Today we have a special DIY homemade eco chic soap guest post from Anne-Marie, founder of Bramble Berry Inc.…

More and more families are growing increasingly concerned about their ecological footprint. In addition to taking less trips, recycling and planting more trees, there is an easy thing you can to help save the environment, improve your family’s health and save money in the process. Making your own soap is a great way to control the ingredients that go into your bath tub, onto your child and down your drain. And, bonus! It’s a fraction of the cost of store bought soap.

Eco Chic soap is the next big thing in personal care. What is Eco Chic soap? This category of personal care is all about creating yourself, controlling the ingredients and reusing common household goods. Rather than throwing away single use plastic containers, give them a new lease on life and use them as soap molds.

Making soap is an ideal creative outlet for the entire family. When you make your own soap, you choose the ingredients so you can use all natural colorants (like cocoa powder or charcoal) to color your soap and all natural essential oils to fragrance it, creating a soap bar that is naturally derived and cleans effectively.

Here’s an easy recipe to follow (hint: it’s perfect to make with children ages 4 and up with parental supervision):

You’ll need:

• Herbs, oatmeal, coffee, spirulina, clay, or food-grade charcoal
• 1 pound (16 ounces)Bramble Berry melt and pour soap, organic base
• 1 ounce essential oil (we used lavender, orange and eucalyptus)
• “Soap mold” (a clean, used plastic food dish, like an empty yogurt
• container)
• Rubbing Alcohol

How to make your soap:

1. Prep your herbs and make sure they are the right size for exfoliating gently. Sharp herbs may be too abrasive on the skin. I love using charcoal. It helps to remove toxins and impurities, similar to clay. Plus, it gives the soap a nice black hue.

2. Cut the organic melt and pour blocks into 1 x 1″ cubes.

3. Melt the soap in 30-second increments until the soap is fully melted.

4. Add .25 ounces to .50 ounces of essential oil. Remember, if you use a yellow or orange colored fragrance, your soap base will look less clear and look more yellow/orange.

5. Mix in your herbs or additives. Stir until the herbs seem mostly suspended.

6. Pour your scented and herb’ed soap into the make-shift mold
7. Tip: Don’t fill your make-shift soap mold all the way up. It helps for easy release to fill 85% of the way to the top and not the entire way.
8. Do one finishing touch of rubbing alcohol to finish off your soap and give it a nice smooth surface

Last steps: Wait for the soap to harden, get the soap out, wrap with saran wrap, label and enjoy the compliments you get on your innovative way to help save the earth, improve your household’s carbon footprint and help save the family budget this holiday season.

For more information on how to make your own soap, head to www.soapqueen.com and to buy supplies, including essential oils and the organic soap base, go to www.brambleberry.com

Some of the lovely soaps you can learn to make:

Coffee soap

Layer soap

Spirulina soap

A word from Jennifer:

First off, thanks so much to Anne-Marie for the excellent post. This is a fun holiday gift idea for sure, especially because everyone loves a good eco soap. Secondly, I visited the Bramble Berry site, and it’s amazing – well worth a visit (a long one). Not only do they carry everything you need to make delicious eco-friendly soaps, but they offer loads of tips and recipe ideas as well. This is not just a shop site, but an excellent resource if eco chic soap is your thing (of course it is!).

If you need a merry holiday reason to visit – check out this adorable Christmas tree centerpiece made of soap!

Learn about how to make this and many other beautiful soap creations at Bramble Berry.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Green gifts can cost a little more; but not if you make them yourself. I’m going to give you some ideas for homemade eco gifts that won’t cost too much to make and that people will actually adore. Some are from Tree Hugging Family’s past, and others are new.

If I see any more over the next couple of weeks, I’ll post those too.

Great little homemade green gifts for party hosts:

Pennyroyal, Cinnamon, & Lavender Air Freshener

Flower & Spice Table Toppers via Family Corner

Organic homemade beauty gifts:

Following are some of the organic beauty recipes I’ve posted here over time. These make great low-cost homemade eco gifts. If you’re going to give one of these as a gift, make sure you spice it up. Put the product in a nice vintage looking jar or bottle and be sure to label it. You can make a wonderful custom label on your computer, or for say grandma, have your kids make the label with crayons and markers.

Lemon Bath Cookies

Organic Facial & Body Cream

Organic Cleansing Creams

Homemade Sugar Body Scrub

Homemade eco crafty gifts:

Solar Art Project – if you can find some sunshine, a solar print makes a great gift when matted. Image via Sunprint Gallery.

Make some homemade paper, then bind it into a journal with a beautiful cover. To learn how to make a homemade journal watch one of the following videos – Junk Journal (a pop and his daughter make a journal out of recycled trash!) or Basic DIY Book Binding Demonstration.

Make everyone a homemade reusable shopping bag out of old clothes or fabric you already have on hand.

Yummy green homemade gifts:

Cookie and Brownie Mix In a Jar – replace conventional items with organic.

Cornmeal Rosemary Biscotti or Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Get Out Those Canning Jars – by the timely Linette who must have known I was going to post about this.

Great homemade eco stocking stuffers: 

Homemade Organic Paint Soap for Kids

Homemade Recycled Stickers

[image via here]

Recycled and molded crayons: Grab those broken crayons and learn how to mold them into cool shapes (use holiday molds).

Bonus homemade joke gift for bad co-workers, mother-in-laws, or your lame ex: Homemade Anti-Tree Hugging Beauty: Bacon Soap!

Stay tuned because soon we’ll also be looking at some more homemade gifts (hopefully) plus eco-friendly wrapping ideas. In the meantime, Eco Street had a great post last year -7 groovy handmade recycled gifts to make and give, that has plenty of cool ideas, even for pets.

November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Don’t forget to read Homemade Beauty Products – Safety 101 before you get started.

My fave links:

Channel your inner princess with homemade body glitter: I don’t do makeup, but I admit it; I am sort of into my sparkles from time to time. This would also make a wonderful gift for a child.

Homemade beeswax lip balm: Too many ads at this site, but a good recipe.

End of summer body scrub

A cool collection of lotion bars – I’ve altered many of them, but they give a great jumping off point, and some I like just how they are. These are nice because they’re non-messy.

Nice starter cleansing cream recipe: Alter with fruits, milks, or oils if you like.

Plus one random recipe I’ve never tried: Homemade Deodorant Recipe

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

[homemade body glitter image via: Beauty Den]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Here are a few plain old honey skin applications. If you’re using it on your skin, I’d use organic.

Plain honey for the honey pat or tap: Pour a little honey into a cup, use your fingers to scoop honey onto your face. Tap your fingers all over your face until the honey stops dripping and becomes tacky (it will become tacky). Leave for ten minutes and rinse. Easy and it works so well for cleaning that you’ll be amazed.

Apple honey cleansing toner: I don’t remember where I got this recipe – it’s not one of mine though. I’ve had it forever and I love it. Just toss one peeled and cored apple (any kind) into a blender with a tablespoon or two of honey, and a teaspoon of aloe. Blend to death. Apply mixture to face, drink a cup of tea, rinse. Hello fresh face!

Creamy honey milk scrub: I don’t like this one as well, but have a friend who swears by it. Mix 2-3 tablespoons of cream with two tablespoons ground oatmeal and 2-3 tablespoons of honey. Scrub and rinse. I like this better for body than face.

Don’t forget to read: Homemade Beauty Products – Safety 101

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Both of these work on all skin types except ultra sensitive. If you have very sensitive skin you can omit part of the scrubby ingredients (i.e. almonds or bran) but try a little on your arm before using.

Almond, Apricot, & Honey Face Scrub

You need:

• 1/2 organic apricot at room temperature
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 tablespoon Honey
• Optional – a teaspoon of dried lavender

To make:

Put everything in a blender and blend together. Scrub onto face and rinse with warm water. Usually there’s a little left-over, so scrub your elbows while your at it. This scrub leaves a fantastic smell lingering.

Green Tea, Almond, & Bran Scrub

You need:

• 1/2 cup hot strongly brewed organic green tea
• 1/4 cup coarse wheat bran (you can find this in the bulk grocery section)
• 1/4 cup ground almonds

Optional:

• 2 drops tea tree essential oil
• 1 drop lavender essential oil

To make:

Mix the bran and almonds into the hot green tea until a nice paste forms. Cool. Add essential oils. If you want to make this into a whole body scrub use 3/4 cup green tea, and double the almonds and bran. Also add about 1/4 cup rich olive oil. The oil will separate the scrub some, but not too much. For a full body scrub you can add more essential oils too.

Before making read: Homemade Beauty Products – Safety 101

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

[images via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Any herb face and body cream:

Pick a herb. You can use most any herb, but I suggest choosing one that’s good for your particular skin type. You can use elderflower, calendula, linden blossom, and more. If you’d like to make a cream for children I suggest comfrey or chamomile, which are gentle.

Gather supplies:

• 4oz fresh organic herb of your choice (or 2oz dried) – fresh is best
• 150 ml almond oil, or if olive oil is too rich for your tastes, try almond or apricot oil – just be sure it’s a nice quality oil
• Two tablespoons beeswax
• Two tablespoons organic cocoa butter
• Two teaspoons honey – if you can aim for a high quality raw honey you can use processed honey, but your cream will be a little less thick
• One teaspoon borax

To make:

1. Place herbs in glass or pottery bowl and pour 1/3 pint boiling water over them. Steep for 4 hours. If the water looks too low, you can add a bit more.
2. Into a small double boiler (that’s already boiling) add: oil and beeswax – slowly melt beeswax.
3. Add cocoa butter and melt.

In another pot that’s being warmed but not boiled:

1. Add 1/3 pint of your herbal infusion – liquid only
2. Add borax, and stir until dissolved.
3. Add honey, and stir until dissolved.

Remove both bots from heat. Mix contents of both pots together – it works best if you add the infusion mixture to the oil mixture slowly. Beat mixture until creamy – as soon as it starts to cool it’ll thicken and be harder to beat so start right away.

Store in little containers. Sometimes I’ve added tea tree or other essential oils to this mix as well. If you add oils do it during the last stage – the mixing part. Remember to check and see which mixtures of herbs and oils will work for your skin. This cream DOES NOT need to be kept in the fridge. Most lotions do, so this is a huge plus.

If you want to give this as a gift, you can pick up a thrift store, antique looking lotion pot – just be sure to include ingredients on a little card for the recipient, you don’t want to risk them being allergic to a herb or oil.

Before getting started don’t forget to read: Homemade Beauty Products – Safety 101

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Today we’re featuring one of my favorite bloggers, Marye, from Kettle & Cup (among other places). Marye is an extra cool person just on principals; funny, kind, and is also quite a green individual all the time, not just on Earth Day. Today however, she’s breaking out even more green to bring you information about growing your own herbal tea.

Of course growing your own anything; veggies, herbs, etc, is a good idea when possible. It cuts down on packaging, chemicals, and barring my tomato growing nightmare of 2001, homegrown foods almost always tastes better too.

All that said, don’t you want to check out her post.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I’ve written this basic safety sheet that you can follow regarding the safety of homemade beauty products; products either with or without therapeutic benefits. If you’re going to make your own homemade beauty products, please make sure to read this all the way through. From now on, this important post, will be posted in the sidebar pages to the right, if you need to refer to it again.

The following tips apply for products like homemade skin care, cosmetics, soaps, health treatments (like massage oil or steams), and even items such as homemade art supplies, which are remarkably similar to homemade beauty products.

Always talk with an expert – otherwise known as the, “You are responsible for your own health” speech.

I know a lot about oils, homemade products, flowers, and herbs. I’ve worked as a doula, went through nursing school, and just generally picked up stuff from experts I’ve worked with over the years. I’ve also done a lot of self experimenting over the last ten plus years.

However, the best advice is that I’m not a licensed holistic doctor or a professional in the field of aromatherapies, herbs for health, or anything like that. While my goal is to help, not harm anyone, a small blog post cannot explain all that could go wrong with a product or every situation on a personalized basis.

Essential oils, herbs, and all other related items that go into homemade products are complex topics. Methods of use are also complex. If you’re not an expert in oils and herbs, or someone with plenty of self experience, you should always talk with a professional health care provider before experimenting. Be it a traditional or holistic care provider this step is important because you may be on a medication or vitamin that can interact with a herb or oil, you may be allergic, or you may have a health concern that dictates you not use a specific item.

You can and should also invest in a good guidebook. One of my favorites about essential oils is The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood. She also has a pocket guide out now. As for books about herbs, I like The Complete Book of Herbs and A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs.

Basic homemade beauty product safety tips:

• Homemade beauty and health products are made to be tweaked and recipes often personalized. Not every product works for every individual.

• Just because it’s natural does not make it 100% safe. You could be allergic, or a certain herb may make you ill. So be aware of side effects just as you would be with a store bought facial peel, hair color, or medication.

• Tweaking of homemade beauty products is perfectly safe, so long as all other basic safety recommendations are followed.

• Everyone really should do test dabs of new homemade products. If you have especially sensitive skin (scalp included) then you really need to do tests dabs. To do a test dab, take a little bit of a homemade product and dab it on your inner arm. You can actually do test dabs with individual ingredients instead, like cedar oil, before using it in a product. Cover the dab with a bandage. If you develop red, burning, itching, pain, or any other issue it’s likely you should toss that product you just made. You can also tweak the recipe to make it work for you.

• Unless you’re a chemist, and really into experimenting, your homemade products should be preservative free. That’s good news for your health, bad news for the life of said product. If there’s anything questionable in your product, that may go bad, keep it in the fridge. Make smaller batches so you can use it up before you end up having to toss a product. Lotions and some hair colors are important to keep in the fridge, while things like soaps and sugar scrubs are not.

Basic essential oil buying tips:

If you want oils for therapeutic, not just fragrance reasons, than follow these tips…

1. Buy pure and organic essential oils. You can easily tell if you’re getting a pure oil by price. You should never see a shelf of oils priced identically. Orange, lavender, and geranium oils for example differ widely in cost to produce and thus buy. If all the oils are $10 it’s a fact you’re getting fake oils.
2. Reputable sellers will bottle in dark colored bottles to protect the oil from sunlight.
3. Take blotter paper with you when you shop for oils. Oils, ironically, are not that oily. Most pure oils when dropped onto a bit of blotting paper will quickly evaporate. A fragrance (fake oil) will leave an oily mark usually.

Basic essential oil safety tips:

• Never use straight essential oil drops. You have to dilute in a carrier oil (sometimes called a base oil). I like sweet almond oil as a carrier but if you’re allergic to nuts try another, like apricot. Both of the above a light, and won’t clog your pores up. There are lots more to try and in a pinch I’ve used olive oil as a carrier.

• The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) recommends that you not ingest essential oils when another application such as massage may be just as appropriate. Some recipes with oils, say for a sore throat or mouth rinse for oral health do involve swishing, and some health remedies involve oils in teas or other drinks. The potential risks of ever putting an oil in your mouth should be carefully weighed before doing so.

• Keep oils out of the reach of little ones. If your child ingests any essential oil, treat it like any other medication or household product, and call poison control.

Basic flower and herbal safety tips:

• Use organic herbs and flowers.

• Know your herb and flower. If you grow it yourself, clearly label the plant (unless you’re a plant genius). Using the wrong herb in a soap could be bad news if you’re allergic.

• Herbs and flowers in beauty products can harm your skin, just like any old store bought product. Natural and safe are not always simultaneous as some might have you think.

• Herbs and flowers work slower than oils and medications. If you create homemade products with a slant toward healing properties it may take longer to work than other products.

MAJOR SAFETY CONCERNS:

If you are pregnant: NEVER use essential oils, herbs, or other natural items in care products for health or beauty until your midwife or doctor gives you the go-ahead. Some of the above can cause birth complications, harm your baby, or induce a far too early labor. Even by just putting an oil on your skin, you could cause a problem. There are plenty of safe natural items for pregnancy, but, if off the top of your head, you can’t name them all, then check with your prenatal care provider first.

Babies and elderly individuals: Actually there’s research that notes that natural homemade products can be just as good for little ones and the elderly as anyone. However, it’s commonly recommended that you cut recipes down to a smaller size. For example, if a recipe for a bath soak calls for 12 drops of lavender oil, you’d want to cut that by 1/3 or more for a baby or elder adult. Of course, also follow all the normal precautions listed above as well.

More information:

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy

The Herb Research Foundation

[all photos via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family