Organic in India

Oh, the problems I run into. India seems to have some fantastic things that I’m going to be sad I can’t easily get when I return home, but at the same time, most things I’m used to are difficult to find or non-existent.

Modern conveniences, such as solid deodorants seem to be non-existent (or, at the very least, difficult to find). These people love some aerosols, and I don’t know how to politely say that they don’t work as well as solids especially when I’m stuck on a crowded bus in the hot and humid monsoon season.  I almost bought an aerosol, but the environmentalist in me wouldn’t let me do it. That got me thinking, I usually purchase an anti-perspirant anyway, and that has toxic chemicals that I absorb through my skin. I’m doing other healthy things, like eating a varied, vegetarian, diet (see recipes below) and staying away from too much alcohol, why should I continue to put chemicals on my skin? Why would I put something on my body that I wouldn’t put in my mouth… it is all ending up absorbed either way? With this, I decided to make my own homemade deodorant! It came out fantastically, and it is incredibly simple to make:

DEODORANT: 

5ish drops of tea tree oil  6-8 table spoons of Coconut oil. This will be solid(ish) at room temperature, so warm it up to mix 1/4 Cup Baking Soda 1/4 Cup Corn Starch (if you can find arrow root powder, it is preferred!)

Once I was happily wearing home made deodorant, I realized that I was still slathering my face and body with sunscreen… yet another culprit on the list of shit they’re not sure is making skin protected or cancerous. I found an amazing blog on how the balance of Omega 3 & 6 in your diet has a lot to do with skin damage in the sun. Which emphasizes my new diet, which I briefly mention below, and also using home made sunscreen:

 SUNSCREEN:

1/4 cup coconut oil (natural SPF 4). 1/4 cup beeswax. 2 Tablespoons Fuller's Earth (multani mitti)

 If given the opportunity I would like to use the 3 ingredients below, but we'll see.

Optional: 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil. Optional: 2 tablespoons Shea Butter (natural SPF 4-5) Optional: Carrot seed oil (SPF 30)

In the end, it has been a blessing in disguise that I couldn't find some of the modern conveniences I'm used to. Not to mention, finding the ingredients wasn't as hard as I thought! There are a ton of ingredients for food and juice that I feel like I'll miss once I leave India. The abundance of fresh food and fruit juice has made me a happy, healthy vegetarian. I’m not big into eating meat anymore, and that’s not just because I see it sitting dead in the cages on the side of the road before I know they sell it to restaurants that cook it! It is simple to get tons of nutrients and protein in my new vegetarian diet, and I just avoid the