بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
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After spending considerable time choosing and preparing nutritious from-scratch foods fom the best possible ingredients for our families, it can be pretty frustrating to learn that the products we are using to cook, bake, eat, store food and clean with may actually be putting our families’ health at risk. But we can eliminate many of these hidden food, food prep and kitchen toxins that could otherwise leach their way into our systems. As a part of my Kitchen MacGyver series I'll be talking about the baby steps I've been taking to make my kitchen and home toxin-free. (and more economical also)
We know in Islam cleaniness is very important and according to a hadith in Muslim we know understand: “Purity is half of faith.” Similarly the Prophet of Islam (عليه السلام) once observed: “God is clean and loves cleanliness.” (Ibn Majah) So we as the stewards of our familes and homes it's our duty to keep them clean and pure.
“Allah loves those who are clean.” (Quran 2:222)
Nowadays we can find a million and one new products, methods and ideas that keep us spending more money only to be more sick (spiritually, mentally and physically), more broke (and even in debt), less productive and even more uncontented with our lives. In reality, Islam has already given us clear guidelines (Quran and Hadith) on how to worship HIM. And within these guidelines we have the simple steps to maintain our homes, bring contentment and productivity to our lives.
(I got 5L bottles from this recipe - enough to fill almost 2 of those fabic softener bottles pictured above )
Thankfully, natural solutions do exist. And guess what? They're cheaper and readily available. And people have been using them for generations.
There's really NO need to go out and buy the latest mass marketed green cleaning products, much like there's no need to buy the packaged faux foods (even the ones marketed as "halal").
Looking online, we can find a myraid of products: wood polish wipes, oven sprays, stain removers, dish detergent, surface wipes, dishwasher detergent tabs, glass cleaner, bathroom cleaner, kitchen spray cleaner, bleach for whites, bleach for colors, swizzle mops, swiffer dusters, magic erasers, spray strach, scented fabric softener, stain remover sticks, and laundry detergents of all kinds.
It is no longer possible to walk into the supermarket and ‘trust’ that the products on the shelves are safe for use. Big business owns the governments, and effectively writes the laws governing their own industries. Their primary objective isprofit, and the health and wellbeing of their customers places a distant 2nd place.
At a bare minimum, we Muslim consumers should always read the labels on products they are considering for purchase, and conduct research on the safety of the ingredients they contain. It is wise to consider natural alternatives and even best to use the homemade ones.
Honestly, do we need all of these? Were the people at the time of the Prophet Mohammed (عليه السلام ) using them? I think not. What were they using I wonder?
We, Muslimahs, keepers of the home can easily keep our blessed abodes pure, clean and spotless with just a few all-natural ingredients. No need to bring toxic chemicals in the home! No need to waste your husband's hard earned money. either!
Which brings us to the recipe I'm going to share today ...
Seeing that we wash our hands is one of the most important ways we can keep germs, microbs at bay. I'm going to share with you all my All-Natural Homemade Liquid Olive Oil Handsoap that's triclosan and lauryl sulfate free. We know that triclosan is an unsafe ingredient used in most anti-bacterial soaps and serums. And lauryl sulfate is also another toxic sustance used in health and beauty products I'm sure we all have in our homes. These two alone could be putting you at risk for hair and skin damage, immunological problems, damage to your eyes, and possibly even cancer.
Looking online, we can find a myraid of products: wood polish wipes, oven sprays, stain removers, dish detergent, surface wipes, dishwasher detergent tabs, glass cleaner, bathroom cleaner, kitchen spray cleaner, bleach for whites, bleach for colors, swizzle mops, swiffer dusters, magic erasers, spray strach, scented fabric softener, stain remover sticks, and laundry detergents of all kinds.
It is no longer possible to walk into the supermarket and ‘trust’ that the products on the shelves are safe for use. Big business owns the governments, and effectively writes the laws governing their own industries. Their primary objective isprofit, and the health and wellbeing of their customers places a distant 2nd place.
At a bare minimum, we Muslim consumers should always read the labels on products they are considering for purchase, and conduct research on the safety of the ingredients they contain. It is wise to consider natural alternatives and even best to use the homemade ones.
Honestly, do we need all of these? Were the people at the time of the Prophet Mohammed (عليه السلام ) using them? I think not. What were they using I wonder?
We, Muslimahs, keepers of the home can easily keep our blessed abodes pure, clean and spotless with just a few all-natural ingredients. No need to bring toxic chemicals in the home! No need to waste your husband's hard earned money. either!
Which brings us to the recipe I'm going to share today ...
Seeing that we wash our hands is one of the most important ways we can keep germs, microbs at bay. I'm going to share with you all my All-Natural Homemade Liquid Olive Oil Handsoap that's triclosan and lauryl sulfate free. We know that triclosan is an unsafe ingredient used in most anti-bacterial soaps and serums. And lauryl sulfate is also another toxic sustance used in health and beauty products I'm sure we all have in our homes. These two alone could be putting you at risk for hair and skin damage, immunological problems, damage to your eyes, and possibly even cancer.
Savon de Marseille is totally biodegradable, requires little packaging and its manufacture is environmentally friendly. Authentic Savon de Marseille is stamped with its weight in grams - a practice left over from years ago which allowed households to compare prices and plan their inventories.
While I've used the white savon de Marseille specifically for babies, the green (shown in the pictures) has far more olive oil content.
If you don't have access to savon de Marseille you can use a Aleppo, Nabulsi, Castille soap or a good glycerin based soap here. Duru is a good glycerin based soap in Algeria. Outside of Algeria Dr Bonner's, Mrs. Meyer's and Clearly Natural are good brands I've used in the past. Alternatively, you can use any bar soap here but results may vary. And if you're really crafty you can even make your own.
Here in Algeria, it's customary to give soap to new guests and babies. I know I usually used to get a lot when I first came here so this is one good way to use up those bars of gift soaps. I must admit I have an absolute hatred for bar soaps. I hate them as they get so dirty, center for germs and easily get "snotty". And maybe I'm neurotic but I get uneasy when I think of many, many hands have touched that single bar of soap ---> in public bathrooms :p
I have added liquid glycerin to the mixture. Glycerin is made from plant oils and is commonly used in soaps, shampoos, and moisturizers . Glycerin acts as a lubricant to counteract the abrassif effect of soaps and helps to maintain silkiness and smoothnes. Many bar soaps already have glycerin in it, but savon de Marseille is pure soap that doesn't. I tried this experimental soap recipeboth ways, with and without the added glycerin. I found that the below recipe worked fine without glycerin, except that the soap tended to clump and didn’t have as smooth a texture. It made enough of a difference that I would recommend adding the glycerin, but you can also try the recipe without it, if you want.
BTW glycerin can be found in the pharmacy in Algeria.
The savon de Marseille is already made of moisturing olive oil but adding a small addition of olive or almond oil makes for an even more mositurizing soap. And the white vinegar helps kills bacteria and also reduces soap scum build-up in your sink.
This
You can also use this soap as body wash and shampoo. To make it smell nice, add a drop or two of essential oil to the mix. Also use it as base for many other homemade cleaners.
The cost break-down for me was ...
-1 bar of savon de Marseille 50 dinars
-water (bottled) 25 dinars
-essential oil - 50 dinars
-glycerin (90 dinars per bottle 45ml bottled but I only used 10ml) - 25 dinars
-vinegar (30 dinars per bottle but I only used few tablespoons) 5 dinars
-olive oil ( about 200 dinars per half l)-5 dinars
---------------------
160 dinars for 5 liters
Compared to 150-300 Algerian dinars for 500ml store bought liquid handsoap bottle .... so that's 10 bottles of homemade soap for the price of 1 store bought (not to mention the homemade version is toxin-free and all-natural) So that's a savings of 1,350 dinars and (many possible doctor visits), well worth the total 15 minutes prep time it took to make it!
The hardest part about this project might be finding and choosing your favorite type bar of soap.
BONUS: If you want to make this a foaming handsoap all you need to do is put the mixture into a foaming soap dispenser.
BONUS: If you want to make this a foaming handsoap all you need to do is put the mixture into a foaming soap dispenser.
If you Just a friendly reminder, any step in the right direction is better than doing nothing at all. Slow and steady progress is the key to long lasting changes. Start with one step, break it down into doable actions, proceed forward and then remember to look back and see how far you’ve come! please stay tuned in for more all-natural toxin free recipes to use in your kitchen and all rooms of your home.
super interesting, thank you so much for posting this, Im not in algeria yet but soon Inshallah and its so helpful to see what is available and what you can do there. Going to save this on pinterest and try it out ..
ReplyDeleteAssalam alaykom sister baraka Allah fiki.
ReplyDeleteMaa'Shaa'Allaah it looks wonderful! I have some Aleppo soap that I left in England, will have to ask dd18 to bring a couple of bars with her next time she's here in'shaa'Allah. I'd really love to try this - liquid soap without the need to try to find KOH! Is the glycerine the one that I would find in huge baking section? (I think I've seen it in little bottles similar to the vanilla and almond flavouring bottles)
ReplyDeleteMaa'Shaa'Allaah looks great! I really want to try this and it looks so easy as you don't need to start from scratch with the oils, KOH etc. I have some Aleppo soap in England that I meant to bring with me last month, will have to ask dd18 to bring it here next month!
ReplyDeleteSalaamu aleikoum,
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for commenting and stopping by.
@LittleMoments: This method is so easy it can be done anywhere, not just Algeria. But with very few toxin-free options here machAllah the old ways seem to be the best!
@Maryam
Wa feeki my sister!
@Nicola: You can do this method with just about any bar soap, but the savon de Marseille, Aleppo and other glycerine soaps are the only natural toxin-free ones. The added olive or almond oil is optional - just for some added softenness :D
If you try it, please let me know!
It sounds great! I will try it for sure! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for writing this. I made my own recently and am now checking my recipe against yours. I like your system and you make it so nice and clear. I am trying to make a shampoo, before I used the Savon de Marseilles bar directly on my hair but it made it very sticky, even after the vinegar rinse. I will try washing my hair with the liquid soap today and see how it goes. I am trying to lead a life that is in harmony with nature and as toxin free as possible!
ReplyDelete