Homemade Chemical-free Toothpaste

So my mom bought me a "make your own natural toothpaste" kit for Christmas. I put it all together tonight. I'm guessing at the measurements because they were all pre-measured in the kit, but these are the ingredients I used. The last three I added.

1/2c bentonite clay
3 cinnamon sticks (about 2.5"ea.)
1T dried stevia leaf
2T whole cloves
1t Celtic sea salt
2t baking soda

(2 packets xylitol sweetener, 3T activated charcoal powder, and one whole nutmeg)

I simmered the cinnamon, cloves, stevia, and nutmeg in 1 1/2c of water in a saucepan for 30 minutes. Then I strained them into a glass and added the salt, baking powder, and xylitol. I added the charcoal to the clay and then mixed in the liquid till I got a paste.

I currently store it in a glass container in a drawer (away from light) and add it to my toothbrush with a wooden chopstick so as to be sanitary.

Apparently, the clay is super absorbent and shouldn't be stored in plastic or metal as it can absorb the chemicals and heavy metals. I'm a little worried because my toothbrush bristles are plastic...but I figure that at least it's better than using fluoride toothpaste...? Maybe? Hopefully? Am I gonna die?.....Moving on....

According to the instructions that came with my kit, cinnamon and cloves are anti-bacterial (so is nutmeg, which is why I added it). Stevia is a natural and non-cavity forming sweetener (so is xylitol, which is why I added it too...plus, it's supposed to strengthen enamel from what I've read). The clay absorbs bacteria and scrubs gunk off your teeth (so does charcoal, plus it's supposed to whiten somehow...even though it's black...?).

I know I sound confused in this post, but I'm actually really excited to use it because my gums have been receding for the past 20 or so years and maybe this will help. I've used it a couple of times so far and it feels and tastes pretty good.

I'll have to post an update at some point. Will this toothpaste solve all my paranoid health concerns or will it aid and abet my teeth rotting out of my head? Stay tuned for the answer!

The End!

Make Your Own Best Face Wash Ever!

Ingredients:

1. Witch Hazel

2. Dr. Bronner's (peppermint)

3. Activated Charcoal powder (optional)

Witch Hazel is a super great toner. Way easier on your skin than the stearyl alcohol in most face wash. Dr. Bronner's is super effective, gentle, sudsy, and organic. Plus, the peppermint one helps open your pores. Charcoal is a very effective purifier, but if that confuses you, skip it.

I put a little Bronner's and a tiny scoop of charcoal in a bottle and filled the rest with witch hazel. You can play around with ingredients and amounts. I like being able to tailor ingredients to my personal needs.

For dry skin: Skip the charcoal and add a little olive oil or castor oil.

For oily skin: Add a tiny bit of lavender infused vodka or more charcoal.

I saw huge improvements to my problem skin after one day of using it, but I've now used it for two weeks with no change in effectiveness. Usually my skin builds up a tolerance after a couple of days. It helps to wash with warm water followed with a cold water rinse to open and close pores.

Learn from my mistake: 

If you would like to put this concoction in a foaming bottle, skip the charcoal. It clogs it. (Front of picture = good. Back of picture = bad.)

The End!

Make Your Own Eye Liner

I'm really excited about this one. You can make this with a visit to the drug store. All you need is activated charcoal powder applied with a thin, lightly moistened brush, if you like to use powder liner. If you use liquid liner, then add castor oil and saline solution.

Activated charcoal powder is in the section where you find antacids. It's been used for indigestion for centuries. I bought mine on eBay, though, because that way I could buy a whole bag. I shall never want for eye liner again as long as I live, probably. . .Castor oil can be found in the same section. Most of our grandparents were made to take castor oil for various ailments. Saline solution can be found in the eye care section, obviously.

Okay, so here's my reasoning for these ingredients. First of all, charcoal powder is a purifying agent that creates a very dense black pigment on skin. Castor oil is a strong hair follicle strengthener--it is in a lot of mascaras for this reason. Saline solution is safe if it gets in your eyes, obviously. Also, it is a preservative.

Basically you just mix these three ingredients into a plastic baggie, cut a small hole in one corner, squeeze it into a clean liner container and you are done. But if you want pictures:

1. Put a little charcoal powder into one corner of a plastic baggie.

2. Add some castor oil and saline solution till you have a liquid-y paste.

3. Mash it around gently till the three ingredients are mixed together.

4. Squeeze them all down so they are concentrated into the corner.

5. Cut a small hole in the corner.

6. Very carefully, squeeze it into the container.

7. Shake it up.

8. Put it on.

Tips:

1. If you choose to add castor oil, the formula will take longer to dry. In other words, if you want a fast-drying formula, skip the castor oil. However, it will still eventually dry even if castor oil is added, and as I said before, castor oil is good for your eyelashes. 

2. It lasts just as long as regular eye liner, but unlike most liquid eye liners I have tried, this formula won't flake off! After wearing it all day, all I notice is that my eyes are a little smokier come evening, but the definition is still there. It even adds a little black pigment when washed off, meaning you can skip a day if you want! 

3. You could make eye liner in colors if you wanted to experiment with cocoa powder, green tea powder, acai powder, etc. Be careful if you use organic powders, though, that your formula doesn't spoil. You may even experiment with food coloring, but I'm not sure if that will irritate your eyes, so don't quote me on that one.

4. This formula can even double as an eyelash darkener. It's not going to make your eyelashes any thicker or longer the way mascara would, but if you just want a subtle look, this will work.

For a complete list of makeup DIY, go here.