Witchy Stuff Fail

Lest anyone get the impression that around here it's all natural sunshine and compostable rainbows, I'm here, today, to tell you about two colossal failures in the witchy stuff category. I'll get the most embarrassing out of the way first.

The story goes: I had a tiny blemish. In the past I have used tea tree oil or witch hazel to treat such blemishes - both are astringent and healing and slightly drying and regenerative and all sorts of good things. I figured both together would be doubly effective and certainly zap my zit. Instead it burned my face. A jumbo cotton ball sized burn that has taken two weeks to heal and incited countless 'What happened to your face???'s, every one totally deserved. I've heard it said, but now I believe more than ever that herbs are powerful. You have to know what you're doing. Now I know that tea tree oil and witch hazel should not be used, together, full strength, on bare skin. Don't do it! And if you think I have a photo to go along with the disaster you're crazy, I spent the week shunning everything with eyes, mechanical or human.

Next up, not quite so embarrassing but perhaps more costly. I saw this post about making one's own lotion, and since I've become a bit more concerned about what I rub into my skin lately (see Oil Cleanse Method) I thought it would be worth trying. It's basically just olive oil in a more manageable form. So I ordered the emulsifying wax and, admittedly jumping the gun, starting collecting a million little bottles that I could fill with wonderful herbal handmade lotion and give away as Christmas gifts (Yeah, you see the label right, almost every Friday night my boy brings home a pair of shots, and after enjoying my shot I rinse out the bottles and save them. Last year we filled them with flavored salts for all the fam. This year they've been saved for the handmade lotion).

On a rare afternoon that I was feeling caught up with life and ambitious I made up the lotion. It's as simple as the homemade deodorant, and takes about 5 minutes, and the cooling lotion looked so promising.

But I'm here, today, to tell you, that you might as well smear straight olive oil on your skin, that would be less gloppy and soak in better than this lotion. It was terrible, it coated my skin with an oil slick impenetrable layer on an already humid day, and I ended scraping it off because I couldn't stand it. I'm sure there are good lotion recipes out there. But this is not it. I'm going running back to my Trader Joe's Midsummer Night's cream, and I'm up for suggestions on what to do with my million whiskey bottles.

Homemade Deodorant

Warning: TMI Ahead! (Is there a delicate way to talk about deodorant and all that goes along with it?)
A few years ago something in my body chemistry changed (it coincided with the entrance of one Zeb into my life so I think it was a influx of happy hormones) and I became a stinky girl. I'm highly sensitive to smell so this was mortifying. In the ensuing years I've tried all sorts of deodorants, all sorts. I wanted so badly for the natural and organic ones to work, but they didn't, so I ended up with a triple strength men's formula that coated my skin in a layer of gunk that I had to scrape off in the shower each day. It was completely disturbing but it mostly kept the stinky at bay and that took priority. A year or so ago I stumbled upon this post about a homemade deodorant that seemed promising so last June I made up a batch and I've been using it ever since. I love that it has few and pronounceable ingredients and I don't have to worry about things like aluminum, but I'm thrilled that it is the first deodorant to do what it should - keep me deodorized. Even on the worst of our swampy mid atlantic days I'm stink free with just one application. For quick reference here is the recipe I use:

3 Tablespoons shea butter
3 Tablespoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons cocoa butter
2 vitamin E oil gel caps (puncture and squeeze out the oil)
About 20 drops of essential oil (optional)

Over low heat melt together all the ingredients except the essential oil. Turn off heat and add oil, pour into container and allow to harden.

This lasts me about eight months.

A few notes: I get shea butter and cocoa butter from Mountain Rose Herbs because I couldn't find the raw butters without other things mixed in at Whole Foods.

I used no essential oils the first time and it was fine, just a totally neutral smell. This time I added lavender and clary sage since both have antibacterial properties and bacteria is the cause of smelly pits in the first place. The oils add a very light fragrance, not even enough to conflict with perfume.

The first two weeks that I used the deodorant last summer my lymph nodes became very inflamed. That was not uncommon with regular deodorants, so I wasn't too alarmed. I switched to an every other day application, and found that was sufficient -this stuff is effective - and the swelling subsided.
I also experienced a bit of itching and redness/irritation in the first few weeks and off and on since then. I'm pretty sure this is because baking soda is a bit abrasive and in strong amounts causes itching, so I could cut down on the amount I use in the concoction, but I just switch to every other day when it's a problem and I'm fine. Also, I try to not apply it to freshly shaved skin.

This is not an antiperspirant. I still sweat, it's just not stinky sweat. But I'm OK with that, sweat is just a fact of life in the summer here, even with a drugstore antiperspirant.

About the ingredients: Some people recommend just using a mixture of cornstarch (for light antiperspirant) and baking soda (for deodorant) brushed onto the skin. I tried that and it didn't work for me. In this combination I think the butters help the powders stick around, and the vitamin E oil acts as a preservative.

I wouldn't say this leaves a 'residue', but sometimes it leaves a light dust that is easily brushed off. But that residue is far less than that left by even clear gels I've used in the past.

This has the consistency of a solid creme. I usually just scrape a bit off and warm it between my fingers before I apply it so that I'm not tugging at my skin too much.

Though the ingredients cost a bit to start up, I think in the long run this is much cheaper than drugstore deodorant.

So there you have more than you probably ever wanted to know about my personal grooming habits, and hopefully something helpful about homemade deodorant.

Tuesday

Funness in the mail - the concoction kit for my Herbal Medicine course. Unfortunately I've sort of dropped out of the course for the time being so it will be a while before I reach the assignments that use all these treasures. But soon enough, for now I'll just take it one or two other things at a time.