Buying Clay for Hair, Skin Purposes

The first clay I ever used was the Aztec Healing Clay (Calcium Bentonite) that I purchased from MOMS Organic Store in Bowie. I purchased it in October 2012 and the 1lb container lasted until July 2014! I used it solely as a face mask, adding tea tree oil from time to time. It worked great. It retails around $6 a pound online and $8 a pound in stores.

The second clay I purchased was Calcium Montmorillonite powder from a supermarket in Puerto Rico. Sold under the brand name Dr.'s Choice Barro, it has been a key ingredient in my MHM journey. It retails for about $3 a pound online and in the store.

 

I am now trying to find other affordable sources of clay powder that I can buy online and use for both my skin and hair. So far, the following sites seem promising - 

Mountain Rose Herbs: This company sells various clays, butters, oils and frankly everything I would need for my hair and skin 'cooking'. They also sell Bentonite clay in bulk at 1lb for $6, 5lbs for $24 and 50lbs for $180.

 

 An image of their Bentonite clay.

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs

Frankly, I am tempted to buy 50lbs but considering shipping costs and the duties I would pay once it got to me in Dominica, it makes no sense.

Bulk Apothecary: Similar to the last online company, Bulk Apothecary also sells different clays. Its Bentonite sells for $2.98 a pound. The 5lb variety costs $7.67 and the 50lb pack is $32.50. This seems like where I would purchase from. I checked online and there are coupons at retailmenot.com. I would honestly purchase 50lbs because at that price, shipping would be worth it and whatever fees I paid on this end would justify the cost.

 

Picture of their Bentonite Clay Powder

Source: Bulk Apothecary

I can also order Slippery Elm powder, Marshmallow Root powder, essential oils like jojoba and more for affordable prices from this supplier.

 

RAW HONEY

Ooh wee! I am learning about raw honey and I can't believe the many beneficial uses it offers to us mere mortals. Reason for my interest is the Max Hydration Method, which requires raw honey as an inportant ingredient in the Cherry Lola treatment stage.

A quick visit to Hippie Brown Girl's fabulous blog enlightened me greatly.

I mean, it can be used directly on the face as a cleanser that has moisturizing, antibacterial and other healing properties!

I love it and can't wait to get that into my life.

With all the beekeepers in Dominica, I would think I could find this easily but, um, nope. Or at least, not yet, anyway.

I have 5 gallons of this stuff in my Amazon cart waiting to be purchased. I might just have Ms. G bring me all the things I need from the US of A! Dang, its at times like this, I miss home.

Anyway, more info on raw honey and many other great things - beautywise -  are available here - http://hippiebrowngirl.com/2014/03/24/homemade-shampoo-conditioner-for-natural-hair/

NEW DEODORANT AND LOTION RECIPES!

I'm so glad I discovered Wellness Mama today. She has very easy recipes that I can use and that will work given the climate I live in. I discovered her through tPF - a thread on deodorants of all things.

Anyway, here are the recipes -

DEODORANT:

• 3 T Coconut Oil
• 3 T Baking Soda
• 2 T Shea Butter
• 2 T Arrowroot (optional)
• Essential Oils (optional)

LOTION:

• 1/2 cup almond or olive oil (can infuse with herbs first if desired)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup beeswax
• Optional: 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
• Optional: 2 tablespoons Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter
• Optional: Essential Oils, Vanilla Extract or other natural extracts to suit your preference

1. Combine ingredients in a pint sized or larger glass jar. I have a mason jar that I keep just for making lotions and lotion bars, or you can even reuse a glass jar from pickles, olives or other foods.
2. Fill a medium saucepan with a couple inches of water and place over medium heat.
3. Put a lid on the jar loosely and place in the pan with the water.
4. As the water heats, the ingredients in the jar will start to melt. Shake or stir occasionally to incorporate. When all ingredients are completely melted, pour into whatever jar or tin you will use for storage. Small mason jars (8 ounce) are great for this. It will not pump well in a lotion pump!
5. Use as you would regular lotion. This has a longer shelf life than some homemade lotion recipes since all ingredients are already shelf stable and not water is added. Use within 6 months for best moisturizing benefits.

Another Deodorant Recipe

This one works great!

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/10/make-your-own-all-natural-deodorant-stick-or-spray.html

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons beeswax pellets
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornstarch
10 drops each of Lavender, Lemon and Frankincense Essential Oils

Directions:
Add the coconut oil, and beeswax pellets to a small saucepan. Slowly melt over VERY low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and add  baking soda, and corn starch.  Mix with a spoon until smooth and creamy in consistency, then add the essential oils and pour into your containers. Let stand to cool and solidify.
I was very pleased at how well this turned out. It has a great consistency and smells divine! But most importantly, after wearing it for a full day, it was every bit as effective as any commercial brand I have purchased.
And on a somewhat related, but not really related, subject….I just have to offer kudos to the makers of Old Spice for making the labels on their deodorant tubes so easy to take off! It makes repurposing containers SOOOO much easier! Labels that are practically FUSED to the bottle are one of my PET PEEVES!! (Makers of Dawn…are you listening?)

I Made Deodorant

Yes, I finally made deodorant for my daughter.

She has been using the Tom's brand lavender deodorant but it was making her itch. I had no idea how bad it was until I used a "natural" deodorant from Arm & Hammer once and have itched ever since!

I figured there was noway I could let her continue to be uncomfortable, the poor thing. As such I mixed up the following ingredients -

1. 3 tablespoons coconut oil
2. 2 tablespoons beeswax beads
3. 10 drops of tea tree oil
4. 1/4 cup of baking soda
5. 1/4 cup of corn starch

After mixing everything, I then zapped the concoction in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes at 30 second intervals. Once all the beeswax beads had fully melted, I poured most of the mix into an emptied and washed roll-on bottle. The rest was poured into a small plastic container and stored in the freezer.

My daughter has used it and has not complained of any itching, thankfully. I will use it as well with the hopes of replacing the Arm & Hammer deodorant that I currently use. The next mixture will be cocoa butter-based given that cocoa butter melts at approximately 95 degrees, versus coconut oil which melts at around 75 degrees. The beeswax is an important component because it does not melt until approximately 120 degrees, so that means it will allow the deodorant to remain solid during the summer. And in Dominica, our deodorant will simply need to stay in a dark cabinet and not anywhere near direct heat such as a window.

Home Made Deodorant

A link to another recipe - http://www.overatjulies.com/2012/08/diy-homemade-deodorantantiperspirant.html

There is an even better video on Youtube -

DIY: How To Make Homemade Deodorant 

1 ounce of pure cocoa butter (I got from CVS for $1)
1/4 cup of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of baking soda
5 drops of tea tree oil
5 drops of lavender essential oil
1 drop of pure vitamin E oil
3/4 teaspoon of sea fresh fragrance oil- purchased from camdengrey(dot)com

The average cost of making my own deodorant, which is FREE of harsh chemicals is around $1.50, NOT BAD!

Here is a link to Sparkwisdom for another homemade tutorial.

http://youtu.be/wGl5zfpE0SQ

Here is a video of a recipe that includes beeswax - should keep it from melting during the summer. 

 

I MADE MY OWN WAX!

But not without a mishap, however.

My first attempt at making wax resulted in candy brittle and a burnt finger tip. Oh, and a small burn on my lip when I tried to suck on my burning finger and managed to get smoldering sugar wax on my face =(

Anyway, after hubby worked very hard to get rid of all the sticky sugar in the pot, I tried again. This time, I used the same measurements of ingredients (as noted here) but changed how long I cooked it for. I put it at a high heat for about 2 minutes and when it started to boil, I turned the heat down a bit for another minute. Then I left it on an even lower heat for 30 seconds and took it off the fire. It probably sat in the pot for approximately 5 minutes before I poured it into my Mason jar.

I then applied thin layers of wax to my lower legs with the end of a plastic fork. The wax was removed with strips of cloth from an old pair of Calvin Klein Performance work out pants that were on their way to the trash. I removed quite a bit of hair and it was all very exciting, honestly. Can't believe I made my own wax for free.

One thing I noticed was that the hotter the wax, the more efficiently it worked. That means, it took off more hair and left behind less residue on my skin. The next time I wax, I will use strips from a cotton t-shirt. I hope it will lead to more effective hair removal. The workout pants I used had a small amount of spandex in them and I am not sure if that acted as an impediment, but I'll see if there's a difference in the cloth strips used.

I plan on waxing my face and underarms tomorrow. Hope it will go as magically, but a tad faster than today's over 2 hours.