Hi, I’m Rachel! I’m a crafter, artist, and author of the Cornflower Blue blog.
I knit constantly, ride my bike everywhere I go, and spend a lot of time cooking and playing with my cats. I am also fortunate enough to have a good-humored husband who doesn’t mind crafty messes scattered throughout the house.
I’ve been using these recipes for facial scrub and deodorant and I’m totally hooked! My skin is very sensitive and I have a couple of contact allergies so simple, gentle, natural ingredients are important to me.
The facial scrub was inspired my Rosemary Gladstar’s book, Family Herbal. I modified her recipe for cleansing grains, just making simpler and perfect for a calming, soothing, scrub!
I make the facial scrub in a small food processor with just three ingredients… oatmeal, almonds, and lavender flowers. You don’t really have to measure it, but a mix of about 1/3 cups of oatmeal, a handful of almonds (raw & unsalted), and 1 tablespoon of lavender seems to have a good balance. Process the ingredients until they are evenly ground, but still nice and gritty.
I store my scrub in a spice jar on the bathroom shelf, which is convenient for shaking out a little at a time. To use the scrub, put a little in the palm of your hand and mix with a few drops of water. Dampen your face a bit and gently rub in the scrub. I like to use it for at least a full minute, sometimes longer. The oats really start to soften and make your skin feel wonderful. Just google “oatmeal and skin” for a bunch of information on the benefits of oats.
I found the deodorant recipe here, and it had me at the words “coconut oil”! Coconut oil is so rich and good for the skin, I love it love it love it. Before trying this recipe, I was using a homemade deodorant powder but wasn’t happy with the way it sat on my skin and seemed to wear off. This recipe fixes that problem by adding the coconut oil – otherwise, it is pretty much the same. Coconut oil is genius.
To make the deodorant, mix 1/4 cup of arrowroot powder and 1/4 cup of baking soda in a bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of room temperature coconut oil and about 10 drops of your favorite essential oil (I used sweet orange oil in this batch, it smells great!). Stir it vigorously with a fork to mix it all together. When it is all mixed and creamy, store it in a lidded container at room temperature. To use, scoop out a little bit and rub it onto your skin. Coconut oil melts right into your skin, it’s amazing!
Let me know if you give either of these recipes a try!
“Green Your Beauty Routine” Homemade Beauty Products
Homemade Foot Soak
Homemade Hair Treatment
The Asprin Mask Treatment
Mariel says
My deodorant totally dries up my skin, so I’m excited to try this! Thanks, Rachel! 🙂
EMILY says
I have never heard of homemade deodorant. I imagine it is not an anti-perspirant? I wonder how well it works??? Maybe I will have to try it. Thanks!
shauna says
I plan to make that homemade deoderant. I’ve been looking for something more than just baking soda. Thanks for sharing
Mariel says
Shauna, I would love to hear how it turns out!
Mariel
shauna says
Mariel…I made some on Saturday night. Of course it was after the store closed that I realized the recipe also called for essential oils! It is quite dry without the oil and I am going to remedy that as soon as the store opens here. I love the idea of that whipped lotion-y stuff in the picture.
Anyway, I loved it yesterday. I was a little apprehensive about wearing it to church for my first run with it. There is a running joke in Primary that we need “Sunday Strength deodorant” and so I was afraid that I would be banished from the room before the day was over. It held up to the challenge though. Any time I got a little stressed, the only thing I could smell was a little coconut. It was so soft going on too. This morning I put some on before I hit the gym and I definitely did NOT smell like a gym rat when I got home. Hallelujah! I think I am in love. Thanks so much to you and Rachel for sharing this little gem!
Mariel says
Yay, cool! Glad you liked it! That’s funny, our Primary room is always hot too. There can be 10 feet of snow outside, but it’s a total oven in there. And, theres something about doing sharing time that makes me sweat 🙂 Church would be the ultimate test of deodorant power!
shauna says
Well…I was only conducting yesterday so we’ll see if it still impresses me next month when I am on Sharing Time! 🙂
shauna says
Bad news Mariel! After using this for almost 2 weeks, I got a horrendous bull’s eye rash under my armpit. My sister got one after 2 days! Back to the drawing board…maybe I can come up with some changes to make it work for my skin!
Mariel says
ew, yikes. thanks for letting me know 🙂