Do you find yourself reaching out to the bottle of body powder whenever the temperature gets higher as your body becomes warm and sticky with sweat? We do!
Remember the baby powder everyone uses when we were young or the aroma of the powder wafting from your grandmother when she walked past or the snake powder that our fathers adore?
Most of the drug stores' powders contain talcum powder which is made from talc, a mineral made up mainly of the elements magnesium, silicon and oxygen. It has been rumoured to cause cancer and respiratory problems but these findings are inconclusive (source). Synthetic fragrance are often added to the powders. Synthetic fragrance only adds aromatic values to the product but no therapeutic benefits to the users.
You can easily make your own powder with just two ingredients, starch and essential oils. Homemade body powder with plant based ingredients and essential oils offer both aromatic and therapeutic properties. Sounds great right!
Starch like corn, tapioca and arrowroot powder are good absorbent of sweat and oil. There are myths about using corn starch which will increase growth of yeast, here is the link to explain it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6387672
Refreshing body powder
Tools:
• big glass bowl
• a wooden spoon
• sifter
• recycled powder container, jar, baby powder container with puff or any container you fancy
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup of starch (cornstarch, tapioca powder or arrowroot powder)
• 20 drops of your favourite essential oil(s) i.e. lavender, geranium, grapefruit, etc
Method:
1. Sift starch into the glass bowl.
2. Add the essential oils and gently blend well with the wooden spoon. Make sure there are no lumps in the powder and the essential oils are evenly distributed with the powder.
3. Fill up your container and start using!
Your homemade powder will come in handy especially during these warm weather to keep you feeling fresh, dry AND smelling good too!
Remember to keep yourself well hydrated with loads of water, juice, soup, etc!
