Green- Natural DIY Alternatives

A few green recipes sans the unhealthy preservatives.


Body Butter

Mix either 1 part beeswax to 2-3 parts oil, or Shea butter and desired carrier and essential oils in same amount. Add more beeswax/shea or even mango butter for a firmer body butter or salve, add less for a creamier version.

Melt them down (beeswax should be melted with the doubleboiler method), mix, and cool.

Essential oils can be added after the melting down in a quantity of about 10-15 drops each, or if you prefer synthetic fragrance oils can be utilized.

Cornstarch can be added for a less oily version.

Hard salve versions of this recipe can be utilized as lip balms.

This recipe can also be utilized as a pomade for your curl crown with the right addition of conditioning oils and wax.



Sugar Scrub

Mix 1-2 parts carrier oil (even canola oil will work well) with 3-4 parts Organic sugar.
Miz according to preferred consistency. Add 10-15 drops each of essential oils that are good for the skin such as Patchouli, Ylang Ylang (also excellent for Hair), etc...

Sugar contains glycolic acid naturally (remember those alpha hydroxy acids that were 'the thing' for a minute?) which will slough dead skin.


All Natural Hair and Body Shampoo

Yucca root is an all natural sudsy alternative to what's out there.
See sites such as: Mountainroseherbs.com to purchase, if you'd prefer not to
grow Yucca or Soapwort in your backyard. You basically add water and utilize it for cleansing.



Green Deodorant

Mix 3 parts cornstarch, 4 teaspoons salt, 1-2 parts oil (until mixed thoroughly).
Mix the cornstarch oil hybrid 1 part Shea butter or 1 part melted beeswax
(beeswax must be melted via the double boiler method---use a cup in a pot of water as an alternative to a double boiler), add with 20-30 drops of chosen essential oils (Orange, Lavender, and Patchouli are recommended) stir well and pour into a deodorant mold, or a powdered mold (you can even make some from clay or metal if you metal work...) to create a rock shaped rub on solid. For a creamier version add more oil in desired quantity for chosen effect.

You can add 1-2 parts of baking soda as well if you prefer or need stronger coverage.
This recipe will last at least 8 hours on a hot day. It will not stop perspiration (as that is dangerous...you need to sweat) but it will block bacteria causing odor with the essential oils, salt and cornstarch. To increase shelflife use a teaspoon of grapefruit oil. Lavender essential oil is also a natural preservative...



Beeswax Candles

(Melt down the beeswax doubleboiler style in a tin or glass container, add your chosen essential (or fragrance oil if you don't mind synthetics), wick (mullein is a natural plant wick), and let cool.



Bath Bomb Recipe

Mix two tablespoons of citric acid with the same amount of cornstarch. Mix until smooth.
Next mix in a quarter cup of baking soda until you've made a dry dough.
In a separate bowl mix 3 tbsp of sunflower (or a similar carrier oil), and 1-2 teaspoons of your chosen essential oils. You can also add a few drops of food coloring or all natural powdered spices to achieve your desired color effect.

Mix the ingredients from the two bowls until well-blended and make balls or other shapes from molds you have on hand, out of the dough. You can add flower petals, and other ornaments to the bath bomb dough now, that will travel the waters of the bathtub once released.
Try to keep the bathbombs 1 inch in diameter or the size of a golf ball for thorough drying. You can dry these on a pan or wax paper sheet for 2-3 hours in a warm place.
Package them after a few days have passed and you're sure they're dry



You can utilize various butters, conditioning or moisturizing oils, and additional ingredients like clays as you feel they are needed to improve on the above recipes and make them your own.

This blog entry may be updated with new recipes.


Packaging ideas:

Shredded colored paper, collages made of chosen images used to decorate boxes, use glued-on buttons and strings for a homemade clasp, use stamps to decorate plain tissue paper or boxes...
The possibilities are endless.


You can leave any questions in the comments section, and google the ingredients for more information on them.