Homemade All Natural Hand Sanitizer

 Sick season is upon us, well it's upon our family ALL freaking year long- anyway,  homemade hand sanitizer it is!!  First of all why not just use the crap alcohol gel at the store, read this from  The Holistic Mama:


"They are harmful to the Environment. Most anti-bacterial products contain Triclosan, an antibacterial agent that kills bacteria. Some scientists are calling for the removal of triclosan from consumer products because it is building up in the ocean’s food web. One-third of the bottle nose dolphins tested off South Carolina and almost one-quarter of those tested off Florida carried traces of triclosan in their blood. The concentrations found in the dolphins are known to disrupt the hormones and growth and development of other animals. Studies in bullfrogs found that triclosan disrupts the endocrine system – blocking the tadpoles’ development into frogs at concentrations found in the environment. In addition, a 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention three-quarters of people tested in the United States had triclosan in their urine. A substance that can cause hormone disruption and growth problems isn’t something we want in the human body, or in animals for that matter.

They are damaging to your immune system. Hand sanitizers kill bacteria on your hands. The problem is that there are good bacteria and bad bacteria and the sanitizers aren’t selective. Some bacteria may be the cause of getting us sick but other bacteria actually protect our immune system. 
Killing off the friendly bacteria can damage our natural defenses against other infections. We definitely don’t want to kill off that bacteria. In regards to the bad bacteria, or the ones that can cause sicknesses, it’s not certain that its in our best interest to kill them either. There is considerable evidence that some exposure to bacteria in the environment is actually beneficial because it helps the immune system develop. Some studies have shown an increase in allergies and asthma in people who were raised in an overly sterile environment. Mothers are always trying to keep their kids away from germs but some exposure is not bad. That’s not saying that kids shouldn’t wash their hands but using a harsh hand sanitizer even a few times a day probably isn’t helping a child’s immune system.

They might cause superbugs. In some countries, like Canada, the use of anti-bacterial products are not recommended because of resistance. Resistance is already a problem with antibiotics because they have been overused. Triclosan is thought to cause a similar resistance especially because it is very widely used. The concept is easy to understand. If a product doesn’t kill all the germs, it’s the susceptible ones that get killed first, leaving the hardier ones behind. These can multiply and eventually outnumber the susceptible bugs."

Let me say first thing , that Clove Oil is my new favorite essential oil. " Clove essential oil killed more than 60 types of bacterial strains, 15 strains of fungi plus several viruses (Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2004)" And like I say, that's just scratching the surface of it's uses, I have a friend that used it for her baby's teething and it gave him relief!!  And it smells spicey good.  I even put it vinegar water spray to kill a puke virus in our house and it stayed to only 2 out of the 5 of us, thank You Lord!!  It's also a very warming oil.  When I was coming down with a cold a couple weeks ago, I took my vitamins, zinc, caprylica acid, etc etc.. I also put some of this on my wrists and breathed it in a few times in the day, the cold never got a chance to really materialize and fizzled out... so placebo, who knows, but I'll try it the next time I'm fighting off something.  I read if you put some on your skin it does get in your system.
Recipe:
 
You will need a 4 oz spray bottle, ideally, glass and amber or blue to preserve the integrity of the essential oils and protect them from light.

-Water

-2 tsp Aloe vera gel, the real kind you can eat.

30 drops of essential oils that are anti bacterial/ anti viral  I would be careful about using tea tree oil on boys, I read it can disrupt their hormonal system.  You can use any combo  I believe I used eucalyptus, clove and grapefruit.

Put your aloe and oils in the sprayer, fill the rest of the way up with water and as my 3 year old would say " voila!"

*I use a 2 oz bottle so you can half the recipe for a 2 oz bottle for on the go.

All Natural, Alcohol free Citris Toner

My apologies for not having a smartphone for better pics and being too lazy to take pics with my camera and upload them, so this is better (maybe) than nothing...  so here I am, FINALLY posting my toner recipe.  The ingredients are simple.  I use a  4 oz bottle so I will post the recipes in "parts" vs. measurements.  It's water, lemon juice, from a freshly squeezed lemon, and Thayers Alcohol -Free Witch Hazel.  Oh yes and grapefruit essential oil.

- Lemon juice helps lighten dark spots and helps to cleanse and exfoliate the skin.  Do put on sunscreen as it can make you more sun sensitive.  Avoid your eyebrows... unless you're looking to lighen them. ;) I found that out this summer, nothing drastic but I could tell... oops. 

-Witch hazel helps to sooth the skin and reduce inflammation and is an astringent.

-Grapefruit essential oil unlike other citric oils this does not make you sun sensitive.  It is anti bacterial and anti fungal < a common cause of acne.  Just google it, essential oils have a wide array of uses.  I'm barely scratching the surface!  It will smell citrisy good!!

Recipe:

1/2 bottle with witch hazel

1/4 bottle with real just squeezed lemon juice. ( no big deal if seeds or pulp end up in there)

1/4 bottle with water

a few drops of grapefruit essential oil.

*if you find this is too strong for your skin, instead of a 1:1 ratio of water and lemon you can 2:1 ratio doubling the water and decreasing the lemon juice.

Shake before each use.  I love this and have been using it for I can't remember how many months now.  I won't go back...since over hauling my skin regimen, while a bumpy road... has been totally worth it. I don't think my skin has been clear since I was in the 6th grade!!

Some random thoughts on Skin issues.

I have been battling my skin since a teenager, I blogged about that previously.  But one thing that I think might actually be something worth noting is the candida(yeast) imbalance acne connection.  I am no stranger to yeast imbalance, aka my constant need to ward off my foot fungus, which I have made an all natural treatment for that, that is working better than anything else I've tryed and is chemical free.  I will post that hopefully soon.  Anyhow my point, overall my skin has been doing way better and I think part of it is the role of baking soda.  Baking soda is alkaline.  Let's talk PH balance for a minute, I'm no dr or expert, anyway the balance is between acidic or alkaline.  Yeast thrives in an acidic environment, we all have yeast on our skin and in our intestines, which isn't a problem, it's when the balance gets thrown off that the yeast overtakes.  A big part of helping the skin and immune system is maintain a healthy balance.  I have done so much research this summer because after mowing on a really humid day, I was so itchy from a sweat rash that I deemed candida because it would NOT go away after I cooled down for weeks.  So I tried to cut way down on sugar that feeds yeast, and take acidolpholis, caprylic acid, garlic oil, bentonite clay, aloe vera gel, apple cider vinegar.  Sound desperate? oh I WAS!!  I also made up aloe vera gel to put on myself with tea tree, and grapefruit oil.  At one point when it was disrupting my sleep, I ( and I quote my husband) went against everything I stand for and sprayed Tentactin on my back for a week.  I will still get a little itchy if I am out the humid heat for very long.... annoying.  But back to the point, from the inside out, yeast can be dealt with.  My body obviously wants to be acidic and yeasty.  ANYWAY back to this and acne.  I use baking soda on my face every night.  Sometimes, I have only been doing oil cleansing if I have makeup to remove but either way, I scrub my t zone with, only really scrub my nose and chin and smooth the baking soda all over my face and let it sit and wipe with a washcloths at the end of showering.  Anyway I am thinking it helps alkalize what I think is yeastyness that wants to thrive.  So random skin tip.  I have more... I just don't have the time to post them.

So coming up, someday,;) footfungus oil, face oil, astringent and the role of the all natural glycolic peel.

Citronella and Alcohol Free Bug Spray

Sorry for the low quality ugly pic on my ugly counter,  I should take pics on my table, I'm that lazy I guess.. but it gives a visual of the brands of products I used to make my own bug spray.  The skeetos, as my 3 year old calls them, have been bad this summer because of all the rain we have gotten.  I've looked over a couple bug spray recipes that I had pinned and ended up tweaking them and forming my own.  The field testing has been limited to just this weekend.  I sprayed my son who was getting bit and afterwards he said nothing was biting him.  And my husband who usually get attacked while mowing, said he was left alone except for one on his ankle at the very end of the long job of mowing and he said that's because he probably sweat it off.  Very humid.  So yes after a while of being outside if you are sweating it off you will want to reapply.  A lot of recipes call for citronella essential oil but I opted for other bug repelling oils as I read citronella can be cancer causing.  Didn't research it for myself it's just what I was reading as I was going over recipes online.  And there are so many anti bug oils to choose from it really wasn't a big deal.  I chose lemongrass, clove, peppermint, and eucalyptus oil, all around 5$ or so.  A sidenote, I believe clove is also an anti fungal, so if you're like me and struggled with ,what I self diagnosed myself with, candidal sweat rash this summer, you get that added benefit.  So here is the recipe, it makes 4 ounces and I used my old bug spray bottle, but in an ideal world, this would be better in a blue or amber glass spray bottle, because light deteriorates the essentials and essential oils can break down plastic.  So I keep it in the cabinet when we aren't using it.

Recipe:

2 TBS Witchhazel <alcohol free if you prefer.

1 TBS Aloe vera gel, the kind you can drink.

20 drops of Eucalyptus oil

10 drops Clove oil

10 drops Lemongrass oil

10 drops of Peppermint

Water.

I used my pirex cup so I could see the ounces,  I put in all the ingredients except the water, then filled the cup with water up to the 4 oz mark.  Shake before applying. ( I ordered all this from iherb)

Of course you can google all the different kinds of essential oils that repel bugs, these are what I landed on personally.

Tip: works for the 3 year old.  Bentonite clay for itchy bug bites.  (I keep a jar with clay mixed with enough water to make a mask-like consistency) 

I'm still here.

School is just around the corner and I plan to get back to blogging, not just for the sake of blogging but because my skin has been doing so good over all and I want to share about that. AND I made my own deodorant that WORKS!!  I've made my own toothepaste, astringent and foot fungus treatment.  All of which I am very happy with.  The toothepaste I may tweak to be a powder but really, I'm happy with it... and I'll be back. ;)

A Word About Phytic Acid

Click on the picture to read the whole article about why grains are a natural part of our diet but you should avoid wheat and gluten.  Two things I have yet to do.... and I do not believe evolution is correct at all.  With that said, this about phytic acid was interesting:

"Some arguments against grains lament the presence of phytic acid, something that is said to block the body’s ability to use zinc and calcium. Not only does some research show that phytic acid serves a purpose in the human body (it works as an antioxidant, helping to protect against heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other diseases according to EarthSave), but once the grains are leavened, the phytic acid’s negative effects no longer apply.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, whole grain consumption “substantially lowers total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin levels.” That means a decreased risk of heart disease. The fiber triggers anticoagulant production which then prevents blood clots, and the antioxidants interfere with an interaction between LDL cholesterol and oxygen, an introduction that could contribute to the clogging of the arteries. In addition, Harvard points out that the fiber decreases the likelihood of experiencing constipation and helps sweep toxic residue out of the body"

No Poo I Think I Hate You

 Argh, I have to say it, one, blogger screwed me out of what I just typed grrrrr. And I also have to say, no pooing, it poo crapped on my hair. I hate it. Ever since I colored my hair I can't get it to breakdown the build up. I had to rewash my hair before I could go somewhere yesterday cause I had no pooed just the night before and it looked so GROSS. Powdery junk and greasy awful. Why WHy WHY does the chemcially laden conditioner they give you with your box of haircolor have to make your hair so darned silky soft??? :( If I were rich I'd buy some all natural awesome stuff. So my next try will be using my kids Everday Shea Shampoo.  And see how it performs.  to be continued....