DIY Lotion Bars

I recently discovered lotion bars and I pretty much love them. In my opinion, they aren't for everything but I love being able to use them on my hands and arms after a wash-up without the grease that typically comes with lotions. Don't get me wrong, I love (and use regularly) my body butter... just for different purposes than I use lotion bars for. A lotion bar has become the go-to for my morning routine and I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon, especially with the hot Texas summer coming up!
A couple reasons I have a few of these bars around the house: 

• I prefer them at work as I type and handle paperwork for a good portion of the day now (so my hands tend to get pretty dry) and body butter and lotion can leave grease marks behind for a few minutes after application... not so awesome, but a non-issue for a lotion bar! 
• They don't require a jar or container. A plastic bag would be a good idea if you are going to travel with them in your bag or some such but decorative jars can get costly! I have purchased dozens of sample containers,  decorative jars, and etc. for gifts and for myself in the last year and the cost really starts to add up.
• Your body heat is enough to melt a small amount of moisturizing 'lotion' onto your body as soon as it touches your skin but the bar still retains it's shape and doesn't melt away before my eyes. I'm in Texas, it gets really hot here if you didn't know (lol), and I've had DIY lotion melt in it's container when out in the heat for long periods of time before. These last much longer due and tend to hold their shape as the beeswax content is greater. 
• They make pretty gifts and even decor while they sit waiting to be used.

Not sure if you would like them? The good news is that these bars are quick to and super easy to make so you can try them out without much at stake. Plus, you can customize them with various molds and additives to make pretty gifts for friends and family or as a bit of decor on the bathroom counter top... but you'll like them!
First Up, Gather Your Ingredients:

• A ratio of 1:1:1 of Coconut Oil, Moisturizing 'Butter' and Beeswax (I used a mixture of Shea and Cocoa Butter in mine).
• Vitamin E Oil (I like to add a few capsules worth of Vitamin E to my lotions for extra moisturizing power) *optional
• Essential Oil(s) of you choice *optional
• Decorative (dry) items of your choice such as cocoa, dried flowers/flower petals, dried zest, etc. *optional

The How-To:
1. Melt all ingredients in a double boiler on low to medium heat. 
Don't have a double-boiler? No problem! Since I am living with my parents at the moment I don't actually use a double-boiler for this... just a pot of boiling water with a metal or glass bowl inside. It works great!

 2. Add in any essential oils you would like in your lotion bars.

3. This is your time to customize your bars! For the bars shown below I did the following (before pouring the mixture into the molds) to showcase the scent and add a bit of a decorative touch for gifts:
    a. Chocolate: Dust a small amount of cocoa powder onto the mold.
    b. Lavender: Sprinkle a few dried lavender buds into the mold.
    c. Sweet Orange: Sprinkle a bit of dried orange peel into the mold.
You could also do rose petals, dried lime or lemon rind, ground cinnamon or vanilla... the possibilities are endless! 
Note: Use dry ingredients so that the moisture content is correct.

 4. Pour the mixture into soap molds (or cupcake tins, chocolate molds, etc.) and pop into the fridge until they harden. 

4. After ensuring that the bars are fully cooled and solid remove them from the mold and package as you wish.

5. Give them away in gift baskets or as hostess presents... or use them yourself!

DIY Deodorant... 6 Months In

I've been using DIY deodorants for a good long while now and 'natural' deodorants for even longer due to my allergy to aluminum- since high school. It's been a long and frustrating journey I have to say but I'm almost to the end of it in that my latest batch of deodorant was nearly exactly what I wanted. I'm pretty psyched about that fact actually and that means that I'll have a post upcoming on my finalized recipe in the next few weeks if things go as expected. 

On this journey to finding something that works for me I've learned a few things that would have been super helpful to know.

1. Natural deodorants don't have antiperspirant (so you still sweat) for really good reasons but I still miss them and the lack takes some getting used to. 
2. Eating properly changes the need for deodorant (and your natural scent... eww, I know, but true). 
3. There are million DIY deodorant recipes out there it seems... and not all of them will work for every person. That's why there are a million of them. We didn't all like Secret or Dove or what have you deodorant when we used store bought deo and we have ALL said that one brand worked better than another and had someone completely disagree with us. Why would DIY be any different?
4. Similar to the last one... this is a process and everyone is different. I've tried out a different recipe each and every time I made a new tube of deodorant. Some of those recipes were recipes I'd found online, some were based on recipes or combinations of recipes, some were completely mine. Many worked pretty well... some very much so did not. Reviews of recipes stating they were awesome didn't mean they worked for my body (see the next one... that was a painful week).
5. Baking soda can burn. The underarms are sensitive places, enough said right? Ouch. I ended up using a very tiny amount in my latest batch but for those who are even more sensitive than me you may want to sub arrowroot powder for baking soda completely in recipes you find for deodorant online. It doesn't seem to work quite as well as baking soda (for me) but its a close second. I've had to experiment with ratios over the past few months for each batch I created to see what worked best on my body.
6. Texture is very important for me. I wanted a deodorant that I could roll on from a normal deodorant tube but this was often far from the case. Most recipes I've tried have been not quite firm enough for what I am looking for... or too firm and the tube wouldn't rise. This has been the part I've spent the most time working on to be 100% honest. There have been recipes I've churned out that worked great but were simply too soft many times in this process.
7. Ingredient quality is important. This is pretty self-explanatory I think, if I bought the cheapest one of unknown quality then I was more likely to get variable consistency and quality. Do your research on brands you want to use basically.
8. Scent matters... oh so much. Some of the oils I've used to scent my deodorant just did not work well together, or worse, were not a good combo with sweat. This is likely the reason I have had several natural deodorants that didn't make the cut (sorry Tom's) before I tried my hand at DIY.

That's all for now. I'll be posting an update on what I've been working on lately  this week as well (I haven't been slacking, promise, just trying a lot of different things with mixed results). One of those things is my Instagram account... feel free to hop over and check out things I'm working on recipe wise, see some meal ideas and just keep in the loop on what's going on with me (my two pups pop up from time to time as well... love them!).
 
Instagram: @reallifewithheather

DIY: Laundry Detergent

Laundry detergent has a ton of chemicals and fragrances in it typically that I don't want in my house... and it's much more expensive than it needs to be. I'm sure we've all seen more than a few articles and posts in the past few years that made us question if we should be using detergent at all: the scary piece in the news about brighteners, a blurb on social media saying that detergent manufacturers are telling you to use too much detergent in order to get more of your money, detergent remaining in clothes after washing and potentially causing skin irritation, detergent destroying your clothes... yikes! Were any of these pieces accurate? What was the alternative if they were? If you are like me you may have thought there was none and just kept using your detergent for a while but kept a watchful eye open. Eventually I decided I didn't want to continue using detergent on my clothes any longer so I searched for alternatives. There are tons! I found all-natural brands of detergents, homemade detergents of various types as well as laundry balls and probably more that I haven't come across yet.
I used a laundry ball for about a year and, to be honest, I really liked them. I was able to run my washer on cold water which saved me money, my laundry cost was low as I only needed to replace the ball after a large number of washings, my clothes seemed to get clean, all was right in the world but people kept asking me how I knew they were really clean if I didn't have any soap or detergent in the wash. Eventually though I decided I felt better about using some form of cleaning agent in my laundry. I continue to read information on alternates to store-bought laundry detergent regularly. It's a personal preference and I may change my mind someday but, for now, I'm back to using a detergent. The difference this time is that I make it myself so I know what is in it. As a plus: it saves me money and is soooo simple to make. Score!

Ingredients:

• Natural soap bar (I'm using Ivory at the moment but I've used Zote and will be trying Fels Naptha soon)
• Borox
• Washing Soda
• Baking Soda (Optional) or OxiClean (Optional: I haven't found anything showing harm in OxiClean as of yet but if I am wrong please tell me!) 

I had a bit of trouble finding Washing Soda and Borox in my store after I moved as few people apparently request them there... so here are the boxes of the brands I am using in case you run in to a similar issue.

Procedure: 
1. You will need to start by flaking/grating your soap. There are at least two options to do this: grate it with a cheese grater or toss it in the food processor. Zote does come in a flaked form but I had read some reviews about using it in detergent that I wasn't very happy about so I'm back to Ivory now. One cool thing about Ivory is that you have a third option: microwave! I don't know if this works with other forms of soap as I haven't attempted it. (If you do, let me know! I'd love to find out!) If you are using Ivory and want to use a microwave here's how:

1. Chop your soap bad into smaller pieces and arrange them on a microwave safe dish.
   
2.  Then place the dish in the microwave and microwave it for about 1-2 minutes... you'll know you've reached the right time when it looks like this.
   
3.  Let the 'soap cloud' cool. It may smell a bit at first so if you leave it in the microwave for about 45 minutes or so it will be cool to the touch and won't really smell anymore.
4. Place the soap cloud into your food processor and it will turn into powder! Ok, this step isn't 100% necessary, you can use your hands to turn it into powder as it will crumble very easily. I just prefer doing it this way and I already had the processor out for another project so I blitzed it quickly and moved on with making my soap. 
   
   
   
    

I've found that the most efficient way to make detergent regularly has been to grate up enough soap for 3-4 batches all at once so that I can quickly measure out the ingredients and get on with my day when it comes time to making detergent again every month or so. Again, a personal preference.

2. Mix your borox, washing soda and soap together in a 2:2:1 ratio (so 2C borox, 2C soda, 1C soap or 1C borox, 1C soda, 1/2C soap, etc.). 
3. If you want to add some baking soda or OxiClean (both are optional) you would make this at the same amount as your soap.
4. Done! You will typically need between 1/8-1/4C of this detergent per load depending on size. I keep mine in an airtight container with a scoop in it so that I just pop it open and put 1-2 scoops in and am on my merry way come laundry day. :)

What alternatives to store bought laundry detergent have you used? Which worked best?

DIY Deodorant Update

A while back I did a post about DIY deodorant. I wasn't a big fan of the scent and the consistency needed to be firmed up a bit in my opinion. The original recipe can be found here and is pretty awesome in and of itself so you should go check it out. My tweaks are below.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp Beeswax Pellets
1/4 C Baking Soda
1/4 C Cornstarch 
10 Drops Purification Oil
10 Drops Sweet Orange Oil
5 Drops Lemon Oil

OTHER:
Empty Deodorant Tube

PROCEDURE:

1. Melt coconut oil and beeswax pellets slowly over very low heat in a small saucepan.
2. Remove from heat once completely melted.
3. Mix in cornstarch and baking soda until smooth.
4. Add any essential oils you so desire. 
• You can add the ones from the original recipe, the ones I am using or different ones altogether. If you do not have any oils feel free to leave them out, the deodorant will still work. 
5. Pour mixture into an empty deodorant tube or other twist up container. I prefer to let mine sit for a minute and begin to settle then give it a quick mix before I pour it but this isn't necessary.
6. Allow the tube to cool completely.

The tube can be a little difficult to get going but, out of all the variations of beeswax I have tried, this is the easiest while still remaining solid enough to use easily in a roll-on form.  
 

Super Moisturizing Lotion

For the past few months I have been experimenting with creating my own lotions, body butters, lip chaps and other moisturizers. To be honest, there have been so many batches of lovely smelling lotions in my kitchen recently that I couldn't possibly use all of it! Thankfully family and friends have been helping me try out the various versions I came up with and offering feedback. This one was one of the favorites as it isn't very greasy, helps to ease dry skin, and leaves skin silky soft. I also like it because I don't have to constantly re-apply to get the benefits, a single application can last me quite a long time even in a dry office building or out in the Texas sun. One thing to know about this lotion is that it set ups to be a thicker, creamy lotion than you may be used to. This means that you will end up taking a small amount out of the jar and using on quite a large area of skin rather than use a pump to dispense a large amount into your hand as it is not a thin liquid like you may be used to when you think of lotion.
NOTE: A single pound of these 'butters' will likely last you nearly a year's worth of lotion for one person or several months for a family so there is no need to over purchase.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C Cocoa Butter
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/4 C Coconut Oil
1/4 C Shea Butter
1/2 C pure aloe vera gel
1 Tbsp grated beeswax or beeswax pellets 
1 tsp Vitamin E oil
Essential Oils of Choice (Optional)

EQUIPMENT:
Small saucepan
Measuring cups/spoons
Knife
Spoon
Electric Mixer
Container to hold your lotion (about 1.5-2 C of lotion comes from this recipe)

PROCEDURE:
1. Measure out your ingredients. You will likely need a knife to cut the cocoa butter. 
2. Place the shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and olive oil in a small saucepan on LOW heat. You do not want the mixture to boil or smoke... it needs to be kept very low. The ingredients will melt fairly quickly even on low heat so watch carefully.
3. Once everything has melted, mix in the vitamin e oil and aloe vera gel and remove from heat. 
4. Add in any essential oils you may want for added scent or aromatherapy needs. I prefer peppermint as it smells delightful with the cocoa butter but I have used sweet orange (think one of those chocolate oranges in scent), lavender (for calming, evening use especially), and a unique mixture of citrus (lemon and lime) and frankincense for one individual. You can be as creative as you want or stick with the plain version which smells slightly of chocolate from the cocoa butter.
5. Allow the lotion to cool until it has just begun to set up. You can just leave it on the counter for a few hours and go about your day or be like me and toss it into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to speed up the process. 
6. Once it has begun to set up you will use the electric mixer to beat the lotion into the creamy consistency we are looking for. This adds air to the mixture so that it isn't quite as dense. 
NOTE: If you let the mixture get to hard/cool then it is easy to apply a little heat and mix with a spoon for a minute or two to get back to the correct consistency.
7. Add it to a jar and allow to finish setting up for half an hour or so.

Curious where I get my ingredients? I get my ingredients all over the metroplex, on Amazon and through Young Living as a distributor. Don't want to search out stores to pick them up? I'll make it easy! You can place an order through me for any oils you may need and there are quick links for the non-perishable ingredients and tools on Amazon should you wish to order online on this page... just click on the ingredient.

Homemade Deodorant

I am allergic to aluminum... this means traditional, store bought, deodorants are pretty much off the table for me. Now-a-days this doesn't bother me as I've seen quite a bit of research to show that our traditional deodorants with antiperspirant properties are bad for you anyways but for years it was the bane of my monthly shopping expedition. Until you have tried more store-bought options than you can remember you just don't understand the struggle to find a good aluminum free deodorant. Ones I remember off the top of my head:

1. Tom's- It failed... miserably... peaches and sweat is NOT a good combination people! This battle was about half my college career... it was not pretty.
2. Adidas - They stopped making their aluminum free stick deodorant RIGHT after I realized it seemed to work pretty well of course. Still a college student in a small town with only Tom's peaches and sweat option I jumped on this while I had the chance.
3. ClayDry- This seems to work fairly well and was recommended by the owner of the store I purchased my essential oils from while living in California but it smells similar to gin so was far from my favorite option.
4. Lavolin 36 hour- This one works pretty amazing actually but I am distrustful of something that mysteriously lasts through my shower... just saying. I used the roll-on kind which is a little expensive but takes a few months to get through so this was my go to... until now!
5. many many others...

A little less than a year ago now I started cutting out chemicals from my household cleaners and slowly that trickled into my 'beauty aisle' type products such as lotions and shampoo. I had developed some chemical sensitivities in the past few years and I wanted to reverse the adverse effects and become healthier in general... especially if we were going to have children someday which was coming up in conversations. Eventually I got to the point where I wanted to make them at home so that I knew exactly what I was putting on my body and in the air in my home plus save some money. So I began my search for a diy all-natural deodorant. There are a ton of recipes out there but many of them are pastes and I really didn't want a paste that I needed to spread on my underarms... it seemed messy and honestly, I really wanted something that was easy to apply and travel with. One of the recipes I found that seemed like it would work really well is here. So I gave it a try and it was pretty straight forward and easy to create. The recipe made 2 tubes of deodorant just like she said it would and it works!

The ingredients were pretty much things I already had on hand in my house (except corn starch but that was a quick fix at the grocery store and now I have more than enough for my suburban homesteading/diy adventures to come for quite a while): cornstarch, baking soda, coconut oil, beeswax, and essential oils (lemon, frankincense, and lavender).

I simply followed the step by step directions to combine all the ingredients with low heat then add in the essential oils once well combined. It was a quick recipe to follow and ended up giving me two beautiful sticks of deodorant.

One note: it is a little difficult to get them to turn properly with my containers at first but I just used a towel to get a firm grip and kept turning until it began to move and now there are no issues.

I've been using the deodorant for about two weeks now and have had no problems with smelling sweaty and gross in the day to day activities, even in a Texas summer!

Now for the problems...

1. I do NOT like the scent, it smells too masculine for me personally. Luckily when I make my next batch (I'm giving one bar away to a fellow aluminum-allergic POTSie friend so maybe in a month or so) I can change the scent. The scent is growing on me though so perhaps I'll just decrease the amounts of the oils to lighten up the scent. We shall see...
2. The deodorant seems to melt as I am putting it on so the spread-able factor isn't quite right. I will fix this by adding a little more beeswax next time.

That's it... all in all I would review this recipe very favorably. Next batch I make I will give the changes I proposed a go and add an update to this post.

UPDATE: I have tried about a million combinations at this point it feels like. I ended up halving the recipe but upping the beeswax and using Purification oil and Sweet Orange Oil plus a little bit of Lemon Oil to create the deodorant I am using now. I will post an official update post with the measurements in September.

Give it a try... it's easy, healthier than store bought options for your body, and quite inexpensive to boot! 

I will be sharing my lotion/body butter recipe soon (wonderfully rich and silky... and only slightly more complicated than this recipe) so look for that in a few weeks! What would you guys like for me to try and make next? Comment below!

Curious where I get my ingredients? I get my ingredients all over the metroplex, on Amazon and through Young Living as a distributor. Don't want to search out stores to pick them up? I'll make it easy! You can place an order through me for any oils you may need and here are some quick links for the non-perishable ingredients and tools on Amazon should you wish to order online: