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 […]

Cure for cradle cap
by Anne on March 26, 2012 in Baby, Health, Personal care
I’ve written about this solution before. In case you missed it though, and because I have recently rediscovered how brilliantly well it works, I’m writing about it again, in more detail. All my kids have had cradle cap, that flaky, crusty, yellowish skin rash on the scalp that many infants get (infantile or neonatal seborrhoeic […]

Lavender, part three – other infusions
by Anne on November 9, 2011 in Baby, Health, Personal care
Here are four more very easy ways to harness the fragrance and power of Lavender in infusions. Lavender tea Add one to two teaspoons of dried Lavender flowers, or one to two tablespoon of fresh heads, to a cup of freshly boiled water. Steep for five to ten minutes. Strain and drink, sweetened with honey […]

Lavender, part two – Lavender vinegar
by Anne on November 2, 2011 in Health, Household cleaning, Personal care
Infusions are an incredibly simple, direct way to capture the essence of herbs and plants and enhance the properties of whatever you’re infusing them with. They can turn a very basic substance into something really special, and one of the best candidates for making infusions is Lavender. Add fresh Lavender flowers and leaves to a […]

Freshly ground, part four
by Anne on April 12, 2011 in Personal care
One of the most rewarding uses that I’ve found for used coffee grounds is for hair. Coffee adds wonderful softness and shine, deepens colour, and is great for the scalp. What more could one want? However, as coffee does impart a bit of colour, albeit temporarily, it probably isn’t a good idea for those of […]
Avoiding chlorine damage to skin and hair
by Anne on March 25, 2011 in Health, Personal care
There are several ways to keep swimming pools clean and hygienic without the use of chlorine. (I’ll write more about some of them in another post.) Nevertheless, many swimming pools (not to mention mains water supplies) are still maintained by treatment with this outdated poison. Among them is the pool at my local gym. Now, […]
Rooibos: Red head
by Anne on February 18, 2011 in Personal care
As you may have noticed, I can’t get enough of Rooibos tea! One of the great things about the ingredients we recommend on spotless is their versatlility. Rooibos is certainly no exception. As I’ve written about recently, along with making a very healthy and tasty drink, Rooibos is great for the skin for a number […]
Rooibos: skin deep
by Anne on February 1, 2011 in Health, Personal care
My last post was about using Rooibos as a baby bum cleaner to avoid or treat nappy rash, but there are so many other wonderful uses for this herb that I’ve decided to write some more about it. This post is about the properties of Rooibos that relate to skin (and hair) care. As mentioned […]

Using roses
by Anne on November 2, 2010 in Health, Personal care
If you are fortunate enough (like me) to have any old fashioned, scented roses growing in your garden, there are some wonderful ways to extend their benefits beyond the obvious ones of looking at them bloom, smelling them and picking them for a vase. I’ll be telling you about some of these below. If you […]