When I first decided to try making shaving cream, I used this recipe, mainly because it was simple and used ingredients I already had. It's basically just shea butter and oil, with options for different essential oil fragrance blends.

However, the stuff turned out more like shaving grease than shaving cream. It was thick and goopy, wouldn't rinse off me or the razor, and left a coat of oil everywhere.

So I decided to try adding some liquid castile soap and see what happened. Here's the final recipe:

2 TBSP shea butter
3 TBSP almond oil (you can use other cosmetic oil of your choice)
2 TBSP liquid castile soap (I used Dr. Bronner's)
Essential oils for fragrance (I didn't have and didn't want to buy any for this, so mine is unscented, but you can use any of your choice. The original recipe has lots of good suggestions).

Melt the shea butter in a glass bowl placed into a pan filled shallowly with water. Remove from heat. Add almond oil, liquid castile soap, and essential oils. Stir and let cool.

It turns into a kind of liquidy cream with tiny white suspensions which I think must be the shea butter. They kind of melt after spreading it on your skin.

Because it's fairly fluid you'll want to put it into a tube or a bottle with a narrow opening. It works very well and leaves your skin feeling really moisturized. It doesn't foam like commercial shaving cream but it does the job.

The most recent homemade personal care product I decided to try is toothpaste. I started with the recipe here and modified it somewhat.

2 TBSP coconut oil
1 TBSP vegetable glycerin
3 TBSP baking soda
30 drops peppermint essential oil
5 drops tea tree oil

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and blend thoroughly with a fork.

It makes a sort of gritty paste that isn't quite the consistency of commercial toothpaste but is very pleasant to use. It leaves your mouth feeling very refreshed and clean. There is a slight baking soda-y aftertaste which I suppose is unavoidable, and the baking soda is somewhat abrasive, so I've noticed it being a bit harder on my gums than normal toothpaste.

There's probably a good way to squeeze this into a used toothpaste tube (a large syringe maybe?), but for now I just keep it in a jar next to the sink and dip my toothbrush into it.

This is a recipe I'll definitely use again.

This is maybe the natural recipe I'm most pleased with. It works fantastically and has completely eliminated my need for conditioner, which is a plus because although I love the Aubrey Organics conditioner I was using, it's very expensive.

I started doing some research online about natural shampoos and kept running across the same ingredients: baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and tea tree oil. Baking soda is a cleanser, ACV is an anti-dandruff and conditioning rinse, tea tree oil is anti-fungal and a dandruff remedy.

It seemed like most people who were using natural methods were making a baking soda paste to clean their hair and then occasionally using an apple cider vinegar rinse.

So I tried that for a while. I made a paste with 1 TBSP baking soda, 5-10 drops tea tree oil (any more gave me a headache), and enough water to make it workable. I spread it over my scalp and left it for a while before rinsing. I'd then rinse with apple cider vinegar.

The only problem was, it stripped my hair incredibly dry. Even using conditioner didn't completely restore it.

Finally one day I tried mixing the apple cider vinegar and baking soda BEFORE putting it on my hair. It foamed fiercely, as such a mixture is prone to do. I used it, rinsed it out, and immediately noticed: no dryness. In fact, I didn't even need conditioner. It made my hair sparkly-clean and didn't dry it out whatsoever, unlike shampoos.

Now I'm hooked. I mix 1 TBSP baking soda with a splash of ACV (it turns out kind of runny, not a paste). When it stops foaming I mix in 5 drops tea tree oil, pour it over my hair, work it in, leave it while I shower, rinse it out (rinse thoroughly to make sure you don't leave any residue), and voila. I still haven't needed to use conditioner and my hair is shiny and soft. It seems a little bit too good to be true, especially since the main ingredients are so inexpensive.

This is the point at which many people say "yuck". I understand the reaction, but honestly, this stuff works just as well as I remember any commercial deodorant working. It's not an anti-perspirant, and you do still have to maintain good hygiene, but you do that anyway, don't you? I run and ride my bike regularly, and I have not noticed any "smelliness" or issues with this stuff.

I experimented with many natural deodorant products and methods before finding this recipe online and modifying it. It works the best of anything I've tried so far, definitely better than any commercially-made natural stick deodorants, which in my experience are practically worthless.

Homemade Natural Deodorant

1/4 cup cornstarch (moisture absorber)
1/4 cup baking soda (natural deodorant)
10+ drops tea tree oil (I originally used 20 and eventually ended up with 40, see story below)
2 TBSP shea butter
3 TBSP almond oil
OR instead of the shea butter/almond oil, use 2+ TBSP coconut oil, which is what the original recipe suggests.

Mix cornstarch, baking soda, and tea tree oil. Melt shea butter in a heatproof glass bowl set inside a pan filled shallowly with water over medium heat. Stir in almond oil. Remove from heat and stir in cornstarch/baking soda/tee tree oil mixture.

I originally just used 2 TBSP shea butter to substitute for the coconut oil in the original recipe. However, shea butter is much harder than coconut oil and I ended up with this rock-solid stuff that was almost impossible to use. I re-melted it down and added the almond oil to make it more of a cream. I also added 20 more drops of tea tree oil as essential oils aren't that heat-stable and I wasn't sure what had happened to the original 20 drops.

Next time I will try just using coconut oil, although you only need a small amount of this stuff and it will probably last a long time.

I found this recipe here. The only changes I made were to use shea butter instead of lanolin. I also basically ended up omitting the rosewater as the cream just cooled into a pocket around it and it spilled out the first time I used it. I don't think you really need it.

Night cream

The cocoa in this moisturiser will not stain the face. Instead the alkaloids it contains - mainly theobromine and caffeine - act as stimulants and rejuvenate the skin.

2 tbsp almond oil
2 tbsp shea butter
1 tsp cocoa powder

Put the almond oil, shea butter and cocoa in a heatproof glass bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of water and heat gently over a low heat till the mixture melts into a smooth cream. Use only a wooden spoon to stir as a metal one will react with the ingredients. Take off the heat. Allow the cream to cool and store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator (it started growing mold when I kept it at room temperature).

This is a wonderful, rich cream which I use only at night as it's rather greasy. You do have to be careful not to get it into your eyes as it stings rather fiercely.

For years now, I've bought only all-natural personal care products. The reason for this is that I believe that natural ingredients are better for your body, and I desire to avoid the unpleasant and possibly harmful chemicals in most commercial products.

Deodorant was my last hold-out, until two years ago when I switched to natural. Gross, yes, and I've probably freaked out all two of you who read this blog. Fortunately many of the people who read it are at a solid geographical distance from me and have nothing to worry about.

However, more recently I've begun to experiment with making my own natural personal care products. There are several reasons for this.

One, natural products can be quite expensive. Specialty creams, lotions, soaps and shampoos often come at a hefty price.

Secondly, making your own products allows you to completely customize what you put into them and to experiment with ingredients and proportions in a way you can't if you buy ready-made stuff.

Thirdly, and perhaps most compellingly for me, is the satisfaction you get from making things yourself. There's a real pride of accomplishment that comes from crafting something from simple ingredients that most people assume you have to buy. I love discovering and formulating new mixtures that mean I don't have to rely on someone else for that item.

At the real risk of freaking out any of my friends and acquaintances who read or happen upon this blog, I'm going to post a series of recipes for the things that I've made and found to work. Hopefully somebody out there may find them useful.

1. I am a real human being

Yes, I know your website is frustrating you. However, it is an actual human being with feelings (me) you are dealing with—please keep that in mind.

2. I am the good guy

Yes, I know your website is not doing what you want it to. But hey, guess what, I'm your friend! I'm on your side. I'm working to make it do what you want it to. If it isn't, I'm not the enemy, and often it's not my fault—just discuss it with me, and we'll find a solution.

3. I don't know everything

I know it's a shock, but I am not some sort of omniscient internet guru with a database for a brain. Often, figuring out your problem is a learning experience for me too.

4. I am fallible

Another shock. I make mistakes. When I do, I'll admit them to you, and I'll work to fix them.

5. I have limitations

I'm not some sort of magical technological genie sitting behind a desk waving a magic wand to—hey presto—make websites appear. I'm limited by many things, not least the technology itself. Please be patient with me.

6. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about.

'Nuff said.

7. I sometimes do know what I'm talking about.

Yesterday, God gave me a bike.

Recently I decided to pray for a bike, because I have been spending a lot of time walking. I have been spending a lot of time walking because I do not have money all the time for the TTC.

Walking is free. However, it is slow. It also can get tiresome, particularly if, like me, you are walking three miles one way to church twice a week, along with various other jaunts.

So I asked God for a bike. It's been a few weeks. I put the word out among a few friends that I was looking, but nothing turned up.

The bike had to be free, or almost so. I expected that any free bike would be a rusty old junker, which was fine. All I needed was the ability to get from Point A to Point B.

Yesterday, our handyman called.

Our handyman is a Czechoslovakian guy called Miro who works on the house sometimes. I'd last seen him a few days ago when he showed up to fix our door latch. I knew he was a Christian, and we'd had brief conversation, but that was about it.

So when Miro called, I thought he probably wanted to fix something. I wasn't prepared for what he said.

"Susanna, I have a bike. It's brand-new, one of those little folding bikes. I have another bike I use, so I don't need this one. I saw someone in Canadian Tire buying one like it, and I was going to offer him this one for free, but for some reason I hesitated and then when I went back he was gone. Could you use it?"

I was astonished. "I've been praying for a bike," I told him. "Yes, I could use it."

"Really!" he said. "I'll be there in 45 minutes."

Miro showed up 45 minutes later with a spiffy, almost brand-new Schwinn bike. He helped me adjust the seat, handed over the manual, and that was that.

I couldn't stop laughing. And I couldn't stop thanking God. How amazing he is, and how generous he is. To hear the prayer of a girl who really could use a bike, and then answer it seemingly out of nowhere in such an unexpected fashion—I'm still flabbergasted. Not to mention, it blessed Miro, who was tickled to the depths of his being at being such an answer to prayer.

And the bike rides very nicely, thanks.

Being without a job and a reliable source of income has forced me to cut back spending and dial down costs to as close as possible to zero. But the whole issue of consumerism and buying is something I’ve had an uneasy relationship with for a long time.

I used to be a compulsive spender. From the time I was a kid, as soon as I had money, I’d look for ways to spend it. Money equaled spending power, and spending power equaled those new things that would make me happy and make my life complete. Until more recently than I care to think about, that’s been my default way of looking at income.

Of course becoming an adult has forced me to take a slightly more responsible attitude toward money. I can’t buy everything I want or splash out on an expensive vacation, because I need to pay the rent and buy food. But over and above necessities, the compulsive pull to buy something, anything, to make myself feel better, even if I don’t need it, is what I’m talking about.

All of us know what that feeling is like. The feeling you get when you see something that you know that you need. It’s new, it’s beautiful, it’s shiny, and you’re convinced that buying it will make you happy, make your life complete. The fact that you already have five similar somethings at home, which at one time were going to make you happy and make your life complete, doesn’t really occur to you. The only thing you can think about right here and now is this one that you don’t have. Surely this will be it.

You convince yourself that you need it, you deserve it, it doesn’t hurt, you have enough money. So you spend the money. You take the new thing home. For a while, it provides the “high” a shiny new object is supposed to. Then it gradually fades into the background. It becomes just another possession, kicking around with all the others you have. Something you use, maybe every day, and which may or may not be useful, but which doesn’t mean as much as when it was new and not yours.

Then you see another something. A beautiful, shiny, brand-new something. And it takes hold of your heart. It pulls at you until you can’t resist. You convince yourself you want it, you need it, it will make your life complete. You forget that the last one was going to do that for you, but it hasn’t. So you buy it. And on and on the cycle goes.

For many of us women, these things are makeup, clothes, or jewelry. For men, it may be video games or gadgets. There’s an endless list of “things” on offer that we can be easily persuaded we need to buy, depending on our particular inclinations.

What’s worse, it’s endemic to our culture. We’re surrounded by messages that tell us we need a constant stream of new things—the latest luxuries, the most fashionable clothes—to keep our lives comfortable and convenient and make us content.

The problem with all of this, for the Christian, is that it’s radically at odds with the kind of life Jesus calls us to live.

2000 years ago, when Jesus walked the earth, covetousness—the desire for more and more “stuff”—was already as old as mankind. It didn’t begin with western culture, cheap manufacturing, and the shopping mall. Jesus analyzed this particular spiritual sickness and warned us against it:

“Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)

The Apostle Paul is even stronger in his letter to the Ephesians:

“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints….For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5:3-5)

Ouch! Covetousness equated with idolatry? Listed with sexual immorality? Covetous (the NIV translates it “greedy”) people aren’t part of God’s kingdom?

Why?

Well, because what is important to us, what we spend our time pursuing, what we think about and devote our energy to, reveals what really holds our heart.

Worship is devotion or service to a particular entity or end, hoping for it to give us the results we crave. If we spend our time, energy, thought and money acquiring new stuff, hoping that it will fulfill us, make us happy, or take away the empty hole inside, we in effect are worshiping it.

We may not bow down to wooden idols. But we are far more in danger of bowing down to Wal-Mart.

The endless pursuit of things—treasure in this world—dulls us to spiritual realities and keeps us on a treadmill of desire and acquisition that distracts and deters us from God’s calling.

There are obvious realities we can face that can help cut the power of this kind of thinking. For one thing, we actually need far less than we think we do. A trip to Africa convinced me of that. I met people from the bush for whom a discarded tin can was a prize possession because it could be used as a water cup.

Another reality is that things can’t make us happy, or fulfill us. If they could, we wouldn’t endlessly need more.

But to truly cut the power of materialism over us, we need a spiritual perspective. We need power from above, we need heaven’s reality, to break the hold of “stuff” and to fix our eyes on what really matters.

One piece of that reality is that this life is temporary and not worth living for. When we endlessly accumulate things, we are acting as if our life in this world is forever. We forget that not only are we going to die, we are going to spend eternity in a kingdom where our once-treasured earthly belongings turned into ashes long ago. Hoarding “stuff” is acting like our existence on this earth is the ultimate reality.

Jesus exposed the futility of that way of thinking when he told the parable of the rich man who plotted to build new barns. That night, God required his soul of him. His beautiful new barns were of no use to him and he went to face God’s judgment where he had to give an account of the resources that had been entrusted to him.

Jesus explained how to prevent this kind of cosmic “uh-oh” moment when he said: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:18-20)

But even more pertinently, we need to ask ourselves why we’re so driven to possess and consume without end. Why do “things” hold such power over us?

The answer, I believe, is that we are trying to fill the void inside us. It may sound cliché, but we all have an inward emptiness that we seek to numb and eradicate with many things, including stuff. I know that’s the case for me. When I’m depressed, I shop. Or I’m convinced that if I buy that new dress, everyone will think I’m beautiful.

What kind of need are you trying to fill with “things”? This is the heart of why we accumulate. Understanding this will cut its power at the source. External solutions are never the way. Jesus is always after our heart.

When you understand the void inside you, there’s only one way to fill it. There’s only one way to satisfy it from the inside, so that the temptation to throw “stuff” into it doesn’t become overwhelming. That void must be filled with God himself, and he’s the only one who can fill it.

One passage from Hebrews became my weapon against “stuff”:

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Isn’t that genius?

The answer to the power of stuff is just this: GOD HIMSELF IS OUR POSSESSION. He’s given himself to us, and he will never leave us or forsake us. With him on our side, and within us, we have everything we need. Who wants things when you have the Almighty God?

He is more than enough to fill us with the love we crave, with the comfort we seek, with the reassurance we need. When the void inside us screams for satisfaction with “stuff” (or any other temptation), turn to him instead. Cast yourself on him for the grace you need to make it through, to feel his peace and joy and love and fatherhood, and to resist another day the spiritual poisons and the idols that beckon you. He’ll do it. If you fall, he’ll forgive and comfort you. He’s that kind of God.