In my last blog I posted a quick suggestion for using baking soda as a deodorant. I try to be as chemical free as possible – and one of the most useful additions to my beauty bag is baking soda. My top five uses for it are:

As a deodorant
Toothpaste
Shampoo alternative
Stain remover
All purpose household cleaner

See my last blog for details on how to use as a deodorant and quick tips below for how to replace chemical laden household products with baking soda …

To use as a shampoo, mix 1/3 cup of baking soda with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a cup or container. Then when you are in the shower, add 1/3 of a cup of warm water. Mix it round and pour on your hair, working it through to the roots like you usually would with your usual shampoo. Depending on your hair, you may need a little more baking soda or you may choose to do an additional rinse with vinegar at the end to clarify your hair. However it’s easiest once you’ve made up the above recipe to amend to suit your hair type. When you first use the baking soda/vinegar mix, it will take a little while for your hair to adjust but it’s worth it in the long run. Personally I find the vinegar a little strong so I only tend to use it occasionally at the end of a wash. The baking soda and vinegar combination is all you need to keep your hair fresh and clean, however if you miss the fragrance of shampoo, you can always blend your own oils and spray them in afterward check out my recipe for lavender linen water in an earlier blog. That makes for a great fragrance! I did go for two months using only a baking soda wash for my hair and it worked really well, however my preference is to alternate with my ecostore shampoo from time to time. I usually do one ecostore shampoo wash once a week or once a fortnight. Some will say this defeats the purpose, but for me it’s the perfect balance – keeping my hair in great condition with practically zero use of nasty chemicals. I definitely feel better for it!

To use as toothpaste, simply sprinkle the dry powder onto your toothbrush and then add a little water, scrub your teeth as usual, rinse and repeat if necessary. The baking soda is magic as a toothpaste – not only cleaning your teeth, but also deodorising your breath and it whitens as well!

To use as a stain remover: place clothing item over a bucket in your laundry tub. Wet the stain with water from the tap – make sure the fabric is sodden. Carefully sprinkle the baking soda over the stain, leaving a small pile of baking soda (maybe 3 millimeters high). Leave to dry, rinse off and review the stain. It can take several applications to remove entirely, however it’s worth persisting as it tends to lift the stain altogether with a little time and patience.

As a household cleaner: I am a big tea drinker and I tend to leave the tea bags in the sink after I’ve made my cuppa, by the time I come back to clear up and put everything away, the tea has stained my ‘stainless’ steel tub. So a quick fix it to sprinkle baking soda on your sink, leave for five minutes, then use a dish brush or sponge to scrub the tub and viola – it’s super clean and shiny. Baking soda definitely does a better job here than chemical laden cleaners.

As with everything it’s good to test the recipes to see what works best for you.

Enjoy!
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