Homesteading Bathroom Makeover

Part of homesteading to me is learning to be more self sufficient and environmentally conscious. Many times these things go hand in hand with saving both money and health.  Toiletries are a huge expense when you are paying for each commercial item- $4 for toothpaste, $7 for body wash, $12 for shampoo and conditioner, for detangler, for face soap, for deodorant, for lotion, for lip balm, for shaving cream, the list goes on... 
It seems like paying for the convenience of a pre-packaged item is costly in multiple ways.  Not only do all those items add up, most of the commercial products contain ingredients that are actually not good for you or the water table.  When I started to learn about how to make my own personal care products, I quickly began to realize that buying a special product for each aspect of grooming is completely unnecessary.
As I started learning recipes for all natural toothpaste and deodorant, I was struck by how easy they are to make *and* by the fact that so many of these items have the same common ingredients.  Now instead of paying for each product, I'm paying for a core of materials that have many uses each.  It feels much better to buy a big tub of coconut oil knowing that basic ingredient can be used for a dozen applications for the same price as a single use commercial pre-packaged product.
Versatility!  That is part of homesteading too.

Things on my list for the Homesteader's Bathroom Makeover:

• toothpaste
• deodorant
• body soap
• face soap
• hair care
• shaving
• body lotion
• perfumes
• spray cleaner

and very likely more.  Some of these you can accomplish easily with as few as 2 ingredients.  Some are more complicated and take time like making soap.  I've already been making about half the things on this list- sorry I've been absent from the blog!  But all my busy experimenting is going to benefit you, dear reader.  I will be going down the bathroom makeover list with individual posts to share what I tried, what worked or didn't, and recipes.  Please leave me a comment if there are any specific items you'd like a natural homestead makeover version of, and stay tuned for more.