The Green Bath
August 6, 2010 by Marci
This post is graciously shared by my friend Abbie at Organizing-Life. She is a great mom who is always striving to make sure each area of her family’s life is taken care of. Recently, I have really enjoyed reading about her journey into natural living and it’s benefits on her family’s health. I asked her to share some of her favorite discoveries with us today. Enjoy!
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About a year ago I started really looking at my health. I wasn’t feeling energetic, vibrant, or happy. I wasn’t feeling able to focus on what mattered to me most; being a supportive and loving wife, being a nurturing and protective mother, and being a committed citizen, working to enhance the lives and spaces we all live in.
So to be able really live this life, I made a commitment to myself to “get well.” I eliminated all glutens from my diet. I started cooking nutritious meals at home. I started exercising again. And I started looking at the things in our home that might be making me feel unwell.
The commercial bath and beauty products I had been using daily contained chemicals, additives, and preservatives that could be making me feel sick. Thymol in my mouthwash has been linked to cancer and can be a neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor. Propylparabens in my favorite body lotion and are known endocrine disruptors and are linked to developmental and reproductive toxicity. And maganese in my sunscreen is known to be a neurotoxin as well as a respiratory and gastrointestinal toxicant and these are just three of the many toxic ingredients in the products I used. (To check out what is in your shampoo, log onto the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Database.)
So I decided to forgo the commercial chemicals and come clean. Putting my health first, I decided to create my own bath and body products and use only pure, organic, natural ingredients.
These are a couple recipes for products we use daily. They are super easy to make and don’t require lots of different ingredients.
Herbal Hand Soap
* 8oz unscented liquid castile soap (I use Dr. Bonners)
* 1/4C water
* 10 drops peppermint essential oil
* 10 drops green myrtle essential oil
* 10 drops tea tree oil
* 1 t macadamia nut oil (optional)
Measure liquid castile soap into a pump container and all additional ingredients. Cap and shake to combine. Pump, inhale deeply, and enjoy the fresh aroma, and wash. Use within 30 days.
Coconut Body Oil – this is my all-time favorite and it smells fantastic. The kids and I use this in place of body lotion every day.
* 7T organic, extra-virgin, unrefined coconut oil
* 2T cocoa butter
* 1T jojoba base oil
* 40 drops sweet orange essential oil
* 15 drops lemon essential oil
Place coconut oil and cocoa butter in a small bowl and microwave gently until melted, stirring every 15 seconds of cook time. Stir in jojoba and essential oils. Pour into a wide mouth jar and cover loosely with a cloth or paper towel until mixture cools to room temperature. Cover and store at room temperature. To use, pour a teaspoon or less into palm and massage well into skin. Use within 1 year.
(Coconut oil has a very low melting temperature point. If the oil is stored in a space that is above 76 degrees F, then your oil will be liquid. Lower than 76 degrees F will make this oil a solid. Simply apply the solid lotion the same way.)
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I posted a few more of my homemade bath and beauty product recipes on my blog Organizing-Life which you can find here.
Making these recipes at home can seem time-consuming and budget-busting, so start small and start simple. For me and my family, we are really fortunate to be able to put our health first. When you choose to take the time, spend the money, and make the effort to make organic, natural bath and beauty recipes you are promoting your own good health, and the health of our earth.
Comments (3)
that is a great title Marci! Thank you!
These are lovely recipes which I’m going to have to try. I’ve accidentally been using shower gel as body lotion (don’t ask) for four days and I’ve burned my skin. It’s an expensive perfumes variety which I received as a gift and, although I have loved the scent since my early twenties, it doesn’t fit my life anymore so I was making the effort to use up the last of the bottle.
I’m a little freaked out by how seriously it has burned my skin – red, blistery and skin actually peeling. I have no idea whether “natural” cleaners left on the skin for such (unintentionally!) prolonged periods would have had the same effect but, somehow, I doubt it.
Again, thanks for these recipes. I must find a source of coconut oil.
Karen
I am so sorry to hear that your skin is burned! I didn’t know what could happen, and you must be in so much pain. I hope you feel well soon!
I don’t know if this soap recipe would be mistaken for lotion. It does smell nice, but it feels slippery like soap.
I order my coconut oil from Mountainroseherbs.com. I actually bought a whole gallon since I make this recipe so much, and three of us use it daily. Many of the other natural body product recipes I use (from Stephanie Tourles’ book, Organic Body Care Recipes) have coconut oil in them too so I expect to use an entire gallon in a years time.
I know that coconut oil is also available at my Whole Foods market. Try to get unrefined, virgin oil if you can.
I hope that this luxurious healing body oil will help sooth your skin. Best to you as you recover!