This year’s birthday post is a little gift to your hair. Several weeks ago I shared my story of washing my hair with rye flour and promised to follow up by telling you about my two favourite conditioners. Well, here is the first. Before I begin, I must apologise that I have no nice pictures […]
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How to wash your hair
Background: Washing our hair is arguably the aspect of personal care that we are least likely to go totally homemade and environmentally friendly on. Perhaps this is vanity, or perhaps there just hasn’t ever really been a good enough alternative available. This is a shame, as shampoos are one of the worst culprits when it comes […]
Toothpaste – Tub vs Tube
Once upon a time, all toothpaste was sold in jars. Nowadays, almost all toothpaste comes in tubes made of plastic laminate, a substance known as a “monstrous hybrid” by environmentalists as it is almost impossible to recycle. The composite parts, made of different types of plastic, are incredibly hard to separate (as they must be […]
The dirt on soap, part 1
The history of soap is long and fascinating. Soap has been made and used for thousands of years in various forms and by various people and much has been written about them all. However, it was really only from the 1800s onwards, as people began to understand the link between cleanliness and health, that the […]
Epsom salts in the spring garden
Versatile, naturally occurring, inexpensive and beneficial – Epsom salts have been used in homes and gardens for generations and certainly deserve a place here at Spotless. Epsom salts have plenty of uses in the home (more on that another day), but with Spring in full swing I’ve been particularly enjoying their many benefits in the […]
Toothsome Toothpaste – why try it?
I’ve been working on some new toothpastes to flesh out my range at The Apothecary, and I realised I had so much to say about them that I needed to devote a whole post to the topic! I use the Spotless toothpaste as my base recipe for The Apothecary toothpaste range. I wrote quite a […]
Beeswax DIY 4 – bars, balms and butters: Lip balm and healing salve
One of the main reasons I wanted to introduce you to beeswax is so that you can use it to make lip balms. I hope I have convinced you that beeswax is worth using despite its slightly special requirements. I have explained why we’d want to use it, how to melt it and mix it, […]
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Beeswax DIY 3 – cleaning up
If you intend to use beeswax often, it is worth having a separate set of utensils designated for the purpose. This means you won’t have to be a perfectionist when it comes to getting every last speck of wax off your favourite pot, jug or spoon. That said, I don’t have a separate set myself, […]
Beeswax DIY 2 – how to melt it
Although beeswax needs to be melted in order to be mixed, it has a relatively low melting point of 62-64 degrees centigrade. This means that while double boiling is required, it’s a standard home kitchen affair. Also, you won’t need to heat the other oils in your mixture to a temperature that will damage them. […]
Beeswax DIY 1 – is it worth the effort?
Beeswax is an amazingly useful substance that of course comes directly from nature, thanks to the bees, is relatively inexpensive, and is as astoundingly versatile as it is bursting with benefits. All of which makes it a perfect candidate for being a star here at spotless. However two things have made me hesitant about letting […]
