I have experimented with and fine tuned my products over the past 12 months.

Nowadays for my face, my routine is very simple and pure. I daily use jojoba oil to cleanse, (warm water to tone) and jojoba oil to moisturise. Occasionally I make a face mask using an organic avocado. And that is it.

Since starting raw, I have also gone purer in other products too. I have avoided harsh toxic chemicals for years but since starting raw I have taken that purity even further, simply because my body has started to reject anything not natural.

I use black african soap to wash my body with.
I use black african soap to wash my hair with.
I use apple cider vinegar to rinse my hair with.
I use shea butter or coconut oil as a body moisturiser.
I use lemon juice under my armpits.
I rarely use scent. When I do, I use an essential oil, rather than a commercial perfume.

The only chemically things I am still using are toothpaste (colgate) and washing powder (omo sensitive) and that is only because I haven’t yet found a natural toothpaste or natural washing powder that works that well. 

Can anyone suggest a natural (SLS-free) toothpaste that actually works?

Can anyone suggest a natural washing powder that actually works?

When I have tried both in the past, my teeth would start to hurt after a few weeks or my clothes were still stained when they came out of the wash.

So if anyone has recommendations to try, that would be great.

Many thanks

Thanks for that. I had a look on the Weleda website and the toothpastes all look good, especially the one you suggested. And I thought Weleda only made lotions for babies. I am going to try and buy some of their toothpaste this weekend.

Thanks again.

Now I just need a washing powder. Does anyone here use those washing nuts from India?

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I've used the soap nuts.  I don't think they work well on oily stains, but seem to be ok on just general dirt.  You've got to wash in warm-hot water to release the soap from the nuts and then rinse in cold water to stop the soap being released, but clothes still seem to have a bit of soap in them after a cold rinse.  I usually take the bag of soap nuts out and do a another rinse without the bag - that's not quite as bad as it sounds since I've got a front loader so it's less than a bucket of water being used.

Unfortunately I can't recommend a toothpaste that works because I don't use one but I can recommend not using one! I haven't used toothpaste for months and my teeth feel better than ever, I used to have 'permanent' stains on my bottom row but since stopping toothpaste they are gone...its like the natural fruit acids clean my teeth but I do drink a lot of water which I occasionally swirl around my mouth.
If you are eating a lot of dried fruit and nut combo's then you may need something but if you are combining properly & lowfat then I believe you won't need anything except a toothbrush and some water.

Generally I won't use any products at all on my body but if I have any dry spots I may occasionally use a touch of moisturiser from the 'natural Instincts' range which is certified organic herbs and oils/coconut oil/pawpaw ointment or rub some water on the spot vigorously, stimulating the skins natural oils to rise to the surface.  Otherwise my body produces  moisturiser from within from a well-combined low fat vegan diet :-) Especially since having more smoothies because now the body can actually perform its natural functions & has more energy to put towards producing those precious oils rather than digestion combo abombo's.

Also, does anyone here use those wooden (vegan) toothbrushes?

If so, how are they better than a standard toothbrush?

sunlight soap recipe:

I found this in a book my mother had, i adapted it to what worked better for me, the original recipe says to melt the soap in a saucepan, but its fiddly and didnt work that well, plus makes alot at once.

To a 2litre plastic bottle: I grated 1/4 of a bar of sunlight soap into a jug, added some boiling water to the jug, stirred it up for a bit with a spoon, poured the liquid into the container using the spoon to prevent any solid bits that hadnt dissolved going in. I repeated this twice more to get as much of it dissolved as possible. To that i added around 3 tablespoons of washing soda (lectric soda) thats been dissolved in warm water. Top up with more warm water till full, leave lid off a few hours till it cools. I used around half a cup of this to one wash, and also added some washing soda liquid (about 1/4 of a cup to 2litres i made up).

This got fiddly but and i got sick of making it up, plus i discovered making the liquid was unnecessary. So i just greated some soap into a litle plastic container and put the container with a teaspoon in the laundry, adding one teaspoon of this to the wash and one tablespoon of lectric soda worked alot better, and hey lots less work. Ideally you should dissolve the lectric soda in water first if not washing in hot, but i eventually discovered that even in cold water it dissolves just fine in the machine.

As for toothpaste i too just generally use water and a toothbrush, i couldnt do this when first went raw, but was able to after id been on it a while and my teeth are also much whiter and feel cleaner. If they feel a bit dirtier, or are hurting, i use a toothpaste i made with coconut oil, castille soap, bicarb and orange oil. I didnt measure this but it was a small squirt of soap to around a teaspoon of coconut oil, and about a teaspoon of bicarb, mushed into a paste, a few drops of orange oil, plus i think i added a few drops of plain water but cant remember for sure to make it more pasty. I also use a mouthwash of a drop of tea trea oil to a handful of water if the back of my mouth is hurting (usually from eating too many peanuts, dont ask me why this happens, i dont know). Mostly i find water and a brush adequate.

No ive never used the natural toothbrushes, but want to and am considering ordering some next time i replace my brush, i just wish they were easier to obtain, ive only been able to find them online, not in shops.

For soap, i use castille soap on my hands, it goes a long way using just a little, so the cost isnt dramatic when i look at it that way despite it being dear to purchase. On my body, i dont use soap, just a hemp body glove to rub away any dirt.

Shampoo, gave that up too, lol. Water only (yes was a long transition), and i only usually need water about once a month now, i do use a nonvegan hairbrush (boar bristle) to 'clean' it daily, i just keep my brush clean, plus a good scratch to get any loose dead skin off daily and scalp massage. My hair is clean and healthy.

Dont use deoderant, dont need it anymore, but it took me a while to reach that point.

I do occasionally need moisturiser on my hands, because i still use soap on them. I usually just rub in some coconut oil at night, but olive and almond oil also work. I find the almond sinks in better than the others but doesnt seem to moisturise as well. Coconut sinks in well, but takes probs 10mins to sink all the way in. Olive oil takes ages to soak in but probs works the best, just may need to wash your hands with water only after to get off the excess. Coconut defo my fave but.

For washing powder too, for a while before i found out about soap nuts and i wasnt making up my washing mix i used a powder thats available in the supermarkets. It was really cheap and is lectric soda and pure soap, its just in a cheap plastic bag and works well. Might have been called lectric blue or something like that. Anyway it was blue so wasnt convinced it was only lectric soda and soap despite what the label said, i figured had to be coloured at least, but its really cheap and an environmentally sound choice. Its next to the washing powders, i think i found it near where the sunlight soap is and bought it when they stopped selling the plain lecrtic soda, so must have been close to where that was. I dont think many people know they can use it like washing powder.