Colored lip balms are a great way to care for your lips and still add a touch of color to your lips.
The colors won't be as bright as in a lipstick, but just a hint of colour. Something some of use can definitely use during these winter months.
You'll need
*a clean container
*1 teaspoon coconut oil
*1 teaspoon of sweet almond oil or calendula oil
*1/2 teaspoon of wax (beeswax, soy wax etc)
A great natural way to add color to your lip balms is with with beet juice or beet root powder. Health food stores might also sell natural food coloring. You can also add that to your balm.
Put the oils and wax into a clean bowl or pyrex jug and heat it in double boiler. Then slowly add the coloring to your oils. You really only need to put in very small quantities at a time. It's better to play it safe and add a little more than to end up with a color that's too bright for you.
To see if you've got the right color just dip the tip of a knife (a butter knife that's not as sharp!) in the mixture and let a bit of the mixture settle. Then you can put some balm on your skin and see if you like the color. Be careful! If the color is fine you can pour the mixture into a container.
Enjoy experimenting with different colors and combinations!
zondag 15 december 2013
zondag 1 december 2013
Delicious all natural chocolate lip balm
With winter coming it's time to get ready for dry skin related issues. Calendula creams, extra caring hand cream and of course lip balms! This recipe is both caring and delicious!
Shopping list:
*a clean container
*2 teaspoons of cocoa butter. I used food grade cocoa butter, it smells heavenly.
*1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil.
*1/4 teaspoon of chocolate or you can use some cocoa powder.
Dark chocolate works best to get a strong chocolate flavor/scent. This isn't exact science, just observe as you stir the chocolate into the mixture. You might want to add more or a little less. The great thing about making your own cosmetics is that you can make it just the way YOU like it.
Melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil in a double boiler. This shouldn't take long. Then you can add the chocolate or cocoa powder. Simply let it all mix and pour it into a container and let it cool.
This is an all natural alternative to store bought flavored lip balms. All these ingredients are safe to eat so you don't have to worry about unwanted chemicals you might get into your mouth. You can safely lick your lips with this delicious balm!
Shopping list:
*a clean container
*2 teaspoons of cocoa butter. I used food grade cocoa butter, it smells heavenly.
*1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil.
*1/4 teaspoon of chocolate or you can use some cocoa powder.
Dark chocolate works best to get a strong chocolate flavor/scent. This isn't exact science, just observe as you stir the chocolate into the mixture. You might want to add more or a little less. The great thing about making your own cosmetics is that you can make it just the way YOU like it.
Melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil in a double boiler. This shouldn't take long. Then you can add the chocolate or cocoa powder. Simply let it all mix and pour it into a container and let it cool.
This is an all natural alternative to store bought flavored lip balms. All these ingredients are safe to eat so you don't have to worry about unwanted chemicals you might get into your mouth. You can safely lick your lips with this delicious balm!
zondag 3 november 2013
5 Super easy natural scrubs
A freshly scrubbed soft skin feels great. But did you know many commercial scrubs contain micro plastics? You are actually scrubbing your skin with tiny plastic bubbles that end up in the water supply, rivers and oceans. Luckily there are a number of easy, green and cheap alternatives. Most of them can actually be found in the grocery store around the corner. It almost sounds too good to be true.
1. Sugar
Sugar makes a great scrub. Mixed with some oil it leaves your skin fresh and the oil moistures your skin leaving it super soft. You can use brown sugar or any sugar with larger grains for your body, hands or feet. Use granulated sugar mixed with some oatmeal and oil for a soft scrub for your face. Or make a quick lip scrub!
Lip scrub
sugar and baking soda scrub
sugar and oatmeal facial scrub
2. Sea salt
I found some sea salt in my supermarket and the grains were just the perfect size for a natural scrub. Many health stores will have all kinds salt, from dead sea salt to Himalayan salt if you're looking for something special. Mix it with oil and you have a perfect scrub.
sea salt scrub
3.Baking soda
Baking soda has very small particles and is great for a softer kind of scrub. Perfect for your face if you have acne or just want a gentle scrub.
sugar and baking soda scrub
4. Apricot kernel and other ground up kernels and nuts
Kernels and seeds of apricots, cherries, avocados or ground up almonds make great scrub powder. Plus you'll get your daily dose of fruit and vitamins. Just let them dry, smash them, grind them and do whatever you like to create small particles perfect for a scrub bar or regular scrub.
almond scrub bar
natural scrub powder DIY
5. Cornmeal
I found some cornmeal at the foreign food section at my supermarket next to the Indian food. You can probably also find it at most Chinese food stores. It has a fine texture but still has some nice scrubbing power. You could use it in a face mask or scrub bar. I usually use it mixed with coconut oil for an oil cleanse with scrub power.
1. Sugar
Sugar makes a great scrub. Mixed with some oil it leaves your skin fresh and the oil moistures your skin leaving it super soft. You can use brown sugar or any sugar with larger grains for your body, hands or feet. Use granulated sugar mixed with some oatmeal and oil for a soft scrub for your face. Or make a quick lip scrub!
Lip scrub
sugar and baking soda scrub
sugar and oatmeal facial scrub
2. Sea salt
I found some sea salt in my supermarket and the grains were just the perfect size for a natural scrub. Many health stores will have all kinds salt, from dead sea salt to Himalayan salt if you're looking for something special. Mix it with oil and you have a perfect scrub.
sea salt scrub
3.Baking soda
Baking soda has very small particles and is great for a softer kind of scrub. Perfect for your face if you have acne or just want a gentle scrub.
sugar and baking soda scrub
4. Apricot kernel and other ground up kernels and nuts
Kernels and seeds of apricots, cherries, avocados or ground up almonds make great scrub powder. Plus you'll get your daily dose of fruit and vitamins. Just let them dry, smash them, grind them and do whatever you like to create small particles perfect for a scrub bar or regular scrub.
almond scrub bar
natural scrub powder DIY
5. Cornmeal
I found some cornmeal at the foreign food section at my supermarket next to the Indian food. You can probably also find it at most Chinese food stores. It has a fine texture but still has some nice scrubbing power. You could use it in a face mask or scrub bar. I usually use it mixed with coconut oil for an oil cleanse with scrub power.
zaterdag 28 september 2013
DIY Bowl made of old vinyl record
This DIY project is so much fun to make and it's quite easy. This bowl is great to store fruit in, it can be used to create gift baskets and more.
What do we need?
*old vinyl records
*an oven
*1 or 2 heat resistant bowls
Heat the oven to about 100 degrees Celsius. It's not exact science but somewhere around this temperature should be fine. Place one of the heat resistant bowl in the oven. I guess there are two ways to do this. One way is to put the bowl in upside down and place the record on top and let it melt around the bowl. The other way is to place the bowl in the oven and the record on top and let it melt into the bowl.
Once you see the bowl starting to melt (this happens very quickly) you can take it out of the oven and while the material is still warm you can adjust the shape. Don't expect a perfect round bowl, the shape will be more free formed and looks a bit like it came out of a Dali painting. If you're not happy with the shape you can just pop it back in the oven to reheat it.
The one on the left would be nice to put some fruit in, the other one might be more appropriate for potato chips or nuts on a birthday party. So run over to the thrift shop, buy a record and make a bowl!
I bought these records for 1 euro (it had 2 in it) so at 50 cents each you have a great gift!
What do we need?
*old vinyl records
*an oven
*1 or 2 heat resistant bowls
Heat the oven to about 100 degrees Celsius. It's not exact science but somewhere around this temperature should be fine. Place one of the heat resistant bowl in the oven. I guess there are two ways to do this. One way is to put the bowl in upside down and place the record on top and let it melt around the bowl. The other way is to place the bowl in the oven and the record on top and let it melt into the bowl.
Once you see the bowl starting to melt (this happens very quickly) you can take it out of the oven and while the material is still warm you can adjust the shape. Don't expect a perfect round bowl, the shape will be more free formed and looks a bit like it came out of a Dali painting. If you're not happy with the shape you can just pop it back in the oven to reheat it.
I bought these records for 1 euro (it had 2 in it) so at 50 cents each you have a great gift!
zondag 8 september 2013
DIY: Calendula Cream for dry skin
I really love Calendula. The flowers are beautiful and it has many great benefits for your skin! Soon the days will get colder and your skin might need a little extra attention. This cream is also great for dry areas of your skin such as your knees and elbows or any other part of your body that needs some extra love. Packed with caring ingredients this cream will give your skin some much needed love and care.
What do we need?
* A clean container
Wait until all the ingredients have fully melted. Now pour the mixture into a container and let it cool. Once the mixture has cooled a little you can add some essential oils if you like. Once your mixture has cooled it's ready to use! Yep, creating a natural caring skin product is that easy.
What do we need?
* A clean container
* 42 gr calendula oil.
* 28 gr shea butter
* 28 gr cocoa butter
* 7 gr sweet almond oil
* 28 gr cocoa butter
* 7 gr sweet almond oil
* 7 gr of wax, bees, soy, or any other wax. I used hemp wax.
You can add a few drops of essential oil if you like, but I didn't. Some chamomile or lavender would be great with this.
Making your own calendula oil is very easy. Just fill a big jar with dried calendula flowers and cover it with oil: olive oil, sunflower oil or any oil you like. Place it in a warm and sunny spot and leave it there for a few weeks. You may notice your oil has changed color. The sunflower oil I used turned orange. Filter the oil and it's ready to use!
Place all the ingredients in a heat proof jar or bowl. Heat the ingredients au bain marie.
zondag 1 september 2013
DIY natural toothpaste
One of the things that was missing from my personal care products was some home made toothpaste. I've tried some natural store bought toothpastes, but they weren't really what I wanted. They were either too expensive for my taste, or they were just plain old minty toothpastes. So I decided to make some of my own toothpaste. After searching the web for some recipe ideas I came up with my own little mix. This isn't a toothpaste that foams, but it will clean your teeth just the same!
What do we need?
*a tube or container to store your toothpaste in.
*3 tablespoons of Bentonite clay, but that was hard for me to find so I used white clay. But I've heard good things about it.
*2 tablespoons of coconut oil
*1 teaspoon of baking soda
*1 teaspoon of salt (I used Himalayan salt)
*1 teaspoon of Calcium carbonate
Now for flavoring. This mixture is really salty and you can add all sort of herbs and sweeteners to give it a better taste and improve your oral hygiene. Taste is such a personal thing, it's best to just buy some ingredients you like and mix it as you go. You can use dried herbs and stevia to create your own blend. I used some sweetener, peppermint oil and clove powder. I used some sweetener to get rid of most of the salty taste and peppermint and clove for a fresh breath.
All you need to do is put these ingredients in a clean bowl and mix it!
What do we need?
*a tube or container to store your toothpaste in.
*3 tablespoons of Bentonite clay, but that was hard for me to find so I used white clay. But I've heard good things about it.
*2 tablespoons of coconut oil
*1 teaspoon of baking soda
*1 teaspoon of salt (I used Himalayan salt)
*1 teaspoon of Calcium carbonate
Now for flavoring. This mixture is really salty and you can add all sort of herbs and sweeteners to give it a better taste and improve your oral hygiene. Taste is such a personal thing, it's best to just buy some ingredients you like and mix it as you go. You can use dried herbs and stevia to create your own blend. I used some sweetener, peppermint oil and clove powder. I used some sweetener to get rid of most of the salty taste and peppermint and clove for a fresh breath.
You can add some water if you like to thin the mixture if you like. If you decide to do so use water, us some that you've boiled first to get rid of a lot of bacteria and other nasty things that could spoil your toothpaste.
Now it's ready to be put in a tube or container. If you use a container I would suggest using a dry toothbrush to minimize the possible growth of bacteria and molds.
zondag 25 augustus 2013
Ethics and ingredients: Making decisions
If you've been following this blog you're very likely to have your own opinions, thoughts, ideas about this world. Green, homemade cosmetics isn't just about looking good and being green. When choosing the ingredients you want to use, you can make those decisions based on a lot of different things. I'll walk you through some of the topics you can think about before buying anything.
Quality v.s. quantity
Sometimes products are cheaper for a reason. They the quality is just not as good as the more expensive version. Sometimes cheaper products contain cheaper chemical substances instead of purely natural substances you might find in more expensive products. Be sure to check labels and ingredients when you buy something and don't just look at the price. Spending a little more on better quality is better deal in the end.
Vegetarian and Vegan
A lot times green ingredients have an animal origin. Milk powder in baths and masks, beeswax in creams. If you're a vegetarian or vegan you can think about what ingredients you want or don't want in your products. There are plenty of alternatives that are plant based. More on that topic here
Local v.s. global
Now that we have airplanes, trucks and boats you can get fresh ingredients all year round. Fresh and exotic products are available in your local supermarket. But have you ever consider the effects on the globe? Transport of these products causes pollution and ingredients are often produced in a greenhouse. Think about what products you could locally before having exotic products shipped over.
Fair trade
In my recipes I sometimes use different teas and sugar. A thing to consider when buying ingredients is the circumstances they were made in. Were people exploited during the production? These are all things you can think about.
There's on personal rule I have when making natural cosmetics. To me it always feels weird to use fresh foods in cosmetics. I just can't stand the thought of putting fresh fruit on my face for beauty while others in other countries are starving because they don't have enough to eat. I'd rather stick to oils, butters and flowers for beauty and leave the fresh fruit there to be eaten.
There's much more things you could think about before you buy products, but I feel like these topics are the most obvious. I hope it has given you something to think about. Feel free to share other topics you could consider at the comments section.
Quality v.s. quantity
Sometimes products are cheaper for a reason. They the quality is just not as good as the more expensive version. Sometimes cheaper products contain cheaper chemical substances instead of purely natural substances you might find in more expensive products. Be sure to check labels and ingredients when you buy something and don't just look at the price. Spending a little more on better quality is better deal in the end.
Vegetarian and Vegan
A lot times green ingredients have an animal origin. Milk powder in baths and masks, beeswax in creams. If you're a vegetarian or vegan you can think about what ingredients you want or don't want in your products. There are plenty of alternatives that are plant based. More on that topic here
Local v.s. global
Now that we have airplanes, trucks and boats you can get fresh ingredients all year round. Fresh and exotic products are available in your local supermarket. But have you ever consider the effects on the globe? Transport of these products causes pollution and ingredients are often produced in a greenhouse. Think about what products you could locally before having exotic products shipped over.
Fair trade
In my recipes I sometimes use different teas and sugar. A thing to consider when buying ingredients is the circumstances they were made in. Were people exploited during the production? These are all things you can think about.
There's on personal rule I have when making natural cosmetics. To me it always feels weird to use fresh foods in cosmetics. I just can't stand the thought of putting fresh fruit on my face for beauty while others in other countries are starving because they don't have enough to eat. I'd rather stick to oils, butters and flowers for beauty and leave the fresh fruit there to be eaten.
There's much more things you could think about before you buy products, but I feel like these topics are the most obvious. I hope it has given you something to think about. Feel free to share other topics you could consider at the comments section.
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