Tag Archives: stevia leaves

DIY: Herbal Tooth Powder Without Baking Soda

Here’s one recipe for herbal tooth powder without any added baking soda. Since I ran out of my last tooth powder then now I decided to make a new one without baking soda because it is said to damage the tooth enamel when using long term. I’m not saying I won’t use baking soda ever again in a tooth powder, just a short break once in a while is a good thought : )

So here’s what you’ll need to make my herbal tooth powder: 2 tablespoons of whole dried stevia leaves, 2 tablespoons of whole dried peppermint leaves, 2 tablespoons of whole dried sage leaves, 1 tablespoon of neem powder (or 2 tablespoons of whole dried neem leaves) and 4 tablespoons of Bentonite clay.


Grind the herbs with mortar and pestle first:

And then add the neem powder and Bentonite clay and stir:

 

I chose exactly those herbs because the stevia gives the tooth powder a mildly sweet taste and also helps to improve dental health thanks to its antibacterial properties. The peppermint freshens the breath and also has strong antibacterial and antiviral properties. Sage is said to act as teeth whitener and cleaner plus it helps to keep your gums healthy. Neem powder helps to prevent periodontal disease and tooth decay. And I added the Bentonite clay because it mildly polishes and re-mineralizes the teeth.

 

May 27, 2012Permalink 1 Comment

Anti-Aging And Deep Cleansing Soap Nut Face Wash

This will be the last post from the soap nut series for a while, I promise : D I just couldn’t resist sharing this soap nut based face wash recipe as well. It’s quite simple really, the base is soap nut liquid again just as with the soap nut shampoo plus loads of added skin purifying and rejuvenating ingredients.

So first what you need to do is make the soap nut liquid by boiling 7 whole soap nuts in about 2 cups of water for 30 minutes on a medium heat. I also added a green tea bag into the boiling soap nut water because it has antioxidant (read: anti-aging) and anti-inflammatory activities when added to the skin. Then let the mixture cool and drain out the soap nuts and tea bag.

Then I used mortar and pestle to grind about 2 tablespoons of whole stevia leaves and 20 tablets of activated charcoal (if you’re using capsules of activated charcoal then skip the grinding part and just open up the capsules). Turns out that stevia leaf powder isn’t only good for your oral health but also for your skin. It effectively softens and tightens the skin, smoothes out wrinkles and helps to heal acne. Activated charcoal when added topically absorbs into the pores of your skin and draws out dirt and oils, meaning that it can help eliminate acne, bumps and blackheads.

I also added 4 tablespoons of Dead Sea mud, 2 tablespoons of neem powder and 2 tablespoons of rice powder to the face wash mixture. The Dead Sea mud helps in treatment of various skin ailments such as acne, eczema and psoriasis, it is said to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and hydrate and moisturize the skin. And just like activated charcoal it sucks out impurities and toxins from the skin. The neem powder acts as an astringent and tones the skin. The rice powder contains ferulic acid and allantoin. Ferulic acid is a powerful antioxidant and allantoin is a good anti-inflammatory agent, it soothes sunburns and promotes the skin’s repair. Rice powder also has some whitening effect on the skin.

When you have mixed all the ingredients together then add about 1 tablespoon of vitamin E oil for better preservation. You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

*If you want the face wash liquid to be less like a liquid and more like a paste so that you could also use it as a face mask then feel free to add any clay of your choice to make it thicker (I would recommend Rhassoul or French green clay for example)

 

 

May 8, 2012Permalink 1 Comment

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