Sustainable: homemade shampoo and toothpaste

Sustainable toiletries are one way to use ingredients that are safer for us as well as reducing waste.

Many recipes are to be found on the web. The following are but a few and they are easy to make.

Shampoo

½ cup castile soap

¼ cup coconut milk

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp jojoba oil

1 tbsp vitamin e (optional)

25 drops lemongrass

15 drops lavender

10 drops lemon

Mix all ingredients in a (recycled jam) jar. Shake well before each use.

Don’t do what I did!!! Not paying as much attention to all the ingredients as I should have, instead of adding coconut MILK to the blend, I added coconut OIL. It goes without saying, that even though my hair was nice and soft (which I don’t really need as I have very fine hair!) it became oily very quickly!! So next time ……

NOTE: All was not lost; the ‘shampoo’ with coconut oil has become a gentle and nourishing body wash.

Toothpastes

I love the simple recipe toothpaste; my mouth feels clean and fresh after using it.

A simple single use toothpaste:

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp sea salt, finely ground (Celtic or Himalayan salt)

1 drop peppermint pure essential oil (refreshing)

1 drop tea tree pure essential oil (great anti-bacterial properties)

A few drops of water

 

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and combine to form a thick paste.  The peppermint will leave your mouth refreshed and the cinnamon essential oil has anti-septic properties. 

Thanks to mother nature network for this recipe

Remineralizing toothpaste

5 tablespoons calcium powder or calcium magnesium powder

2 tablespoons baking soda

3 to 4 tablespoons coconut oil

4 drops peppermint essential oil (refreshing)

2 drops tea tree essential oil (great anti-bacterial properties)

2 drops cinnamon essential oil (great anti-infectious properties)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and add the coconut oil to achieve a paste. If it is too runny add some baking soda and if it is too thick, add some more coconut oil. Store in a small (recycled jam) jar. Finally add the essential oils. If you wish to only use one or two essential oils, I would chose peppermint (refreshing) and tea tree (anti-bacterial).

This is the next one I will try as this recipe has the benefit of the calcium and/or magnesium powder. improvement in cold sensitivity of the teeth as been reported.

Thanks to Wellness Mama for this recipe.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!