Going from a low carb ketogenic lifestyle to a more nature-friendly one
How did I get to this point of living a natural and nature-friendly low carb ketogenic lifestyle?
To explain how my journey started, I have to go all the way back to the beginning…
In short, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes four years ago and that really shocked me. At that point, I knew I had to do something to stop myself from becoming diabetic. So, as the Hippocrates saying goes: let food be thy medicine. And that is where I started. I studied everything I could lay my hands on about a low carb / ketogenic lifestyle. Next, I wrote exams and became more aware of what I put into my body. I learned what will give me the right nourishment I needed.
As a result, I also started looking at living natural and nature-friendly. In essence, it made sense, living a holistic, healthier lifestyle. Next step was to eradicate all harsh chemicals in my home and that’s when I discovered soap making. I made a few to use and gave it to my friends to try too. It was a chemical free option, not overpriced and I didn’t have any plastic packaging to worry about either. Several people came back to me with positive feedback. They said it was absolutely therapeutic – they enjoyed using the soap and no longer had dry skin.
It occurred to me that what we put on our skin also has the same effect as what we put into our bodies – it is equally important. Our skin is a living organ and penetrates into our body, which can have just the same effect as the food that we consume.
Living natural and nature-friendly by making hand made soap
Making soap from scratch has been quite satisfying. I now know exactly what the ingredients are that I put into my body, as well as on my body. And I had a great teacher too. (Helen Hornagold, thank you for your amazing guidance – you’ve helped me a lot!)
My hand made soap is not only good for your body and hair, but also nature-friendly / eco-friendly. No more extra plastic packaging to recycle from shampoo or body wash bottles. And all the ingredients I use are natural.
Thanks to Helen I have now completed two courses with her and am now looking forward to the next step where I will be making hand and body lotion, as well as face lotions. I have already started making my own lip balm, which is absolutely great.
What do I use in my natural, nature-friendly soap?
The ingredients that I use are organic and ethically sourced. In particular, it was especially important to me to have organic and responsibly sourced palm oil. You derive organic palm oil from the fruit of organic oil palm trees. It is solid, but soft at room temperature. Therefore, it has a similar consistency of a body butter, with a white colour and neutral scent.
Palm oil
By the way, there is a lot of negativity about the use of palm oil. Overuse of it contributed to the deforestation of rain forests, which has a huge impact on our natural world. And this is exactly what we should avoid. So, in order to be nature-friendly, I use palm oil that has been certified by the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – certification number is 9-1737-16-000-00). Sustainable palm oil is important as the RSPO insists on international standard worker’s rights and helps to limit the impact of deforestation.
In short, we use palm oil widely in soap-making due to it’s high palmitic acid. It adds hardness to a soap. Furthermore, it will also help add longevity to the lather, especially when you combine it with coconut oil, hence the reason I have chosen to add this to my soaps.
Scents used in my handmade soap
After doing my research I decided to only concentrate on 4 different scents to add to my hand made soap. I use:
- Lavender, Sandalwood and Jasmine;
- Lavender on its own;
- Velvet rose, Geranium and Oud;
- Tangerine and Neroli.
The other ingredients for the soap are predominantly:
Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Grapefruit Seed Extract or Vitamin E (this acts as a preservative), Caustic Soda.
Lastly, Caustic Soda binds all the ingredients together and saponification happens, which is a reaction between an acid and a base to form a salt. So then, in soap making, when you mix an oil or fat (this is the acid) with Lye (this is your base) you will get soap (this is your salt).
All my soaps are between 80 and 100g and lather wonderfully. It can be used at the hand basin, bath or shower.
Did you know that 275,000 tons of plastic are used each year in the UK alone?
That is about 15 million bottles per day. So, most families in the UK throw away approximately 40kg of plastic per year. And the use of plastic in Western Europe is growing about 4% each year, which is quite alarming.
So, then why should you change from liquid shampoo to shampoo bars?
- It’s plastic free packaging and good for the environment = nature-friendly!
- It last much longer, therefore more cost effective.
- It’s great for travelling, no bulky things in your luggage, therefore a space saver.
- It’s great and nourishing for your hair = natural
- One shampoo bar will last between 2 and 3 months, which is better than an average bottle of shampoo.
In summary, shampoo bars are not only good for your hair. It’s also good for your pocket and the environment. Therefore, my shampoo bars can help to reduce the plastic waste that has increased so much in the past.
What do I use in my natural, nature-friendly shampoo bars?
The scents that I add to the shampoo bars are:
The other ingredients for the shampoo is predominantly:
Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Grapefruit seed extract or Vitamin E (this acts as a preservative), Jojoba Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Caustic Soda.
All my shampoo bars are between 80 and 100g and lather wonderfully.
Note that none of my shampoo bars contain any SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) or SLES (Sodium laureth sulfate).
In conclusion, my mission, at the end of the day, is to make people as passionate as I am about being healthy, living chemical free and plastic free – a healthy, nature-friendly low carb / ketogenic lifestyle.
If you have any questions about any of my soaps and shampoo bars please contact me directly.
Excel with a Low Carb Lifestyle. Until next time!
Eunice
BantingGirls
