The results of my Double- Duty product testing!

[Englishlady]

Well, I have been busy in my "lab" er, I mean bathroom, getting to grips with some pretty frugal ways of staying fresh and clean!

Deoderant:
use neat white Vinegar, dab on and let dry- don't worry the Vinegar smell goes in about 5 mins

Witch Hazel, dab on pits as above, can also be used after shaving!

( Ideal for those who want to be really frugal/are at home a lot like me.)

I have tested these by working hard around the house and they perform really well, best of all no "pit stains" on my clothes


For those of you who want to cut down on chemicals/reduce the number of products in your home ( and thus save on storage) I have tried and tested the British Equivalent (Bio 'D' Dish washing liquid) of your Seventh Generation FREE AND CLEAR liquid........

Having cross referenced the information available they are free from SLS, so will foam a little less ( a little like the home made laundry liquid) but will get you clean just the same.

SO, I used the "Dishwashing liquid" as a Shower soap, hair shampoo, and hand washing liquid.

The results, all were fine, no ill effects anywhere, I didn't water it down any, but that is also an option.

Because there are none of the regular chemical grease removers the actual detergent is very mild.

Remember that even "Regular" shampoo is a detergent!

I also have used regular shampoo ( the biggest bottle I could find!) as body wash and hand wash, again no problems at all.

I would not advise anyone to use "regular" dishwashing liquid as it contians quite a few harsh chemicals that you might find too drying for your skin.

I have found that Aloe Vera gel is FANTASTIC as a hair conditioner!
I used the Banana Boat Aloe Vera Gel ( which is American but can be found in Superdrug stores in the UK)

To use: wash Hair, towel off excess water then squeeze a couple of pea sized blobs on to your hands, rub this between your fingers ( not palms) and "finger comb" the gel through your hair.....then comb the gel through the hair using a wide tooth comb. ( you may want to experiment on amount, you can always add more but it is harder to take it back out!!)

My hair MUCH softer, easier to blow dry and manage and looks so much better than when using "regular" hair conditioner

This stuff isn't cheap here in the UK ( £5.59 at Superdrug stores) but I am SURE it is a lot cheaper in the US.
BUT, you only need a little each time and the (big) bottle should last 6 months or more ( depending on your hair length etc.)

Aloe Vera Gel is also a good Diluter of thick face creams.
If you have some very rich/thick cream add a tiny blob of gel and it liquify's the cream and makes it thinner and easier to rub in! ( also means you use less

So if you use Aloe Vera you can also travel a bit lighter, by reducing the number of products than you carry around!

Having been testing on myself for a few weeks I am now taking a break from that to concentrate on de-junking!

Karen

[Darlene]

You are the sweetest guinea pig (not the pet,lol) I've ever seen. Thanks for doing all this testing & passing your results on to us.

[Mommy2five]

I have found (in the states) the Aloe Vera gel in the dollar stores I have some, I am gonna try it

[Mommy2five]

Oh yea, thanks for the info!

[Tootsiebella]

Thanks for taking the time to be our guinea pig!

[paelthom]

Great ideas, thanks.

[homesteadmamma]

Thanks for all this information. Great stuff!!

[PrairieRose]

Great ideas, thanks for testing them on yourself first

[pita1213]

you had me cracking up with your post, but thanks for doing your experiments. i think i have some aloe vera gel floating around and i'm gonna give it a try.

oh and i forgot to say: i have used witch hazel before for deoderant. it worked really well when we lived in CT and it worked great. i haven't tried it during VA's hot and humid summers yet though. i'll have to remember to do that this summer.