In my last post about giving green gifts, I suggested homemade bodycare products as a great gift. As an update to that, here are some recipes and suggestions to help get you started!

The wonderful thing about making your own products is that you know exactly what goes into them. Unlike typical commercially produced cosmetics that boast a list of ingredients a mile long (if they even list their ingredients), you can be 100% sure that your homemade products are natural, non-toxic and safe. Plus, they can work just as well as mainstream products. You can also opt for organic and local ingredients whenever possible, making them even more environmentally-friendly.

I’ve kept these recipes very open so you can experiment, use your favourite scents, and discover your preferences. Another great thing about homemade products is that you can modify them to suit your own needs—some people like a thick body butter, while others like a light lotion. Using the same ingredients in varying amounts, you can make either kind.

Likewise, you can use essential oils to create your favourite scents to create a product perfect for you! Not sure where to start? For something feminine try rose, vanilla or jasmine. Lavender and chamomile are wildly known to be relaxing, while mandarin orange, grapefruit and peppermint are very energizing. Feeling adventurous? Try patchouli, bergamot or cinnamon.

Easy Products

Lip Balm

1. Lip balm is much easier to make than you’d think. Start with a harder base, such as beeswax. (You can find beeswax in pre-cut pellets or a block that you can grate yourself.) You’ll also need softer oils, like a combination of sweet almond oil and coconut oil. I prefer a harder lip balm, so I use two parts beeswax with one part softer oils. You can experiment to get the consistency you like.
2. Combine the beeswax and oils in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Add a couple drops of vitamin E oil. This helps moisturize lips and will act as a natural preservative.
3. Heat the combination in the microwave until the beeswax is fully melted. The mixture should be liquid.
4. Add a few drops of any essential oils you like, such as vanilla, peppermint or rose.
5. Pour into a container and wait until dry.

Bath Salts

1. This recipe is about as easy as they come! Just combine equal parts Epsom salts and sea salt in a large bowl, and add any essential oils you like for scent. My favourite is lavender, and I like to add dried lavender flowers as well.
2. Mix well and store in a glass jar away from any moisture.

Bath Bomb

1. Combine equal amounts baking soda and citric acid into a large bowl.
2. Add a small amount of cornstarch to the bowl and mix with a spoon. For instance, if you used ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup citric acid, you would add ¼ cup cornstarch.
3. Add just enough sweet almond oil (or any other light vegetable or nut oil) so the mixture will hold together.
4. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oils for scent. You can also add dried lavender flowers or rose petals. Mix everything together.
5. Put the mixture into moulds (such as silicone muffin trays) and let dry for a day. When they’re dry, they should easily pop out of the moulds. Be careful with the bath bombs—they’re delicate!

Deodorant Powder

1. Like the bath salts, this recipe is extremely simple. Just combine equal parts baking soda and cornstarch with any essential oils you like and store in a shallow glass container. The baking soda neutralizes odor and the cornstarch absorbs moisture.
2. To apply, use a makeup brush to dust a fine layer of the deodorant onto your underarms.

One-Ingredient Miracle Products

If you’re recipe-challenged or just plain lazy, these one-ingredient products are for you!

1. Cornstarch Oil-Be-Gone Face Powder: For those who get shiny, oily faces during the course of the day, dusting a little cornstarch on your face with a makeup brush really helps. It can be used on its own or in combination with your regular face powder.
2. Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil can be used to treat anything from lice to foot fungus, but my favourite use is to combat acne. Just apply a drop to a pimple at bedtime and it should clear up overnight.
3. Aloe Vera All-Purpose Gel: Aloe vera is a plant known for its soothing and healing properties on the skin. It’s great on cuts and scrapes, blisters, sunburns, rashes, and even razor burn after shaving your legs. You can buy aloe vera gel from a drugstore or health food store. Even better, go to a plant store or nursery, buy a small plant and put it in your bathroom. Just break off a leaf whenever you need to use some and apply the gel inside the leaf.
4. Vitamin E Oil: Vitamin E is great for reducing the appearance of scars and moisturizing your skin.
5. Tea Facial Toner: Tea is a mild astringent and is packed with antioxidants so it makes a great toner. Green tea is a great choice, and if you have oily skin, chamomile is even better. Just brew up an extra-strong batch and store in the fridge in a glass bottle. To apply, use a cotton ball or a clean cloth.
6. Clay Masks: Clay comes in different kinds (green, gray and white) for different skin types (oily, normal/combination and dry/sensitive). It can be purchased at any health food store. Combined with a little water, clay makes excellent facial masks.

Where to go shopping

Your local grocery store should have ingredients like cornstarch, Epsom salt, sea salt, tea, and baking soda. Check out the bulk section for less packaging. Also, be sure to read the labels and get only natural products. For instance, sea salt can come with many additives, such as anti-caking agents. You want your bodycare products to be as pure and natural as possible so avoid additives.

For more specialized ingredients like beeswax, essential oils and citric acid, check out a health food store, farmer’s market or vitamin retailer. If they don’t have something in stock, they may be able to order it for you.

Containers

One of the great things about making your own products is the amount of unnecessary packaging you can save. There are a few options for finding containers for your products:

1. Re-use glass containers you have now. Any face creams or lip balms in glass containers can be cleaned out and sterilized by boiling them for three minutes in a pot on the stove. If you’re doing this, be careful—the glass gets very hot so don’t touch it with your hands. Use regular safety techniques when you’re boiling the jars. Also, never boil the plastic or tin lids, only the pure glass.
2. Although some people do this, I don’t recommend reusing plastic containers because over time they can’t be cleaned properly and the plastic can break down. You want everything to be as sterile as possible. If you are going to re-use plastic, make sure it’s a number 2, 4 or 5 plastic. Number 1 plastic is only meant to be used once, and numbers 3, 6 and 7 have various health concerns.
3. If you don’t have any containers to re-use, check out drugstores, specialty cooking stores and even dollar stores to find some good containers. Always wash them first!

Photo credit: JoshuaDavisPhotography.COM

How can you be an eco-friendly traveller? Well, considering the immense amount of carbon emissions generated by air travel (hundreds of pounds of fuel per passenger), the term “eco-friendly traveller” may be a bit of an oxymoron. Still, when on vacation or on business abroad, the search for greener alternatives is not totally hopeless. 

Before You Leave

• Packaging, Packaging, Packaging:

Unfortunately, all those cute, miniature-sized toothpastes, shampoos and conditioners create much more waste than regular or refill-sized packages. Instead, opt for products with less packaging, or bottles and boxes that can be re-used.

The Soap Works (http://puresoapworks.com/index.htm) has been making biodegradable, natural bar soaps with absolutely no packaging for 25 years. Their Shampoo & Conditioner bar is perfect for hair washing while travelling, the Carbolic bar repels mosquitoes and other pests, and the Tea Tree bar’s antiseptic properties make it perfect to clean minor cuts and scrapes.

Wysi Wipes (http://www.canawipe.com/home.html) are a great green alternative to pre-moistened cloths, for washing dishes while camping, removing make-up, or cleaning up spills. Rather than using one-time-use facial cleansing wipes that remain in a landfill forever, Wysi Wipes can be washed, re-used, and are eventually biodegradable. They start as tiny tablets that take up no room in a suitcase, but expand many times their original size after adding water.

• Natural Remedies:

Products without synthetic ingredients, preservatives, artificial colours and harsh chemicals and pesticides are easier on the environment, and safer for everyone.

Swimming and snorkelling while wearing sunscreens with harsh chemicals are not only dangerous to you, but can harm the fish, coral, and natural environment around you. Sunscreens should be PABA and paraben free. Badger (http://www.badgerbalm.com/default.aspx) or Soleo (http://www.soleousa.com/) are some of the cleanest brands you can find.

Essential oils can be used as natural bug repellents. Citronella, lavender and tea tree are at the top of the list. If you get bitten, tea tree oil works well to soothe the itch. They can also be purchased in ready-made spray forms at your local health food store.

Other natural remedies include: ginger for nausea and motion sickness, probiotics to prevent travellers’ sickness and digestive upsets, and grapefruit seed extract to purify drinking and bathing water.

While You’re There

• Reuse:

Everything possible on vacation should be re-used. Pack some cloth bags in your suitcase for shopping and bring your trusty reusable water bottles along as well. Tip: double walled stainless steel canteens keep water cold hours longer in tropical heat than single walled stainless steel, aluminum or plastic (plus, they’re better for you).           

• Respect the Local Ecosystem:

Choose hotels, tours and day trips that use environmentally friendly practices. Eat local whenever possible (this is usually much more fun than eating local at home). When in nature, remember the golden rule—take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.

• Save Electricity, Water, and Gas:

Just like at home, don’t leave lights, TVs or electric appliances on. Don’t leave the water running or take long showers. If you’re staying in a full-service hotel, refrain from requesting laundry or cleaning services unless absolutely necessary. Or, if you’re doing some sightseeing, take the bus or walk instead of renting a car. You’ll experience more of the culture that way in the process.

On Your Way Home

• Recycle:

Believe it or not, a lot of resorts and vacation destinations don’t have the same recycling facilities that we’re used to. So—take it home! Empty packages aren’t heavy, so bringing them home to be recycled isn’t too hard.

• Souvenir Shopping:

Although the most environmentally-friendly option is to avoid buying any souvenirs, most people like taking a little something back to remember their trip. If you’re buying souvenirs for yourself or for others, ensure that they’re environmentally responsible choices. For example, make sure they’re actually made in the location you travel to, but don’t damage the local ecosystem (no crocodile skin wallets!). As always, don’t buy anything you don’t need or won’t want in a few years.

Good luck and bon voyage!

Aromatherapy is one truly beneficial indulgence most of us don’t make time for.  Afterall, you do have to know what you are doing, like which essential oils work  for what ailment, how to mix and use them and which to stay away from.  Essentials oils are very potent and it is not wise to throw caution to the wind when using them, as some are skin irritants and over doing it can be toxic.  That said, the right ones can go a long way toward good physical and mental health.

Nuworld Botanicals has come to our aromatherapy rescue with Aromatherapy Personals, little rollerball vials that combine aromatherapy and acupressure, along with health benefits of antioxidants, vitamins and 100% certified organic essential oils.  Nuworld Botanicals uses a base of 100% certified organic Jojoba oil to dilute the essential oils for safe use.

The perfectly stash-able roll-ons can be tossed in your purse, gym bag or desk drawer and with 11 scent combinations to choose from, can come to your aid for everything from anxiety relief and craving control to a sweet dreamy night’s sleep.  Simply massage the rollerball onto pulse points, like wrists, temples, insides of elbows and back of neck.

Energy Boost with its minty, eucalyptus scent is refreshing and perfect for your morning wakeup call or mid-afternoon slump.  Immune Boost smells fresh and clean and is packed with Tea Tree oil which is a powerful immune stimulant.  Perfect for the late spring cold season.

With all of the social happenings and end-of-school events that May brings, it can be stressful and hard to focus.  Mental Clarity is an earthy blast of basil, lemon and grapefruit to help with mental concentration.  Stress Relief helps to ease tension and boost your mood with citrus, bergamot and just a hint of patchouli.

Jet Lag Relief, with nutmeg, ginger, peppermint and clove, smells good enough to use even when you are feeling fine and nothing beats the pure scent of lavender in Anxiety Relief.

Choose the appropriate Aromatherapy Personals roll-on for what ails you, or simply pick you favorite scent combination.  The aroma is long lasting and nontoxic.

All eleven scents are mild and wearable, even for those with scent-issues, and the convenient size and borderline addictive nature of the little bottles make Aromatherapy Personals an easy and rewarding way to incorporate aromatherapy into your daily living. 

Image credit:  Nuworld Botanicals

Further Soap

Reuse is a keyword in helping to protect the environment.  Reuse your bags, clothing, electronics and the list goes on.  But what about reusing the waste oil from restaurants?  You have probably heard of biofuel and those who use it to run their automobiles, but what happens to the waste from the biofuel?

That is where Marshall and Megan Dostal’s creative thinking comes in.  Marshall has been collecting leftover grease from fine restaurants in L.A. for years and turning it into biofuel (in his own garage) for his car.  That is pretty creative on its own.  But, with the help of his wife, Megan, the Dostals managed to take “reuse” one step further.

Glycerin is a byproduct of the biofuel distillation process and with all of that biofuel creation, Marshall had a lot of it.  Glycerin is also used to make soap, which is exactly where the idea for Further Soap came in.

Mixed with aloe and other natural ingredients, the glycerin became a luxurious hand soap, scented with their signature fragrance of bergamot and olive essential oils and exotic grasses.

Well, of course they couldn’t stop there.  The Dostals then return their soap to the very restaurants where they originally get the waste oil to create the biofuel.  And the cycle continues.

Image credit:  Further Soap