Raise Your Hand if You Want to Smell My Armpits!!

"Crunchy Christmas" (aka my huge order from Mountain Rose Herbs) was a success on many fronts.  I used all those goodies to make all the hippie stuff I've been meaning to make for awhile.

First up:  Homemade Deodorant, trial #2.  It really works!  Now, it's not an anti-perspirant.  But as Stephanie says in her blog post, our bodies are designed to sweat so maybe we shouldn't worry so much about blocking that bodily function. Which is kind of a bummer for a girl like me who sweats like a man.  Oh well, go-go sweaty pits!  But at least they don't stink!

On top of her recommended lavender and tea tree oils I also added some eucalyptus, cypress, and geranium because they're supposed to be anti-stink-wonders.

Seriously, this deo is awesome.  The ingredients do a great job of neutralizing my body odor without creating an overwhelming (and artifical/chemical) smell like Dove or Degree or whatever else I've used of the conventional stuff. Just say no to aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex (the main carcinogenic ingredient in deodorant these days) and give homemade deodorant it a try!

***Update*** I forgot to mention that the biggest plus to adding beeswax to the deodorant is that you don't have to keep it in the refrigerator!  It's just like normal deodorant, so I will blend in with all the other cool kids and no one will ever ask me again "why is there deodorant in your refrigerator" ;o)

Okay let's stop talking about my armpits and start talking about more important things like my stretch marks and cellulite. And Lily's dry skin issues.  Coconut oil to the rescue!

Homemade lotion time.  I added lavender, geranium, and cypress because they are supposed to be good for all that ails your skin.  Especially for things that ail mommy skin like stretch marks, scars, and cellulite.

The recipe made enough for this little jar that I keep upstairs for Lily and for a decent sized jar to keep in my bathroom. I'm using it especially on my yucky skin problems and on my face.  It's a bit more greasy than conventional lotion.  But it's really moisturizing and is chemical free!

So then I was having so much fun being a mad-scientist-hippie in the kitchen that I decided to whip up these lotion bars as well!

Lily affectionately (and understandably) calls this "Heart lotion".  Emily (hi Mira!) told me that the beeswax might give the good healing ingredients more staying power on Lily's problem spots.

[So far these are not really helping Lily's elbow patch.  I am almost to the point where I'm going to consider an elimination diet to see if she has food allergies (maybe dairy?) but I'm going to be a lazy/selfish mommy and wait till after our Stateside vacation.  Stay tuned...]

Since I made four and I think they'll take me awhile to use up, I gave one to Jen to be my un-biased experimenter.  Her review: works great on the really dry patches (elbows, hangnails/cuticles, etc.) but is a little inconvenient for larger areas... say, if you wanted to lotion up your legs after a shave.

These are also a little greasier than conventional lotion.

I used lavender, cypress, and geranium in these beauties as well.  And I store them in plastic baggies for lack of a better idea.  Does anyone else have a better idea?  

Well, that's all from the hippie for now.  I'm off to scrub beeswax and coconut oil out of my dishes.  Just kidding, I'm off to go start the day cause I can hear my little monkeys upstairs playing together.