Dr Bronner's Magic Soap!

remember a few months ago I was writing about a pretty red dispenser that I bought, but smelt really bad when I poured in the hand soap?

I googled and the only explanation I could find was that the fragrance in the hand soap reacts with the metal, causing the bad smell - so I decided to put the red pump aside until I found some more natural soaps.....and....I DID!:):)

It's Dr Bronner's Magic Soap - seems to be widely known in the US, though not so common in Singapore (though I've been seeing it pop up at NTUC Finest, Watsons and mostly organic or health stores).

[caption id="attachment_936" align="aligncenter" width="371"] dr bronner magic soap[/caption]

what appealed to me was that

1. NO NASTY CHEMICALS

It's going to take too long and you probably be bored by the time I go through each ingredient....so what I linked the nasty stuff in red (possible links to cancer, fertility issues, etc), the neutral stuff in green.  The links in blue - well, it's not bad or good on its own - it depends what goes into it.   Read the articles using your discretion.  And if you are interested, you can further investigate and decide what works for you!

i) Dr Bronner's Tea Tree Liquid Soap 

INGREDIENTS: Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Tea Tree Extract, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol * CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS ** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin

I like that their ingredients are easy to read and understand.  Personally I have a good experience with using Hemp Oil based products for my eczema.   I think it's not available in Singapore in its pure form cos' it falls under the cannibis family  even though THC - the drug is not present in concentrations that induces a 'high'.  at least that's what I read.  I'm just happy to find out that hemp seed oil heals my skin!:)

simple homemade cure for headaches! almost instant relief!

An instant cure for headaches!  who knew that the secret is just residing in ingredients from our kitchen??? and it even beat a fancy cream that has more than a dozen ingredients!

You would have to pardon my enthusiasm, but I'm so amazed at how effective a simple DIY headache cure works!  and my consultant?  google search!

The husband suffers from headaches from time to time, and usually it lingers from a couple of hours to over a few days.

[caption id="attachment_890" align="aligncenter" width="347"] sucks to have a lingering headache[/caption]

Usually he applies Origin's Peace of Mind - which helps provide relief, though the headache is still present albeit less intense.  It contains Eucalyptus oil, so there is this mentholy-cooling effect after you apply (strangely, if you apply and massage the skin, the menthol effect doesn't work.  not so sure why.  so you gotta leave the cream alone to do its work)

so I helped the husband apply some, and the headache wasn't any better.   I went to google to see what else could possibly help - and I stumbled back onto this simple DIY solution!

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cinnamon powder + warm water = paste.

apply paste on forehead and temple and that's it!

initially husband said he didn't feel anything when I first applied it on his head....then suddenly he said 'pain pain pain'.  The cinnamon paste was apparently heating up to the point of it being painful.  Lucky he bit the pain and left it on (at this point, he said he had less pain from the headache, but figured the heat from the cinnamon paste was distracting him).

The real reward came about 5 - 10 minutes, when the heat from the cinnamon paste slowly subsided and became bearable.  So I asked the obvious question 'so still got headache?'.....and he said 'no' - the headache was gone! just from cinnamon + water!! gosh.  washed the paste off after a few more mintues...and headache remained gone!!!  true story. It happened a few hours ago!

p/s:  I tried some on my forehead to test if really that painful, and from someone who normally has a high threshold for pain - it was indeed bordering on painful hot.

So the next time you or a family member has a headache, you can try this method!  Provided you are not allergic to cinnamon of course.  But do be prepared for some painful heat - we figure it's the cinnamon making the blood vessels dilate and probably helped the blood move and removing the cause of the headache!

boy oh boy!  I'm still amazed!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="348"] I actually bought this cinnamon powder from phoon huat to make my usual oatmeal raisin cookies - but felt that the cinnamon smell was not as good as the usual Mccormick I used - so I kept this one aside...and boy was it useful today![/caption]

 

Christmas is coming!!!

weeeee!!!  Christmas is coming, and gosh - I am exhausted already!  

been baking the past few days for family and friends, and boy-oh-boy - now I get reminded of how tiring mass baking is - washing, preparing, baking, cutting, packing and washing up yet again.  I can feel my muscles aching and crying for a massage. haven't felt so tired in a while!  ah...the 'perils' of getting older! 

every Christmas for the past 4 - 5 years, my family celebrates with a simple dinner get-together at my home.  It's a little sad that this is likely the last year I get to spend with my cousin and her kids as they will be migrating soon.  we are a small knit family and they are really the only relatives we are close to. I'm sure my cousin is excited at the move and at her new life and that her family will be really happy there.  

I am glad that I managed to create some memories for my 2 nieces while i could.  Every year, I ask them to be my elves and help decorate the Christmas tree.  Honestly, it's easier and less exasperating if I did it myself, but I wanted to create some activity so that they can look back when they are older and reminisce of the fun time they had (while their aunt tries very hard to keep her cool!).  but life goes on, and we have to just deal and handles the changes that come our way.  one day at a time...though I will certainly miss having them around.  At least there is another 11 months before they move - so gotta treasure the time.

Hope you are having fun in the lead up to Christmas and that you give yourself a well deserved gift!:) 

on the smelly topic of....deordorants!

ok...i'm gonna share with you something embrassing.... my smelly pits!  sorry to gross you..but it's a real stinky issue that I have to deal with - especially with the warm humid weather here in singapore.  no kidding since average relative humidity level is in the 80+%!  on a positive note - the high humidity has its benefits for people with dry skin - keeps the skin hydrated and looking young!  on the flip side - encourages mouldy food, mould in cupboards, and skin issues like pimples from all the clogged pores (prob from the heat!)....ah well...i'm digressing!

[caption id="attachment_547" align="alignleft" width="225"] i wish I could smell as good as theses lovlies![/caption]

I found myself smelling less than great, and then slowly but surely, progessed to smelling really stinko! Eons ago, I lasered the hair on my pits - and a wonderful side effect was that I stayed stink free for a good 3-4 years (yes, really that long!)! I figured the stink sweat follicles got blasted and got laid to rest for a while!:)

When I started smelling a bit, I used a off-the-shelf deordorant daily, and after a year or so - had a lump under my pits!  I went to see a doctor - the lady doctor checked and even commented my breasts felt lumpy.   She gave me a pill (she said it contained papaya extract) and after a while, the lump went away - of course I stopped the deordorant too.

Since then, I found that there are some pretty horrible substances in the usual deordorants and antiperspirants which are bad for our health!   Here are some quick info so that you can take note and avoid them if you can!

1. aluminum

there are deodorants, and antiperspirants.  antiperspirants usually contain aluminum-based compounds are used as the active ingredient in antiperspirants. These compounds form a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin's surface.

there's quite a bit written about aluminum - from causing breast cancer due to antiperspirants to alzhimers by ingesting it.  of course, it's up to the individual to decide whether to believe it or not - and I choose to - simply because avoiding aluminum is something I'm more than willing to do, as compared to the possibility of damaging my health.  cancer? alzhimers? ney.  no thanks. It's not worth risking my health.

that's why I don't cook anything in aluminum directly, avoid carbonated drinks in aluminum cans, etc. You might be amazed to know that they are even present in some medicines (antacids!) and vaccines!  gosh.

2. parabens.

parabens are usually used to preserve in cosmetics - to prevent bacterial and fungi in our cosmetics and lotions...and sometimes even food!!!  they are used essentially cos' they are effective and cheap.  but apparently they disrupt your hormones, and are linked to cancers.

The alumiunum and parabens freaked me out so much scary - for a while, I even went without deordorant!  *gasp* true story.  During that time I felt horrible!  after a short time out of the house, I already smelt bad, and it was horrible!  I was conscious not to raise my arms as I sure as hell didn't want to assualt someone's poor nose!

So in my zealous quest to become stink free and at the same time make sure I take care of my health - here are the deordorants I have tried!

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1.  Khiels

[caption id="attachment_659" align="alignleft" width="140"] khiel deodorant[/caption]

I can't exactly remember what was on the ingredient list that made me throw it away after I got my Su Kin deordorant, but i think there was some aluminum in it (I threw it away already - so am unable to check the ingredient list). I recalled I bought it cos' it stated "Orange, Lemon and Linseed Extract" - so I naturally assumed it was all natural.  Not so.  Still have to read the ingredients list.  Other than that - it worked decently, though a little wet upon application.

Ingredient list:  I threw it away.  can't exactly remember what was on the ingredient list that made me do it - so it's a fail for me.

Smell control:  7.5/10.  not bad.  kept me from smelling too bad.  medium control.  not for heavy duty sweating!  

dry factor: 5/10.  a slight wet sticky feeling upon application...and throughout the day - slight dampness or a grosser term - slimy.  

2. Su Kin

[caption id="attachment_660" align="alignleft" width="178"] Sukin deodorant[/caption]

 

When I first used it - the thing I note was the nice pleasant smell.  and it was really easy to use - just spray and it dries pretty fast.

down side?   NOT effective - at least not for me! to be fair, my friend says it works for her. so maybe I just smell wayyy too bad.   In fact, I thought it made me even SMELLIER!  cos' you know - my stinko sweat PLUS other stuff = SMELLIER than ever pits.

Smell control:  1/10. gosh. dont' stand near me on a hot humid day! or after I've been baking! you will faint. 

dry factor: 7.0/10.  dries pretty quicky upon application, and doesn't have a slimy after feel compared to Khiels.   

 

 

 

 

 

3. Honey Tree

[caption id="attachment_661" align="alignleft" width="186"] Honeybee deodorant powder[/caption]

 

initially I didn't quite like it - it was too jasminely for my liking and well...not my cup of tea.  after a while, I got used to the smell, and it was okay.

It's a powder form.  texture's a little coarse but acceptable.

smell control:   4/10 . better than Su Kin but I still stank after a while or if the weather's too hot. 

dry factor: 7.5/10.  

 

 

 

 

 

4. Soapwalla!

[caption id="attachment_665" align="aligncenter" width="570"] soapwalla deodorant cream[/caption]

i heard so many raves about soapwalla's deordorant and in my desperate attempt to not smell so bad, I wanted to ship in from the US, but shipping was a killer!  luckily Rachel, the owner directed me to a online shop in Singapore! Poppibleu!

It is a cream that you apply - and was slightly surprised that it was coarse - similar to Honey Tree.  it is acceptable, but was a little surprised as I expected a smooth cream.  easy to apply.

smell control: 9.5/10!!!! went cycling and there was no smell!!!! no kidding!  oh my gosh, I sooooo happy to finally find something that will let me stay stink free!  thank you thank you thank you!

dry factor:  9/10!  strangely even though it's a cream - i think there is some clay or something in the cream - when you apply - it's not wet, and throughout my cycling - didn't feel any wetness! 

So TA DA - MY LOVE!!!!! SOOOOOoooo happy to have found this deodorant!

 

5. Magnesium oil 

Read from somewhere that magnesium oil spray thing is able to double up as a deodorant so I will just try that the next time I get my hands on some!:)

not so great vibes