DIY Health Tips

I am a strong advocate for choosing healthy alternatives to mainstream household chemicals like cleaning products, personal care products, and other toxic-containing products.

Here are my rules of thumb:
1) If I can trace it back to nature, without toxins added or nature's healing properties eliminated, I approve.
2) If I can make it at home from scratch in a better, more cost-effective way, I will.
3) If I can trust a company to exceed my personal skill making something, and produce a higher-quality product than I can (like distilling high-quality essential oils), I will let them empower me in that way.

Foaming Handsoap

This recipe is simple and easy to memorize.

Materials:

2 tablespoons liquid castile soap (unscented)
1 tablespoon  Fractionated Coconut oil
10 drops essential oils of choice


Method:

1. Pour castile soap and Fractionated Coconut Oil into bottle. 
2. Add essential oils. 
3. Slowly add water into bottle making sure to leave room for the foaming pump. 
4. Add lid, shake, and you are good to go! 
5. When ready to use, just pump 1-2 times into hands and wash with warm water.

Baby Wipes

These wipes are simple to make, but you have to plan ahead. It requires overnight or 8-12 hours to complete.

Materials:
1 Roll Bounty Paper Towel (not Select-a-Size)
1 TBSP Castile Soap (or any baby soap)
1 TBSP Coconut or Olive Oil
1 Cup water
1 Container (Recommended Container)
8-10 drops essential oil (lavender, melaluca, or any essential oil good for the skin)

Method:

1. Cut the paper towel roll in half. Use a serrated knife, it works much better.
2. Place half roll in container, and save the other half for later.
3. Boil the water. Remove from heat add soap, oil, and essential oils. Mix well.
4. Pour water mixture over paper towels and seal overnight. 
5. Pull wipes from the center. 

Laundry Soap

Before you begin a few things to take note of:
* This makes 1/2 Gallon of Concentrate, which is 128 full loads of laundry!
* You only need 1 TBSP per load.
* Follow the directions Carefully, adding the ingredients at the wrong time will result in a grainy textured detergent that will not dissolve well in the washer.

Materials:
1 bar Fels Naptha
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
4 cups of hot water
15-20 drops Essential Oil per bottle.





Method:

1. Put 4 cups of water in a medium saucepan over high heat. While that is heating, mix the borax and washing soda together in a bowl, mixing well, set aside.
2. Grate the Fels Naptha. The easiest way to do this is to cut it into several smaller chunks and then run it through a food processor- otherwise, you can just grate it with a hand grater or shave it with a knife.
3. Add the freshly grated soap to the water in the saucepan, stirring almost constantly. Reduce the heat to medium, It will take approximately 10 – 15 minutes for the Fels Naptha to complete dissolve. If it takes longer, your heat wasn't up high enough. Alternatively, you can melt the fels on the stove over low heat without water then add the water afterwards, stirring it in, as the original recipe called for. I find that it's much easier to melt IN the water. Absolutely do NOT let this Boil over, or you'll have a sudsy mess that you do NOT want to contend with!!
4. Once the fels naptha has completely melted, remove the pan from the heat and add in the Borax and the Washing Soda, stirring constantly until the powders are completely dissolved, this will take about 3-5 minutes. Do not under-stir
   
   
   or your soap texture will be very grainy rather than smooth. (You can fee the "graininess" on the bottom of the pan, once you can't feel it, it's incorporated fully!)
5. Pour the liquid equally into (2) 1 quart Mason jars.
6. Add just enough water to bring the contents up to the “shoulders” or Rounded part of the jar, leaving approximately 1 ½ inches of headspace.
7. Put the lid on the jars and turn them UPSIDE DOWN and let them sit a few hours (about 4 - 5 hours). The reason for this is that the soap is going to Separate into layers while it's resting and occasionally will form crystals on the bottom. Rather than waste these trying to scrape them off, in the next step we're going to incorporate them easily! Btw, if you leave it overnight it will have a slightly grainier texture than if you whip it immediately after 4 hours. 
   
   
   
8. There are two ways to do this next step, depending on what you have for equipment. Here's how I like to do it- unscrew the blade and bottom from your blender and screw them onto your regular mouthed mason jar containing all of your ingredients. Make sure to add your essential oils at this step so they get mixed in.
   Place the entire mason jar on the blender and whip until smooth and creamy throughout, about a minute. Flip back over, unscrew the blender blade, attach a cover and seal.

How to Use:

Add 1 Tablespoon to a load of laundry in any type of machine, conventional, Front Loader, High Capacity & High Efficiency (HE), etc.

Do not add the detergent to the "detergent compartment" but instead directly with the dirty clothes. The detergent is Smooth and creamy with the same Look and consistency of Mayonnaise. Be sure to label the jar to prevent accidental ingestion!!

Loading Machine Directions

1. Fill the machine with dirty clothes
2. start the water, (hot- Cold- or warm- doesn't matter)
3. Measure out 1 Tablespoon (literally) of super laundry sauce
4. stick the measuring spoon of detergent under the running water, let it fall off the spoon.
5. Close the washer lid, go away and do something else while the machine runs.

Front-loader Machine Directions:

1. Fill the machine with dirty clothes
2. Measure out 1 Tablespoon (literally) of super laundry sauce On Top of the dirty Clothes
3. Close the washer, start it, go away and do something else while the machine runs. 

Citrus Room Spray

Materials:
1 TBSP baking soda
2 cups distilled water
Empty Spray Bottle
30 drops Citrus Bliss

Method:

1. Measure baking soda into bowl and add essential oil
2. Mix essential oil into baking soda using a fork
3. Pour mixture into spray bottle and top off with distilled water.
4. Shake and Spray 

This document has more cleaning recipes.

Easy Hair Detangler

Manage after-bath tangles, morning bed-heads or after-play bird nests!

Materials:
4 ounce bottle
Distilled water
2 tablespoons vitamin E Oil
2 tablespoons glycerin
6-10 drops lavender essential oil

Method:

1. Combine ingredients in bottle and fill with water.
2. Spray on wet or dry hair as a natural detangling spray or leave-in conditioner.
3. Brush hair

Window Cleaner

Materials:
2 cups white vinegar
½ cup distilled water
8 drops citrus essential oil (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime)

Method:

1. Combine in a 16 oz spray bottle. 
2. Shake before each use.

This document has more cleaning recipes.

Valentine's Gifts

Valentine's Day presents the perfect opportunity to show that special someone some creative pampering and loving. Sometimes YOU need to show yourself some special pampering time as well. Here are some tips if you're trying to create a healthy, special pampering for that special someone, or just for yourself.

Bath & Foot Blend

Ingredients

• 1 cup Epsom Salt
• 1 cup Baking Soda
• 1/4 cup Kosher Salt
• 8 drops Lavender Essential Oil
• 8 drops Ylang Ylang or Sandalwood Essential Oil
• 8 drops Grapefruit Essential Oil

Directions

1. Combine Dry Ingredients into a pint (2 cups) sized Mason Jar, shake until well mixed.
2. Add Essential Oils and shake until well mixed.
3. Add a couple tablespoons to warm water and soak feet in a bowl for 20 minutes, or add 1 cup to a bath of warm water.

At end: makes 2 baths worth or a couple dozen foot baths

Massage Blend for Emotional Connection

Ingredients

• 4 drops of Bergamot Essential Oil
• 4 drops of Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
• 4 drops of Sandalwood Essential Oil
• 3 drops of Wild Orange Essential Oil
• 3 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil
• 2 drops of Ginger Essential Oil
• 2 drops of Black Pepper Essential Oil
• Fractionated Coconut Oil or Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Add all 7 Essential Oils to 4 ounces of Fractionated Coconut Oil
or
2. Combine all 7 Essential Oils into 1/4 cup softened coconut Oil and blend well.
3. Use as a massage oil incl. for feet massage, back massage, or a frisky inner thigh massage

Sensual Lubricant Blends

All-Star Lubricant Blend

• 2-10 drops Ylang Ylang
• 5 drops Lavender
• 3 drops Peppermint (longer erection? Use more peppermint)
• 3 drops Clove (if you want a warmer outcome-- use more clove)
• 3 drops Cypress
• 2 drops Geranium
• 2 drops Melaleuca (stops yeast)
• 1-2 drops Wild Orange
• Fractionated Coconut Oil or Coconut Oil

Edible Lubricant

• 2-10 drops Ylang Ylang
• 5 drops Geranium
• 3 drops Wild Orange
• 3 drops Clove
• 3 drops Peppermint
• 2-3 drops Lavender
• Fractionated Coconut Oil or Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Add all Essential Oils to 4 ounces of Fractionated Coconut Oil
or
2. Combine all Essential Oils into 1/4 cup softened coconut Oil and blend well.

If you don't have all the oils mentioned, do the best you can. Each essential oil listed has it's own unique benefits for calming, relaxing, arousal, increasing libido, and balancing hormones. Have fun experimenting!

Cool Tip: Did you know that Fractionated Coconut Oil is the best 100% all natural lubricant?

Diffuser Aphrodisiac Blends

Recipe for Libido:

• Whisper Essential Oil Blend - Women's Blend
• Ylang Ylang - Increases sexual desire, encourages attraction, supports circulatory system (one of the more powerful aphrodisiacs)
• Sandalwood - Promotes emotional openness
• Cinnamon - Warming oil, improves circulation and bloodflow
• Ginger - Warming oil, improves circulation and helps heal sexual issues, allowing for sexual openness, honesty, and freedom
• Black Pepper - Strengthens circulation, stimulates the appetite (literally and sexually)
• Clary Sage - Emotional and hormone balancer
• Geranium - Increases libido and encourages feelings of love and trust
• Bergamot - Encourages feelings of self acceptance and confidence
• Lavender - Hormone balancer, increases blood flow, female sensitivity, calms insecurities, and releases tension

Directions

1. Pick and choose which essential oils suit your situation or smell especially good together.
2. Diffuse