Like vinegar and baking soda, castile soap is extremely versatile. Carolina Castile Soap is just that. These soaps are made from a mixture of oils (mainly olive) as well as cocoa butter. Many if not all of the oils included in the making of soap are organic. No fake dyes or scents are used in the soaps and they do not contain sodium laureth/lauryl sulfate as many big name brands do. Carolina Castile Soap is also animal and environmental friendly, a big plus! They also do not use false foaming agents, something that can not be said about many soaps/shampoos/etc. found in big box stores. After all, it isn't the suds that clean. ;)
As mentioned earlier, castile soap is very versatile and multi-purpose. Here is just a small list of some of its uses:
Shampoo - Hand Soap - Dog Shampoo - Laundry Detergent - Face Wash - Dish Soap - Mopping Floors - General House Cleaner - Cleaning Wipes - Vegetable Rinse - Carpet Cleaner - Dishwasher Detergent - Shaving Cream - Baby Shampoo/Wash - Body Wash - Bathroom Scrub
While Carolina Castile Soap offers many fragrances available on their website, I was sent the Gentle Unscented variety to review (plus share an awesome DIY) and giveaway. This specific castile soap is made with 7 ingredients. SEVEN. Plus, I can pronounce all of them. I'm told by a very wise one (thanks momma!), that if you can't pronounce the ingredient, it probably ain't good for ya! In case you're curious, here is the ingredient list:
Organic Olive Oil - Organic & Fair Trade Cocoa Butter - Organic Coconut Oil - Citric Acid - Potassium Hydroxide - Tocopherol (Vitamin E) - Water
So anyway, my first goal was to create a shampoo recipe. I scoured Pinterest to find a recipe and gave a few a try. I just made enough of each for a single use to test them out. It turns out that there were things I liked and didn't like about each. Therefore, I took it upon myself to try my own combinations to see what I liked best. Please keep in mind that all formulas work differently with individual body chemistry. If this doesn't work for you, try tweaking the recipe until you find something that does. I will post substitutions below the recipe for you to experiment with. Lastly, don't freak out when you mix your ingredients and see that they are a consistency between water and shampoo, this is normal. I actually prefer this over the cream/gel as it isn't so heavy for your hair.
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Castile Soap
1/4 Cup Distilled Water
1/4 tsp. Vitamin E
5-10 Drops Essential Oil (I used Lavender & Orange)
Directions:
1. Pour all ingredients into a glass bowl
2. Gently stir to avoid excessive foaming
3. Store in a squeeze bottle (I just recycled an empty one)
4. Enjoy
Substitutions:
○ If you are missing ingredients, Carolina Castile Soap can be used alone
○ You may substitute the Vitamin E (though it helps preserve) with Aloe Gel for the extra moisture
○ Use all Lavender oil to soothe scalp, including helping w/ dandruff
○ Peppermint oil will provide an invigorating perk to your scalp as well as help with oily hair
○ Cedarwood provides an earthy, musky scent that may help w/ hair regrowth
○ Use any mixture of essential oils that you think smell nice
Then there's the fun part! Carolina Castile Soap was super generous in offering a 32 oz. Gentle Unscented bottle to one of my readers! Enter using the widget below.
32 oz. Carolina Castile Soap Gentle Unscented Giveaway
-Open to U.S. residents only-
-Entries will be verified-
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I received the castile soap complimentary for review purposes. Nonetheless, all opinions are 100% my own.
If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably already know that my normal post is just a product review. While I love reviewing products, I also love DIY projects and anything that involves 'cooking' if you can call it that. So......not only do I have a product review for you, but I also have an EXTREMELY simple DIY recipe project to share!
The recipe that I will be giving you is for some Sugar Scrub! Sounds yummy...but this isn't edible, but your body will love it! With just 3 simple ingredients, you'll have a luxury beauty product in just a few minutes time. When I create this product, I like to make several very small batches so that I can add different scents and package them separately. If you'd like, feel free to double, triple or even quadruple this recipe to make a larger jar full. Trust me, you'll love it!
Step 1:
In a small bowl, measure out 1/3 cup of fractionated coconut oil. I used oil from Pure Body Naturals which can be purchased on Amazon! This product is 100% pure and natural making it perfect for any beauty care needs. It is also a great moisturizer which is its purpose in the scrub, but will not clog pores. The oil is completely clear and odorless, making it excellent to use to create unscented products, or ones where you want to add your own fragrance. Lastly, it makes a perfect carrier oil for using essential oils, which will also be part of this recipe.
Step 2:
Add 5 or so drops of your favorite essential oil to the coconut oil and mix. In the pictured scrub, I used an organic peppermint. I absolutely love the 'cool', almost energizing feeling that you get from peppermint essential oil. If you're looking for some basics on essential oils, you can check out my review HERE
Step 3:
Add 1/2 cup sugar to your oil mixture and stir. If you want to keep the scrub more natural, feel free to use an organic sugar. Otherwise, white sugar that you use for baking works just fine. If you do use organic, it is possible that the scrub may have a yellow-ish tint depending on the kind that you use. No biggie. The sugar works as an exfoliate and removes dead skin cells from your body. It also gives the scrub a light sweet scent.
Step 4:
Package your scrub in an airtight container and store. I used a cute little glass canning jar with a plastic screw on lid. I also added some ribbon and a bow for a little decoration. Lastly, I topped it off with a 'Sugar Scrub' label so that the product gets used for it's specified purpose. Here is what my finished product looked like:
Keep in mind that this recipe can be adjusted to fit your likes/needs. If you would prefer a stronger or more mild scent, add more or less essential oils. Also, if you would prefer the scrub to be thinner or thicker, add more or less sugar/oil. It could be a fun experiment. Maybe you want to make several batches with different amounts to see which you'd prefer. It's so quick and simple to make that you could make several at once.
You can use the scrub on everything from your hands to your arms and legs and even your lips. Yes, your lips (and while it may taste good, please don't eat it!)! Simply rub a small amount on any area you would like, wait for a few minutes and then rinse. I absolutely love the way this fractionated coconut oil works in the scrub! It gives plenty of moisture without going overboard. I don't typically like to use it straight from the bottle as it sometimes creates a 'sheen' on your skin. That being said, it does work wonders.
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Recipe:
1/3 Cup Fractionated Coconut Oil
5 Drops Essential Oil (Any Scent)
1/2 Cup Sugar
Directions:
1. Mix fractionated coconut oil and essential oil together in small bowl
2. Add sugar and mix
3. Store in airtight container
4. Enjoy!
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I received the Pure Body Naturals Fractionated Coconut Oil complimentary in exchange for my review. All opinions are 100% my own!
