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Here we will have lists of How-to's to make your own household cleaners and items.

Some recipes for cold cream will contain borax; others will not. Borax is a natural ingredient, and acts as both an antiseptic and a preservative. A reaction occurs when added to recipes containing beeswax – it turns the concoction a creamy white color.

BASIC COLD CREAM
1 ounce grated beeswax or beeswax pellets
6 tablespoons light mineral oil
4 tablespoons distilled water
1 teaspoon borax
2-3 drops of your preferred essential oil
Instructions

In a double boiler or clean class dish in a microwave, combine beeswax and mineral oil.

Gently heat and stir until melted and well blended. While melting, dissolve your borax in the distilled water and heat it gently — do not boil.

Remove both pans or dishes from the heat source, and, stirring constantly, slowly drizzle the distilled water and borax solution into your wax and oil solution. When fully combined, begin to beat vigorously until it has cooled.

Add your essential oil and continue to beat until your cream is light and airy, with a brilliant white sheen. Store in clean glass jars, preferably in the refrigerator.

The borax is a simple preservative, but your cream will keep best in the refrigerator, for approximately 3-6 weeks.

Basic Cold Cream Vanishing Formula

The ingredients are available from most health food stores. Borax is found in the laundry section of the supermarket. Borax is used in this recipe as an emulsifier.

1 ounce jojoba
1 ounce grape seed oil
1/2 to 1 ounce beeswax (less for a thinner cream)
2 ounces distilled or filtered water
1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
1 teaspoon borax
10 drops mint oil or other essential oil of choice (optional)
40 drops grapefruit seed extract as a preservative

Combine the oils and beeswax in a double boiler and melt. Remove from the heat and pour in the remaining ingredients; mix with an electric handheld mixer until the cream is thick and creamy. Makes 3/4 cup. Store in a glass jar with a screw top. Discard after 6 months (or sooner if mold begins to grow).

Here is a recipe that does NOT use borax but uses Shortening. It doesn't last as long. It does make one think about what they do put in shortening if it can be a good cosmetics base.

Cold Cream for Dry Skin

•8 Tablespoons of Pure Vegetable Shortening
•2 Tablespoons of Sweet Almond Oil
•5 Drops of Tincture of Benzoin
•4 Drops of Lavender oil

Put the oil and shortening into a double broiler, and set the stovetop to low heat.

Once the shortening has melted completely, remove the double broiler from the head and gently stir in the tincture of benzoin.

Stir in the lavender oil, and then set aside allowing the mixture to settle to room temperature, and then put in a covered container and put into the fridge for about 20 minutes.

To use the mixture for makeup remover, just cover the face or areas with the cold cream, then wait a few minutes before wiping off with a dampened towel.

To use it to soften skin, massage into the area and leave overnight. For dry skin on the hands and feet, I suggest slathering it on generously and then wearing socks or mittens to bed to allow it to soak in overnight.

Store what's left in the fridge, and use up within the next 15 days.

Prepare a ginger skin cream by grating a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger into small pieces, then squeezing the juice out of them over a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup cocoa butter, 2 tbsp. vitamin E oil, 2 tbsp. apricot kernel oil and 2 tbsp. light sesame oil. Stir these items together, then sit the bowl in the oven at 350 degrees F just until the butter melts. Store the cream in a small lidded jar in a cool, dry place and rub into the skin as needed.Great to make and store in vintage glass dressing table lidded jars.

Place 3 tbsp. beeswax in a pot and turn the heat on low. Add 3 tbsp. sweet almond oil, 3 tbsp. apricot kernel oil and 3 tbsp. avocado oil to the pot. Continuously stir the mixture and remove it from the stove as soon as it melts. Drop 3 tbsp. rosewater into the cream and beat it until it cools. Rub into your skin as your prefer.

Things You'll Need:

In a heat-safe bowl mix well 2.5 tbsp castor oil and about 20 drops of liquid coloring OR 3 tsp mineral eyeshadow powder.Add 3.5 tsp of caranuba/candelilla wax, vitamin E oil and coconut or cocoa butter to the container. Stir well, then heat container in 20 second bursts in your microwave until well-mixed and melted.Pour your lipstick mixture into small cosmetic containers, or into empty eyeshadow compacts and allow to cool. Apply to lined lips with a lip brush.

LAUNDRY SOAP HOW TO VIDEO (Sorry about the sponser ad at the end, it is for him, not me) This makes a 2cent a load detergent!

Each batch yields 16 ounces. I made two batches of this recipe and stored the 32 ounces of resulting product in a yogurt container left over.

Thoroughly stir together for 5 minutes and enjoy the results! This is good for small batches.

Add 1 tbsp. cornstarch to the cold water. Stir well until the cornstarch is all dissolved.Pour it into a plastic spray bottle. One that sprays with a fine mist works best for this.Shake well before each use. Spray onto clothes and iron. Add more corn starch-up to 3 tablespoons-for a harder starched effect.Make up two batches if you like both light and heavy starch for different items. Put 3 tbsp. in one batch and 1 or 1 1/2 in the other. No matter what your ironing needs, you'll have both on hand.

2.) Old Fashioned Boiled Starch (this is a more authentic starch and gives a crisp texture. Though later into the 1950's with the modern washing machines in most homes and the advent of spray starch, this fell out of use. Though this is often used by historical enactoers for its ability to hold a petticaot 'stiff')

Use regular cornstarch from the baking section of your grocery. Stir 1/4 cup of starch into one cup of water until it's dissolved. Then stir that mixture into a quart of water in a microwave-safe container. Mixing it that way, rather than stirring the cornstarch directly into all the water, helps eliminate lumps.Microwave the mixture, stirring every 30 seconds, until it comes to a boil and thickens. You can also heat it on the stove, or even the old-fashioned way, over a wood fire.For heavy starch, let the mixture cool so it's warm enough to handle, and use it just as it is. For medium starch, stir in one quart of cold water. For light starch, stir in two quarts of cold water.While the starch is still warm but cool enough to touch, dip the garment in plain water, wring it out, then dip it in the starch, stirring it for a minute to make sure the starch soaks through it evenly. Remove it and wring it out. Repeat with all the clothes that need starched. Hang them on a line to dry, or dry them in the drier.Now it's time to iron them. The clothes need to be almost dry, but still have a little dampness. If you can catch them at that stage as they're drying, great! If not, and they're completely dry, sprinkle them with water, roll them in a towel and let them sit for a few hours to let the dampness spread through them, or spray them lightly with water. When they're evenly damp, iron them, careful not to scorch the starch with too high heat.