Gentle Herbal Shampoo

Hello Everyone!

Today I am sharing with you a recipe for shampoo that I use at home and really love!
This shampoo keeps best in glass jars. You can really use any kind of jars you have around your home. I just put mine in an old spaghetti sauce jar (and then smaller jars to keep on the side of the tub.)! You will need to sterilize your jars first - this can easily be done by putting any jar(s) you are going to use in pot that is large enough to hold them and enough water to cover them by a couple inches. Boil the jars in the water for five minutes (including the lids, unless you are using corks.) And then remove them with tongs and put them upside-down on a tea towel or dish rack to dry. Now your jars are ready to hold shampoo! :)

You will need:

* 2 Tbsp fresh Parsley, loosely chopped
* 2 Tbsp fresh Sage leaves, loosely chopped
* 2 Tbsp dried Rosemary leaves
* 2 Tbsp dried Thyme leaves
* 1 Cup Boiling Water
* 1 Cup milk liquid Soap, such as Castille

Add herbs to boiling water then remove from heat. Cover the pot and let the herbs steep for 20 minutes. Add the castille soap and strain into your container. Make sure you let the shampoo stand overnight before using it. This shampoo is very sudsy and very gentle. It will not be as thick as commercial shampoo, but I find you do not need as much of it :) A little goes a long way!

Make Your Own Lip Balm!

~Ingredients~
* 1 Tbsp beeswax
* 1/4 Cup Almond Oil
* 1 Tablespoon Virgin Olive Oil
* 2 Tablespoons Rosewater
* 2 Teaspoons Honey
* 2 drops Essential Oil (your choice)

This recipe uses a double boiler, but if you don't have one you can use a heat proof bowl and hold it over a small pot of gently boiling water (use an oven mitt!).

-Melt the beeswax in a double boiler over a low heat. When all the beeswax is liquid, stir in the oils and rosewater. The essential oil can be anything that you would think would be nice on your lips. I used wintergreen, but peppermint, anise or sweet orange could also be nice! Then remove the pan from heat but leave the bowl or the top part of the double boiler on top. Stir in the honey. Lastly, pour the mixture into a glass bowl and beat until cool. The end result will be thick and creamy-white. Scoop your new lip balm into jars and share some with your friends! This recipe makes enough to share :)

Hello, everyone!

Welcome to my first blog! Thanks to the suggestions of some great friends I am creating this blog to share with everyone some fun D.I.Y. beauty product recipes.

The reason I am doing this is because there are currently so many poor little creatures out there living terrible lives to support the consumer beauty product industry! And sadly, there are so many companies out that put the cute little bunny pictures on their bottles, and advertise to be cruelty free while they are actually owned by larger parent companies who do employ animal testing routinely. So this means, even if that bottle of shampoo really hasn't been tested on animals, the ingredients most likely have been and you could be getting tricked into supporting a business that is hurting our furry little friends without even knowing it!

I know there are so many people out there who feel this is completely unacceptable, and I totally agree - which is why I am going to be posting here about how you can make your own gorgeous goodies! 

Thank you for reading, hope you will find something you love! :)