I thought I'd share five other ways I use this body bar:
#1. As a barrier to prevent henna dying my skin, when dying my hair with henna. I apply it along my hairline. It works a treat and is petrochemical free, unlike Vaseline.
#2. As a lip balm. I've put a little in an old lip balm tub. It's delicious and nourishing.
#3. As a face moisturiser on cold winter evenings or really cold days. I put a small amount (about the size of an pea) in the palm of my hand, rub my hands together until it melts and then smooth my hands over my face.
#4. To protect hands while gardening. It also makes hands and nails easier to clean afterwards.
#5. As a hair wax to calm frizzy and dry hair. I melt a small amount in the palm of my hand, like when using it as a face moisturiser, and then brush my hands through my hair.
I'm hitting the road today. I'm off to run workshops on the management and identification of native vegetation in Scone and Deniliquin. Little Eco is having a holiday at my Mums for two weeks while I'm travelling. I'm missing her already, but on the other hand I'm bouncing with excitement at the idea of two weeks doing something I absolutely love and not having to look after a husband or child. Two weeks of just being just me.
I hope you find a few moments to be 'just you' too.
Little Eco and I are embracing pantry pampering. We recently enjoyed a honey and banana face mask. We mixed a mashed banana with honey, then jumped in the bath and slathered it all over our face. The vitamins in bananas are known to improve complexion and even smooth wrinkles (perhaps I should wear this mask more often!) and when combined with honey hydrates your skin.
Skin benefits aside, our pantry pampering moments are more about time together than the beauty benefits.
I've discovered that pantry pampering is a great way to calm Little Eco down and trick her into quiet time. I'll head to the kitchen and grab a handful of oats for a nourishing porridge bath, or some honey and yoghurt for a moisturising face mask, or whip up a banana milkshake hair mask. Thirty minutes later, and after lots of giggles about putting food on our face, she's calm and relaxed.
Are you a fan of pantry pampering? Whats your favourite way of tricking kids into quiet time?
I'm enjoying Maria Hannaford's free natural beauty guide. Its full of loads of pantry pampering inspiration, like using tahini as a face mask for dry skin. It's free if you sign up for Econest's friday newsletter.
All you have to do is change one product at a time
Initially, when I decided to switch to safer more sustainable options, I was overwhelmed. There were toxic chemicals in so much of what I used. How do I know what to use instead?
I've since decided to take it slowly. Each time something runs out I replace it with a safer more sustainable alternative. Make-up lasts me so long that I'm still using a lipstick that likely contains lead and a foundation that is probably full of nasties.
2. I then consider making something myself with ingredients I know and trust. I've found both New Directions and Aussie Soap Supplies are geat sources for natural ingredients.The web provides an endless source of recipes. Simply google whatever you need. For example, 'natural + face wash + recipe' or 'natural + hair + conditioner + recipe'.
3. If the pantry or hand-making doesn't deliver, I then consider purchasing a commercial 'natural' and safe product. This is where I find it can get confusing. There's the embodied energy of the product, it's packaging and it's transport to consider. The confusion increases when you consider words like 'natural' and 'organic'. Unfortunately, these words don't mean a product is safe or environmentally friendly.
As described by Nicile Brijlsma in Healthy Home Healthy Family, 'natural' is a loose term that is defined as 'derived from a natural substance'. Think about it - asbestos, uranium and all of the heavy metals - all of which can kill you, are naturally found in the earth. The term 'derived from' is equally misleading as it usually indicates that the product is synthetically made. For example, 'Sodium Laureth Sulphate' (derived from coconut) is made by adding sulphuric acid to coconut. 'Organic' is just as bad. The cosmetics industry's definition of 'organic' is the same as the scientific definition which means 'any substance that contains a carbon atom'. Genuine organic products will be certified by a credible organisation.
With all this confusion I often resort to brands I think I can trust. You won't find these brands in your local supermarket, department store or chemist. Instead head to your local organic or health food store or an online store that specialises in natural and safe products.
Don't give up
Some changes took me a while to get used to, like using henna to dye my hair. At first I struggled to apply the grainy dark mud-like mix, and ended up with more on the floor than on my head. Now, after some practice, I manage to keep almost all of it on my head.
Other changes involved trying or considering a few products before finding something that suited me, like deodorant. At first I switched to a natural crystal deodorant. It was OK in winter, but not so great in summer. I'd considered making a batch of Angry Chicken's deodorant, as i'd heard good things about it, but hadn't gotten around to making a batch before I tried and fell in love with Weleda's wild rose deodorant. The downside is it's imported and hence comes with a comparatively large transport footprint, but it has plenty going for it to compensate. It doesn't contain any of the nasties typically found in deodorant (particularly Aluminium) and instead uses only pure essential oils and plant extracts. It's packaged in a reuseable glass bottle rather than plastic, it works, and it lasts for ages. I'm only onto my second bottle after using it for well over a year.
Discount and Giveaway from Echolife Australia
I was recently contacted by Ecoholife Australia. In their words, Echolife..."stock a carefully hand-picked range of health products and skin care - we're basically biased towards all natural products that use organic and fair-trade ingredients wherever possible (we think it's the responsible thing to do - and we also like giving as much information as possible about every product we sell, because that's only fair!)."
That sounds fair to me. I've noticed they also offer free shipping for orders within Australia.
5 % discount
Echolife wanted to offer Little Eco Footprints readers a 5% reusable discount, valid on everything in their online store. To claim the discount simply enter 'eco footprints' (without the quote marks) on the shopping cart page or during checkout and 5% will be automatically taken off the total. Contact Echolife if you have any problems with the discount code working. The code is valid for the whole of 2011 and not limited per person per use - so anyone can use it as much as they want.
The giveaway
I noticed Echolife sell the deodorant I use, so I cheekily asked if they'd be willing to offer my readers a deodorant giveaway. They agreed. So available to win is a bottle of Weleda Wild Rose Deodorant.You can smell just like me ;-)
To enter, simply decide upon a personal care product you need to detox, head on over to Echolife to see if they stock a kinder alternative, and head back here and leave a comment sharing your findings. Those of you reading this by email will need to head on over to the blog (by clicking on the title) to leave a comment.
One entry per person, please. Sorry, entries only open to those with Australian addresses.
Entries close midnight (Australian EST) Saturday 16th April. The winner will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday 18th. I'll contact the winner directly by email.
Comments closed.
Thank you for all your entires. The winner was comment number 38, by Savingplaneta.blogspot.com. Congratularions Clare.
I've used nothing but honey to wash my face since. I love that i'm washing my face with something thats simple, natural, package-free, renewable, frugal and I can totally see the benefits to my skin. In contrast to many of the toxic chemical ingredients typically found in commercial skin care products, honey is a natural renewable resource. I’m sticking to honey!
I simply place a little honey on a face washer – and wash, then rinse.
I've been dying my hair with Henna for a while now. I love being free of all those toxic chemicals in permanent hair dye. But one downside is that the coverage of grey isn't usually that great, with the grey hairs being redder than the remaining hair. These 'red highlights' look OK when you have just a few grey hairs. But I no longer have 'just a few'.
So today, when mixing the Henna, I substituted the boiled water with hot black coffee. It's apparently supposed to help lessen the red tones, especially where there is a 'large percentage of grey'. And it worked!
Apparently you can also add egg, olive oil, or even yogurt to the Henna mix to help condition dry hair. I'll try some of these next time.
*It's important to keep your hair warm when the Henna is doing its thing by covering it in plastic. We don't buy plastic wrap, so instead I cover my hair with an old plastic bag. It's a good look ;-)
*For super grey coverage I leave the Henna in for 2-3 hours.
What a post. I've admitted I have more than 'just a few' grey hairs and have shared a pic of me with a plastic bag on my head.
I hope you had a lovely weekend. I've been packing for our upcoming trip. I've just removed around a third of what I had packed after being inspired by theseminimalisttravelers.
