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In the Health & Beauty seciton, I keep reading stuff about toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste etc) made with Bicarbonate of soda...

what I need is some simple instructions on how to make these - quantities, how to store them, how long it should keep etc.

we are living on virtually nothing - If I dont sell eggs, we dont buy food... so I need all the tips I can get to make a little go a lot further!!
thanks

For the 'shampoo' I put 1 tbsp in a cup of hot water (if your hair is very thick and curly you may need a little more). I make it around half an hour before I shower.

I've read bicarb opens the pores so you need something afterwards to close them. I've been on bicarb for 8 days now and love my hair at the moment. Apparently after a week or two more I'll be able to wash it less often. For the vinegar rinse I put 1 tbsp of vinegar in another cup of water and add whatever EO I like or add the white wine vinegar to a cup of camomile tea. I've read that apple cider vinegar is best, but I've not been able to find a bottle yet. Or you can use lemon juice.

It's basically an experiment, try for a week then if you find your hair is too greasy, too dry or anything then alter the amounts.

Toothpaste -3 tbsp bicarb, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tbsp glycerine, 20 drops peppermint is the recipe I followed. Couldn't get the OH to try it though so I went back to buying.

Don't forget you can also use Bicarb as a stain remover round the house when mixed as a paste and as a softener/stain remover for your clothes. It also gets rid of nasty smells in stuff, as well as deodorant, an antacid. Great for stubborn food bits on pans. Probably some other stuff I've not thought of too. So it's good to get a big bag of it :)

chickenchargrill wrote:I've read bicarb opens the pores so you need something afterwards to close them.

Cold water will close them up for you

For toothpaste you can just moisten the toothbrush and dip it in the bicarb. Tastes bad, but you get used to it.

Penny Lane wrote:

chickenchargrill wrote:I've read bicarb opens the pores so you need something afterwards to close them.

Cold water will close them up for you

Fab, thanks. I couldn't get why the site I looked at said you have to use an acidic conditioner each time, then later said to try and only use the conditioner once a week. If cold water works that makes things easier.

I just found this list which gives 61 uses for bicarb, or baking soda as it's American.

http://www.bellybytes.com/articles/bakingsoda.shtml

chickenchargrill wrote: I couldn't get why the site I looked at said you have to use an acidic conditioner each time, then later said to try and only use the conditioner once a week. If cold water works that makes things easier.

Bicarb is an alkaline substance. If you only use bicarb, it can alter the ph of the surface of your skin, making it easier for harmful bacteria and/or fungi to grow. Rinsing with a mild acid changes the ph back.

Most of the more harmful microbes don't like acidic environments, that's why pickling works to keep foods from spoiling. The human body is naturally slightly acidic for the same reason.