Body wash, Sugar scrubs, and homemade deodorant:

Yesterday I made body wash with Castile soap.  While it didn't turn out quite how I was hoping it would...it's consistency is rather slimy and kinda snot like...it wasn't an entire flop.  Adding extra water helped the consistency a little bit, and I can over look the slimy feel, knowing that I'm not lathering up my body with chemicals.  I used it today and it left my skin feeling soft and clean. Here is the link for the recipe I used.  I added in cinnamon and vanilla extract and vitamin oil, which is excellent for your skin.  Coconut oil would have been a great addition, but I didn't have any. I think next time I will add some and I might try less soap and more water, to see if that helps with the consistency, but there definitely will be a next time.

I also made a wonderful vanilla sugar scrub to gift up for two of my friends.  One part sugar to one part olive oil (or another oil of your choice, olive oil was what I had handy).  Add some vanilla extract and maybe some vitamin e oil, and you have a delicious smelling, wonderful feeling sugar scrub that leaves your skin soft and moisturized.

I was in such a creative mood last night that I also ended up attempting to make homemade deodorant.  It didn't turn out spectacular, but considering I had to substitute for some stuff I didn't have, such as coconut oil, it turned out alright.  I used it today and it appears to work well, just isn't the texture that I want.  As with the previous recipes, coconut oil is the missing link.  I'm going to have to pick some up eventually, I just have been too cheap to buy it.  It seems that it will be well worth the money though.  I used the first recipe on this page, but olive oil instead of coconut oil, and added flour instead of corn starch, an odd substitute, but I was working with what I had and wanted to see if it would work.  I cleaned out an old stick deodorant dispenser, crammed the homemade paste into it, and refrigerated it, to help with the consistency.  It's powdery when applying it, but works just fine for those stinky underarms.  ;)  I'll have to try making it with coconut oil and possibly beeswax (if I can bring myself to pay for beeswax, I'm cheap) simply to help with it's texture and make it easier to apply as stick deodorant.  Quite happy to know I won't be applying chemicals to my underarms anymore, and thus adding to the risk of getting cancer.  Store bought antiperspirants always cause painful and uncomfortable lumps in my armpits as well, so it will be nice being free from that.