Southwest Scrub - Bath Blend of the Month

The main ingredients in this scrub is blue cornmeal.  Blue cornmeal is an ancient food that can also make a full-body treatment that is rejuvenating.  The Hopi Indians of New Mexico have used blue cornmeal ritually and to improve vitality and make their skin more youthful.  If you cannot find blue cornmeal you can substitute white or yellow.

Southwest Scrub (makes 12 oz.)

• ½ cup ground blue cornmeal
• ½ cup grated castile soap
• ¼ cup oatmeal
• 1 tsp dried calendula petals
• ½ tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp lavender buds

Place corn meal and soap in a large bowl.  Finely grind the oatmeal and herbs together using a spice grinder of a coffee grinder.  Add this mixture to the cornmeal mixture, stir well. Pour into a clean airtight container.

TO USE: Combine 2 Tablespoons to ¼ cup of mixture with enough water to make a paste and apply to damp face. Gently scrub and rinse off with warm water, then moisturize skin with a natural oil rich body lotion.  If you have sensitive skin you should avoid using this on your face.

 

Foaming Tea Soap - Bath Blend of the Month

The dry indoor weather of Illinois in winter and washing hands can be a harsh combination, so this month we thought we would recommend a foaming soap made with herb tea.  This allows you to choose herbs that will help or soothe the skin and combine them with a gentle castile soap yet still get the cleaning and germ fighting you need.

You can use all sorts of different herbal teas for this recipe, and I encourage you to experiment until you find something that you love. You can use fresh herbs from the garden, loose tea, or teabags.

I recommend loose herbal or green tea to make this recipe in winter, but switch to fresh cut herbs to make the tea during the growing season. Any kind of loose tea will work well in this recipe, but I personally love teas with lavender, rose or green tea.  They are good for skin, relaxing and you can drink as well as make soap with them. 

For this batch I decided to use my Summer Iced Tea blend.  it is a great combo of flowers and lemongrass so I get the germ fighting of lemongrass as well as the soothing properties of the flowers.

Now that you’ve chosen your tea, you’re ready to make your hand soap.

Ingredients

• 60% brewed herbal tea 
• 20% liquid castile soap
• 20% air

Directions

First, choose a foaming soap dispenser (look for a foaming dispenser as this soap is too liquid for a regular pump). You can buy a nice reusable one, do as I do and reuse one that once contained store-bought foaming soap or make your own pump with a mason jar and plastic pump top.

Fill your chosen container 60% of the way with brewed herbal tea. Allow the tea to cool to room temperature before combining in the jar. Top that with 20% liquid castile soap. Choose a soap that is natural and gentle on skin. Leave the top 20% of the container empty and screw on the top. Give it a good shake and you’re done!

To use: pump onto your hands and lather up.

Cleaning Your Kitchen and Bathroom

To make many of your own cleaning products you need simple ingredients, Hot water and these three items:

• Vinegar
• Castile Soap
• Washing Soda

These items, which you can generally get at the grocery store.  Washing soda is like baking soda and can be found in the laundry aisle at most WalMart Stores, look on the very top or very bottom shelves by the Fels Naptha soap.

Vinegar: It will cut grease, eat away lime, and destroy odors.  Because of  its neutralizing properties white vinegar is good for washing windows, sanitizing kitchen counters, and shining bathroom fixtures.  To improve the disinfecting qualities you can make an herbal vinegar with sage, thyme, mint or lemon balm.

Vegetable Oil Soap (Castile) Soap: This natural soap is great for floors and all-purpose cleaning when combined with vinegar or warm water. To wash floors (not wood) add 2 teaspoons of castile soap to 3 gallons of water, but you must rinse well with water afterwards.

Washing Soda: this is an old-fashioned laundry booster that cuts through tough grease on grills, broiler pans, and ovens.  It is strongly alkaline so it is also perfect to tackling dirty linoleum floors. It's strong enough to strip paint and wax so you need to wear gloves when using it and use sparingly, only 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per 32 ounces of hot water to tackle tough grease.

All-purpose Cleaner
Make this general cleaner and add 1/2 tsp of  castile soap to 2 cups of the cleaner to make something you can use to clean almost anything.

2 cups hot water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp. washing soda
15 drops tea tree essential oil
15 drop lavender essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a reusable spray bottle and shake well.

To Use: spray on surfaces, especially cutting boards, counter tops and toilets.  Wipe with a dry cloth.

For more cleaning recipes just search our blog under the keyword: green cleaning