Best DIY Lavender Body Butter

Body butter. Sounds kind of weird, kind of like a cannibal condiment (ew).. but feels amazing on your skin. I have never used it until about 6 months ago. I had the opportunity to do henna at a pop up event, and the host gave out rad party gift bags. Body butter was one of the fun things inside. It was a mix of many types of butters. I tried it and was hooked!

If you’re new to body butter, it is made from plant based butters; Cocoa butter, Shea butter, mango butter. It is thicker than lotion and extra moisturizing. Body butters don’t quickly absorb into the skin like lotions. They are very good at treating skin conditions like eczema.

So I decided to make my own. I ordered some different butters off Amazon and starting playing with a body butter recipe to find the consistency I liked. Body butters can feel greasy if too much liquid oil is used. Here’s what I came up with and really like the outcome.

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What you’ll need:

1/2 cup cocoa butter

1/2 cup Shea butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

Lavender essential oil (or your oil of choice) amount varies. I used about 20 drops.

Double boiler or a pot and smaller glass bowl.

Electric Mixer

1. Mix and melt butters and coconut oil in glass bowl or double boiler.

2. Take off heat and let sit a few minutes, then place in refrigerator for an hour or until set. You don’t want it to completely solidify, because you’re going to whip it up.

3. Whip till you have a fluffy consistency . Add your essential oils and whip in. Place in jars or containers of your choice. Usually whipped body butters are fluffy, but to avoid the greasiness, I used less oil. So this is a bit more firm when finished, than fluffy.

If you want more fluff, add more oil. I personally like this less greasy feel. So try it out and tell me what you think! Enjoy the luxury!

Namaste🌿

DIY Liquid Castille Soap. The easiest DIY you’ll ever do.

Since I learned about laurel sulfates and parabens and their dangerous risks, including endocrine disruption, protein breakdown, cancer.. to name a few… I’ve been looking for safe products, ways to de-toxify our home environment Here’s what I’ve learned.

Products, especially shampoos, are starting to be more available. But, they are not inexpensive. Enter Castille soap. The hippy staple for decades. Castille soap is so good, so pure, so versatile. You can use Castille soap in so many ways from hair and body, to laundry and scrubbing your sink. But Castille soap can be pricey, especially if you’re using it in so many ways.

I found an awesome DIY on Pinterest to turn Castille bar soap into liquid. It has saved me so much money, and it’s so incredibly easy that I had to share.

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All you need:

1 bar of Castille soap (Kirk’s is pretty inexpensive)

1 mason jar

1 pot

2 3/4 C water

Knife

Boil the water. While it’s boiling chop up the soap.

Place it in the mason jar.

Poor the water in the jar. It’ll melt pretty quickly. Some bits take longer so let it sit for 20 minutes. Stir.

I forgot to take a picture till after I used most of it! 😂 it’ll make an almost full jar.

Use in all your normal liquid Castille soap ways. It’s a bit thin, but cleans perfectly. I use it in my homemade laundry soap, hand soap, dish soap… etc.. You can add essential oils of your choice.

Some DIY recipes are tricky. But this is a great one to cut your teeth on if your a newb.

It hasn’t been an easy transition for my autism kids. I use old shampoo bottles for shampoo and liquid soap. So far so good. I’m currently working on finding a way to get them to accept DIY toothpaste because I haven’t been able to find something without glycerin. (Glycerin prevents re-mineralizing toothpastes to do their job). I’ll post when I find an autism accepted recipe for my family😊.

Good luck! Let me know how you’re turns out.

What is Zero Waste, and some easy ways to start.

I had to sit a moment and think about where my zero waste journey began. I decided it began as a teenager in the late 80s. I became more conscious of recycling and was vegetarian for a while. I remember asking my mom to buy recycled loose leaf notebook paper. I had to convince her of its merits, since it was about a dollar more.

As a grew older I began to be more aware of how plastic was convenient, but I knew I could save money buying one permanent thing, rather than repeatedly buying plastic bags.. etc. I think living through financial struggles really helped me dig into ways to save money, and they always involved making something myself, sewing something, or repurposing something. Really, this is how our ancestors lived.

This gradual unfolding of my life has lead me to realize I can label myself “zero waste”… much like I did with minimalism.

Zero waste means we stop using plastic in our daily living. For me personally, I feel like a steward of mother earth. She has few advocates. I can do my part. So can you. If we all did, we’d have a much healthier planet to leave our posterity.

Since I’m fairly new at this, and you might be too, I’ll share some things I’ve started doing. Then I’ll share my upcoming plans for my zero waste living.

1. Use cloth towels and napkins instead of paper towels. You can make them, or buy them. Here is a great DYI

2. Make your own beeswax plastic wrap, I’ll post about my first time making these next.

3. Use reusable grocery bags. I’ve been collecting these, and keep them in my car so I won’t forget. If I do, I recycle the plastic grocery bags.

I sell reusable grocery bags that I paint, on my etsy shop

4. Stop buying plastic as much as possible. I know in our consumer driven disposable world, this is easier said than done.. but I’ve found you can find reusable products almost anywhere. (Even Wal-Mart sells metal reusable straws)

5. Make your own earth friendly products. Skip the chemicals! Helps your body and the earth. Win win! I make my own laundry soap, soft hand soap, sunscreen, body butter, lip balm, mascara, and toothpaste. I’ll post soon about my DIY adventures.

Home made laundry soap (just needs a stir) and beeswax wraps.

6. Dry your hands on your clothes, when you can, at public restrooms, instead of using paper towels or hand dryers.

7. Recycle all the things! My proudest garbage days are the days when I have a full recycling bin and a nearly empty garbage bin. Yes!

8. Be conscious. There are so many little things we can do. Like not using a plastic straw at a restaurant, or bringing your own reusable take out box.

My future plans of zero waste include:

1. Removing toxic plastics for from our home. This one is big…and trickier than you think because these plastics are in everything and replacing them is tough because I’m on a budget.

2. Continue to share and educate others on this important topic.

I am a newb.. but mostly in the terminology. I love my planet. “It’s where I keep all my stuff!” as the Tick would say. I know a lot of people won’t make these changes. I know corporations won’t stop using masses of plastic. But the few kind souls who do, will make a difference.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Ghandi