Got milk? You don’t have to just drink it. 

Love it or hate it, milk has a place not only in your diet but also in your tool box and cleaning closet as well as among your toiletries. Raw goat milk, in its unadulterated and probiotic-heavy state, is the best to use. But seeing that unpasteurized milk is outlawed for sale almost everywhere in the U.S., pasteurized goat milk is second best. While not all milks are created equally, you can use any animal milk to successfully benefit from these tips. From curing a hangover to tending to those stained linens, milk has got your back.

Appetite Suppressant

To prevent overeating at mealtime, drink a glass of milk 15 minutes beforehand. Milk fills you up and gives you enough protein – 1 cup of non-fat milk contains 8.26 grams of protein – to keep you feeling fuller and less inclined to go overboard when food is served.

Hair Conditioner and Mask

With its vitamin and mineral content, milk works great on smoothing and shining your hair. Rinse your hair with fresh milk and let it sit wet for a few minutes before rinsing with water. You could also mix powdered milk with water to form a paste and then comb through hair, letting it to sit for at least 5 minutes before washing out.

Hangover Cure

Milk helps to settle the stomach, rehydrate the system, and raise blood sugar levels. These make it a great morning-after hangover cure. Additionally, milk contains the amino acid cysteine, which is known to neutralize a lethal dose of acetaldehyde, which is an alcohol metabolite.

Fish Freshener

Place frozen fish in a milk bath and let sit until the fish thaws. The milk makes the fish taste fresher.

Make-Up Remover

Mix powdered milk with water until a paste forms. Apply the paste to skin to remove make up. Rinse thoroughly.

Crack Eliminator

Before you toss Grandma’s beloved china, enlist milk to the rescue! The protein in milk reacts with the mineral kaolin in china to close cracks. All you have to do is place china in a pan, cover it with milk, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer for up to an hour.

Silverware Polisher

For glistening silverware, take advantage of milk gone sour. Simply soak silverware in sour milk, cover it completely, and let it soak over night. The next day, wash the silverware as you normally would. If the milk isn’t sour already and you want to make your own, for every cup of milk, mix in one tablespoon of lemon juice and one tablespoon of vinegar and let it sit for five minutes before use.

Bug Bite Soother

Mix milk powder with enough water until it resembles a paste. Apply the paste to the area affected by the insect bite to relieve pain. The enzymes in the milk will neutralize the venom.

Facial Cleanser and Mask

Milk is a natural cleanser. It contains vitamin A, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamins B6 and B12. The alpha-hydroxy acids in milk exfoliate the skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and discoloration. Use a cotton ball to dab milk all across your face. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wash with water before moisturizing. For a mask, take 1/4 cup powdered milk and add enough water until it becomes a paste. Mix thoroughly and apply to the face. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before rinsing.

Ink Remover

To remove ink from clothing, take the affected garment and soak it in a milk bath overnight. The next day, wash the garment as usual. The stain should be gone. To boost the milk’s effectiveness, mix two parts milk with one part vinegar as the soaking solution.

Body Skin Moisturizer

The butterfat in milk moisturizes the skin. And because the pH of milk is close to the skin’s natural pH, the skin is more receptive to the moisturizing effects of the milk. Pour a few cups of fresh milk or 1/2 cup powdered milk into your bathtub, Cleopatra style.

Dry Hands Softener

To relieve dry and chafed hands, rinse them in milk a few times a day. Over the course of a week or two, your hands will begin to feel softer and less Winter rough.

Leather Cleaner

Dab worn or dirty leather with milk and buff until clean. The milk removes debris and leaves the leather shiny and looking brand new.

Corn on the Cob Flavor Booster

Boil corn with some milk in the water – about 1/2 cup – and the corn’s sweetness will heighten and its flavors will become more developed.

Shaving Cream Replacement

Run out of shaving cream? Nothing powdered milk and water can’t fix. Mix enough water with powdered sugar to produce a paste. Apply the paste to your face, underarms, and legs and shave. This simple concoction is smooth enough to resemble the real thing.

Poison Ivy Soother

To reduce the itch from an unintended stroll through a poison ivy bush, dab fresh milk or a powdered milk and water paste on the affected area. The milk will reduce the itchiness, redness, and irritation.

Sunburn Soother

Delicately pat sunburned skin with fresh milk. The milk cools the burn and the enzymes in the milk help to offset the pain.

Fertilizer

A tip from farmers and seasoned gardeners themselves – use milk as a fertilizer. Milk has been used as an organic fungicide and fertilizer without harming the plant.

Furniture Polisher

Sour milk makes for a great furniture polisher. Apply sour milk to furniture surfaces through a disposable spray bottle and wipe clean. You can also make your own sour milk, outlined above.

Milk Carton Bird Feeder

No, we didn’t forget about offering you a way to re-use the milk carton! Here is a tutorial on how to turn the carton into a bird feeder.

Images: Muffet, Striatic, Sshreeves, Jenny Downing, Gagstreet, Markusram, Robert Benner, The Living Room

The post 20 Unusual Ways to Use Milk appeared first on EcoSalon.

During my travels throughout the world of eco-beauty, I often get asked some interesting questions. Sometimes they are simple like “Can I eat my natural makeup?” (…No) Sometimes they are more complex like “Is this product native energy, fair trade, organic certified by USDA or just Ecocert or just the neighborhood postal carrier who claims it doesn’t make her skin red?” (“¦Let me get back to you on that.)

But recently, someone posed the question – “Is toner really necessary?” And my answer is – yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Strictly defined, toner is cleanser or lotion designed to clean skin and shrink pores. It can restore your skin’s natural pH levels, which is important to protect your skin against sun, stress, and pollutants.

Some industry professionals think toners are unnecessary while others swear by them. It very much depends on your type of skin and what kind of toner you use. Some are more like tonics that moisturize the skin while others are more astringent and can contain higher levels of alcohol. These clean the skin of oils – but that can lead to problems as your skin can go into hyper drive to replace lost oil.

Why am I so big on toner? I spend most of my beauty regime on retaining and maintaining my skin tone. And I find a good organic toner to be the best way to do this. Maybe they work because they tighten pores and maintain pH levels, or maybe they work because fairies sprinkle eco-dust on your face after an application. I just find that, yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and ask him to bring you some toner.

The Eco-Toner to Buy: Thayer’s Rose Petal Alcohol-Free Witch Hazel

Now imagine me repeating this three times and clicking my red sequined heels together. This project seems almost magical. Thayer’s contains tannins extracted from the bark of witch hazel, or Hamamelis Virginiana. The tannins are made into big tea bags, soak in purified waters, and then placed into the toner. And just what do tannins do? In my case, I saw my skin tone return to something it resembled ten years ago. Containing some organic ingredients, it’s moisturizing, clean, and survives my sensitive skin. I cannot recommend this product more highly.

How to Make Your Own Eco-Toner:

Want to make your own? Check out this recipe for a hydrating, homemade skin toner containing calming chamomile.

• 1 organic chamomile tea bag
• ½ teaspoon organic vodka
• In a small saucepan, brew tea bag in two cups of water for ten minutes. Remove the ea bag and cool. Add vodka when cooled and apply to skin using a clean cotton swap.

And if you want to know more, check out our review of several organic toners!

Image: Perfecto Insecto

The post Toner: Why Do We Use It? appeared first on EcoSalon.