I want to retire my razor and shaving cream in favour of body sugaring, because it is cheap and natural, and I have all the things I need for it in my kitchen, including a candy thermometer- lucky me!
Got the recipe from here; sugaring is essentially a mixture of sugar, lemon juice and water that is boiled till it becomes a paste, and after it cools, it is spread onto hairy arms and legs and the hair is removed with the aid of cotton strips.
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
Combine the ingredients, boil till the mixture reaches hard candy stage (250F), remove from heat and pour into a jar, and let it cool. After that, your paste is good to go.
My experience
I had to boil my mixture till 260F instead of 250F; you'll know it's done when the smell and colour of the mixture changes- the colour will become a dark brown and it will smell a little like caramel. I cut up a few old cotton rags and used those as the cloth strips. I applied the paste in the opposite direction of the hair growth, smoothed the cloth strip over it with the back of a spoon, then pulled in the direction of the hair growth so that the hair is pulled out completely. If you do it the other way round, you risk breaking the hair strands instead of pulling them out by the root. After I was done using a strip I dropped it into a basin of hot water next to me, which will help with the clean-up. Plus, you can reuse them so it's totally eco-friendly. Sugaring both legs took me an hour, which is significantly longer than shaving, but I think my inexperience (first time!) was a contributing factor. Nonetheless, I am very pleased with the results! My legs look really clean, and I know the regrowth will take at least a couple of weeks (that's what I'm hoping, anyway). I'm itching to try this out on my underarms... Probably the only drawback of this method, apart from how time-consuming it is if you're new at it, is that the hair has to be long enough so that the sugaring paste can grab hold of it and yank it out.
Showing posts with label household. Show all posts
Showing posts with label household. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Homemade natural deodorant
I found a recipe for natural deodorant, comprising of ingredients I already have in my kitchen:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
5-6 tablespoons coconut oil
I've never liked the host of chemicals in antiperspirants... Apparently aluminium is used in them, and has been linked to a number of diseases including breast cancer. Some proponents of this natural deodorant recipe swear by its stink fighting properties... I'm going to try it out and see what happens; while many people rave about it, my main concern is that it is going to stain my clothes. Guess I'll be wearing cotton t-shirts over the next few days!
Update:
Making the deodorant
I started with 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup corn starch, and 7 tablespoons of liquid organic virgin coconut oil (I froze it so that it would harden, then added the solid coconut oil to my mix). The mixture was a little too watery for my liking so I added a couple more tablespoons of baking soda and corn starch, then threw in an extra tablespoon of corn starch for good measure. I did not use any essential oils to scent my deodorant.
Application
I used a pea sized amount for each side, but either I did not apply it properly or I used a little too much, because ten minutes later I had to remove the residue with tissue paper. Tomorrow I'll try rubbing it in a little more.
Smell
The deodorant, when applied, gave off a faint coconut smell that I actually found pleasant, kinda like the scent of coconut soap. This is in contrast to when I oil my hair with coconut oil and the smell gets really overpowering and unpleasant. While the scent lingered for the first half of the day, by the second half of the day it was gone.
Texture
I expected the texture to be oily, but it wasn't in the least! Rubbing it between my fingertips, it starts off a little creamy then fades to a powdery finish. It really feels like commercial antiperspirant.
Verdict
Generally I do not sweat a lot, and I didn't have a very active day today, but the deodorant passed the test! Stink free! I am amazed that it worked as well as it did. I am going to monitor it for the next couple of days, but I think it is safe to say I am a natural deodorant convert!
Update: 27/03/11
It has been almost a week, and I have been using the deodorant with no major problems. To prevent any stains on my clothing I have been careful to remove any excess with tissue paper, about ten to fifteen minutes after application, when the deodorant has "settled" into my skin. Also, because I live in a country with a tropical climate, the coconut oil in the deodorant is not really solid at room temperature. Coconut oil melts at approximately 23ºC to 26ºC, so it does affect the texture of my deodorant somewhat. I have observed a thin layer of liquid coconut oil on the surface of my deodorant, so to make the texture of my deodorant uniform when applying, I use a small plastic fork to whip the deodorant. It takes a couple of seconds, and I then use the fork to take out the amount I want to use for application so that I don't contaminate the entire mixture. Right now my deodorant is in a plastic container, but I am going to transfer it to a glass container, which I believe may help keep the mixture cool and put an end to this problem. I will post any updates here, so keep your eyes on this space (:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
5-6 tablespoons coconut oil
I've never liked the host of chemicals in antiperspirants... Apparently aluminium is used in them, and has been linked to a number of diseases including breast cancer. Some proponents of this natural deodorant recipe swear by its stink fighting properties... I'm going to try it out and see what happens; while many people rave about it, my main concern is that it is going to stain my clothes. Guess I'll be wearing cotton t-shirts over the next few days!
Update:
Making the deodorant
I started with 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup corn starch, and 7 tablespoons of liquid organic virgin coconut oil (I froze it so that it would harden, then added the solid coconut oil to my mix). The mixture was a little too watery for my liking so I added a couple more tablespoons of baking soda and corn starch, then threw in an extra tablespoon of corn starch for good measure. I did not use any essential oils to scent my deodorant.
Application
I used a pea sized amount for each side, but either I did not apply it properly or I used a little too much, because ten minutes later I had to remove the residue with tissue paper. Tomorrow I'll try rubbing it in a little more.
Smell
The deodorant, when applied, gave off a faint coconut smell that I actually found pleasant, kinda like the scent of coconut soap. This is in contrast to when I oil my hair with coconut oil and the smell gets really overpowering and unpleasant. While the scent lingered for the first half of the day, by the second half of the day it was gone.
Texture
I expected the texture to be oily, but it wasn't in the least! Rubbing it between my fingertips, it starts off a little creamy then fades to a powdery finish. It really feels like commercial antiperspirant.
Verdict
Generally I do not sweat a lot, and I didn't have a very active day today, but the deodorant passed the test! Stink free! I am amazed that it worked as well as it did. I am going to monitor it for the next couple of days, but I think it is safe to say I am a natural deodorant convert!
Update: 27/03/11
It has been almost a week, and I have been using the deodorant with no major problems. To prevent any stains on my clothing I have been careful to remove any excess with tissue paper, about ten to fifteen minutes after application, when the deodorant has "settled" into my skin. Also, because I live in a country with a tropical climate, the coconut oil in the deodorant is not really solid at room temperature. Coconut oil melts at approximately 23ºC to 26ºC, so it does affect the texture of my deodorant somewhat. I have observed a thin layer of liquid coconut oil on the surface of my deodorant, so to make the texture of my deodorant uniform when applying, I use a small plastic fork to whip the deodorant. It takes a couple of seconds, and I then use the fork to take out the amount I want to use for application so that I don't contaminate the entire mixture. Right now my deodorant is in a plastic container, but I am going to transfer it to a glass container, which I believe may help keep the mixture cool and put an end to this problem. I will post any updates here, so keep your eyes on this space (:
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