Super easy DIY scrub with sugar and baking soda

I like simple recipes, and this one really is. Because all you need is two ingredients! A 100% natural scrub.
This recipe is really soft on your skin and it also leaves your skin really soft. It's a scrub that has helped reduce my acne.

What do we need? 

*baking soda
*sugar
*a container

I chose granulated sugar to get a mild scrubbing action. If you want to use brown sugar or get a more intense scrub I would suggest using this recipe.

All we need for this recipe is equal amounts of baking soda and sugar mixed together. One good tablespoon of the mixture should be enough for one scrub.Mix it with a tiny bit of water to get a thick paste. You really only need a tiny bit of water for this! You don't want the mixture to get too wet.

The thing I like about this recipe is you can make large quantities of the mixture and store it. Because of the dry powder it has a long shelf life. Just store it in a big jar and you can take a tablespoon every time you need it. I use this scrub once a week.

Enjoy your soft skin!

Ditching your shampoo - going no poo

About a year ago I decided to stop using shampoo, or as some call it: going no poo. There are plenty of alternatives for shampoo that still keep your hair silky and shiny!

Most commercial shampoos contain some ugly ingredients (SLS, parabens and more) Of course you can still buy greener alternatives, there are some good ones out there but always beware of green-washing.
I chose to ditch shampoo altogether. After doing some reading on the internet about alternatives to shampoo I decided baking soda would best for me.

So how do you wash your hair with baking soda?
You need an empty shampoo bottle or some other bottle. The best option is a bottle with a small opening.
You mix one part baking soda. this can vary from 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 5 parts of water to  1 part to 9, 10 or however many parts of water you choose.
 In the beginning you might need more baking soda in your mixture, but as time passes your hair will become less greasy and you can add more water. There might come a point where you have so much baking soda water that it's easier to just start using a smaller measure for your baking soda and water.

You  mix it together, and spread the mixture it on your scalp. gently massage it over your entire head. This is where most of the grease and dirt will be. The grease in the rest of your hair will was away as you rinse your hair. You can finish with a conditioning rinse of apple cider vinegar, lime or lemon juice mixed with water. I personally never do this, but it's recommenced in a lot of posts I've read on the subject. For me it doesn't really work, it just leaves my scalp feeling itchy and uncomfortable. You can use a conditioner for your hair afterwards if you want to.

what's different about washing your hair with baking soda?
 There are several things I've noticed about washing your hair with baking soda. First of all washing my hair has become a more mindful experience. You can't just put some shampoo on your hair and wait for tons of bubbles to appear and have clean hair. You have to be in the moment, really pay attention to every part of your scalp. When it comes to my hair I've noticed it has more volume and looks very shiny. I was really surprised about how much volume my hair has. According to my hairdresser my hair still looks really healthy.
I've also noticed my hair has become 90% less greasy. When I started this I had to wash my hair every other day. Now I wash my hair once a week.

There are other options though: herbal rinses, clay masks, or just stopping washing your hair. There are several ways to stop washing your hair. The first is to just go die hard and stop washing it. Your hair might look greasy for a few weeks, but your body will adjust and stop producing so much oil. After that you can just rinse your hair with water. You can also go for a more gentle approach and start mixing shampoo with water until you end up with mostly water. It's similar to the first method except for the fact that your hair will look less greasy during the transformation and it will also take longer.

Do you know more alternatives for shampoos? Don't keep them to yourself, please share in the comment section below.

DIY ingredients: Baking soda

There are some ingredients you can use in home made cosmetics that deserve some extra attention. They can be used in many products and are easy to obtain. Today we'll put baking soda in the spotlight.

Baking soda has been around for a long time and is used for a lot of things. Around the house it can be used for baking, deodorizing, as a relief for heartburn and it's also used in toothpaste. It's also a great green cleaning alternative.
When it comes natural cosmetics baking soda is a must have. It's cheap, available in supermarkets and Asian food stores and has a long shelf life. Here are some examples of the usage of baking soda:

Head and face
masks, cleaners, scrubs, toothpastes and powders.
Hair
It can be used to wash your hair (more about that in a later post)
Body
A soft scrub, bath salts, deodorants (both body powder and cream deodorants)

a recipe for cream deodorant with baking soda can be found here

Store your baking soda in a dry and dark area.

Suggestions + update

I've been quite inactive lately, on my blog, my dA page and Etsy. School, work and the nice weather that has finally arrived have kept me busy. I have some ideas for new posts and DIYs in mind, and I hope to be a little more active in the near future. In the meantime I would like to hear some of your ideas. What type of posts do you like to read? Are there recipes or ingredients you want to read about? Do you want to read more about creative ideas? Let me know! Let's fill up the comments section.

DIY headbands and elastics from old pantyhose

This is an easy way to re-use old pantyhose! After the inial anger we get after wearing a pantyhose just once and discovering it already has holes it, we can now make something useful out of it!

What do we need?
An old panythose
scissors
optional: needle and thread

The first step we need to take is to think about what we want for our elastics and or headbands. the waist part will be larger and maybe more suitable for a headband. The leg part has different sizes of circles, so depending on how large or small you want your elastic to be, you either take the lower leg part or the thigh part. It's already a uniform round shape, so all you need to do is get your scissors and start cutting. if you want a smaller elastic you can go for a smaller band, if you want a wider elastic you just cut a wider band.
That's all there is to it! The thing I love about these elastics is that there's no metal strip holding the elastic together, plus there's a lot more variation in elasticity.You can get a lot of elastics just from one pantyhose!

For a headband there are 2 options. You can either cut a strip from the waist or thigh section, or you can go for a bit more creativity. You can cut strips of the pantyhose and braid them together. You can then secure both ends with needle and thread. Let your creativity flow and see what other options you might come up with! 

Creating your perfect skin routine

Finding your perfect skin routine can be very tricky. Today I'll share some tips and tricks to help you get a better skin routine.

First of all we need to step away from everything commercials say. They only want to sell their product and they utilize our fears and insecurities to do so. We all want a clear and soft skin, and want fast results. So if a commercial says you'll have less wrinkles within a week we all run to the store to get it. There is no such thing as a quick fix solution in skin products. It's also hard to define a skin as "oily" or "dry". These are just marketing strategies. Some parts of your face of body might be dry, and other parts might be oily.
We really need to step away from all the commercials and look at what is best for us and be realistic.

The first thing you can do is to take a good look at your own skin. Is your skin dry, a bit oily in some places? how does it react to certain types of weather, and does it feel more oily during the day?
After identifying your skin it's time to find (or even better, make your own) products that fit your needs.
Looking into a bit of biology as to what causes skin to be dry or oily, or how your skin actually works can be very helpful. There's some basic info on wikipedia here. One of things I learned is that most products for oily skin can be very drying, causing the skin to produce more oils. This causes a vicious cycle. It's better to use softer products which calm down your skin.
Depending on your skin you might have certain needs, but our skin always likes is to be well hydrated.
For some of you that might require some extra work, while others might have skin like a cactus that only needs very little watering.

Like I said before there's no quick fix in skin care. Your skin is a living organism and it take at least a month for the skin to renew. As long as you're not having allergic reactions, it's best to be patient. Find a routine and really stick to it, that way you'll have the best chance at having a happy skin. If that means using 2 different cream for your face, using baby products or other "unconventional" products, so be it. 
I'm no dermatologist, so please consult a doctor if you have skin issues. I hope this article will give you a push in the right direction.

Natural scrub powder DIY

It's been a while since I've written a blog post. I've been trying to keep the computer and the internet to a minimum to focus on things that are a bit more important. Now I'm inspired and refreshed.
I wanted to share with you some ways you can make your own scrub powders for masks and various forms of scrubs (bars, creams, oils) It's easy and cheap!

Ground seeds and nuts a great and natural alternative for micro plastic, they come free with the fruit you buy at your local market. Avocado, cherry, mango and apricot kernels are great to use in scrubs.
Once you've removed the kernels, clean them and let them dry. You can dry them in the oven for an hour or 2 at very low temperatures or just put them in a dry place in the sun for a week or two.
When they've dried you can start grinding. I would suggest you try to chop the larger kernels into smaller chunks first before placing them in a blender or hand blender. If after you've placed the kernels in the blender you still feel like they're too large you can use a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle.
Once you feel like the powder is fine enough you're ready to use it in a scrub. You can use larger pieces for a body scrub and fine powder for a facial scrub.

I had a picture of my own mixture, but it won't let me upload it. Hopefully I can add it later!

If you use these natural powders in a scrub remember to keep water out of it (if you're using it in creamy or oily scrub) or to let it dry really well after you've used it if you're using it in a scrub bar. This way you'll prevent fungus from growing.

Have fun eating your fruits, getting your vitamins and making your own scrub powder.