Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World (3 page)

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Homemade Tooth Powder

PREPARATION:
2 min

Powders of chalk, charcoal, salt, and various ground medicinal barks and herbs are the oldest dentifrices. More recently, baking soda has become a sort of “people’s toothpaste.” Many of our grandparents used it during the Great Depression, and its simplicity and low cost make it a fantastic alternative to artificially sweet, chemical-loaded commercial toothpastes.

Baking soda is primarily a deodorizer and a mild abrasive. It is less abrasive than salt and certainly less abrasive than the silica (sand) found in many whitening brands of toothpaste. Moreover, baking soda’s abrasive qualities break down quickly when it comes in contact with water or saliva. The taste is undeniably salty, but it leaves your mouth clean and fresh, with no lingering aftertaste. Just be sure to rinse well after use.

YOU’LL NEED

• Small jar with lid (A baby food jar works well.)
  
• Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), approximately ¼ cup
  
• Peppermint essential oil (or anise essential oil)
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Fill the jar with baking soda. Flavor it by adding a few drops of essential oil, then shake to distribute the oil. Let your nose be your guide as to exactly how much oil to use, but start off by trying 10 drops per ¼ cup of soda.

To use, wet your toothbrush (or other brushing implement) and dip it in the jar. If you are especially concerned about your breath, add 1 single drop of peppermint essential oil to the bristles of your brush before you begin. Brush as usual, and rinse well.

Note:
A small jar is ideal because the essential oils fade over time, so it’s best to mix the powder in small batches. It’s also more hygienic, since you’ll be dipping your brush in the jar. It’s doubtful that nasty bugs can live in that saline environment, but you should clean the jar before refilling it.

VARIATION:
Instead of using essential oil for flavor, mix 1 part baking soda with 1 part dried and powdered sage leaves. Sage is especially good for troubled gums.

04>

A Minimalist Mouthwash

PREPARATION:
5 min

Here’s a simple mouthwash, a liquid variant on the tooth powder. It freshens the mouth any time of the day without dosing you with alcohol, harsh antiseptics, and artificial flavors. It’s particularly useful in conjunction with toothbrush twigs, since they’re used without a dentifrice.

YOU’LL NEED

• Glass jar or bottle with a lid and at least a 1-cup capacity (A jelly jar works well enough for this purpose, but an attractive bottle would be more fun.)
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  
• Peppermint essential oil
  
• Tea tree oil (optional)
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Fill the jar or bottle with the water and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Add 4 drops of the peppermint essential oil and 1 or 2 drops of the tea tree oil, if using. The optional tea tree oil makes the mouthwash more antiseptic. Shake well before each use.

Simple Ideas for Fresh Breath

Drink a glass of water. Stale breath is often the result of dehydration. Drink a big glass of water when you wake up, and alternate water with coffee and tea during the day.

Take a tip from India: Keep a bowl of fennel seeds around the house and carry a small vial of them in your bag. Fennel seeds not only freshen the breath after a meal, but they also promote digestion. You can buy the festive sugared kind at Indian markets or harvest fennel seeds in the wild. Other breath-freshening seeds include anise, dill, and cardamom.

Chew on a sprig of fresh Italian parsley or a few mint leaves. If you’re packing a lunch, remember to put a few sprigs from your garden in your lunch box. Nibbling on organic citrus rinds is also a good trick.

Enjoy one of the Curiously Homemade Peppermints (Project 40).

05>

Giving Up the Bottle: Four Natural Shampoo Alternatives

Commercial hair care products treat hair as a blank canvas. Shampoos strip it of its natural oils. Conditioners replace those oils with synthetic equivalents. Styling products shape chemically subdued hair into many forms, usually in conjunction with heat. Those styling products leave a heavy residue on the hair that must be stripped daily with shampoo, then reapplied.

DRY SHAMPOO

On days you oversleep, or when you wish to stretch intervals between washings, spot-treat greasy hair with dry shampoo. Cornstarch absorbs oil very well but can give a grayish cast to dark hair. Brunettes might prefer to use unsweetened cocoa powder. Put a towel over your shoulders to protect your clothes. Rub a small amount (½ teaspoon or less) of either cornstarch or cocoa powder between your fingers and work it into the hairline, wherever hair is the most oily. Don’t spread it farther than that area, and use as little powder as possible. Leave it in a minute to absorb oil, then brush out the powder.

The combined effects of daily applications of detergents, heat, and drying chemicals make the hair lifeless and dull, completely dependent on styling products to give it the body and shine it should have naturally.

Hair cleaned by natural, gentle methods is strong and shiny and resilient. It doesn’t need conditioner, because it retains its natural oils. It doesn’t require styling products, because it retains its natural weight and texture. All it needs is a little brushing to bring out its shine or a touch of oil to tame its curl.

The transition from a heavily processed hair care regime to a simple one takes a bit of adjustment. First and foremost, you must give up the notion that shampooed hair must be so clean that it squeaks. Squeaky hair is overwashed hair. All of our shampoo alternatives will clean your hair, but your hair won’t squeak between your fingers in the shower. It will have more texture when wet than you’re accustomed to. This is the feel of its natural oils—not dirt. Those natural oils will give hair weight, body, and shine. At the start of this transition, your hair may seem more greasy than usual. This is because your scalp, accustomed to harsh daily cleansing, is overproducing oil. After a few weeks of gentle washing, your scalp will adjust to the new routine and stop producing so much oil. As a result, you may ultimately find that you can go longer and longer between washings.

Alternative 1: Homemade Shampoo Bars

By ditching the bottle for the bar, you save money, packaging, and space in the shower. If you’ve ever tried to wash your hair with a bar of commercial body soap, you’ll know it leaves the hair gunky and coarse. Homemade soap is a different beast. It is much gentler than its commercial counterparts because it is made with high-grade oils, and because it retains all its natural glycerin. Glycerin, a moisturizer, is a byproduct of the saponification process. Because glycerin adds value to more expensive products like face cream and lipstick, it is usually extracted from mass-produced soap in the factory and sold off for those uses. If you make your own soap, you get to keep all the glycerin—and feel the difference. Homemade soap formulated for the hair gently cleans hair and scalp without overstripping natural oils. As a result, no conditioner is necessary.

YOU’LL NEED

• Our Peppermint-Rosemary Shampoo Bar or our Genuine Castile Soap (see Project 42). You can also buy shampoo bars at health food stores and through online retailers.
  
• Bottle of vinegar rinse, as described in Project 6 (optional)
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

To use a shampoo bar, just rub it with water between your hands to build up lather, then work that lather into the scalp, just as you would normal shampoo. Follow with a vinegar rinse (Project 6) to rinse away any lingering traces of soap (this is important if you have hard water) and to restore the pH balance of your hair, leaving it shiny and manageable.

By the way, shampoo bars work well on the body, too, streamlining your shower routine and minimizing clutter in the bath.

Alternative 2: Baking Soda Shampoo

PREPARATION:
2 min

Diluted baking soda makes an excellent clarifying shampoo. It’s the strongest alternative shampoo, too strong for daily use, but it excels at removing product buildup and is good to employ when your hair needs a deep cleaning.

YOU’LL NEED

• 1 tablespoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  
• 1 cup water
  
• Spray bottle (optional)
  
• Vinegar rinse (Project 6)
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Dissolve the baking soda in the water. (Never exceed this ratio of 1 tablespoon soda to 1 cup water. In fact, the less baking soda you can contrive to use, the better.) Pour the mixture over your hair or apply it with a spray bottle, then work it through. Always follow a baking soda shampoo with a vinegar rinse.

Alternative 3: Garden-Grown Shampoo

PREPARATION:
45 min

Intrepid
DIY
ers might ask how they’d manage to wash their hair if they didn’t have access to baking soda or the materials for soap making. The answer is that you could grow shampoo in the garden. Soapwort
(Saponaria officinalis),
also known as bouncing bet, fuller’s herb, or sweet Betty, is a pretty, sweet-smelling, flowering perennial herb that contains saponins, which are natural surfactants, in its roots and foliage. Europeans brought this plant to the New World specifically for washing, and in many places it has naturalized and grows wild. Soapwort is easy to grow from seed—it grows all over the United States—and will cheerfully take over your yard if given half a chance. It’s considered an invasive plant in some places, which to our way of thinking is a virtue. This means it’s hardy and fast growing, a plus for a plant that you intend to harvest in quantity.

Use the flowers, leaves, stems, and roots to make a liquid cleanser for hair or body. Harvest the roots in the autumn and dry them for winter use, but don’t dry the green parts—the foliage is best used when fresh. Dried soapwort root is sold by bulk herbal suppliers.

YOU’LL NEED

• 1 ounce dried or fresh soapwort root, crushed; or 10 fresh stems, approximately 6 to 8 inches long, roughly chopped
  
• 3 cups water (Distilled water or rainwater is best.)
  
• 2 tablespoons dried herb of your choice, or 2 handfuls of fresh herbs (optional; see the list of hair-enhancing herbs on page
  20
  .)
  
• 10 drops of any essential oil, for scent (optional)
  
• Plastic squeeze bottle or spray bottle
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

In a stainless steel or enamel saucepan, combine the soapwort and water. Bring to a boil and simmer gently, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the additional herbs, if using. They are not necessary but can be added for scent or hair care properties. Cover the pot again and let everything steep off the heat for at least 30 minutes. Strain out the solids, add essential oils for extra scent, if you like, and bottle the liquid.

Soapwort liquid is thin, and its cleaning properties are mild. You have to use more of it to wash your hair than regular shampoo—about 1 cup, depending on the length of your hair. Spray or pour the mixture over dry hair and work it through until your hair is saturated. It will not lather. Leave it on for a few minutes (the length of your shower, for instance), then rinse well. Avoid getting it in your eyes, because it will sting.

Soapwort plant

Soapwort shampoo will spoil quickly, so store it in the refrigerator and use it in 3 to 5 days.

Alternative 4: Soap Nut Shampoo

PREPARATION:
30 min

Soap nuts are the fruit of the soap nut tree,
Sapindus mukorossi.
They are sold as a natural laundry soap alternative, but they can also be used to make shampoo. The saponins in soap nuts are more concentrated than those in soapwort, so they make a stronger shampoo. See page
82
for more information about using and buying soap nuts.

YOU’LL NEED

• 10 soap nuts
  
• 1 quart water
  
• 10-15 drops of essential oil in your choice of scent (optional)
  
• Spray bottle or squeeze bottle
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Combine the soap nuts and water in a stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Simmer at low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain out the nuts, and cool. When the mixture is cool, stir in the essential oils, if using, and then bottle the mixture.

The liquid is thin, so it may be easier to apply with a spray bottle. Work the mixture into the scalp and through the hair, but don’t expect it to foam. In fact, it won’t feel like it’s doing much at all, but it
is
cleaning. You just have to learn to trust it.

Soap nut tea doesn’t spoil fast, like soapwort shampoo, but it is still a natural product. Store most of it in the fridge to keep it fresh, and transfer a cup or so at a time to a smaller bottle for the bath. It’s fine to leave out for a couple of days at a time.

Hair-Enhancing Herbs