Baby bum cream to prevent nappy rash

This baby bum cream is fantastic, it can be used with cloth nappies or disposables & can be used as a soothing all over balm for your baby’s skin. It works wonders on that dry skin babies often get behind their ears & can even be used to gently lift cradle cap.

With the addition of lavender essential oil its great to use as an all-over massage balm, perfect for naturally soothing your little one off to sleep after bath time.

This Baby bum cream is full of a host of goodies that will protect & soothe your babies skin, like coconut oil which is anti-bacterial & anti-fungal as well as being highly moisturising. The shea butter is full of fat soluble vitamin A & E for a soothing, emollient base. The beeswax creates a protective layer on the skin to keep moisture at bay. The chamomile is soothing, anti-infalamtory, anti-bacterial & helps to keep fungal rashes at bay.

But best of all its really quick & easy to make, this is a melt & stir recipe.

Baby Bum Cream a’la Mama Going Natural

• 1/4 c coconut oil
• 1/4 c shea butter
• 1 tablespoon beeswax
• 2 tablespoons cocoa butter
• 5 drops chamomile essential oil
• 2 drops lavender essential oil

Measure out all of your ingredients except the essential oils. Place the ingredients in a glass jar. Put a pot of water on the stove to simmer & place your jar in the pot of water to melt & combine all the ingredients. Once it has all melted, gently stir to combine. Let your cream cool to just above room temperature, add in your essential oils & stir well. Leave to cool in the jar if your going to keep it in the jar or pour it into your chosen containers.

Store in a cool, dark place preferably. You can always split your cream into several small bottles so that you can keep a couple in the fridge so that they don’t spoil as this recipe contains no preservatives.

When using make sure that you don’t double dip as you can contaminate the balm with fungus cells if your baby has a fungal based rash.

 

Enjoy

DIY Beauty recipes in Healthy Mama Magazine

Visit Healthy Mama Magazine to see our latest DIY beauty recipes each issue. Follow the link to see this months recipe for a soothing, gentle almond cleanser that you can easily make at home.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/healthy-mama-magazine/id950266920?mt=8&uo=4&at=10l9J9

Enjoy

Tinted Lip Balm 100% natural

Our little girls love Lip Balm – the brighter the colour & the more crazy the flavour the more they love it.

But on reading the label of a Lip Balm one of our girls received for her birthday, I knew I had to find an alternative they would like just as much just without the petroleum products, dyes & chemically derived flavours.

After much research I settled on using Organic Hibiscus flower powder & cacao powder to tint our homemade Lip Balm. We made a Hibiscus only balm which produced a nice pink/red colour & then we created a 50:50 mix of hibiscus & cacao powder to make a yummy chocolate nude version.

Instead of using artificial flavours we used sweet orange essential oil & the cacao powder to add a yummy favour to our lip balms, but you could use cinnamon or peppermint essential oils if you are more adventurous (our girls are not!).

The Lip Balms are made on a base of organic coconut, sweet almond oil, cocoa butter & beeswax. You can use candelilla wax for a vegan version but our girls prefer the slight sweetness that the beeswax imparts.

We have poured them into little round pots, but this recipe would work just as well with lip balm tubes.

Naturally tinted Lip Balm a’la Mama Going Natural

• 25grams coconut oil
• 12grams sweet almond oil
• 5grams cocoa butter
• 12grams beeswax

Measure out all ingredients into a glass jar, place in a simmering pot of water to gently melt. Once your Lip Balm base has melted & mixed together you can add your tint.

To Make a Pink/Red Tint with Orange flavour

• 3grams hibiscus powder
• 5 drops sweet orange essential oil

Simply stir the powder & essential oil into your balm, mixing well before you pour it into your containers or tubes

To Make a Nude Brown Tint with a Chocolate Orange Flavour

• 3grams cacao powder
• 3 grams hibiscus powder
• 4 drops sweet orange essential oil

Simply stir the powder & essential oil into your balm, mixing well before you pour it into your containers or tubes

Enjoy & happy Lip Balm making

 

 

Healthy Lemon Yoghurt Pound Cake

Who doesn’t like a slice of pound cake with a cup of tea in the afternoon?

Heck as a Mum, I am grateful for anytime that I get to sit quietly & savour a cup of tea & a slice of cake!

In our house that usually means after the rugrats have gone to bed. That is if I have enough energy left after the craziness of the day 🙂

So bake this cake & hide it away until you can sit down & savour a bit of me time 🙂

It is lovely & decadent with a rich crumb, but the subtle lemon flavour with the slight tang from the greek yoghurt make this cake much lighter & more delicate than you would expect. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a nice cup of earl grey tea – just saying 🙂

This cake yet again is super easy to make, do I bake any other way??

Healthy Lemon Pound Cake a’la Mama Going Natural

• 1/2 c coconut sugar
• 1 c greek yoghurt
• 1/2 c butter
• 3 eggs
• zest & juice of two lemons
• 1 1/2 c spelt flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt

Pre-heat your oven to 170degrees.

In a food processor, mixer or thermomix mix the coconut sugar & butter until well creamed. Add in the yoghurt, eggs, lemon juice & zest mixing to combine. Add in the remaining ingredients & blend until just mixed. Pour into a well greased  or lined loaf pan.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy

Make your own Facial Cleansing Wipes

Now I normally clean my face with our clay cleansing bars or our almond cleanser but we have been doing a bit of travelling lately  – yay!!

So I decided an all purpose facial cleanser that could remove make up, dirt, cleanse & tone my skin all in one quick little step was the ticket, so I could spend more time out exploring the big wide world 🙂

We set to work coming up with recipes to create our own facial wipes, we wanted them to be able to remove make up but not be too greasy & also have the toner element included so that they are a one stop shop. A simple swish, swipe & viola your done.

We decided to go with coconut oil as our cleansing element because I love the natural fragrance & its anti fungal, antibacterial properties which I think are great for cleansing your skin. But if your not partial to coconut oil, sweet almond oil makes a great substitute & maybe a slightly less greasy wipe so if you have oily skin this may be the way to go.

Witch hazel is our toning element, it is lightly astringent & perfect for soothing inflamed skin, great for drying our & healing pimples & is supposed to help with blackheads.

Making these facial wipes is super dooper easy, so I would suggest making a small batch every one to two weeks so that you don’t have any spoilage issues as there is no preservative involved in this recipe.

Facial Cleansing Wipes a’la Mama Going Natural

• Packet of organic cotton facial pads
• One sterile empty jar that your cotton pads fit in
• 1/2 c witch hazel
• 3 T coconut oil
• 1 t Vitamin E oil
• 5 drops of lavender oil (only if you want to)

Take your jar & fill it with the cotton facial pads, I ended up being able to use about 60 pads in my jar.

If its cold where you are (like it is here) melt your coconut oil gently over low heat, as soon as its melted (you don’t want it to get hot) add in your witch hazel, vitamin E & essential oils if you choose. Mix well & pour over your cotton facial pads, gently pushing the pads down so that they all get immersed in the liquid.

Screw on the lid & try to keep your jar in a cool, dark place so that your facial wipes will keep.

Then enjoy swish, swash, swipe make up removal.

 

Vitamin C Serum

After hearing rave reviews about Vitamin C serums I decided to try my hand at making my own, as my preferred brand of organic vitamin C serum was over $60 for a teeny tiny dropper bottle!!

Eeeek that is a big outlay for a little experiment!!

Vitamin C is one of the latest buzz ingredients in skin care, it is purported to work wonders, brightening your complexion & reversing the signs of aging – who doesn’t want that?

Youthful, bright, glowing skin, sign me up!

This is super easy to make, you only need a few ingredients & can make your own serum for only a few dollars!!

But best of all This serum is like a little ray of sunshine for your skin.

I apply it nightly before bed (at the same time as my eye lash serum) & let it do its magic over night.

Vitamin C Serum a’la Mama Going Natural

• 1 t filtered water
• 1 t organic vegetable glycerine
• 1 t organic, non gmo vitamin c powder

This will keep well in a dark cupboard for up to a month. Its normal to feel some tingling when you first use it – so don’t panic. Vitamin C is magic, but don’t be tempted to up the vitamin C level, to get more magic! as it is an acidic compound & can irritate sensitive skins & you don’t want that. If your serum irritates your skin just water down further with water or glycerine.

This serum will keep in a dark place for up to a month – but using it nightly you will have used it up well before then.

Enjoy

Yummy Spiced Lip Scrub

I have to admit that I have always thought that lip scrubs were a little hokey!

It always seemed like a weird part of your body to scrub, your lips get licked, bitten & scrapped at all day long – leave the poor things alone.

That was till I actually tried a Lip Scrub!!

Wow! This scrub leaves my lips feeling, plump, silky smooth & hydrated. Perfect for sloughing away dead skin & preventing chapped lips – so much better than just applying lip balm all day long (which is what I previously did).

But be warned this Lip Scrub tastes dangerously good, you will have to use all of your will power not to lick it all off.

It is chock full of natural goodies, with the coconut oil moisturising & hydrating your lips as well as being antibacterial & anti fungal to keep lip nasties at bay. The honey is moisturising & antibacterial & the cinnamon will get your blood moving & plump up your lips.

And the best part – you have all of the ingredients in your pantry & this takes literally 30 seconds to make!!

Yummy Spiced Lip Scrub a’la Mama Going Natural

This make one 2ogm pot which is suitable for 5-10 applications depending how heavy handed you are (or how much you lick off)

• 2t coconut oil
• 1 t honey
• 2 t raw sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon

This is so super easy, all you need to do is mix all of the ingredients and seal in a container. Its that Easy!

To use

Simply apply to your lips & scrub gently in circular motions (trying not t0 lick your lips) & all of your dead skin will be slough off to reveal silky smooth, plump kissable lips.

Enjoy

At home Microdermabrasion with ingredients from your pantry

In my previous life I used to have the odd diamond microdermabrasion session with my local beautician. I loved how my skin (although a little beet red) felt so soft & smooth after. It was one of my little luxuries……….little did I know I could be achieveing the same results at home for literally cents.

When I first tried this, I thought there is no way it can work as good as a professional microdermabrasion session but I have skin that says otherwise.

I stumbled upon this by accident as I had quite a few ghastly blackheads on my nose that did not want to go away, I tried honey treatments, scrubs, clay masks, you name it & none of them moved those stubborn blackheads, that was until I tried this treatment & scrubbed them all away, so I now have silky smooth skin again.

I now have the ultimate luxury of having an at-home microdermabrasion once a week. And the best thing about this other than the fact that it is super cheap compared to the real deal is that you can customise it to  suit your skin.

In summer when my skin is oily & threatening to break out on me – I use the apple cider vinegar when its winter & my skin is a little dryer I choose to use jojoba or olive oil instead. So I still get the sloughing off of the dead skin but without the drying factor.

So what two pantry ingredients do all of this for your skin – bicarb soda & apple cider vinegar.

At Home Microdermabrasion a’la Mama Going Natural

• 2 heaped teaspoons bicarb soda
• 1 teaspoon Apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg’s Organic)

Now for the hard part!. Mix your bicarb & vinegar together to make a paste. Wet your face & gently apply your mix in gentle circle motions, rubbing your face. Go gently as you can always do it again & you don’t want to scrub your skin off.

Rinse off with water & then apply your favourite serum or moisturiser as your skin will be ready to suck up all the goodies.

Feel free to mix this routine up, I like to do it once per week & vary using vinegar or oil depending on what I think will benefit my skin best at that time.

PS – Don’t tell your beautician, it’ll be our little secret 🙂

Gentle Almond Cleanser

This cleanser is perfection! Its gentle, creamy, non-oily & has just the right amount of scrub to keep your skin fresh & black head free.

I used to buy a cleanser very similar to this one from a well-known “natural” company but after studying the ingredients and finding a wide array of known toxins I couldn’t use it & feel okay.

Although you may have to buy a few ingredients to make this cleanser – Its well worth it. I used to pay $17.95 for 100gms of this cleanser & for the same amount you can buy the ingredients to make many batches 🙂

This recipe has no preservative in it, so I recommend keeping it in the fridge although I have managed to keep it in the bathroom for several weeks at a time.

This cleanser not only scrubs your skin clean, but its also full of goodies like moisturising glycerine, soothing & anti-inflammatory Lavender, Sebum secretion balancing Rose Geranium, rejuvenating & smoothing Neroli & gentle kaolin clay.

But feel free to make it with what ever oils you have on hand or you think has the best properties for your skin. If you don’t want to purchase any essential oils you could always add in 1/2 t of a good quality oil, olive & heavier oils are best for dry skin & lighter oils like rice bran, grapeseed oils are better  for oilier skins

Gentle Almond Cleanser a’la Mama Going Natural

• 5 t ground almonds
• 5 t kaolin clay
• 1T glycerine
• 5 drops Lavender essential oil
• 5 drops Rose Geranium essential oil
• 5 drops Neroli essential oil

Mix well & get ready to enjoy clean, fresh, moisturised skin.

Pinch off a small piece of your cleanser & add a little water & work into a paste between your fingertips, gently rub into your face, rinse off. To heal blemishes you can even leave it on as a facial mask 🙂

I hope you love this cleanser as much as I do 🙂

Enjoy

DIY Natural dish washing detergent

I am a Mama trying to Go Natural.

I am by no means a perfect Mama & I fail (a lot) at the whole “going natural” thing.

One area that has been weighing on my mind lately is “the washing of our dishes” you see I am kind of addicted (yes, I said addicted!) to my bright green store brought (very, very un-natural) dish washing liquid.

It bubbles, it froths, it smells so clean, it cuts through grease & leaves my dishes gleaming. But it is made from ingredients that are known endocrine disruptors & possible carcinogens.

And we are eating & drinking it’s residue off our cups, plates & cutlery. Well no more!!

After much research & trialling several different home made detergent variations I have found our new “more natural” way to wash the dishes.

Does it smell as good as my store brought dishwashing liquid – YES. Does it cut through grease the same – NO. Does it froth & bubble the same – Sadly NO.

BUT, although it takes a little more effort to wash the dishes it is a small price to pay for the health of my family.

So my addiction to the lovely bright green detergent has been broken.

Now I know a lot of recipes that are floating around the internet call for washing soda & borax in them & seemingly these products make for nice, clean shiny dishes. But on the side of my packet of electric washing soda it says “wear gloves when using”. Now  I don’t wear gloves when washing our dishes nor when eating off them!. I think that any product that calls for the usage of gloves should not be ingested in any form – that is just my personal opinion. I know that many claim that borax is fine to use, but the Environmental Working Group claim that it is an endocrine disruptor amongst other nasty things, so I just don’t feel 100% comfortable using it. If I am going to be ok with using a hormone disrupting product- I will stick with my bright green dish washing liquid!

So my dish washing powder does not use either borax or washing soda & as a result may not work as good as other recipes – but it is healthier & that is the object of the exercise after all.

Dish Washing Powder a’la Mama Going Natural

• 1 Plain bar of  Soap (I use sunlight soap here in Australia, I hear it is on a par with Dr Bronners)
• 2/3 cup Bicarb soda
• 3 Tablespoons Salt
• 20 drops Eucalyptus oil
• 10 drops Lemon oil

I have a thermomix style machine that just eats bars of soap. So I place all the ingredients in my thermomix & blend for 30seconds on power 10 & viola you have yummy smelling dish washing detergent, that is the consistency of laundry powder. Keep it in airtight sealed jar & try not to introduce any moisture to it or you will end up with damp, clumpy soap mush.

This soap powder can be made in any blender or food processor (you just might want to pre-chop your soap bar) or at a pinch you could grate your soap bar & mix in with the other ingredients, I just don’t think it will melt into the water the same.

How to Use

I am lucky to live in a home with a double sink so I fill one sink with hot water & 1 teaspoon of our dishwashing powder – to wash the dishes in & the other with some water with a dash of white vinegar – to rinse my clean dishes in. I find this helps to remove that greasy feel that you get from using natural soap. If I have a burnt pot (who me 😉 ) then I add 1/2 a teaspoon of powder direct to the pot & scour it to get it clean. If there are quite a few dishes to wash sometimes I have to let the washing water out & re-fill the sink, so that there is enough soap power to get them all clean.

How do you wash your dishes, what are your green cleaning recipes, I would love to hear them.