Homemade Deodorant: How to Make Natural, Herbal, Roll-On Deodorant
Summer being what it is—with all the extra sunshine and outdoor fun—our deodorant choices start to matter in a bigger way. Consumers have become increasingly aware of the potential issues that can come with using deodorants with ingredients like propylene glycol, aluminum, and triclosan, and have been turning more and more to natural deodorants. Unfortunately, while over-the-counter natural deodorants are a safer and more earth-friendly option than those loaded with parabens and chemicals, they are still packaged in mostly non-recyclable plastics that millions of Americans throw away every year. Happily, it’s an easy task to make your own natural, herbal, roll-on deodorant.
Just so we’re on the same page, it’s important to know that deodorants aren’t meant to reduce or eliminate sweat. No matter what those old antiperspirant ads used to tell you, sweating is essential for the human body. Its primary task, of course, is to help control body temperature, but sweating also helps moisturize the skin and increase skin hydration. The kind of sweat we produce when exercising or relaxing in a sauna is also evidence that we’re supporting heart health and mental wellbeing. Our bodies need to sweat, so it behooves us to find natural, safe ways to neutralize any resulting underarm odors from this necessary bodily process. That’s where our herbal allies come in!
This simple recipe for a liquid roll-on deodorant is a longtime, tried-and-true Mountain Rose Herbs favorite. It’s effective, wonderfully low-mess, and easily portable so we can take it with us and reapply as needed. Also, it is easy to customize to meet your unique needs and aroma preferences. Need more absorbency? Add a bit of baking soda or organic arrowroot powder. Want to customize the scent? Create your own blend of essential oils!
Dream Tea Recipe: Herbs for Lucid Dreaming + Deep Sleep
In modern Western culture, people often disregard dreams as mere fluff that our brains discard as we slumber. But throughout history and cultures, humans have valued dreaming in different ways. Dreams are seen as a door or bridge to the spirit world or the unconscious. They are often full of symbology from our lives, become outlets for our deepest concerns and fears, or offer us tools for self-reflection and a map to our current state of mind and heart. Although we can dream at any stage of sleep, our most vivid dreams occur during our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep cycle, so depending on how well we sleep, we may spend more than two hours each night in some form of dream state. Sleep researchers tell us that deep non-REM sleep rests our bodies and refills our tanks to start another day and REM sleep is crucial for dreaming, memory consolidation, emotional processing, and healthy brain development.
Sleep comes in two categories: REM and non-REM, and we often cycle between them throughout the time we are sleeping, starting with non-REM and then a period of REM, and then back to non-REM, etc. During the REM cycles, our brain activity and heart rate increase to a more wakeful state, our eyes move from side to side, and our breathing becomes faster and more irregular. This cycle is when we have the most vivid dreams and is also when our amygdala—the part of our brain that processes emotions—is activated. During REM sleep, our brains process emotions as well as new things we’ve learned and also sort through what to do with that information: commit it to memory, set it aside for later, delete it entirely, etc. Additionally, there is a link between REM sleep and brain development, which explains why babies spend so much more time in REM sleep than adults.
Catnip: Beneficial Herb for Humans and Cats + DIY Cat Toy Ideas
Nepeta cataria, commonly called catnip, is an ancient member of the mint family. It has been used in western folk practices for millennia, and is loved for its gentle, calming properties. Herbalists and parents often brew this child-friendly herb into a soothing tisane, but it can also be taken internally as a tincture. For topical use, catnip can be infused in oils, or used as an essential oil or hydrosol to bring an herbaceous, relaxing scent to body care products. Perhaps, however, catnip is best known as the herb most loved by our feline friends.
Arnica Hand Balm Recipe for Hard-Working Hands
This time of year, I’m reminded of my love for herbal salves, and in particular, this Gardener’s Salve. The blend has been in the Mountain Rose recipe book for many years and is one that I turn to each spring and summer. Between planting, weeding, and pruning, my hard-working hands reach for this DIY hand balm time and time again. Being with the plants does wonders for my emotional wellbeing so taking the proper steps to ensure I can do it in optimal comfort and for many years to come is very important to me.
DIY Roll-On Lip Gloss for Summer
When I’m about to embark on a summer adventure, I always do the final check before walking out the door—keys, wallet, water, and lip balm. Being ill-equipped with any of these staples puts a real damper on my ability to take impromptu diversions on the roads less traveled.
I appreciate the ability to move with fluidity while on my outdoor excursions, but I don’t enjoy it when my lip balm embodies that sentiment, too—I needed a solution to prevent my beloved lip-assistant from melting in my car, backpack, or pocket. And further, I needed my non-melting lip balm to still work effectively! Then I had a light bulb moment; a roll top bottle would work wonderfully for this purpose!
Herbal Hair Care & Natural Hair Color
When I say “herbal hair,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Confusion? An image of someone who rarely takes care of their locks? Or maybe even a slight understanding of the magick of apple cider vinegar as a rinse? To me, herbal hair is the alchemy between humans and the earth. The delicate dance between caretaker, gardener, and healer. Beauty rituals that comfort our souls and release our grip and dependence on man-made products. At the root of it all, herbal hair care can nourish our scalps and color our locks, simply by using flowers, leaves, roots, and seeds. This can be in the form of a hydrosol mist, a leave-in spray, or an infusion of jojoba oil and rosemary for scalp nutrients.
Guide to Oil Cleansing + The Best Oils for Your Skin Type
I know that washing your face with oil may sound a little odd at first, but trust me—this ancient secret is a great way to cleanse and nourish your skin! The reason oil cleansing works is basic chemistry: like-dissolves-like. Using nourishing organic oils to clean your face helps break up the grime that gets caught in your skin’s natural sebum while not harming the microbiome of the skin. Ready to get started? Let’s go!
Intro to Chinese Medicine, with Toby Daly | Tea Talks with Jiling
Toby began studying East Asian medicine in 1997 with Sunim Doam, a Korean monk trained in the Saam tradition. In 2016, he completed a PhD in Classical Chinese Medicine under the guidance of 88th generation Daoist priest Jeffrey Yuen. Toby just published his first book this April, “An Introduction to Chinese Medicine: A Patient’s Guide to Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, & More”. It offers a concise overview of the landscape and therapeutic potential of traditional East Asian medicine.
Jiling and Toby discuss Chinese herbal medicine, nourishing life (yang sheng 養生) East Asian medicine seasonal considerations for diet and exercise, yin-yang, and more!
Visit Toby Daly at FlourishMedicine.com and ChineseNutritionApp.com
What is a Hydrosol? + 10 of Our Favorites
Herbalists love hydrosols for their ease of use and versatility in aromatherapy, body care formulations, therapeutic applications, cosmetics, and more. They add variety and scope to our herbal practices and we appreciate the added safety they give us when working with children, elders, and pets. But what exactly are hydrosols, is one as good as another, and how do you use them? We’re excited to tell you more about these distilled botanical extracts, plus we’ve got good tips on best uses and some suggestions about which ones you might like best.
10 Ways to Use Hydrosols + Our Favorites
Hydrosols are high quality, distilled botanical extracts, not to be confused with the “floral waters” you might have seen for sale that are often just water combined with essential oils. Hydrosols are beloved by the herbal community for their ease of use and versatility in aromatherapy, herbal body care formulations, therapeutic applications, cosmetics, and household recipes. They add variety and scope to our herbal practices, and we appreciate the added safety they give us when working with children, elders, and pets. Although they are made using the same distillation process as essential oils, they are more sustainable because distillers get significantly more hydrosol per distillation. But not all hydrosols are created equally. We’re excited to tell you more about these lovely plant waters.
