BabeInTotalControlofHerself asked for a diary on what to use in place of a number of common substances if you run out, like toothpaste, or shampoo, or other such things.
So here it is, what to use if you run out of something and can't get to a store to buy more of it. We've already covered toilet paper, so now we forge on to other stuff.
It's kind of amazing, all the stuff we use. Toothpaste, tooth whitener, toothbrushes, hair brushes, skin softeners, soap, shampoo, conditioners, hair pomades, mustache waxes, deodorants, acne medication, corn medication, wart medication, cosmetics, hair gels, heel repair sticks, lip balms, and that's just for our bodies. What about cleaners, air fresheners, drain un-cloggers, refrigerator deodorizers, garbage disposal fresheners, garbage disposal blade sharpeners, and so much more. This one, I'll concentrate on toiletries. In a future diary, I'll do household cleaners and such.
Here are just a few things you can make yourself from ingredients you probably have around the house (well, at least I do....). The basics are baking soda, cornstarch, tea tree oil, olive oil, fine ground sea salt, hydrogen peroxide (3% solution), zinc oxide powder (I use this for cough drops, deodorant, and sunscreen), cider vinegar, beeswax, glycerin, light vegetable oils (olive oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil), vitamin E oil, castor oil, and an assortment of culinary grade and fragrance quality essential oils.
Toothpaste is easy - not as easy as shampoo, but easy enough. Mix baking soda 3:1 with fine ground sea salt and that's it. Dampen your toothbrush and dip it in a small amount of the soda/salt mix and brush away. You can add a drop or two of any culinary grade essential oil, such as peppermint, spearmint, aniseed, cinnamon, clove, orange, lemon, tea tree, sage, vanilla, rose, violet, myrrh, or other flavor of choice. If you prefer a paste over a powder, mix up 1/4 cup of the toothpowder, add 3 tablespoons glycerin (adjust for the thickness of paste you prefer) and a drop or two of your flavoring oil of choice. Mix into a thick paste. Scoop a bit onto your toothbrush.
If you don't have a toothbrush, you can make simple ones from twigs. Not all twigs, because some just don't taste good or separate well. Dogwood, cinnamon sticks (not the curled shavings, but solid little twigs), neem, miswak, olivewood, walnut, oak, birch, black gum, sassafras, willow, or bamboo shoots - about the thickness of a pencil. Chew one end to fray it, then dip in tooth powder to use. You can also use cheesecloth wrapped around a finger. Moisten it to use with tooth powder, or use the toothpaste. Fresh sage leaves also make both a good toothbrush and a tooth "paste" and breath freshener.
Mouthwash is just as simple: equal parts water and 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, a few drops of your favorite flavoring - match it with your toothpowder/paste. This also whitens your teeth. Swish, gargle, and spit. It will foam up in your mouth. It will not burn and sting like commercial mouthwashes.
You can also mix 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda into 1/4 cup water, swish, gargle, and spit. You can add flavorings to this if you want. It won't whiten your teeth like the peroxide mix will, nor will it foam up like the peroxide mix, but it will sweeten your breath.
Shampoo comes in 2 types: dry and wet.
Dry shampoo is the simplest thing ever. Use any one of the following:
cornstarch
1 tablespoon salt plus 1/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
1 cup each of finely ground oatmeal and baking soda
cocoa powder (for really dark hair)
wheat flour
talcum powder
You can scent them by storing them with dried flower petals (sift out after 1 week and add fresh dried flower petals - repeat for 3 to 5 changes of flower petals - more if you want a stronger scent), or by adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil fragrance (shake well, let dry, shake a gain to break any lumps that might have formed).
Since baking soda can dry your hair out, you might want to use a light hair pomade or hair oil to restore the moisture, or spritz your hair after dry shampooing with a spritz bottle of scented water.
Wet shampoo:
1/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup gelled castile soap
1/2 teaspoon light vegetable oil such as olive, grapeseed, almond, or jojoba.
A few drops of your favorite essential fragrance oils (consider rosemary, sage, chamomile, lemongrass, rose, lilac, liliy-of-the-valley, coconut, vanilla, lavender, sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh, cedar,
To gel the castile soap, shave 2 tablespoons of castile soap into a bowl and add enough water to equal 1/4 cup, let it sit until it thickens. If it's too thin, add more soap shavings. If it's too thick, add more water.
This shampoo will not foam up as much as commercial shampoos with foaming agents, but it will clean your hair. Use a scented vinegar rinse to remove all the soap residue.
Shampoo Rinse:
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
8 ounces distilled water
a few drops of essential fragrance oil
Shake it up and use it to rinse the wet shampoo out of your hair. The vinegar smell will dissipate by the time your hair is dry.
Moustache Wax
1 tablespoon beeswax
1/4 teaspoon vaseline
a few drops of essential fragrance oil
Melt the beeswax in the top of a double boiler and stir in the vaseline to melt it, too. Remove from the heat, stir in the fragrance oils (I use lemongrass, bay, and rosemary), pour into a wide mouthed jar or small tin. Let it cool. It will harden. Use just a dab to keep your moustache, eyebrows, sideburns, or beard in shape.
Sugar Scrub
1/4 cup vegetable oil (olive oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, coconut oil, vitamin E oil - one or a blend)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
Your choice of essential fragrance oils
Mix well.
Salt Scrub
1/2 cup vegetable oil such as olive, sweet almond, grapeseed, or jojoba
1 cup fine ground sea salt
a few drops of essential fragrance oil
Deodorant
1 cup witchhazel
2 teaspoons zinc oxide powder
3-4 drops tea tree oil
up to 6 drops of your favorite essential fragrance oil
Lip Balm
2 tablespoons light oil such as sunflower, avocado, coconut, sweet almond, grapeseed
1 tablespoon beeswax
a few drops of culinary grade fragrant essential oil
Melt the beeswax in the top of a double boiler, add the oil. Remove from the heat and stir in the culinary grade oil. Pour into a small wide-mouthed jar or tin.
Foot Corn and Wart Removal
1. Use the skin of fresh pineapple, banana, or lemon, tape it fruit or pith side to the corn and leave overnight. Remove and gently pumice the area. May work on some small warts.
2. Crush an aspirin and mix with just enough water to make a thick paste. Smear on the corn and cover with a bandaid or medical tape. Leave it on for 20 minutes, the remove and gently pumice off. This also works for some (most) small warts.
Hand lotion
1 cup glycerin
1 cup rose water
1/4 teaspoon vitamin E oil
1/4 teaspoon essential fragrance oil
Mix well and store in a small wide mouthed jar.
or
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon beeswax
2 tablespoons castor oil
1 teaspoon essential fragrance oil
Melt the beeswax in the top of a double boiler, add the olive oil and castor oil, remove from heat and add the fragrance oil, pour into a small wide mouthed jar or tin.
These are all relatively quick and inexpensive to make. You may decide to just use them in place of the commercial products.