Healing herbs

Healing herbs
Echinacea and Calendula
Showing posts with label coconut oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coconut oil. Show all posts

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Homemade Coconut Oil Toothpaste

by Jessica Espinoza

Commercial toothpastes are full of chemicals and toxic ingredients. When you look at the ingredients of a tube of toothpaste, you will notice that most brands contain fluoride, sodium laurel sulfate, artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors, all of which are unnecessary for dental health and do more harm than good to our teeth and our bodies.

Making your own toothpaste at home is very easy, allows you avoid toxic ingredients, and can help improve your overall dental health. The ingredients in this toothpaste recipe are all very healing for the mouth and can help with remineralization of the teeth. This toothpaste is safe for the whole family, even children.

Most of the ingredients in this recipe are common to almost all homemade toothpaste recipes. Use coconut oil for its natural antimicrobial properties, baking soda for whitening and gentle cleaning, sea salt for gum health and mild antibacterial properties, and castile soap for foaming properties. The castile soap is optional and replaces the toxic sodium laurel sulfate (a foaming agent) found in commercial toothpastes. Some people leave it out, but others find that they prefer toothpaste that foams. Even with the addition of the castile soap, this toothpaste will not foam as much as commercial toothpastes.

A couple of the ingredients, bentonite clay and myrrh gum powder, are not as commonly used, but are all are great for dental health.

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Sunday, 7 July 2013

Coconut Rose Body Butter

Coconut oil is wonderful for general moisturizing and using for a protective layer to help your skin retain its natural moisture.  Most folks with sensitive skin enjoy the moisturizing benefits of coconut oil.  I used refined coconut oil in this recipe since it does not have the penetrating and deep scent of coconut like the virgin unrefined does.  Feel free to use unrefined if you like as it would pair very well with a citrus essential oil such as tangerine or lime.

Coconut oil is very easy to whip into a delicate airy mousse, however it will melt at 76 degrees and turn back into a liquid.  This recipe is best made in the cooler months of the year if you plan to store it at room temperature.  I make this in the warmer months and store it in my fridge.  It feels really good massaged into the skin after spending time in the hot sun or swimming.

Since I chose to use  rose essential oil (I like the Rosa damascena variety), I thought it would be fun to add just a slight tint of pink color using some Alkanet infused oil I crafted a while back.  (Click here to learn how to make Alkanet infused oil).  I also added in a little bit of corn starch to help negate the slight oily feel when applying it to the skin.  Rounding out the recipe is a small amount of Jojoba oil which is easily absorbed into the skin.

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