I love me some baking soda. It has so many great uses around the home. We all know its obvious use- for baking! But it goes so much farther than that. I use it for at least half of my cleaning. It also makes a great addition to many beauty recipes. Is there anything baking soda can’t do?

Baking soda has so many great benefits. It’s a great all purpose cleaner. It deodorizes smells naturally. It can counteract fungus. It can remove grease and rust. It is a gentle exfoliant for the skin. It is also a great gentle cleanser for the skin. And to top all those things off, it is safe to ingest and is non-toxic. It is pretty much everything I look for in a green ingredient. That’s probably why I find myself using it so often!

So, let’s get to some of the awesome ways you can use baking soda around the house and in your beauty routine.

Household Uses

1. Washing Soda

Washing soda is a very useful ingredient. It is a great compliment to baking soda in many green cleaning recipes. Well- you don’t have to buy it! You can make it yourself with only some baking soda and an oven.

2. Homemade Febreeze

Everyone needs a little spray deodorizer once in a while. It’s nice to freshen up smells sometimes. Well instead of using toxic febreeze, you can make your own with the deodorizing power of baking soda.

3. Laundry Detergent Tabs

It’s cheap and easy to make your own laundry detergent tabs. They do the job just as well as the store-bought kind, and they are safe and healthy! Thanks again, baking soda.

4. Toilet Fizz Bombs

With only 3 ingredients you can quickly deodorize smelly toilets in between washes. These are easy and inexpensive to make- and the fizz is so fun to watch!

5. All Purpose Cleaner

You may be seeing a trend here… but making your own all purpose cleaner avoids the toxic ingredients in the ones you can buy in stores. This stuff is easy, inexpensive, and effective. What more could you want?

6. Dishwasher Detergent Tabs

For only 9 cents a load you can make these awesome dishwasher detergent tabs. I think they work better than any other dishwasher detergent I’ve tried- especially when combined with a vinegar rinse!

Beauty Uses

7. Coconut Lavender Moisturizing Exfoliator

Coconut and lavender will make you feel relaxed when you use this scrub. Great for the face or the body- it will leave you smelling amazing!

8. Honey Cinnamon Exfoliator

Honey, cinnamon, and lemon oil make this face scrub acne friendly. Baking soda gives it the cleaning and exfoliating powder. This stuff smells so good you might try to eat it- and it’s healthy enough that if you did you wouldn’t get sick!

9. Washing Your Hair Without Shampoo

Believe it or not- shampoo can get your scalp out of balance and make you produce more grease. Using baking soda, through the no poo method, will help you fix your scalp and use less toxic ingredients to boot!

10. Soothing Chamomile Foot Scrub

Dry winter months cause dry cracked heels, unfortunately. Give your feet a little love and exfoliate them with this easy three ingredient scrub. The camomile will help you relax, as well.

Try out a few of these awesome uses for baking soda and let me know how it goes for you!

The post 10 Amazing Household and Beauty Uses for Baking Soda appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Women spend an average of 55 minutes per day on their hair and makeup. That’s a lot of time spent devoted to getting yourself ready for the day. According to the poll that found that women spend 55 minutes a day primping, women do this because it makes them feel better about themselves.

I could go on a lot of rants about expectations for women in society, but instead I thought I would make a post on how to make the most of that 55 minutes. This post was inspired entirely by this incredible video that you must go watch right now.

True beauty comes from the inside. We all know that. But all the messages we receive about how to get a bikini body and what foods to eat for perfect skin and the one secret diet trick that experts don’t want you to know and hairstyles that men really love… well they don’t really reinforce that. And we need to reinforce the qualities in ourself that are most important and will be with us for our entire lives. Youth and beauty are fleeting. Your heart and personality are who you are.

So while you are spending time in the morning getting ready for the day, you should be reinforcing the things in yourself that you are most proud of or want to work on. Instead of thinking about how to get perfect skin, think about how smart you are. Instead of thinking about how you really just wish your hair had more volume, think about how much you want to be kind to other people.

And in case that isn’t easy for you… here is how you can do it.

Brushing your teeth

The first thing I do when I wake up is usually go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. And there is a nice reminder on my mirror that even when I have sleep in my eyes, I am beautiful. Because of who I am. And I say that to myself.

In the shower

Next, I go to take a shower. It’s the time that I want to psych myself up. So when I wash my face with my aloe vera face wash, I read to myself, “today is going to rock!” And you know what, it is!

Facial Moisturizer

After the shower I moisturize with my homemade aloe vera face moisturizer. While I rub my moisturizer into my skin, I remind myself that I am a good person.

Hair products

After my face is good and moisturized, it’s time to moisturize my hair. I get out my moroccan oil and remind myself that I am worthy. Worthy of love, worthy of good things in my life, worthy of anything that I work for.

Sunscreen

Next I go put on my facial sunscreen. No one likes sunburnt skin. I tell myself that today I will inspire the world with my kindness. Not only will I be kind, I will be so kind that I will be an inspiration to others. I will go the extra mile.

Hairstyling

Time to dry my hair. I tell myself that life is beautiful. And it is. There are a lot of things in the world that are hard and sad, but despite that, life is still full of beauty. And while I dry my hair I think about that beauty.

Makeup

Finally I go to put on my makeup. I remind myself that I am not only smart, but I am brilliant. I shine. When I put on my makeup I think about my academic and career achievements that remind me just how much I shine, big and small.

And then I am ready to face the day. Not only have I gone through my regular beauty routine, but I have also psyched myself up to have the best day possible.

Remember:

You are beautiful

Today is going to rock

You are a good person

You are worthy

You can inspire the world with your kindness

Life is beautiful

You are brilliant

And you don’t have to limit yourself to just those messages. Anything you can think of, write it on something you use in your daily routine. And change the messages up once in a while so you don’t get used to them and forget about them.

This will ensure that you are ready to face the day with your most optimistic, positive, fulfilled self.

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The post How to Use Your Beauty Routine to Get Ready for the Day Ahead appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Original Image from Lipgloss Culture

When I first switched to the no-poo method, the only big change for my hair was that it got tanglier (is that a word?). The Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse did moisturize my hair, but it didn’t detangle it like conditioner used to. So, I found a solution in a natural hair detangler recipe.

The recipe is simple. All you need is water, vegetable glycerin, a spray bottle, and your favorite essential oils (optional).

Hold up- you are probably asking yourself: where can I find vegetable glycerin? I know because I had no idea where to buy it. It is really easy to find online. Amazon has several varieties .

This is the vegetable glycerin I use. There are other brands and other sellers that sell in smaller amounts. I think that it is the best bang for your buck and it has lasted well and worked in lots of recipes!

This is where the hair detangler lives in my room. Did you notice the cute hedgehog with a strawberry? Thanks Ikea!

So, here is the recipe:

• Mix 1 part vegetable glycerin to 10 parts water in a spray bottle
• (you can increase ratio to 1:5 depending on consistency you want, but I recommend starting with a lower ratio)
• Add several drops of your favorite essential oils

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