DIY Cosmetics

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Do you know that an average person uses 10 different skin care products on his body everyday?  Our bodies absorb nearly 130 chemicals daily though cosmetics companies are quick to say that these are safe as they are in small doses anyway.  On the average, a woman ingests as much as four pounds of lipstick in her lifetime.  A little dab here, a quick spray there. Now we don't really know how these chemicals affect us over time.

Not all is lost for cosmetics.  We concede that not everyone can live without cosmetics.  A lot of people depend on make-up for their livelihood.  As an alternative to chemical cosmetics, we can go natural skin care.  How about making shaving cream, soap or shampoo out of natural and organic ingredients? What about eco-friendly cosmetics?


If you're interested in making your own shaving cream, try out this recipe.

Here's what you'll need:
1/2 teaspoon of sunflower oil
1/4 cup of unscented glycerin soap
Double boiler
A cup or mug for the cream

Here's what you'll do:

In your double boiler, melt chunks of the glycerin soap.  Stir in the sunflower oil.  Move the mixture into a mug as soon as all of the glycerin chunks are melted.

This formula will set quickly. When you need to shave, simply work water against the soap until a lather builds and use it the same way you would regular shaving cream.

You can make your own shampoo using the following:


4 oz of castile soap with any scent that is that available—plain, peppermint, eucalyptus.

½ oz of rosemary—stimulates the hair follicles and helps to prevent premature baldness

½ oz of sage—has antioxidants and keeps things from spoiling and is antibacterial

½ oz of nettles—acts as a blood purifier, blood stimulator, contains a large source of
nutrients for hair growth

½ oz of lavender—controls the production of sebaceous gland oil and reduces itchy and flaky scalp conditions

What to make your own eco-friendly cosmetics?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/diy-skincare.php


Just like in choosing the food that we eat, we should also apply the same criteria for the cosmetics that we apply on our bodies. What is applied on the skin is like what is eaten, both are absorbed by the body.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/fashion-beauty/homemade-shaving-cream.html

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/fashion-beauty/homemade-shampoo.html

Healthy Eating

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Love for the environment can be shown in a lot of ways. One can opt to plant trees to replace those that were burned or used in logging operations. One could also go the way of conservation of our natural resources like water. Or one could practice eating healthy food.

Eating healthy could either mean eating food that are fresh, fibrous and rich in vitamins and minerals. It can also mean eating fruits, vegetables, fowl and pigs which were organically grown.

When I was a young mother, I refrained from buying processed baby food and fed my babies with my own milk. I prepared and cooked everyday my children's lunch. When they entered school, they had cookies that I baked. Oh don't get me wrong, my children had their share of tocino, hamburger, longganisa. I didn't buy these things from the supermarket though but made them myself. I spent time and money studying how to make these delicacies so as not to deprive them what other children are enjoying. I rest in the knowledge that what they have eaten are free from preservatives.

At present, I am still finding ways of serving them healthy food.