The Castile soap has arrived!!! So excited. Then I looked at the ingredients, the bar soap is nothing like the “Make-your-own” variety. I don't recognise (not that I know many of the bad guys) any of the chemicals as being “Bad” except it has palm oil in it which is bad for our orangutan friends. I do not know how this compares to the Dr Bronner brand of Castile soap however I will say this, the Knights shower gel is not to be confused with the liquid castile soap... I was horrified to find that it has Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth sulphate in it which is are pretty well known “bad guys”... http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/13/sodium-lauryl-sulfate.aspx.
I will use up what we have but will not be buying any more of either product. If they lifted their game a bit; the bar soap especially would be very handy as its pH neutral and is actually quite nice and not drying as a soap and does not leave a waxy residue. I also read (and decided to test) that it was good for washing pots and pans... It certainly did the job and left my hands and nails feeling much nicer after washing up than the liquid counterparts do.
So still on the hunt for soap alternatives.
Washing Up
I have had to do a lot of washing up this month as our dishwasher is on strike, my husband is negotiating conditions and I am cleaning up the mess from the slackers. I have found a very satisfactory substitute for dish-washing detergent in bicarb soda. I flick about a tbs or less into my smaller tub with very hot water (I really just give it a fair shake of the soda box). Plates get clean and my hands stay nice not dry and my nails don't break. Better for the environment and we are happy all around.
I had tried and liked the fake liquid castile soap (before I read the ingredients) as a shampoo with a few drops of coconut oil as a leave-in conditioner. Shower time was so much faster without having to wait for conditioner to “set”.
I decided to look around for natural alternatives to soap in the shower... how hard could be it be... we use milk in the bath right? I came across this site... http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/02/the-no-soap-challenge-the-results-are-in-and-we-have-a-winner/
Bathroom
I was too late for the official challenge but not too late lo say goodbye to the Sodium L Sulphates...
So I am giving it a go and am about half way through the challenge... I notice no real difference in my skin, positive or negative. I have been informed by Honey that I don't smell (I checked)... and I decided to go one step beyond the challenge which allows you to use shampoo (without cheating)... I am giving the “no poo” a go this week too. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Go-No-Poo/?ALLSTEPS
My cousin's family uses this method and their hair always looks great. But it took a while for me to come around... after the wedding I reasoned if it stuffs my hair I won't be in the spotlight... after my shampoo runs out (ooops bought some more it just jumped into my shopping cart... actually no we had to get some on our honey moon as my sponge bag was mixed up with some other stuff that my matron of honour kept safe for me till we returned) wait till it's used up? No now is the time.
Ok I actually colour my hair as my roots are grey and my brown streaks blonde which is annoying. ACV may lighten my hair and I am not prepared to take that “risk” so I am switching my ACV with red wine vinegar.
Wash one: I mixed it with cold water and I have a very hot shower. I didn't scream quite as loudly as when I see a toad, but it was a shock.
Confession: I have not been to the hairdresser in almost a year. Usually I go just before I dye but I was busy/broke or both and it was overlooked. So my ends are rather dry (but not split-very thankful for that). I have continued to use 3 drops of coconut oil in my tips (every few days) which usually makes my roots oily and they are still dry like days later. Also rain usually gives me oily roots too, in this case; my hair is starting to look oily about ¼ of the way down to about ¼ from the end (so in other words the middle half of my hair looks oilyish) but I love the way it looks in the morning with just a finger-comb on day 2. Day one it was a little dry and strawish.
Kitchen
Last night it was time to do the nasty... clean the oven. I used bicarb soda and water and then about an hour later I washed it off with my shark. It was very handy. The oven looks pretty good, it was a rush job as I realised after I started making my apple crumble that the Bicarb was not cleaned off the oven yet... It took about 10 minutes and I popped the dessert into the oven and cooked dinner... when the apple crumble was finished... there was a fine film of powder on the bottom of the stove. If I had used a commercial cleaner it would have been a disaster... leaching chemicals into our food and nasty smells into the house. When the oven was cool, I sprayed it it with our "new" spray and wipe which is a blend of vinegar and water. Residue gone...
Judie
No comments:
Post a Comment