Home Made Lotion, Shampoo, and Toothpaste

LOTION: (this has been tried and tested by us, and we love it. When we've used up all our other lotions, we're not going back... we like this better) The ratio is:
5 T. coconut oil
1.5 T. almond oil (olive, apricot, or avocado... you can find these at health food stores)
20 drops essential oil mix (Lavender + Lemon, Jasmine, just fiddle with it. I did 20 drops lavender the first time I made it, because I didn't have any other essential oil, and my Mom loved it, but Ryan thought it was TOO strong. So the second time I made it, I just did 10 drops lavender -- I still don't have any other essential oil yet)
In a double boiler, warm coconut oil till it melts... mix in almond oil and stir. Add other oils and mix well. Put in a glass jar with the date and fragrance. We keep ours in the fridge in a mason jar during the summer, because otherwise it melts... but it melts on contact with your skin. It works really well for massage oil, and I even sometimes rub it in the ends of my hair when I get out of the shower.



SHAMPOO:
1/4 part Pure Extra-mild Castile Soap
3/4 part water
Use almost the same amount of oil as soap. Oil (Olive, or Apricot is what I'm going to use, because I don't like the smell of olive oil)
A few drops essential oil (Lavender, Chamomile, Jasmine, etc)
When it mixes together it should be creamy, but thin... not like gel, like regular shampoos are. You can put it into a squeeze bottle. Shake it up before using it. You don't need too much of it. Allegedly, when you wash your hair with this, it doesn't strip your hair as much so conditioner is not as important as it normally would be.



TOOTHPASTE:
So, Ryan and I are about out of toothpaste, and I don't like buying it, unless it's on sale... And I got to wondering: can you make your own? And it turns out you can. I found several sites and of the different recipes, this one looks the best to me. I haven't tried it yet, but we will next week:
1/2 c. baking soda (some recipes recommend adding 1/3 part salt, but others say it's too salty -- the salt acts as a scrub, but I think when I make it, I'll only put in a smidgin)
3 tsp glycerine for every 1/4 c. dry mixture, so in this case 2 T. glycerine
1/4 c. hydrogen peroxide (3% potency, not the hair dye stuff) or water, if you're sensitive to it.
1 drop peppermint oil, or wintergreen extract
Mix, and store in a squeeze bottle away from light. Take a gander at this, and let me know what you think -- like I said, we'll be trying it next week. According to another site I read 'OraMedia, Dental Self Sufficiency', they said the act of brushing is more important than what type of toothpaste you use. Flossing, for all those who don't believe in it, is also very important. The one thing they say if you do make your own toothpaste, is to make sure your kids are getting the daily amount of flouride they need to protect their teeth.