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Feeling Frugal? My 8 Favorite Home Remedies and Products
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Ever since the August gathering of my women’s group, the Wo-Hoo! Society, where our hostess had stations for creating our own salt scrub and facial toner, I’ve been on a kick of making my own. It never occurred to me how easy it is to make these at home. I also love the “New Uses for Old Things” section in Real Simple magazine, so this is completely up my alley. I’ve also been thinking of other favorite “home remedies,” and have come across some new ones.
Salt Scrub
Concocted from a recipe found online with baby oil, Epsom salt, and essential oils (our hostess provided vanilla and amber for scenting), after using it for a few days in the shower, I noticed the baby oil was making my sensitive skin break out. I did a quick online search for alternatives to use, and found suggestions for grapeseed, canola, olive or almond oils. I switched to making it with my favorite Burt’s Bees® Apricot Baby Oil I had in the house already, which is made from a blend of apricot kernel, grapeseed, and wheat germ oils. Since it’s already “flavored” with Apricot, and has a nice, warm scent, I don’t use any extra essential oils. But I’m already looking forward to trying out different scents when the Burt’s Bees oil runs out and I buy a plain oil that could benefit from some fortification.
I use a weekly mix of 1/3 cup Epsom salt and pour the oil over it until it looks like there is just a little bit more salt than oil (you can make it the consistency you like). Then I put the cover on the plastic ware, and horizontally shake the container to blend the oil with the salt. I love using it in the shower to smooth out the rough spots on my skin, and especially rubbing it on tired muscles after my workout.
Facial Toner
Made with equal parts witch hazel, distilled water, and vinegar (our hostess provided apple cider vinegar), which we mixed in plastic ware and applied using a cotton ball. I’ve been making this weekly using a little less than 30ml (1/8th cup) each, and am using plain distilled white vinegar I already had in the house. I also had a brainstorm of soaking a chamomile tea bag in the mixture to infuse it with calming benefits (it sounded good in my head). I had recently stopped using facial toner because I heard it was unnecessary with today’s facial products, as most are pH-balanced, so they don’t require an extra step for toning the skin. I’m loving now using this post-shower, following my workouts to help keep my facial skin from breaking out, as I’ve noticed it has a tendency to do when I’m very active.
Dry Shampoo/Scalp Refresher
After getting scolded by countless hairdressers for washing my hair too often, I’ve tried to not wash my hair every day. I don’t like how my hair feels when it’s not freshly washed, so I’ve used body powder on my scalp to help absorb some of the secreted sebum. I like using Gold Bond® Ultimate Comfort Powder with Aloe between washes.
Cough Syrup
A friend reminded me of this one. As a mother of two small boys, when they get sniffles and coughs that doesn’t warrant a visit to the doctor but still is worrisome, I look for ways to relieve their symptoms without resorting to dreaded OTC products that aren’t recommended for children under the age of 4. The humidifier in their room doesn’t always do the trick, so honey has proved super helpful. One teaspoon of honey at bedtime will calm the scratchiest little throat, and help them (and you) to have a more peaceful sleep. I’ve even used it myself with a drop of lemon juice to cut the sweetness of it and add a little vitamin C.
I recently read an article online about the many benefits of honey. Not to be used for infants, but for the rest of the family, it can be a replacement for Neosporin®, a sleep aid, and also can be used for extra energy pre-workout.
Workout Supplement
If you have some pickle juice around the house, try drinking 4-8oz. of it with 8oz. of water before your next workout. Pickle juice is good for helping you prevent sodium loss on a particularly hot day, and supports muscle recovery, according to certified fitness trainer and nutritionist Majid Ali of the Healing Center in Culver City, CA. I wonder how it would taste with a teaspoon of honey mixed in. The article entitled “10 Surprising Fitness Tips” found on MSN last week, also suggested drinking pineapple juice following workouts because the bromelian (an enzyme) in it helps prevent inflammation, and removes lactic acid buildup in muscles. Drinking 6-10oz., thirty minutes after training should do the trick.
Diaper Rash Cure
Every once in a while, my son in diapers will get one of those rashes that just won’t go away. It’s not really a women’s health issue, but some of us are Moms, right? While it is no replacement for medical attention if the need is there, we use corn starch to soothe it. Most diaper creams make him squeal and writhe, so the corn starch in his diaper really helps and usually clears up the rash within a couple uses.
Bag Clips
A friend I lived with for a short time used to have an obscene amount of clothes pins around her house. She used them as bag clips. I now always have clothes pins in my kitchen junk drawer.
Multi-use Cleanser
Lemon juice and salt can make a nice scouring paste for a multitude of home cleaning uses (don’t use on delicate stone, marble or stainless steel). I also learned the wedge of a lemon rubbed on finger or toenails will whiten them.
Tell us!
What are your favorite home remedies or make at home products?
Christine Jeffries is a writer/editor for work and at heart, and lives in a home of testosterone with her husband and two sons. She founded a women’s group, The Wo-Hoo! Society, in the interests of friendship, networking, and philanthropy. The group meets separately on a monthly basis in the Phoenix and Kansas City areas. Christine is interested in women’s health and promoting strong women.
Add a Comment10 Comments
I've recently started using a mixture of Aloe Vera gel and Jojoba oil as my morning moisturizer. It works well and seems to "soak" right into my skin so there isn't any sticky residue. And since when is taking care of yourself, feeling good (and clean) and using natural products to do it not part of feminism? Are Feminists supposed to be smelly and dirty? I think it actually empowers a woman (or man) to not fall prey to the marketing of potentially hazardous products. I feel sorry for "Feminists" who are so wrapped up in trying to prove something that they can't embrace the fact that they are a woman.
June 23, 2010 - 2:51pmThis Comment
Mash strawberries in cream for a moisturising face mask that tastes great.
June 17, 2010 - 1:01pmThis Comment
Use a baking soda paste for shampoo, and a mild apple cider vinegar & water rinse to condition the ends. You don't need shampoo ... and after a week or two for your pores to adjust, you won't miss it. Really!
http://simplemom.net/how-to-clean-your-hair-without-shampoo/
April 20, 2010 - 2:28pmThis Comment
Since when is feminism about not being able to CHOSE? Maybe, today, I, an empowered, educated woman, felt like being able to be frugal and self indulgent. Are the feminists telling me that this is too 'girly' ? So I can only be a woman if I stop being female and proud of it?
March 18, 2010 - 3:00pmThis Comment
Thank you so much for the Salt Scrub recipe! I love to use it in the shower too but rarely treat myself to buying it. I can't wait to try to make it:)
January 12, 2010 - 7:49amThis Comment
Christine--
Thank you so much for posting this! It is very important to understand that money can be saved in a home where it's tight by making your own cleaning and useful products. Believe it or not, if you've got vodka lying somewhere in your house it makes an EXCELLENT shiner for fixtures, treating poison ivy, freshening up laundry, preserve flowers, repel insects, and more.
I have included the site where I saw this called "The Daily Green"-- great and helpful site. http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/vodka-uses-460424
Thanks again for your share!
January 7, 2010 - 6:37amThis Comment
First time on this site... I'm a little disappointed that "Empowerher" cover page article is about making homemade body salt's... don't get me wrong, I'm interested in cosmetology, but women's empowerment is much more serious than the superfluous article presented here. Sorry, I'm a bonified feminist, and I beg this to be a misrepresentation of women's empowerment.
January 6, 2010 - 10:44amThis Comment
One thought on your post, fellow Anonymous Guest: Considering the hype over anti-aging products, creams, lotions and elixirs to help us retain our youth, look 10 years younger, erase crow's feet, rejuvenate our old tired useless estrogen depleted skin so that our mid-life men might not dump us for a woman half our age anyway (like it would really be a loss) sort of supports these recipes as empowerment -- power over Madison Avenue and cosmetic solutions to a natural process called aging. We are so horrified to see celebrities actually look when caught without makeup on, and then transfer that loathing to our own aging process. Just sayin...
April 9, 2010 - 5:36amThis Comment
I wash my hair with a tablespoon of baking soda mixed with a cup of water. It tends to dry it out a bit but you can condition it with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a cup of water. It cleans the hair while controlling the sebum.
I also make my own laundry detergent. One cup of Borax plus one cup of washing soda (both found in the laundry aisle) and one bar of soap. I prefer Fels Naptha but any bar you have lying around the house will work. Or better yet, use the free bars you get from hotels.
September 7, 2009 - 11:22amThis Comment
I use the baking soda and water to wash my hair, and then rinse with the apple cider vinegar and water mixture to which I add a few drops of lavender essential oil. I have naturally curly hair and this REALLY brings out the curls! (Sometimes I steep chamomile tea bags in the water before adding the vinegar and essential oil. My hair always smells terrific after!)
June 2, 2010 - 6:40amThis Comment