By wendy, on November 13th, 2012%
 Homemade Hand & Body Cream Now that we’ve moved, and I have my own kitchen again, I’ve been playing around with some of my homemade personal care products again . . . I’ve been wanting one of the “Little Dipper” crock pots for doing infused oils and such, and last week we had a full-size crock pot on sale that included one of the small ones for the same price as just the big one. Of course, I couldn’t resist, and this is the first project I’ve used the small one for. (You don’t have to have a “Little Dipper” to make this hand cream, it just makes the process a bit simpler.)
I’ve been wanting to make a new batch of hand cream for a while, because my hands had gotten so rough that they were snagging on the inside of my jacket pockets, but it was so much trouble to run back and forth hauling all the ingredients up to the main house that I kept putting it off. (I’ve been so much more productive since we’ve moved here that it’s just wild . . .)
I’m including an explanation of why I chose the particular ingredients I used after the recipe, including allergy information, so be sure to at least scan that to prevent wasting money and time making something you can’t use. (Important: before starting, please read Using Essential Oils Safely to be sure you don’t do anything that could cause harm to you or anyone else.)
NOTE: I’ve included links for all the ingredients (except the olive oil, which can be bought at any grocery store,) to make it easier for you to find them; as well as a link to the Little Dipper Crock Pot I used in case you want to buy one of those instead of using a water bath. For my Canadian readers, just switch to Amazon.ca for lower shipping costs. The links are affiliate links, and any purchases made through them will help to keep this site online, without costing you anything extra.
Rich, Creamy, and Healing Hand & Body Cream
Equipment needed:
- Little Dipper Crock Pot
 or a saucepan with a heat resistant glass mixing bowl that will fit inside it without touching the bottom
- A heat-resistant glass mixing bowl (if you’re using the Little Dipper)
- Either a meat thermometer or a candy thermometer
- A kitchen timer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Something to stir with (a wooden spoon that can be reserved for non-food use is best, but you can use a stainless steel spoon as long as you don’t leave it sitting in the oils and you wash it thoroughly afterward. (Don’t use aluminum or plastic. Both of these materials can react with the oils and leach unwanted contaminants into your cream.)
- Potholders
- A clean glass jar to store the finished product
Directions:
 Chunks of shea butter melting
- Place the shea butter (or cocoa butter) in the “Little Dipper” crock pot and plug it in. (If you’re using the saucepan and glass bowl, put the shea butter in the bowl, and put enough water in the saucepan to come about half-way up the sides of the bowl when it’s suspended in the pot.)
 Almost melted
- Once the shea butter has mostly melted, start checking its temperature every few minutes until it reaches 165 degrees F. When it reaches 165, set your timer for 20 minutes. (This step is not necessary if you’re using cocoa butter. Shea butter contains little “crystals” that don’t fully dissolve unless it’s kept at 165 degrees or more for at least 20 minutes. If they aren’t completely dissolved, your cream will have a slightly “grainy” texture.)
 The coconut oil is in and melting
- Once the timer goes off, add your coconut oil, allow it to melt completely, and turn off the Little Dipper, or remove your bowl from the saucepan. (If you’re using the Little Dipper, at this point you’ll need to pour your melted mixture into a glass bowl. Use the potholders, the Little Dipper gets HOT!)
 The rest of the ingredients.
- Add the olive and jojoba oils, stir well, and set the bowl in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to start the cooling process. You want to see a slight sheen on top when you take it out.
 All the ingredients are in, and it’s almost ready to go in the jar.
- At this point, mix in the rest of the ingredients and leave the bowl on the counter to finish cooling and setting up before putting it in your jar.
Before I started the recipe, I promised you an explanation of why I chose the particular ingredients I used for this cream. If you have any interest in creating your own recipes, or modifying an existing recipe, the explanations will help you learn how to decide on appropriate choices for your own personal needs.
Why I Made the Choices I Did:
The most important thing to keep in mind when you’re deciding which ingredients to use is your intended result. I wanted a rich cream that would moisturize extremely dry hands made rough by the constant hand washing my job requires. I also wanted something that would absorb quickly so that I wouldn’t need to worry about leaving smears of oil everywhere, dropping things because my hands were slippery, or staining my clothes, sheets, or furniture when I used the cream on other parts of my body.
Shea Butter: I picked this because I wanted the base to be a carrier that was solid at room temperature, and cocoa butter makes me itch. (If you have a latex allergy, you’ll want to substitute cocoa butter to prevent allergic reactions to your cream.) A solid carrier eliminates the need to add beeswax to solidify liquid oils; and results in a softer, creamier final product. It, like cocoa butter, is excellent for very dry or damaged skin; with the added bonus of being an excellent addition in psoriasis treatments (and I happen to have psoriasis.) It does absorb a bit more slowly than cocoa butter, but since cocoa butter isn’t an option for me . . .
Coconut Oil: I chose coconut oil as my next ingredient because it is solid to semi-solid at room temperature, but has a lower melting temperature than shea butter. (A spoonful of coconut oil held in the had will almost immediately liquefy, while shea butter has to be rubbed in to melt.) In addition; coconut oil is a wonderful choice for dry, itchy skin; and has anti-inflammatory properties (a bonus in controlling my fibromyalgia and arthritis pain, as well as the skin inflammation that comes with psoriasis.) It does feel oily to start with, but absorbs relatively quickly.
Olive Oil: This choice was made for several reasons as well. Olive oil is compatible with the skin’s natural oils, attracts moisture to the skin, and is another oil with anti-inflammatory properties. (Do you see a pattern here? I have problems with inflammation, so when I have a choice between oils with otherwise similar properties, I’m going to choose the one that is anti-inflammatory.)
Jojoba Oil: This is actually a liquid plant “wax” rather than an oil; and is extremely stable, helping to extend the shelf life of blends. In addition, its absorption rate and consistency are similar to those of our natural body oils; and it contains myristic acid, another anti-inflammatory compound.
Vitamin E Oil: Full of antioxidants, vitamin E oil helps to preserve the other oils and extends their shelf life. Known to be healing to the skin, it’s used in many over-the-counter skin products, including those intended to reduce scar formation.
The Essential Oils:
When choosing your essential oils, not only do you need to consider the properties of the oil; you need to think about their scents, and how they smell together. No matter how good your cream feels, or how well it works, if you think it stinks you aren’t going to want to put it on your body. In addition, some essential oils have a very distinct color, and will affect the color of your final product. (For example, the German chamomile I included is a rich royal blue color. With the tans, yellows, and pale greens of the base oils used, I ended up with a sort of pale willow color. If I’d included carrot oil as well (an orange/red oil), it most likely would have turned some shade of brown.)
Lavender Oil: This is one of my favorite essential oils to use, since I love the scent of high quality lavender oil (the cheaper versions tend to smell sort of medicinal.) Not only does it smell wonderful, it has many properties that are useful in skin care and in the treatment of my fibromyalgia symptoms. Lavender oil is relaxing; anti-depressant; anti-inflammatory; reduces pain, stress, and anxiety; and helps me fall asleep.
Rosemary Oil: This is another oil I use a lot, especially in combination with lavender oil. I enjoy the way they smell together, and the way they work in combination. (Rosemary and lavender is my absolute favorite combination to use for bath salts.) It relieves muscular and rheumatic pain, and has anti-spasmodic properties (Restless Leg Syndrome anyone? It’s not a cure, but it seems to ease the muscle spasms for me.) If you have high blood pressure, don’t use this one, since it can raise your blood pressure even higher; and don’t use it on its own near bedtime since it’s also a stimulant and can keep you awake if it isn’t balanced by a more sedative oil like lavender or chamomile.
German Chamomile Oil: Most people have heard of using chamomile tea to help them sleep, and the essential oil is also very relaxing. It has pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as helping to ease stress and anxiety.
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By wendy, on October 28th, 2011%
Those with chronic illness have many things in common, and one of the ones that has the biggest effect on our ability to take care of ourselves is the massive amounts of money we have to spend on medical care, prescriptions, OTC medications, and assistive devices. Even with insurance, copays and treatments/medications that aren’t covered can amount to thousands of dollars a year (at one point, I was spending about $400 a month on copays, just for medication.)
Unless you have a really good income, that doesn’t leave much for all the other necessities of life, so any opportunity to save a few dollars can make the difference between replacing that shorted out heating pad or having higher pain levels because you don’t have the money for a new one.
It can also mean that you can’t afford to replace your old glasses, leaving you to suffer headaches and vision problems caused by wearing glasses with outdated prescription lenses, wearing broken frames that have been taped or glued back together, or having to do without.
This is a big issue in our household, since all four of us need eyeglasses, and even with the sales at the “mall stores” and eye doctor’s offices, we’d never been able to find anything we liked for less than $150. A couple of years ago, one of my roommates found a solution. He purchased a pair of fashionable, flattering eyeglasses for around $50 online. He got cheap eyeglasses that look good? We were all thrilled.
So where did he find them? Zenni Optical, an online company that sells prescription glasses at affordable prices. They have a huge range of styles and lens options at prices that are a fraction of even the “big box” warehouse stores, and you can even “try them on” by uploading a photo of yourself and using their site to show you what the frame would look like on you. (The worst thing about buying new eyeglasses, for me, has always been that without my prescription lenses I can’t really tell how the frames I’m trying on actually look.)
So far, both of our roommates, and one of our neighbors, have “Zenni glasses,” and we’re about to add another pair to the family. Hubby’s frame broke a few weeks ago, so he’s going to need a new pair.
He only wears memory titanium frames because he’s so near-sighted he can’t even see well enough to find his glasses if he’s not wearing them, and he frequently falls asleep without taking them off. (Have you ever slept in wire-framed glasses, then had to take them in to be readjusted? With memory titanium, that’s not a problem any more.) He was convinced that he’d have to go to one of the high-end stores to find what he needed, but I found a frame on the Zenni site that is identical to the one we paid over $100 for at a warehouse club, for only $24. (#311615) Guess where his next pair is coming from. LOL
 Hubby's expensive frames look just like this $24 frame from Zenni Optical. One of our roommates has had his glasses for over a year now, and the other has had his for about 3 years, and neither one has ever had a problem with them. The customer service was great, the glasses got here when they were supposed to, and the fit is perfect. They’ve both said that they’ll be buying all their eyeglasses from Zenni from now on, and the neighbor who got hers there has said the same thing. The only minor thing is having to wait two weeks to get them, but she got an identical pair of glasses from one of the “mall stores,” and that took 8 days. She said that for the amount she saved, it was more than worth the wait.
By wendy, on September 15th, 2011%
 Image by bloomingdalelibrary via Flickr
By Wendy Burnett
One of my absolute favorite activities is a nice long soak in a hot bath full of some wonderful smelling bath salts, but that can be expensive if you have to go out and buy the bath salts at the store. I’ve found out I can make my own; quickly, easily, AND cheaply; with just a few simple ingredients.
Not only are they just as luxurious as the store bought ones, but I can select essential oils that help to relax me and ease my pain, or ones that will wake me up and reduce depression. I decide what effect I want, and with a little research and experimentation, I can get it.
CAUTION: Do not use pure essential oils directly on your skin. They are very strong, and can cause burns and scarring if used undiluted. If you accidentally get some on you, use olive oil or coconut oil on it immediately to dilute it, and see a doctor if there is any pain or reddening of the skin. Also, you should never use an essential oil derived from any plant you are allergic to. (If you’re allergic to ragweed, be extremely careful of chamomile oil. They are members of the same family, and an allergy to ragweed means you may also react to chamomile.) See Using Essential Oils Safely for more information.
The Recipe
- epsom salt
- a glass container with an airtight seal (you can’t use plastic or metal with essential oils, the oils will interact with the container, and could introduce toxins to your salts.)
- essential oils of your choice
- optional: unscented sea salt to mix with the epsom salt
Note: The magnesium in the epsom salt is absorbed through your skin, and helps to relieve pain and relax your muscles. If you’re using the bath to help ease the symptoms of your chronic illness, I recommend that you use no more than half sea salt if you mix it. Although sea salt also contains many trace minerals, it doesn’t work as well to ease pain; and it increases the price of your blend because it is much more expensive.
The basic recipe is simple. For each cup of salt, add 10 drops of essential oil. I like to layer it, with a cup of salt, add 10 drops of oil, another cup of salt, another 10 drops of oil until my container is about 3/4 of the way full, then seal it and shake it up really well. It just seems to mix better and infuse the scents more evenly, especially if I’m using several different oils. For the most even infusion and blending of scents, leave the jar sealed for at least 24 hours before using, shaking it several times to remix and blend.
One of my favorite essential oil blends is half lavender and half rosemary. They are both excellent for skin irritations like psoriasis, eczema or insect bites; stimulate the circulatory system; reduce stress and fatigue; help with migraines and tension headaches; open the the bronchial tubes and help with asthma and bronchitis; repel insects; and reduce pain. Lavender also helps to reduce depression and anxiety, eases the pain of sciatica, and is helpful with vertigo; and rosemary is helpful with neuralgia and “fibrog” (it’s a mental stimulant.)
Using your bath salt:
Fill the tub with water as warm as you can handle (if that’s only tepid, that’s just fine.) Add two to five cups of your bath salt under the running water, swishing it around to make sure it all dissolves, climb in and relax for at least 20 minutes (I normally end up staying at least an hour, adding warm water as needed to keep the temperature comfortable.)
For an even more relaxing, stress-relieving experience; turn off the lights, light a couple of unscented candles, and play some soothing music or a guided meditation.
This bath salt blend is also very helpful in a foot bath at the end of a long, tiring day. It will help relieve the pain of being on your feet, as well as helping to ease the fatigue. Add one cup of the bath salt to a warm foot bath, and soak for at least 20 minutes, adding warm water if needed to keep it at a comfortable temperature.
I’ve found that taking a long, hot bath with my homemade bath salts helps me manage the symptoms of my fibromyalgia, as well as being helpful with various other chronic illness issues. Stress makes my symptoms worse, and a bath not only relieves pain and reduces muscle tension, it also helps me relax and reduces my stress levels.
With the addition of a label and a pretty ribbon, homemade bath salts also make an excellent, inexpensive gift for almost any occasion. You’ll save money, and the recipient will enjoy a soothing experience that will make them feel wonderful.
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By wendy, on September 12th, 2011%
 Image via Wikipedia
By Wendy Burnett
I’ve been having issues with chemical sensitivities lately, with cleaning products irritating the hell out of my asthma and laundry detergents leaving residues in my clothes and making me itch. Since finances have also been an issue, (the hubby is currently not working,) I started experimenting with making my own cleaning products.
It’s actually been working out really well, saving me TONS of money, and actually doing a better job than the products I used to buy. One of my favorites is the laundry detergent I’ve been making. It’s fairly simple, and very inexpensive, it doesn’t stink, doesn’t make me cough, and doesn’t make me itch.
I mentioned on Twitter that I’d been making a new batch last night, and got a request for the recipe, so here it is:
Homemade Laundry Detergent:
You’ll need a plastic bucket (with a lid that seals) that holds at least 2.5 gallons of liquid. I got mine at the grocery store from the bakery for free. Ask for one of the buckets that the cake frosting comes in, and make sure they give you the big one that the white frosting comes in. If you can’t get one there, you can buy one at a home improvement store . . .
Ingredients:
- 2 bars of Ivory soap or 2 cups of Fels Naptha, grated
- 2 quarts of boiling water
- 2 cups of borax
- 2 cups of washing soda
Add the grated soap to the boiling water and allow to melt completely, stirring occasionally (there should be no flakes or crumbs at all left, just clear, slightly sudsy water.)
While the soap is melting, measure the borax and washing soda into the bucket, then add your soapy water and mix until all the powder is dissolved. I usually use a large metal whisk, because it mixes well, and is easy to rinse off afterward, but a long wooden spoon will work too, as long as you don’t use it for food later.
Add 2 gallons of water, mixing well as you add it. If you add cold water, you should see the detergent thickening up as it cools. For best results, you’ll want to mix the detergent again every 30 minutes to an hour until it gets down to room temperature so that it doesn’t separate, but it’s not a big deal. If it separates, you’ll just need to mix it every time before you use it, and I do that anyway.
You should end up with a thick, runny-jelly type texture, but if you don’t, it’s no big deal. It will still work just fine for the laundry.
Use 1/4 C per regular load of laundry, a bit more for heavily soiled loads. It won’t suds very much, but that’s actually a good thing because it makes it rinse out more completely and you don’t end up with a soapy residue in your clothes.
Bonus: If you can find Fels Naptha for the recipe, get an extra bar and use it instead of the “pre-treatment sprays” by rubbing it on stains before washing.
Dishwasher Detergent:
For this one, you’ll need an empty bottle from a gel dishwasher detergent and a funnel. Pry the piece with the hole in it out of the top (don’t lose it, you’re going to put it back in when you’ve refilled the bottle,) and rinse the bottle out really well.
Ingredients:
- 1/8 C bleach (or a little less. I actually don’t measure it, just put in enough to barely cover the bottom of the container.)
- enough homemade laundry detergent to fill the bottle about 3/4 of the way
- about 1 C of hot water
With the funnel, add all the ingredients to the bottle, replace the plastic bit with the hole, and cap tightly. Shake well to mix, and if the thickness doesn’t seem right, add a bit more water. Give it a good shake before using it, and use just like you would regular dishwasher detergent. (Don’t use this for hand washing dishes, it’s much too harsh for your hands.)
I pay about $4 to $5 for enough ingredients for a bucket of laundry detergent, and that bucket usually lasts about 3 months, using it for both laundry and dishes. (The borax and washing soda cost about $3 a box each, but each box has enough in it to make 3 batches, plus a little over.) A large container of liquid laundry detergent runs me about $10 to $15, and lasts about 6 weeks. We use at least 2, and sometimes 3, bottles of dishwasher detergent in three months, at about $3.50 each. Even assuming only 2 bottles of dishwasher detergent, we save at least $20 every time I make detergent instead of buying it.
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"The moral test of a society is how that society treats those who are in the dawn of life . . . the children; those who are in the twilight of life . . . the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life . . . the sick, the needy, and the handicapped."
---Hubert Humphrey
Welcome to the new home of Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired. I hope you'll enjoy the changes, and the new resources I'll be adding as I have time to work on the site. Things will look a bit odd while I learn where and how to modify the appearance, so please bear with me.
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