Monthly Archives: April 2012

Treat Ringworm With Garlic

My daughter has had ringworm twice when she was smaller and both times I didn’t want to use any of the conventional antifungal treatments, instead I did my research on natural alternatives and decided to give garlic a try. And it probably is the best remedy you can find to treat ringworm because we got rid of it with just about 3 days! While with antifungal treatments found in pharmacy it is said to take up to 2 weeks before the ringworm disappears.

What you need to do is take one full clove of garlic, cut it in half and rub the cut part onto the ringworm. Simple as that! I did it about 1 or 2 times in a day but if the ringworm seems to be very persistent then feel free to do it even more frequently. Of course the skin should be clean before rubbing on the garlic and also it is a good idea to change clothes and sheets more often when dealing with ringworm as it is a fungal infection and can spread easily by contact.


April 27, 2012Permalink 2 Comments

DIY Dishwashing Liquid and Laundry Detergent Out Of Soap Nuts

Recently I have rediscovered soap nuts. I have used ready-made soap nut liquid before as a laundry detergent but this is the first time that I made my own from scratch! So basically all you need is whole soap nuts, water and some essential oil of your choice (optional).

Bring 3 cups of water to boil, add about 10 full nuts to the boiling water (it’s better to break them into smaller pieces first) and boil on a medium heat for about 30 minutes. Then set aside and leave the liquid to cool.

Strain away the nut shells and pour into a container of your choice, then add the essential oil if using.

Note that the soap nut liquid will be more watery than your regular dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent and not as foamy so it takes time to get used to it. At first I used way more of the liquid than was necessary but once you master it you’ll see that it works just as fine : )

April 25, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

How To Unclog Drains The Easy And Natural Way

This is pretty popular method for opening up clogged drains without harsh and expensive chemicals so you might have heard of it already but just in case I’ll post it here as well as a reminder : ) It’s so easy that at first I couldn’t believe that it would work but there’s one key ingredient that makes it happen and that’s boiling hot water. Using just baking soda and vinegar doesn’t have the same effect, you also need to add boiling water.

So if you have any clogged drains then first pour about 5-8 tablespoons of baking soda into the drain, don’t worry if it all won’t go down, it’s gonna work anyway. Then pour about 1 or 2 cups of white vinegar on top of the baking soda, wait a few minutes and enjoy the bubbling reaction and then pour full kettle (about 1 liter) of boiling water down the drain as well. Should work like magic and if it doesn’t then you probably have some more serious problem in your drains because so far this method has worked every time I’ve used it : )

April 22, 2012Permalink 1 Comment

Foot Cream With Pumice Stone Powder

Here’s a recipe for a foot cream that not only softens the rough skin on the feet but also gently removes dead skin cells leaving the feet even softer : ) Feel free to add it to other dry areas as well like knees and elbows.

Here’s what you’ll need to make the cream:

10 ml of beeswax, 50 g of shea butter, 25 ml oil of your choice (I used sesame oil), 50 ml aloe vera gel (here’s how you can make your own), 14 drops of grapefruit seed extract, half a teaspoon of vitamin E oil, 14 drops of eucalyptus essential oil, 2 teaspoons of pumice stone powder.

Melt the beeswax and shea butter in a small pot, remove the pot from the stove and add the 25 ml of oil and aloe vera gel. Whip with a whisk until the mixture has cooled and taken a creamy texture then add the grapefruit seed extract, vitamin E oil, eucalyptus essential oil, pumice stone powder and whip some more. When ready then pour into a clean container.

For more amazing natural skin care recipes check out this link.

 

April 19, 2012Permalink 2 Comments

DIY: Tooth Powder With Whitening Effect

The idea to make my own tooth powder originates from here but I adjusted the recipe a bit and added one more whitening ingredient besides baking soda (actually you can skip baking soda altogether because in the long run it’s not very good idea to use it daily because it can damage the tooth enamel) and didn’t add the myrrh gum powder at all right now because it’s not very wise to use it during pregnancy.


So to make my version of the tooth powder you’ll need to take about 2 tablespoons of full dried stevia leaves. Grind them well with mortar and pestle:

If you have a fine powder of the stevia leaves then add about 8 tablets (or open up 8 capsules) of activated charcoal and grind some more:

Then add about 2 tablespoons of baking soda (if using), 2 tablespoons of Bentonite clay (French green clay would work fine as well), 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder and 1 tablespoon of clove powder. Stir it all well and you’ll have your own tooth powder which leaves your mouth really fresh tasting and smelling (thanks to stevia and cinnamon) and your teeth pearly white (thanks to baking soda and activated charcoal)

 

April 15, 2012Permalink 2 Comments

Kefir Tampons To Cure Vaginal Yeast Infection

In the past few weeks I’ve been having some trouble with vaginal yeast infection and since I’m in the last trimester of my pregnancy then I needed to cure it fast and safely and the best way to do that is to use kefir tampons. It may sound strange at first but it really works and it works well. It’s the good bacteria found in kefir that takes care of the yeast infection so if you don’t have kefir at hand then any plain yogurt with some lactic acid bacteria culture in it should work fine as well.

What you need to do is soak the tampon briefly in the kefir or yogurt and insert it as you normally would. You can leave it in for few minutes or even overnight, however you feel comfortable with. Usually I can feel improvement already after using just one tampon but if the infection is really fierce then just in case use more.

If this does not work, you can click here to try this alternative method.

April 14, 2012Permalink 5 Comments

Raw Kitchen Corner: Cocoa And Coconut Pudding

Here’s one dessert recipe that I find myself making over and over again because every time I make it, it gets better and better : )

You’ll need: 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup Cashew nuts, 1 tbsp pine nuts, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp whole cocoa beans (or if you don’t have the cocoa beans at hand then you can put 4 tbsp of cocoa powder), 3-4 tbsp dried coconut flakes, 1/2 cup coconut oil, ~1/3 cup raw sweetener of your choice, dash of salt.

Place all the ingredients into a blender, blend well, pour to serving glasses, refrigerate for at least 1 hour before eating and serve with some fruit pieces/berries and coconut flakes : )

Featured on Food Renegade

 

April 12, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Clay And Lemon Juice Mixture As A Natural Shampoo

Recently I ran out of my shampoo bar and didn’t buy a new one because for a while already I’ve been wanting to try out something even more natural, as I am constantly trying to reduce the number of “products” in my home. I knew that baking soda can be used as a shampoo but I had already tried it a few times and it didn’t suit me too well so I kept on searching for other alternatives until I heard from someone that clay can be used as a shampoo. And it did sound logical to me because clay does draw out oils and impurities from the hair and scalp and at the same time gives back minerals for healthy hair growth. After all, there are so many clay-based shampoos out there as well. So I gave it a try, but using just pure clay powder didn’t really leave me with as squeaky clean hair as I would’ve wanted and the research continued. Until I learned that some people also use lemon juice as hair wash and that’s when I came up with the idea to combine the clay powder and lemon juice together to make my shampoo. And it worked! The mixture left my hair as clean as I had expected and also no conditioner is needed after shampooing as the hair is really easily manageable after washing.

Note that if you try to convert to using clay and lemon juice shampoo after years of using conventional shampoos then the first times probably won’t be too satisfying as the hair and scalp need to adjust to the lack of chemicals but don’t give up and be patient cos when your hair is cleansed of the chemical residue then you will start seeing the benefits that the clay and lemon juice have in store for your hair. Lemon juice also works as a mild bleach so after using it for a while you can expect to have some highlights : )

So which clay to use? Right now I’m using French green clay powder but I think that Rhassoul and Bentonite clay would also work well. You can also dig and dry your own clay if you can find it. I know people who dig clay from the bottom of a lake for example and use that as a shampoo and also I know that people have dug red clay from the seaside in Ibiza while vacationing and brought it along so be creative and don’t restrict yourself to only buying naturally occurring ingredients : )


So what I do to make the shampoo is take about 3 tablespoons of the clay powder (I have quite fine shoulder length hair so if you have thicker or longer hair then feel free to use more powder):

Squeeze juice from half a lemon onto the powder:

Give it a stir and you should have a thick and even a bit foamy mixture:

If needed then add more lemon juice or clay powder : ) Then add it to wet hair like you normally would while shampooing and you can even leave it on for few minutes before rinsing.

 

April 10, 2012Permalink 4 Comments

Chair Restoration The Crafty Way

Recently I got a chair from my mum that had been a little bit (ok, quite a lot) damaged by her new puppy but since the chair was still in one piece and otherwise usable then I didn’t just want to throw it out. So I figured that if I can’t repair it then at least I can cover it : ) And with a little help from knitting the outcome is quite cute. So here’s what the chair looked like when it arrived:

And here’s my solution how to fix it:

The idea originates from pinterest, but I’m not that good in handicrafts yet to take on such a project, so just my yellow knitted patch will have to do : )

 

 

 

 

 

April 7, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Simple Teeth Whitening Remedies That You Can Make And Use At Home

If you want more natural options for whitening your teeth than the ones sold in stores or used by dentists then you can easily whiten your teeth at home as well if you happen to have activated charcoal, lemon and soda.

The simplest remedy is to use just activated charcoal for whitening your teeth. All you need is either tablets or capsules of activated charcoal. If using tablets then you can just rub the tablets onto your teeth until they dissolve and then keep on rubbing your teeth with either your finger or toothbrush. If you have capsules of activated charcoal then open one capsule and pour the charcoal powder onto your toothbrush and start brushing your teeth. No need to worry about the color either as it will all come off while rinsing your mouth leaving you with whiter teeth.


The other remedy for teeth whitening is made by mixing about 1 or 2 teaspoons of baking soda with fresh lemon juice.

When mixing the two then you should end up with something that resembles toothpaste

Now add some paste to your toothbrush and rub your teeth for about 5 minutes. You can add more paste to your toothbrush while brushing to use up all the paste. This mixture will leave your gums tingling a bit (or a lot, depending how sensitive you are) but don’t give up before at least 5 minutes of brushing. The tingling will pass soon after you have finished brushing and rinsed your mouth.

April 3, 2012Permalink 2 Comments