Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Make your own eco-friendly body wash with Dr. Bronner's!

Tomorrow is the Big Night with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps! We are very excited to be able to give away free samples of some of their products. This stuff really does it all! In honor of that, we wanted to share with you some other uses besides just washing your hands.



The most well-known of the Dr. Bronner's products is the Castile Soap. This stuff is baby-gentle and can be used even with the most sensitive skin. Castile soap is also the base for many homemade body washes and cleaners that are safe for the home, the environment, and your family! Body washes you buy in the store have so many hidden ingredients like fragrances, sulfates, and other things that you might not want to put on your body every day. This recipe is pretty simple, and requires just a few extra ingredients that you can save to use in other things, like when you make these simple homemade cleaning solutions!

So here is one idea of what to do with your very own Dr. Bronner's Fair Trade Castile Soap! I found the recipe online the other day and am really excited to make it! If you do make it, let us know what you think!

The original recipe can be found here. Not only is this easy, but its CHEAP and lasts forever!




Swap out oils and infusion ingredients to make a recipe that’s perfect for your skin. This would be a fun project to try with kids too.  

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Tbs steel cut oats (optional - to infuse)
  • 1 sprig of rosemary (optional - to infuse)
  • 1 c. distilled water
  • 1 Tsp citric acid (to prevent bacterial growth in your bodywash)
  • 2 Tbs coconut oil (Dr. Bronner's makes this too!)
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1-1/2 c. liquid castile soap (Dr Bronner’s)
  • 1 tsp guar gum (you can find it in most markets that carry natural foods with the Bob’s Red Mill grains)
  • 30 drops essential oils (your preference - I used a blend of lavender, chamomile, and lemongrass)

DIRECTIONS

 1. Boil water in a kettle and once boiling pour over the oats and rosemary (or whatever you decide to infuse). Cover and let sit for an hour, then strain to remove oats and rosemary bits from your infusion.

2. In a bowl whisk your oil, honey, infusion, and citric acid together.

3. Sprinkle in the guar gum, whisking to combine, and then immediately afterward whisk in the castile soap (if you wait too long the guar gum will thicken and you’ll have clumps) until blended and smooth.

4. Drop in your essential oils and fold in with a spoon or spatula. Store the mixture in a bottle that you have sterilized (opaque is best) out of direct sunlight and shake before each use.

~~ If you don't have any coconut oil, you can swap out with olive, grapeseed, almond, jojoba, apricot kernel or any other oil. ~~~

PLEASE NOTE: As this recipe only contains mild natural preservatives (citric acid) and has not been created by a chemist, you may want to store the finished body wash in your refrigerator or make a batch small enough to use within 3-4 days. It is very important that you sterilize (boiling water or the dishwasher will do) all implements that will be used to avoid introducing any bacteria into your bodywash. We personally have not had any issues with bacterial contamination and are still using a bottle from a large batch that was made over 6 months ago that has never been refrigerated. 



ENJOY! Let us know what you think, and we'll see you TOMORROW! 


May 17, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

1033 SE Main St.

Special Guests: Dr. Bronner's Soaps and Fair World Project


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi,
the body wash looks fantastic, with the best of the best ingredients. I made it but used organic Olive Oil instead of the Coconut Oil as I didn't have any. My resulting body wash was seriously disgusting. It didn't even smell nice - just smelled strongly of Olive oil mixed with Xanthan Gum. It felt like I was washing myself with just Olive oil mixed with Xanthan Gum! No soapy feel at all. No fragrance, I used peppermint e.o. I'm disappointed, I really wanted this to work. It cost me a fortune to buy the products. Don't know what else I could ever use Xanthan Gum for now. Has anyone else used Olive Oil instead of Coconut Oil. Could it really make that much of a difference! I followed the recipe exactly. Thanks so much for sharing. Kate

Becca M said...

Hi. I am not a chemist by far, but I have read that guar gum and xanthan gum work a little bit differently based on temperature and I believe xanthan gum is just a bit stronger than the other. I dont know if this has anything to do with your result or not. As far as the different oils are concerned, coconut oil is solid at room temp and olive oil is not. That being said, the melting temp for the coconut oil is pretty low and its liquid form tend to be thinner than the olive oil. However I dont believe these differences are enough to have contaminated your result, especially since there isnt really that much in the final product. Im sorry I couldn't be of more help, I just felt your post deserved some kind of a response.
P.s. xanthan gum can also be used in gluten free cooking recipes :)