I’m really enjoying concocting my own homemade products and working towards a more low impact/high quality lifestyle.
It just feels right. It contains clean, honest-to-earth ingredients. And it works!
In case you’re new here, I made my own deodorant a little while ago but what I didn’t share was that I also made my own lip balm. It’s so so so easy. So in case you’re feeling crafty and want to give it a go, here’s what you need to know!
Clean out and reuse old lip balm containers
I’ve had this EOS lip balm since right after college which was (omg) 7 years ago! It was a spare one I carried around in my various bags and miraculously didn’t lose. It started to get stale after so long and I didn’t have the heart to throw it away.
Then I came across this idea to make my own lip balm, and found a whole plethora of ways to reuse the EOS container. Here’s how to empty and clean out your EOS container to be reused.
1. Open EOS lip balm. Notice the removable cartridge holding the balm.
2. Remove the balm cartridge using a sharp utensil (I used a butter knife)
3. It might take a bit of prying, but will come out with a bit of leverage
4. Scrape out the old balm from the top and bottom of the cartridge
5. Then clean it all off under warm soapy water
6. Let dry. And you’re ready to reuse!
DIY Lip Balm & What You’ll Need
Ingredients:
1 tsp Cold pressed extra virgin Coconut oil 1 tsp Shea butter 1 tsp Beeswax 5 drops of preferred essential oil (optional – I used lavender for its soothing effect) ½ tsp Cinnamon (optional – add to naturally exfoliate your lips!)
While it’s still warm, pour into your lip balm container!
Place the cap back on upside down and let cool at room temperature.
Or you can put it in the fridge for a few minutes.
Once it’s dry – voila!
That it! That’s how easy it is!
I poured the ingredients into both the EOS lip balm container and a regular lip balm container – both of which I cleaned and disinfected before reusing.
So I hope you clean up those old cute lip balm containers, play around with these natural ingredients and and DIY your own sustainable lip balm!
I’ve never put much thought or care into how I’m supposed to clean and condition my wood cutting boards, bowls or utensils… but this super easy homemade wood butter is everything I need to get shiny buttery wood! Lollllllll
~
Ingredients:
Natural beeswax
Cold pressed coconut oil
Lemon
~
Mix 1 part beeswax with 3 parts coconut oil in a bowl. Heat in microwave for ~30 seconds until it’s all melted. Squeeze the juice of a lemon in the bowl and stir. Pour into a wide glass jar. Let it cool for a few hours, and voila! Apply a thin layer to condition your wood to give it a brand new sheen so it lasts longer and prevents mold. Plus it’s totally food safe!
Please welcome the newest addition to my zero waste kit – this 100% cotton cloth bento bag!
I love the florals, the elephants, the colors and the paisley pattern. And it’s so so soft. I’ve been loving my lime green cloth bento bag that I made several months ago as a draft but the seams are messy. I’ll continue to use it as a backup bento bag and for grocery shopping. This new bento bag is extra special to me because the fabric is from an upcycled circle skirt that I bought from a market in India back in 2012. I’ve always loved the soft cotton material and the earthy tones so I kept it over the years even though I almost never wore it.
Cloth bento bags are useful for carrying leftovers in containers, produce from grocery stores (instead of plastic), and I’ve even used it for pizza takeaway (the only time I ever had to wash it). They’re also great as reusable gift wrappers.
STEP 1
Measure 10 inches x 30 inches of fabric and cut with some space for seam allowance. Width to height
STEP 2
From bottom left corner of your rectangle, fold up so it’s aligned with the top of the fabric, making a triangle.
STEP 3
From top right corner of rectangle, fold down so it’s aligned with the bottom of fabric, making another triangle.
STEP 4
Now from bottom right edge, fold up diagonally so that your folded fabric looks like the photo above.
Finally
Sew up where the edges meet on the front and back so you have this open box shape. Swipe right to see the finished project above.
And voila – you’re done!
To use, simply put your tupperware/ produce/ gift inside and tie a knot. It may not look like much but the knot will hold and you can easily carry it around in your lunch bag or tote.
Thanks to everyone who wrote me about my sustainable living posts!
My mom always told me, simplicity is beauty. And after all these years, I’m applying that nugget of wisdom to my armpits… you heard right!
Did I ever tell you that I went a whole month *without* deodorant?
Yeah, probably not what my mom meant.
The story goes, that back in December 2017 I ran out of Old Spice Wolfthorn deodorant (which I am unashamed to say I used and shared with my boyfriend lol). And I already had planned that when it ran out, I would switch to a natural product.
I was constantly nervous about my B.O. and the stress sweat struggle is real you guys. I started using lime slices to deodorize naturally (this works wonders!). So if you ever decide to switch to a natural deodorant, the first step is to expel all those harmful chemicals you’ve been soaking in through your pits for a month.
During my detox, I tried looking for natural deodorants to purchase and got a couple of recommendations from friends on different brands to try. But after reading some reviews about baking soda rashes and a double take on the price range of organic options, I turned to a more DIY approach.
DIY Natural Organic Deodorant
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
– Natural Shea Butter
– Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
– Bees Wax Pellets
– Essential Oils (for fragrance)
– Arrowroot Powder
– Baking Soda
– Glass OR ceramic mixing bowls (or Double Broiler)
– Measuring cups
– Clean old deodorant container
TO MAKE:
Fill 1 bowl with boiled water and place another bowl on top, to use as a double broiler (If you have a double broiler, you can just use that! Or you can use a glass or ceramic bowl that fits over a small pot. This was my makeshift double broiler).
Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of shea butter – stir and melt.
Add 4 tablespoons of beeswax – stir and melt. I live in a warm tropical climate so if you live in a cooler climate, you can use less beeswax.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda – stir and melt. Baking soda may be an irritant to some people so if you have sensitive skin like I do, only use a teaspoon or less. I would have left it out altogether but baking soda helps act as the deodorizing agent.
Add 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder. This creates a more solid consistency.
Add 10-15 drops of your preferred essential oils for fragrance. I used tea tree oil and lavender oil.
Stir it all up until it’s completely smooth, and you’re almost there! Remove from your double broiler set up and pour into an old deodorant container while still hot. I cleaned out and emptied my Old Spice container to reuse.
And that’s it! Set your brand new natural organic deodorant to cool at room temperature. You can also put it in the freezer for a couple of minutes to speed up the process. You’ll know it’s done when it’s firm.
To customize, try different essential oils to change up the fragrance, and add your own label to make it look legit. I added a sticker from an old surf movie we had laying around.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My own personal and biased review? I love it!
My boyfriend also loves it ~ yes, we still share deodorant lol.
But really though, it works great!
The Pros: it’s made with completely natural organic products. It smells amazing. It doesn’t stain clothes, and it keeps me smelling fresh for the day.
The Cons: the consistency is a little stickier than I had hoped, but a simple solution is to just dab it on and rub it in. A little goes a long way.
An Alternative: I actually really liked using lemon slices on my armpits. I still use it every other day when we have lemons or limes.
The key takeaway here is that switching to a natural deodorant is a brilliant idea and it’s super simple to do yourself and it’s great for your health and the environment!
It has been a busy past few weeks! Between my growing hectic work life and social events having to say say goodbye to island friends, I haven’t had a lot of time to do much else. I’ve been blogging more but there have still been several developments worth mentioning:
I’m officially booked for travel in May! I’ll be going to a few different places; some of which I’ve never been to! I’ll first be going to Samoa for a friend’s wedding, then stopping over in Arizona to visit my sister’s family for some much needed quality time with my nephew and niece, and then… I’m off to Dominican Republic for another friend’s wedding! Love is in the air, and I’m so excited for the good times to be had! I might also be swinging through Puerto Rico to meet up with some friends there, so fingers crossed things all work out!
Another new development: Matcha green tea. I know there was a craze about it in the mainland, and I’ve never really been one for trendy fads, but I just happened to see a box of Matcha green tea at my local grocer and picked it up for $12 (because it’s normally ~$30 on Amazon for this particular tea). I had no idea what it was or how to even prepare it, but I tried it late one evening and was so caffeined out I stayed up until 5am. And I didn’t mind. I was so productive that night and even though I slept late, I had a good sleep. So now I have a nice hot cuppa matcha almost every day hahaha. I’m a convert! It’s purported to be good for you as it’s 10x higher in antioxidants than regular green tea, but who knows, maybe the buzz will wear off.
And speaking of matcha and health goodness, I’ve started experimenting with a new health supplement – marine collagen. My inner asian girl has come out looking for more ways to keep my skin and bones young and healthy. I had been curious about collagen effects and found marine collagen peptides at my local drug store, so decided to give it a go. We’ll see how well it works in like 25 years haha. Hoping it works well with my asian genes.
Other inner discoveries – I’m fine tuning my inner hippie. You may have seen my zero waste kit for beginners (if you haven’t, please check it out!), and this isn’t all that new. I’ve been using a zero waste kit since November 2017, and I’ve been avoiding plastic and styrofoam more actively since last January. It was one of my resolutions last year. So in line with more sustainable living, I cut out deodorant 4 months ago and detoxed all the harmful chemicals for a month. Did you know that most deodorants contain cancer causing chemicals? Look at this insane list of toxic ingredients in an average deodorant, or pick up your own deodorant and have a quick read through its ingredients. We apply this on our bodies daily, so it’s important to know what you’re messing with. All that being said, I made my own natural organic deodorant and I use it most days, but I also love using lemons/limes. It actually works. I’ll be expanding more how I made it in another post.
What have you been up to lately?
If you’re a hippie, I’d love to hear some pointers on more sustainable living! lol thanks
