Sanitation/ Personal Hygiene

Sanitation - Personal Care

Bathing: (We discussed soap inventory needs in soap section)

In the event you had limited water for bathing, your choices for cleaning up would be:
1 - Shallow baths in your tub if you could use it (no broken pipes) and didn’t want to keep the water.
2 - Bath in extra large round tub near heat source. (Do you have something you can use for this if need be?)

3 - Chilly dips in outside water

4 - Camp shower bags (pre bought) hung (either in existing tub or in an out doors area) water is heated by the sun. You would probably need several for a family.

5 - There are clever ways to make showers out of 5 gallon buckets with spigots or holes that are placed on a ladder or high shelf, filled with warm water, you stand underneath, and shower quick

6 - Sponge bath
Shampoo
Each family member needs as an average minimum, one gallon of shampoo per year. That would be enough to wash your hair about once a week, depending on how much shampoo you use.

Shampoo Alternatives:
1 - Work some dry baking soda (dip damp fingers into a small bowlful) into hair and scalp, then rinse it off with warm water, you will have squeaky clean hair.

2 - Homemade Shampoo

4 oz of castile soap with any scent is that available –– plain, peppermint, eucalyptus.
Choose whatever herbs you feel like your hair needs
½ oz of rosemary - stimulates the hair follicles and helps to prevent premature baldness
½ oz of sage –– has antioxidants and keeps things from spoiling and is antibacterial

½ oz of nettles –– acts as a blood purifier, blood stimulator, contains a large source of nutrients for hair growth

½ of lavender –– controls the production of sebaceous gland oil and reduces itchy and flaky scalp conditions

Mix the herbs in a mason jar, which has a lid. Boil 2 cups of distilled water. Add 3 heaping tablespoons of the mixed herbs into the boiling water. Pull the boiling water and herbs off the stove. Let the herb mixture sit for 30 –– 40 minutes. Strain the herbal mixture into a bowl.

Pour 2 to 2 1/2 oz of strained herbal tea into the 8 oz plastic bottle. Now, pour the 4 oz of castile soap into the 8 oz plastic bottle. Cap the bottle and shake to mix the ingredients.

The shampoo is now finished and ready for use. Use this as a base for all of the shampoos you make. You can add different herbs as you learn what these herbs do and how they help your hair. You can vary the ingredients according to your taste.

3 - Shampoo Recipe from Scratch
2 lb 10 oz olive oil
1 ob 7 oz solid vegetable shortening
1 lb of coconut or other oil
10 1/4 oz lye
2 pint water
1 ½ oz glycerin (available at pharmacies)
½ oz alcohol
1 ½ oz castor oil
Mix oils together. Place in a container and set the container in a large pan. Mix the lye solution - pour the lye into an enamel coated container of 2 pints cold water and stir steadily (How to make lye instructions are in the soap section) When cooled pour lye solution into a glass container and set in another large pan. Bring both to between 95* and 98* (candy thermometer works perfectly for this) this will mean pouring either cold or hot water into the pans, depending on original temperature of the ingredients.

Add the lye solution to the oils, pouring in a steady stream while continuing to stir. This mixture will turn opaque and brownish then will lighten. It is ready when its surface can support a drop of mixture for a moment/ the consistency should be like sour cream. Pour Mixture into molds and allow to harden. Make the shampoo as you need it by shaving off flakes and boiling in water until they dissolve, about one pond of shavings per gallon of water. You can add more water to the mixture, boil and allow to cool then place in bottle for use.

Hair Conditioner
½ cup olive oil
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey

Combine ingredients and heat until boiling. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour into a plastic spray bottle and spray wet hair. Wrap in damp cloth and leave for one our. Shampoo and rinse.
Hair Spray
Can be made with watered down corn syrup
Toothpaste

To determine your yearly needs, track your families tooth paste use for a week and times that by 52. The general rule is one large tube per family member per month.

You also need to have extra toothbrushes and floss stored as well. One way to extend your toothbrushes in a survival situation is to boil them for 5 minutes once a month.

1 - Here is a good recipe—>Ben Franklin used this.
Mix honey and ground charcoal, mix into a paste and rub on teeth for whiteness...I read where he only had 2 teeth left when he died, maybe this is why!

2 - Seriously here is a toothpaste mixture -
Mix 3 parts baking soda with one part salt.
Add 3 tsp of glycerin for every 1/4 cup of this mixture. Then add enough water to make a thick paste. Add peppermint oil for better taste.

3 - Toothpaste Mixture #2 -
1/4 tsp peppermint oil
1 tsp spearmint
1/4 cup arrowroot
1/4 cup powdered orrisroot
1/4 cup water
1 tsp ground sage

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add water until paste is desired thickness and consistency.
4 - Indians used sage to clean their teeth. They plucked a leaf and rubbed all over their teeth until they were clean.
5 - Another thing used was strawberries.
6 - Pine needles have also been used.
Mouthwash
1 - 2 cups water
3 tsp parsley
2 tsp whole cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp peppermint extract
Boil water and remove from heat. Add dry ingredients and allow to steep for 10-15 mins. Strain and store in a tightly covered container. You can substitute other flavorings fro peppermint if desired.
Hand Lotion (This is the old RS lotion that used to be sold at Church Bazaar’s)
12 oz glycerin
½ ox 28% ammonia
½ oz boric acid
4 oz steric acid
½ oz cocoa butter or beeswax
2 cup hot water.
Melt glycerin, steric acid and cocoa butter in glass or enamel double boiler. Remove from heat and stir until milky with a wooden spoon, Add boric acid already dissolved in 2 cups hot water, Add ammonia. Beat 10 minutes with mixer.
You can do searches on the internet and find many more recipes. These are recipes that have been tried and used by myself or people I know.

Sanitary Pads
Attached are the instructions to make sanitary pads. These have many uses as well as what they are meant for. This pattern is for you to use if you ever run out of this particular item. (Heaven Forbid!)

Look through this personal care area and determine what your family needs to keep clean. I read a talk once by Brigham Young, I don’t know where it is right now, but he was talking to the Priesthood Brethren about the need to take a bath more than once a month as their wives were complaining!
Evaluate your family’s personal care needs.
How much shampoo do you use? How much would you need in an emergency situation?
How much toothpaste and tooth brushes do you need? If the electricity went out, you would need toothbrushes to take the place of electric toothbrushes.

How much soap do you use and need
also look at your toilet paper needs.


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