Tag Archives: baking soda uses

U is for Unusual Uses for Everyday Items

Posted on August 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

U can Use a lot of what U have on hand for unusual uses for your natural health and your natural beauty.  We all have toothpaste, right?  Well, it’s not just for brushing your teeth.  Toothpaste is a great way to fill in the holes in your walls or to take the sting out of insect bites.  Toothpaste also works great on drying out pimples and will remove yellow stains from your nails!

Here are 25 or more tips for unusual uses for everyday items:

  1.  Olive oil can be used to moisturize your cuticles, remove eye makeup and unstick a zipper.
  2. Cut a tennis ball in half and make earphones out of them – cutting down on noise can cut down on stress!
  3. Vinegar can make your sweaters fluffier.  Pour a few capfuls of it into the rinse cycle and your cardigans will feel soft and lush.
  4. Vinegar also adjusts the pH levels in your hair which will degrease oily hair.  Shampoo.  Rinse with a ¼ cup of vinegar, and rinse again.
  5. Baking soda has a multitude of unusual uses.  You can use it as a deodorant under your arms to absorb odor.
  6. Baking soda can be made into a paste to exfoliate your skin.  3 parts baking soda to one part water.  Gently massage with circular motion and rinse.
  7. Baking soda rubbed into a wet scalp controls dandruff.  And baking soda can ease the pain of indigestion (1/2 tsp. BS in 1 cup of water).
  8. Lemons have Lots of uses.   Use it for your natural beauty when you need to lighten up ugly age spots.  Put lemon juice directly on the spots for 15 minutes.  Rinse with water.  Repeat daily until the spots are spotless.
  9. Lemons can be made into a natural hair spray!  Cut up a lemon and boil it in two cups of water, reducing the liquid to half.  Cool and put in a spray bottle.  Lemon spray keeps your hair in place and smelling fresh.
  10. Looking to smooth out your lips and get rid of the dry, flaky skin there?  Use the sticky side of clear scotch tape.  Or apply a little piece of clear tape to your nail to test the color of nail polish and then remove it!
  11. Got marshmallows left over from a camping trip?  Use them in between your toes for a pedicure.
  12. Vaseline – perfect for waylaying color disasters on your skin when you’re dyeing your hair or polishing your nails.  Just apply around the perimeter of your nails or scalp and wipe away any drips and drabs.
  13. Yogurt is one of our “go to bests” for natural health and beauty.  (See previous post - Yogurt – On You, in You, and All Over You) Today’s tip is cooling off burns with yogurt – burn your forehead with a curling iron?  No problem!  Put some yogurt on it to speed up healing.
  14. Need a little more room in your pants after a binge?  While you’re dieting and exercising and drinking more water to lose the weight, you can expand your pants with a rubber band attached to your waist button, put through the buttonhole and secured on the other side.
  15. Spoons are very handy!  Especially if you want to curl your lashes.  Cup the spoon over your closed eye as close to the lash line as you can.  With one of the fingers on the other hand, press your lashes using the outer edge of the spoon and hold.  Voila, curly lashes!
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Posted in frugal beauty, homemade beauty products, natural beauty, Natural Health

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D is for Double Duty Kitchen Cosmetics – Baking SoDa Does it!

Posted on February 15, 2012 | 1 Comment

Baking Soda for Natural Health and Natural Beauty

Baking Soda isn’t just double duty – it’s quadruple or quintuple duty for your health, your face, your skin and your hair.

Baking soda is great for cleaning your dentures or your natural teeth.  Soak your dentures in a solution of baking soda and water for sparkling freshness!  Baking soda is a naturally effective way to clean your teeth without scratching them, as well as for fighting bad breath by sprinkling some baking soda on your toothbrush.

A wonderful homemade toothpaste can be made easily – just add 3 parts baking soda to 1 part salt,  3 tsp. of glycerin, and 10 to 20 drops of essential oils of either peppermint, wintergreen, anise, or cinnamon.  Mix with  enough water to make a paste.

Or for a simpler solution that will still clean your teeth, simply sprinkle baking soda into your palm, dip a damp toothbrush into it, and brush your teeth.

Other uses for baking soda include a dry wash for your hair in between regular washings; or you can make your own deodorant using 1/2 C. baking soda, 1/2 C. cornstarch, a few drops of your favorite essential oils (Cedar and sage are appealing to men). Put everything into a glass jar and shake it up. Sprinkle a little onto a damp washcloth, pat on your underarms without rinsing.

The wondrous magic of baking soda doesn’t stop there – you can use it to sprinkle on your carpets and make them smell fresh, to remove stains on cups by making a paste and rubbing it over the stain and rinsing, or you can even unclog your drains in a naturally healthy way by making a solution of ½ cup soda mixed with ½ cup vinegar which you pour into a clogged drain. Cover it with a wet cloth, wait 5 minutes, uncover, and flush with steaming-hot water.

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Posted in homemade beauty products, Natural Health, Recipes

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D is for Dandruff – DIY Deletion

Posted on September 7, 2011 | 2 Comments

Dandruff Home Remedies for Natural Beauty

I love it when someone comes up to me and tells me that one of my natural health or natural beauty remedies really helped them!  How great is that?  So the other day when I was with a friend and she told me that baking soda had cured her dandruff, I got really excited as this week is “D” and D is for Dandruff – Darn Dots!

Here are a few more natural health remedies that will help you get rid of those nasty flakes -

Coconut Oil works great.  Put enough warm coconut oil to cover your whole scalp into a bowl and add half as much of lemon juice to it. The warm oil makes it easier for the two to mix, although they won’t completely dissolve into liquid.  Apply this on your scalp and leave overnight, covering your head with a shower cap. Shampoo with warm water  in the morning. This will not only help relieve you of your dandruff problem but also reduce hair loss.  See C is for Coconut Oil – Many Uses for Natural Beauty.

Tea Tree Oil is a natural anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.  Put about 4 or 5 drops into your regular shampoo and use this to get rid of dandruff.  Massage well into the scalp (this will help to loosen flakes) and rinse with warm water.

Apple Cider Vinegar is a great product for your hair, not only to help get rid of dandruff, but also to make it shine.  Mix one to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with about a cup of warm water, pour it on your scalp and let it sit for about three minutes.  Rinse well with warm water.  See V is for Vinegar – ACV for Natural Health.

Combining the tea tree shampoo with an ACV rinse afterwards will work wonders.  And don’t forget my friend’s excellent results with baking soda!  Out, out damn dandruff!

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Posted in frugal beauty, homemade beauty products, Natural Health

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W is for White Teeth & A Young Looking Smile

Posted on July 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

White Teeth - Natural Beauty

I believe that a smile can lift your spirits and change your outlook on life.  I also believe that white teeth improve a person’s looks and make them look beautiful, healthy and younger.

You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on professional teeth whitening at the dentist.  There are natural home solutions for changing unsightly, age-increasing, yellow teeth to white teeth.

The easiest and least expensive method of whitening teeth naturally is to use baking soda and peroxide.  I put about a tablespoon of baking soda into the palm of my hand and then add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide, just enough to make a paste, but not enough to make it liquid.  You can always add more baking soda.  Dip your toothbrush into the paste and brush.  You’ll be amazed at how white your teeth will be and how coffee and wine stains will disappear.

Strawberries, which contain malic acid that acts as a natural bleaching agent, are a great way to whiten your teeth. Crush the strawberry to a pulp, then mix with the baking soda until blended. Spread the mixture onto your teeth using a soft toothbrush. Leave on for 5 minutes, then brush thoroughly with toothpaste to remove the baking soda/strawberry mixture. Rinse.  If you get any strawberry seeds in between your teeth, use dental floss to remove them (flossing is key to healthy teeth!).

Using a darker shade of lipstick can make your teeth appear whiter and will increase your natural beauty.  But having white teeth and a healthy smile is the biggest boon to age-defying natural beauty!

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Posted in Anti-aging, homemade beauty products, natural beauty

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