Hey there, if you’re having ongoing skin issues, your laundry detergent might be one of the reasons – anything from the supermarket, even the one for sensitive skin makes me break out – it’s a joy!
So what do I do, well, for the last few years, I’ve actually been making my own. Before you call me a total hippie, well, actually, whatevs, go ahead… But I’m a nice hippie that’ll tell you how to make your own, coz socialism, woo.
Less bla, more recipe:
- 20 litre bucket with lid (Warewhare has a good one)
- 40cm pole/spoon
- soup ladle
- cheese grater
- 1 bar/ ~80g scentless, bland soap. (the ones I use)
- 1 cup of borax (from here)
- 1/2 cup of soda ash (same as the borax)
- 12 + 1 litres of hot water
- Start by grating the the soap into a plastic bowl, add 1l of water and then nuke it until the soap is melted into the water
- The melted soap/water goes into the bucky, followed by 12 more l of water as hot as it comes from your tap.
- Add the powders. Do not snort.
- Stir with your longish thingo.
- Leave over night and wake up to a gloopy gloop that you can now use to wash your clothes.
- I use 2 normal sized soup ladles for every wash, more when Wade’s socks are smelly, less when it’s a hot wash. Lasts forever!
As for smells, I’m no scientist but it turns out that certain essential oils we think of as “healthy” are really quite rubbish for your skin, like lavender! Well. Shite.
I do like a bit of a scent and I do like the antibacterial properties that come with certain oils, but it took me ages to work out which ones don’t make me or Opi get a rash.
Here’s what I can tolerate – these are all natural.
- Oregano oil
- Tea tree oil
- Ginger oil
- Basil oil
- Sage oil
- Rosemary oil
- Mandarin oil
You really only need a teeny tiny bit, if you want to add it. I add maybe 1.5 – 2 ml per 13l of detergent, and so far, my skin is game. Add it in right after the soap water. If you don’t have allergies against perfumes, you can go hard and use whatever, obviously. You’ll still save money making your own and it feels quite wholesome to be able to make a huge bucket for so little money.
Questions? Why, ask me, but please don’t ask me dumb stuff! 🙂
