Todays Cheaper Greener Recipe comes from Sarah Stanford-Stogryn, whom I've mentioned before. She made this for me somewhere toward the end of my second trimester when I suddenly discovered how terrible the stretchmark lotion I'd be using was for me.
Sarah's Baby Belly Balm recipe:
Like I mentioned above, I discovered that the stretchmark lotion I had been using was terrible for me. Our skin is like a sponge, absorbing everything we put on it & even things in the air. When we put moisturizers or body washes or even perfumes & fragrances on our skin, our body absorbs it, & it gets into our bloodstream. Now tell me, if you knew something you were using had an ingredient like: propylparaben, which had been linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive & immuno - toxicity, & could possibly be an endocrine distrupter...why would you WANT to keep using a product like that?
(The #1 culprit for a lot of products like body washes & moisturizers is actually "fragrance". So watch for that if you are wanting to be good to your body)
Sarah's recipe has NO such toxic chemicals. Actually, it contains no chemicals at all! All naturally occurring products, & oils. You can literally eat this lotion, though I wouldn't recommend it. I did try (because it smells soooo yummy) & it just tasted oily.
Our Assessment:
As a belly lotion for pregnancy, as it stands right now at 37 weeks & 3 days I have NOT ONE stretchmark. As a general moisturizer I love this stuff & Mat does too & we are both prone to getting some mean dry patches on our skin...but since using this lotion, our skin toughs out the winter weather & the washing much better.
Finally, the cost of this balm is not cheaper than any store brand. This is an expensive recipe. However, that being said, you will need significantly LESS of this balm to moisturize your skin & you will probably find you won't need to moisturize as much as you used to after using this balm for a while.
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Other Important Notes on Skin Care Products
If you want to check out the products you are using at home on your skin. Whether its make-up, moisturizer or body wash, visit: The Cosmetics Database
Here you will be able to search the product you are using & see its rating for health safety.
You will also be able to check out individual ingredients if your product is not listed.
Plus, you will be able to find listing for products that have good health ratings & therefore make wiser choices about your next purchase.
This website has been so valuable to us as we've purged our home of harmful products, but also grown confidence in some of the products we had already been using since we discovered they were safe all along!
Sarah's Baby Belly Balm recipe: 3 Tbs (45 mL) coconut oil 3 Tbs (45 mL) cocoa butter 3 Tbs (45 mL) olive oil 5 Tbs (75 mL) shea butter 1 tsp (5 mL) beeswax contents of 3 vitamin E capsules
Directions: Over very low heat or in the top of a double boiler, gently melt together. Once all is melted, remove from heat, pour into glass container. Allow to cool. Use as needed.
Optional: Stir in 6 drops of 100% pure lavender essential oil and 1 mL of 3% vanilla essential oil, after product has been removed from heat.
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Note: Should be stored in glass, not plastic, as the essential oils will cause the plastic to break down over time.
Like I mentioned above, I discovered that the stretchmark lotion I had been using was terrible for me. Our skin is like a sponge, absorbing everything we put on it & even things in the air. When we put moisturizers or body washes or even perfumes & fragrances on our skin, our body absorbs it, & it gets into our bloodstream. Now tell me, if you knew something you were using had an ingredient like: propylparaben, which had been linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive & immuno - toxicity, & could possibly be an endocrine distrupter...why would you WANT to keep using a product like that?
(The #1 culprit for a lot of products like body washes & moisturizers is actually "fragrance". So watch for that if you are wanting to be good to your body)
Sarah's recipe has NO such toxic chemicals. Actually, it contains no chemicals at all! All naturally occurring products, & oils. You can literally eat this lotion, though I wouldn't recommend it. I did try (because it smells soooo yummy) & it just tasted oily.
Our Assessment:
As a belly lotion for pregnancy, as it stands right now at 37 weeks & 3 days I have NOT ONE stretchmark. As a general moisturizer I love this stuff & Mat does too & we are both prone to getting some mean dry patches on our skin...but since using this lotion, our skin toughs out the winter weather & the washing much better.
Finally, the cost of this balm is not cheaper than any store brand. This is an expensive recipe. However, that being said, you will need significantly LESS of this balm to moisturize your skin & you will probably find you won't need to moisturize as much as you used to after using this balm for a while.
* * *
Other Important Notes on Skin Care Products
If you want to check out the products you are using at home on your skin. Whether its make-up, moisturizer or body wash, visit: The Cosmetics Database
Here you will be able to search the product you are using & see its rating for health safety.
You will also be able to check out individual ingredients if your product is not listed.
Plus, you will be able to find listing for products that have good health ratings & therefore make wiser choices about your next purchase.
This website has been so valuable to us as we've purged our home of harmful products, but also grown confidence in some of the products we had already been using since we discovered they were safe all along!
I've been looking for a natural hand cream since I'm constantly washing my hands & Evelyn is always trying to bite them :)
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the Beeswax stuff?
Katrina - if you want a good hand cream type product, I would suggest a hard lotion bar rather than the belly balm. The belly balm does work on hands, but is oilier feeling. And the lotion bar can be tossed in a baggie in your purse, so it's easier to carry around with you than a jar of belly balm. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe lotion bar provides plenty of natural moisture like the belly balm, but is better at really sealing the hands from the elements without an oily afterfeel. The lotion bar is equal parts shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax. You can get instructions on how to make your own here: http://www.hardlotion.com/diy-hard-lotion-kit/
I use a silicone muffin mold to pour mine into, but if you line a regular muffin tin with saran or foil, it'll be easy to pop out too.
If you only need a little bit, you can easily use the scraps/drippings from a beeswax candle in your recipe. Many natural health stores carry beeswax in bricks (but it is REALLY hard to cut!!). Or you can order it online from newdirectionsaromatics.ca, out of Toronto, and get it in little pellets.
Hope this helps.