Akoma Natural Skincare

Homemade Toothpaste

 

 

After yesterdays deoderant recepie I started to think about other products that we rely on that we could be making for ourselves rather than shopping at large high street outlets. Here is a recepie that I found for toothpaste. It would seem to be a very popular recepie so perhaps you have tried it already…let us know what you think.

Ingredients

 

 

1. Mix three parts baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) with one part table salt (sodium chloride).
2. Add three teaspoons of glycerine for every 1/4 cup of dry mixture.
3. Add enough water to make a thick paste. If desired, a few drops of peppermint oil may be added to improve the taste.
4. Apply and use just as you would any other toothpaste. Store unused toothpaste at room temperature in a covered container.

Take care

Nina

 

Lotion Bars (Solid Bath Oil Bars)

 

 

2 oz. cocoa butter or mango butter
2 oz. beeswax, refined beads
2 or 3 oz. liquid vegetable oil such as jojoba, sunflower or sweet almond
2 tsp. essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice
1/2 to 1 tsp. of Jojoba Wax  

 

 

 

 

 

For colouring melt cocoa or mango butter and pour 2 ounces into an 8 ounce Pyrex
measuring cup. Add 2 ounces of beeswax (total of 4 ounces in cup). Add jojoba
wax. Melt together in microwave. Now add the liquid vegetable oil.

 

 

 

Use 2 ounces for a hard bar, which would bring your total to 6 ounces… OR
use 3 ounces for a softer bar, which would bring your total to 7 ounces.
Stir to mix thoroughly. Add essential or fragrance oil when mixture has
cooled slightly. Pour into small soap molds. Pop out when cool, about 2
hours. For best results, put in refrigerator a few minutes before popping
out of mold.

 

Homemade Deodorant

You maybe aware of the suggested links between cancer and some of the chemicals used in deodorants. A homemade alternative to the high street brands may well be the answer. I found this recipe while browsing the Internet. I hope you enjoy it…

 

Ingredients

 

 

3 parts Shea Butter (chilled slightly)
1 to 2 parts Baking Soda
2 parts Cornstarch
Vitamin E Oil (use a couple of squeezed gel caps if your measured parts are Tablespoons)
2 parts Cocoa Butter (melted and then cooled, but still mostly liquid)
Essential Oils (enough to make it smell good, but not overpowering. Make sure you’ve used these before directly on your skin to avoid any sensitivity.)

Instructions

1. Put the metal bowl of a standing mixer in the fridge until chilled.
   
   
2. Remove from the fridge and add the shea butter, baking soda, cornstarch and Vitamin E. Using paddle attachment mix at med/high until it is lighter in color (almost white) and somewhat fluffy.
   
   
3. With mixer running, slowly drizzle in cocoa butter.
   
   
4. Mix on med/high for a couple minutes until nice and fluffy.
   
   
5. Place bowl in fridge for 5 minutes.
   
   
6. Repeat those last two steps as necessary until the mixture has cooled to room temperature.
   
   
7. Add essential oils and mix until blended thoroughly.
   
   
8. Spoon into lidded container, making sure to clean the mixer bowl immediately because someone in your family is guaranteed to come along and sneak a taste without realizing that it’s deodorant.
   
   
9. Apply a generous amount to clean underarms, making sure to rub it in well.
   
   

 

Important Note

 

Make sure to store this below the melting point of 75 degrees or so. Once it melts, the texture will be the same as the original recipe. 

 

 

 

 

 

Tea Bath Bomb

1 heaped tsp aromatic tea

1 tbsp citric acid powder
3 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
10 drops essential oil (We suggest Lavender)

1 tsp sweet almond oil

 

Make sure that the bowl you are using, and your hands, are completely dry – otherwise the bomb will start fizzing. In a glass bowl, mix the citric acid and bicarbonate of soda together.

 

Add a few drops of essential oil and 1 tsp dry aromatic tea, along with the sweet almond oil. Mix everything together with a metal spoon. (If you just want a fizzy bath salt, only use half the sweet almond oil and don’t follow the next step below – simply pour your mixture into a clean, dry jar)

 

Place the biscuit cutter on top of a sheet of baking paper. Put the mixture into the biscuit cutter and press down with the back of the spoon.

 

The oil now needs to evaporate so the bomb can set as a dry, hard block – leave for a minimum of 30 minutes and preferably overnight.

 

STORAGE: Store in tin foil to keep out moisture.

 

Take care

 

Nina

 

Ingredients

71g Shea Butter

28g White Bees Wax

28g Jojoba oil

1-2 drops of vanilla fragrance

1-2 drops of peppermint fragrance oil

 

Step 1: Melt shea butter and white beeswax until liquid. If melting ingredients in the microwave, give the mixture a quick stir after 2 minutes.

Step 2: Stir in the jojoba oil and fragrance oil. After thoroughly mixing, pour into a container. Let cool.

 

Homemade Mango Body Butter Recipe

 

Ingredients:

2 ozs organic cocoa butter
2 ozs organic shea butter
2 ozs organic mango butter
1 teaspoon organic wheat germ oil
3 teaspoons organic apricot kernel oil
1 teaspoon organic beeswax

 

 

Directions:

 

 

 

 

Mango Butter is known to be a great skin moisturizer. The butter is great for reducing wrinkles as well as its softening and conditioning capabilities for the skin.

 

 

 

Give it a try and as always we would love to hear how you get on.

 

Take Care

 

Nina

 

Do you like your soaps shaped like things? I found these soaps while browing the internet, let me know what your thoughts are on soaps shaped like things….

Obama soap….or at least a strange soap that someone has called ‘Obama soap’.

Old school NES controller soap…reminds me of jelly rather than soap.

Oreos and milk soap….these soaps are making me feel hungry!

Strange but true.

Nina

Top Five Massage Oils

 

Some oils are likely to leave you feeling greasy after the massage, while other massage oils can go off quickly and take on a bad smell. Other oils might irritate skin or cause allergic reactions. It’s important to select the most suitable oils for a good massage.

Our top five massage oils can be used alone or in combination. Here are our five top choices:

 

1. Sweet Almond Oil

2. Apricot Kernel Oil

3. Jojoba Oil

4. Coconut Oil

5. Sunflower Oil

Nina

 

 

 

Mood-boosting tips

 

1) Go for a walk

 

Walking is a great way to boost your mood and it also a great way to lose weight and improve overall health.

 

Going outdoors for a walk has been proven to boost your mood, the natural light stimulates the brain to produce serotonin that helps lift your mood.

 

 

 

2) Go to bed early

 

Late nights can cause a problem if you are getting less sleep than you need, this can increase anxiety, tension, and sadness.

 

Studies have shown that lack of sleep reduces emotional and physical well-being, reduces optimism, and even contributes to the onset and worsening of physical pain.

 

How you can help yourself:

 

1. Try to go to bed 30 minutes earlier every night
2. Make your bed a restful haven. Splurge on good pillows. Also consider treating yourself to soft sheets
3. Try drinking milk or a relaxing herbal tea to help you fall sleep more easily

 

3) De-clutter your space

 

It’s harder to relax when you look around and there are bills and papers around you. Organizing your home and office is a really good way to help boost your emotional health. Having things in order can actually calm anxiety and some people even seem to find cleaning therapeutic.

 

How you can help yourself:

 

1. Each weekend, tackle a different area of your home or office.
2. Buy organizers to store your things in a neat, easily accessible way.
3. If you don’t have one already, consider getting a diary or notebook to help you organize your thoughts.
4. You can also make to-do lists (rather than memorize them) – it can really help to calm anxiety and checking off each task as you accomplish it provides a sense of fulfilment.

 

5) Consider aromatherapy

Aromatherapy involves the use of concentrated, aromatic plant oils called essential oils.

If you’ve never heard of it before, you may have seen it before in the form of naturally-scented bath salts, body lotions, and massage oils.

A study in found that people exposed to the scent of lavender or rosemary essential oils felt more content than people who didn’t use essential oils.

Try body lotions, massage oils, and bath oils.

 

Nina