Tipsy Tuesday: Body Wash

I have sensitive and dry skin and so does my husband {which means the kiddo's are doooooomed}. So it's really tempting to try every label on the rack to touting a new ingredient promising to make my skin hydrated! but do i yield?!? well, ok, i did for a while but now I have discovered a new method.

Now just as a side note, I used to make soap so I know it's possible to make my own stuff. For the record, I was working around a couple of different factors:
1) we are trying to get out of a mountain of debt (who isn't!?) and so the less I spend the better
2) The dollar store is always nice for cheap alternatives BUT I really wanted to cut down the toxins I was putting all over my largest organ (my skin).
3) Less toxins is better for the environment too, double win!

So what I was looking to accomplish really needed to meet all of these requirements and that's not easy to do. Lucky for me, Tree Hugging Mom had the answer! I am going on a couple of weeks now and I cannot complain a bit. It took some extra thought process to order the soap on amazon (not that you have to, I just didn't have a store nearby that carried it) but that was about it. Go to this linky for her blog entry OR I did a little copy/paste of it below for your convenience (you really should check it out though she's got lot's o great green info): 

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DIY: Homemade Body Wash

We’ve been using the following recipe for a few months now and I don’t think we will ever change.  It’s so easy to make.

First, get yourself a good sized pump bottle.  I recommend a pump bottle because the finished product is a little watery.  We just repurposed an old baby wash bottle and removed the labels.

Fill it half way with Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby Mild Castile Soap.  Fill the remaining with plain old water.  Voila! You have body wash!

And, if you like a little fragrance in your soap, you can add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oils.  We chose a blend of Sweet Orange and Lemongrass.

Now, you may notice your skin feels a little tight at first, but I assure you that will go away after a week or so.  Your skin just has to get used to not having all of the added chemicals found in commerical products.

Plus, this stuff lathers just as good as the store bought washes and I have found that if you shut the water off while lathering, you won’t need to use very much at all (and you’ll be saving water too!).

UPDATE: I just tried the Dr Bronner’s Almond Castile soap diluted and I LOVE the smell!  Plus, no need to add Essential Oil (money saver!)

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It's easy, it's cheap, and my skin has no complaints! I give total props to this lovely lady for such an easy tip {now i just need to fix that lotion situation...hmmm}:

Handmade Nation-A review of the documentary

I recently had the opportunity to watch "Handmade Nation" by Faythe Levine at the local art museum and was so encouraged by its message. This wonderful documentary highlights the unique qualities of today's crafting world. If you haven't already experienced or noticed the independent craft  movement, an uprising birthed from a merged variety of desires, you should give the documentary a look. It shows that world from the many perspectives and operations, from buyer to seller to designer.

While the crafting style focused on mainly is the indie punk, its message is universal to the current crafting universe: be yourself and go for it. Whether that means making a two headed deer plushie, or a hook rug with a rather pornographic image on it; its the expression that matters to the industry, not the preciseness of technique. It was plain that today's crafters are transforming grandma's hobbies into something all their own and yet that community of those more traditional ways are not against this movement at all. The response, according to one crafter interviewed, has been nothing but open and encouraging.

The change in process is not about the money, says Handmade Nation, it's about expression. It could be the desire to express your environmental consciousness, your political views, or a means of  breaking free from tradition or convention.

Many of those interviewed began their crafting out of a need to be artistic, something they had been encouraged to do in their youth but were now finding absent in their day to day grind. This is a feeling all to familiar to the viewer. And it is in that way that the documentary, though very handmade in its own style, is encouraging. It's not surprising that indie-punk is leading the way, since another reason for the increase of this means of crafting is it that it is a response to the commercialism so prevalent now. It is, in a sense, a rebellion against the waste made by our overindulgence, the disconnection of something purchased verus handmade, to the big box shops of the world, to the lack of creativity found in everyone wearing the same thing from the same store for the same reason.

It doesn't limit the artist to work within boundaries, Handmade Nation shows those boundaries being tested, eliminated and incorporated to accomplish a whole new art form. It is a concept which can be applied to crafting no matter the style. The artist's spirit is inherently longing to be unique, it only makes sense that eventually it would rebel against such constitutions. By the end the viewers can see that the land of Do-It-Yourself is a hotbed of creativity accessible to all who wish to visit or live there and it is, according to Handmade Nation, a very friendly, open and encouraging place to be.     

http://www.handmadenationmovie.com/

http://www.faythelevine.com/