Homemade Deodorant in Under 20 Minutes!

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Husband is a stinky man. Seriously. Stink-y.

He, therefore, is a deodorant addict. An aluminum-preservative-and-fragrance-laden deodorant addict.

Correction: he was a stinky, deodorant addict. Cue the homemade deodorant!

I can make a batch (about 1 cup) in way under 20 minutes, including cleaning time. The beeswax and shea make cleaning a bit of a pain, so I've culled one of my old pans to use just for recipes with the messy ingredients in them. The greatest part is that it actually works! Day one of testing went something like this (ok, it went exactly like this)...

It looks like a lot of expensive ingredients, but you can make enough deodorant for the rest of your life from these. Also, I use everything here in other concoctions. Arrowroot powder is a great corn starch sub for thickening sauces (and is non-GMO!), beeswax & shea go in my balm, I put orange oil in with my vinegar/water cleaner, and tea tree oil is great for minor scrapes and cuts.

The "bare bones" recipe is just coconut oil, baking soda, and arrowroot powder. Here's what the rest of the ingredients do (so you can decide if you want to use them, too):

Orange oil - smells yummy
Tea tree oil - natural antimicrobial (so it helps to kill the stinky bacteria)
Beeswax - thicker texture and helps emulsify
Shea - moisturizes & promotes smoother pits

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup GMO-free baking soda
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 2 tablespoons beeswax
• 2 tablespoons shea butter
• 1/4 teaspoon orange oil
• 1 teaspoon tea tree oil

Directions

1.  Combine all of the ingredients except the orange and tea tree oil in a small pan.

2.  Cook while stirring over medium heat until everything is dissolved.

3.  Stir in the orange and tea tree oil.

4.  Remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

5.  When the mixture just starts to thicken, stir and pour into a glass container (Hobby Lobby!)

Usage

A little goes a loooong way! Scoop a tiny bit on to your finger and rub in under your pits. If you get too much, you could leave greasiness on your clothes (ick). I have a big jar of it in the bathroom and a little travel container in my desk drawer. This stuff is powerful, so I can often skip days and not have any smelliness!

The Best {Whole Wheat} Waffles Ever!

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I've been tinkering with this recipe for months and months now, and I think I've finally got it down just darn near perfect (at least for our palates)! The greek yogurt and the eggs add a nice amount of protein (10 grams per waffle!), and the flax/chia add fiber (7 grams per waffle!) and omegas.

Our Sunday morning tradition has been to make a batch of these and then freeze the extras for toaster waffles through the week. Because we usually end up eating these in the car after hustling out the door (have I mentioned that neither Little Bear nor I are morning people??), I put the syrup in the batter and the coconut oil keeps them so moist that you don't need butter.

I finally broke down and traded my ancient waffle maker in for a fancy Waring Pro from Costco, so my recipe has been perfected on an Belgian waffler maker. You may need to adjust the consistency (more milk, probably) if your waffles are not quite right on your machine.

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups greek yogurt
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (the real thing, not flavored HFCS!)
• 2 1/2 cups milk (doesn't have to be dairy, I use coconut or rice milk)
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups whole wheat flour (I like WW pastry flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (aluminum & GMO free!)
• 5 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum & GMO free!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup chia seeds or roughly milled flax seed

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, oil, syrup, milk, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients. Mix until just blended, but do not overmix.

3.  Scoop the mixture into a preheated, oiled waffle maker. I spray my waffle maker with unrefined olive oil with my Misto. The extra oil gives it a nice crisp outside while keeping the inside soft and moist. I put between 3/4 cup and 1 cup batter per waffle, but this will vary between waffle makers.

4.  Serve hot! Butter and dipping syrup are optional :)  I always let my extras cool and then cut them into toaster-sized pieces (quarters) and freeze. They are actually tastier out of the toaster than fresh!

For some added fun, try mixing in a handful of De Ruijter sprinkles - they melt better than the American waxed-fake-chocolate-flavored things, and they don't make the same huge mess that chocolate chips do. YUM-OLA! {If you haven't tried De Ruijter sprinkles, they are a MUST! You will never eat the fake mass-produced crap again.}

Homemade Beeswax Balm {multipurpose}

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I was at a fancy spa last week and fell in love with a line of natural smelly-good body products that they carried: Zents. The smells were fantastic, and their balm, Concreta, was fantastically formulated. Then I flipped the cute little sample boxes over. Holy Cow! $34 for 1.25 ounces of balm! I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped...

Then I read the ingredients: beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, scented oils. Seriously. That was it.

And, just like that, a new DIY project was born.

I added cypress essential oil for its muscle relaxation properties, rose hip seed oil for its skin regeneration properties, carrot seed oil for its anti-aging and detox properties, and orange oil for an energizing scent. You really can go wild, though, and add in any essential oils for their medicinal properties or their scents!

I think I'll be making another batch with calendula oil, peppermint oil, lavender oil, and tea tree oil and use it as a healing balm (just like All Good Goop!).

Ingredients

• 3 ounces unrefined beeswax (3/4 cup if you get the same size product as me)

Unrefined beeswax is yellow, so your balm will be
yellow. The Zents balm must have used refined
beeswax, since their product is so white.

• 3 1/2 ounces unrefined shea butter (1/2 cup)

• 5 ounces unrefined coconut oil (3/4 cup)

• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cypress essential oil
• 2 teaspoons rose hip seed oil
• 1/2 teaspoon carrot seed oil 
• 1 tablespoon orange oil

Directions

1.  Combine the wax, shea, coconut, and olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. The texture will be weird and soupy, since the coconut oil melts at 76 degrees and the beeswax doesn't melt until 140 degrees.

2.  Stir the mixture until the beeswax starts to break apart. This may take a little white, because you are waiting for the mixture to come up to 140-ish. {Note: do not stick your candy thermometer in the mix, because you will NEVER be able to wash the waxy balm off of it... Still trying...}

3.  When the wax starts to melt, whisk until it all makes one happy pool of clear, yellow liquid. Remove from heat. Dip a spoon into the liquid and then let it cool. Check the texture. If you want it more solid, add more beeswax and put it back on the heat until it melts. If you want it more creamy, add more coconut oil or olive oil.

4.  Add it your essential oils and stir well. If the oils make the mixture re-solidify, just put it back on the heat until its all melted again.

5.  Spoon or pour into jars. I found these adorable 4-ounce jars at Hobby Lobby to use as gifts {teacher appreciation week and Mother's Day!} I filled 6, so you should get about 24 ounces out of this recipe. If you need less, you can half the recipe. 

I ended up spending about what I would have spent on 1.25 ounces of the fancy Zents Concretas on what will make about a lifetime supply of the exact same recipe!

A few hints to make your process a little smoother than my first go at it was:

• Don't use anything that can't go in the dishwasher.
• Be careful not to get the ingredients or the final product on your countertops - they are really hard to get completely cleaned off.
• When you're done, stick the pan and utensils in the dishwasher and wash on hot with vinegar. Then, run it again with dishwasher soap.

{Product Review} Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

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If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I love coconut oil. Ok, love may not be strong enough. I ADORE coconut oil! We eat it on toast instead of butter, I sub it for butter in recipes (popcorn, carrot cake, chocolate cookies, burger buns...), I use it as a hair mask, I slather it on as a moisturizer, and I've even replaced my face wash with it - but more on that later.

Tropical Traditions came across my hair treatment post (which went super viral on Pinterest!), and offered to send me a jar of their fancy coconut oil. They said I was under no obligation to review the product, write a positive review, or sponsor a product giveaway in return for receiving the free product, but they wanted me to give their coconut oil a try. Not being one to say not to freeness, I accepted :)

I didn't really expect there to be much of a difference in the Tropical Traditions coconut oil and the brands that I usually use, but it actually was a nicer product. The texture is creamier, and the smell is a bit more potent. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about it for frying eggs, but it makes a heck of a toast spread and is really nice for cosmetic uses!


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PERFECT Hair Mask (Yet Another Reason Why Coconut Oil Is the Best)

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It's no secret that I'm in love with about five single-ingredient products: coconut oil, chia seeds, bee pollen, witch hazel, and beer. Wait. Beer... what? I mean... coffee. Yeah, coffee.

Anyway, back to coconut oil. I literally use coconut oil for everything.   EVERYTHING.   Frying, baking, spreading, facial moisturizer, body lotion, after-sun care, nutritional supplement, hand cream, boo-boo cream (I have a 2-year-old, so give me some slack. It's boo-boo and potty and wee-wee for now, ok?).   One of my favorite coconut oil uses, though, is as a hair mask.  I have really fine hair.  When it's healthy, it shines like crazy.   But, when it's dried out, it's crunchy and frizzy.   Not pretty wavy and textured, but crunchy (I know you know what I mean...).  

I figured one day several months ago that if I use coconut oil for everything else, why not in my hair?! Here's how it works:

Start with an unrefined coconut oil (I'm a big Nutiva fan, and it can usually be found for pretty cheap on Amazon).

It'll be a solid in the tub, but will quickly melt in your hand. 

After your shower at night, take between a teaspoon and a tablespoon-sized glob (it's a word) in your fingers, depending on the length of your hair.

Work quickly to massage it through your hair.  You'll want to make sure you've covered all the way from your roots to your ends.  Use extra oil, if needed. 

Find a way to pull your hair up and back so it's not flopping around.  I braid the bottom of my hair and then secure it to the back and top of my head with bobby pins.  For some reason I always feel like Katniss Everdeen when I do this (laugh if you want, but it's the little things that get us through, right?).

Sleep with your hair this way (use a shower cap, if you are worried about greasing up your pillowcase). 

In the morning, wash and condition your hair as usual.  When your hair dries, it'll be super silky, shiny, and soft!  For me, it lasts about a week in turbo hair mode and then starts to wear off. 

Depending on your particular hair type, repeat every week to two weeks, as needed.

Let me know if you've tried this before or if you give it a go for the first time - I love to hear feedback on my favorite things (good and bad!)!