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Zero Waste Hair
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3 Ingredient Laundry Detergent

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Right now I have this giant container of laundry detergent that I bought because it is supposed to be eco-friendly and non-toxic.  While I believe it's better than most of what you can buy, it was relatively expensive and as I started doing a lot more DIY body care, I figured there had to be a way to do this right. 

First off, if you don't feel like homemaking every little thing like I am attempting to do, I'm going to start suggesting awesome products that you can buy and still go zero waste or low impact!

Retail alternative: The Simply co.

If you don't want to homemake your laundry detergent but still want a better option I'd recommend The Simply Co. This company was started by Lauren Singer who runs the zero waste blog Trash is for Tossers. Her laundry detergent has 3 (or 4 if you want scented) ingredients and is awesome!

Ok, so if you are still looking to homemake your laundry detergent here's what you'll need:

Ingredients

  1. 1 box Baking soda (about 14 oz)
  2. 1 box Washing soda (about 14 oz)
  3. 1 bar castile soap (about 5 oz)

To Make

  1. Mix baking soda and washing soda together
  2. Shave the whole bar of soap and mix it into your sodas
  3. You can put these in a blender/food processor for it to be extra powdery, this is particularly useful if you're like me and wash your laundry in cold water since it's easier for the detergent to dissolve.

 

To Use

  1. Add 1 Tbsp. for a small load (2-3 for large)
  2. I also use vinegar as a fabric softener, about 1/4 cup for a small load, 1/3-1/2 cup for large
    • Make sure the vinegar is put into a fabric softener section of the wash, or put it in for the rinse cycle.
    • Sometimes I throw some essential oils in the vinegar: I recommend 1-5 drops of lemon, lavender, and/or rosemary essential oils for washing (amount added will depend on brand of essential oils)

This recipe makes about 33 oz of detergent, which would give you approximately 65 small loads of laundry. You could double or triple the recipe if you wanted to.  

Cost

2 boxes of baking soda: $2.00

1 bar castille soap:        $4.50

Total: $7.50

Special Note: Washing soda  

So washing soda can be found at big stores like Walmart and Target, but not always.  I ran into this, no stores near me carry it.  However, washing soda is incredibly easy to make from baking soda: all you need is heat!  So if it's not readily available to you, and you're already savvy enough to make your own laundry detergent, just make the washing soda for it too. Follow this super easy DIY from mommypotamus to make your own!

Acknowledgements:

While my recipe is not a replication of any of these bloggers, I did use their posts for guidance and feel they should be acknowledged:

Katie of wellnessmama.com, Find her laundry detergent recipe here! 

Matt and Betsy Jabs of diynatural.com, find their laundry detergent recipe here! 

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DIY Shampoo and Conditioner

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You only need 3 ingredients for this DIY

  1. Baking soda
  2. Apple cider vinegar
  3. Water
  4. Essential oils (optional) 

I have flip flopped for about the past five years between making my own shampoo and trying different natural ones. I am now committing to my homemade solutions, which I actually got the idea for from my grandma!

Grammy knows that I swing pretty natural and when I told her that I wanted to stop using traditional shampoo and conditioner she told me that back in in the 30's and 40's she and her sister used a baking soda rinse for shampoo and a vinegar rinse as conditioner.

This led to some experimenting, some of which turned my hair greasy, some of which made me have small flecks of baking soda in my hair all the time, and finally one combination that worked super well for me!  

When I first transitioned I went cold turkey into new unexplored territory, but I would recommend transitioning into this regime by starting 1 day a week, then 2-3, etc.  You may need to alter the proportions slightly depending on your hair type, but this is a great guideline to follow! I also find with this routine I rarely need to wash my hair more than 2-3 times a week, unless I am doing strenuous workouts every day (which is honestly, not all that often). 

Not only are these recipes non-toxic and zero waste, but they are also SO much cheaper than buying the traditional stuff!

Baking Soda Shampoo

To Make: Mix about 3 Tbsp. of baking soda with 16 oz. of water.  Add 10-15 drops of your preferred essential oils.

To Use: Shake up until water is foggy and all of the baking soda is mixed into the solution. Pour over hair in 1-3 rounds. Make sure you get it over most of your scalp, as this is where oil originates.

Vinegar Conditioner

To Make: Mix about 5 parts water to 1 part apple cider vinegar. Add 10-20 drops of your preferred essential oils. 

To Use: Put solution in a small spray bottle.  Shake before use. After your baking soda rinse, spray the vinegar solution onto the lower half of your hair, I pay special attention to my tips. Let sit for a few minutes and then rinse with water. No vinegar smell should cling to your hair.

 Variations

These proportions work well for my hair which is combination to oily, very thick, and very long. If you have really oily hair you may want to increase the amount of baking soda. If you have very dry hair you may want to increase the proportion of vinegar, or spray the vinegar solution more liberally around all of your hair. I've read some suggestions to leave the vinegar in your hair, but I generally don't do this unless I'm doing some sort of treatment on it.

Good luck!

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Easy Homemade Deodorant

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Even before I started to go zero waste, I tried switching around my deodorants.  First I changed to more natural brands because I didn't want to be using the antiperspirants and found I was sensitive to the heavy perfumes.  Then, I discovered the natural brand deodorants were not working as well as they should have been, especially during workouts.  So I decided to go the homemade route.

First I started using just baking soda, right out of the box.  This worked fairly well, but was slightly irritating to my skin.  Then I stumbled upon a few recipes that really worked well for me personally. This one is my favorite, it's super simple and inexpensive to make.  I also think if you haven't ever tried homemade beauty/personal products this is a great place to start!

Ingredients

  1. Cornstarch, non-GMO if possible. 
  2. Baking soda
  3. Coconut oil
  4. Your preferred essential oils (optional)

Instructions

  1. Mix equal parts cornstarch and baking soda together
    • I use  1/3 cup of each
  2. Blend in coconut oil until the mixture reaches your preferred consistency
    • I use about 1/2 cup
  3. Optional: Add your preferred essential oils 
    • I use tea tree and jasmine oil
  4. Place your newly made deodorant in small jar for use
  5. To use just add a small dab under each arm with your fingertips!

Variations

  • Cornstarch can be replaced with arrowroot powder
  • Vitamin E oil can be replace or used with coconut oil

And there you have it! This takes about 5 min to make, and a jar can last me about 2-3 months easily.  This stuff works great for both men and women. 

The only problem I ever encountered with this recipe was one time it got warm enough for the oil to melt and then the ingredients separated.  To resolve this, I moved the jar to a cooler area, waited for it to re-congeal, and remixed it with a fork.

My DIY deodorant recipe is adapted from the "Man Stink Killer" deodorant originally created by Mommypotamus