamel or glass saucepan and melt your butter and wax, add in the zinc powder mixing it in thoroughly, add the T-50 E, add your optional EO's and FO's. Your mixture should be white and fairly runny. Pour into your container. Place in fridge for a while until cooled and hard.

Note: If you're using a bottom fill container set it on a plate or in a bowl just in case it leaks so you won't have a mess to clean in the fridge!

To use: Place a small amount under the arms or any place you have problems with bacteria causing odors. I put it on at night before I retire so there is no white on my underarm in the morning. Plus I have night sweats so it really helps me with that!

It lasts for 2-4 days depending on how vigorous you are and how much you sweat. I rinse my underarms at night with water and it keeps right on working!



Herbal tooth powder:


3 T. Magnesium, Calcium Carbonate & Zinc (powdered together) (Dollar stores carry this!)
2 t. Activated Charcoal*-if you have a gun hobbyist in the house they probably have some!
1 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Sea Salt
1 t. Ground Cloves or 20 drops Clove Oil
1 t. Calendula infused Sesame Oil
10-20 drops Peppermint Oil
Stevia powder to taste
Optional: a few drops of each extract: Burdock Root, Nettle Root, Marshmallow Root, Yarrow, and
Rose Hips Extract

I mortar-pestled the ingredients and that's it- tooth powder! Place in glass jar (s).
*What is activated charcoal? Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon processed to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions.



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