One of the most fun ways to ensure your bathroom cabinet stays chemical-free is to skip buying commercial products altogether!  Making your own beauty products is simple, inexpensive, and eliminates any worry that your new facial cleanser contains scary cancer-causing agents.  And when you make it yourself, there’s no added packaging to be tossed into a landfill when you’re through.

Simple Facial Mask & Scrub*

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp sugar
• dash of ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Mix the ingredients well in a small cup or bowl.  Smooth mixture onto face, avoiding eyes and sensitive areas, and scrub lightly for a moment.  This can be a little drippy, so be sure to apply it while over a sink or in the tub! Let the mask sit on your face for 5 to 10 minutes, scrub lightly again, and rinse with water.  Pat face dry with a towel and enjoy how soft and moisturized your skin feels!

*As with any new skin care product, always do a spot test on a small area of your skin first.

Did you try this recipe?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought — or share DIY beauty tips of your own!

Super Green Girl wonders Does Green = Inconvenient? and what’s wrong (or right) about inconvenience?  This is a great article about things most of us try not to think about.

Check out the View tomorrow (3/9) for more period talk with the authors of Flow:The Cultural History of Menstruation 11am EST.

First stop on the GladRags’ Green Goals train: cloth napkins and handkerchiefs!

Personally, I grew up in a household that used cloth napkins for all meals.  I was always weirded out going to friend’s houses whose families only used paper napkins or paper towels.  Cloth napkins feel so practical and comfortable to me!  They are softer and don’t fall apart in your hands like many paper napkins do after some use.  There may be a slightly higher upfront cost, but as you reuse the cloth napkins they will save you money and you’ll never run out!  Most of the napkins I have came as hand-me-downs from my parents or grandparents, but thrift stores are also a great place to pick some up.  Sewing cloth napkins is also a great way to go — even if you are a novice sewer (myself included), this project should be fairly simple.  For a great tutorial on making your own napkins check out Chez Beeper Bebe’s blog post (happy face napkins pictured are from her site).

Handkerchiefs are a whole different story.  Growing up, we always had a box of tissues.  Having had allergies and frequent colds, they have always been useful to me.  The tissues with lots of lotion in them were the best as they did not make my nose raw after many uses.  In college, I started to feel guilty for wasting all this paper and energy.  I started using toilet paper to save money and waste as the cheap toilet paper I use is thin and does not include lotion.  Lately, I have been trying to use handkerchiefs more often.  Handkerchiefs are also easy to make or cheap to buy at vintage stores.  GladRags offers some very soft organic handkerchiefs, too!

Some people have been using cloth napkins and handkerchiefs for years, so this goal is already second nature for them.  We challenge you to reduce your paper towel use even more by declining paper napkins with take-out food or carrying your own cloth for hand drying in public restrooms!

Tracy and I hope you will join us in finding fun, simple ways to make our lives even greener.  Leave a comment to let us know what you’re doing to conserve or share your own tips with us!

Periods can be a lot of things: uncomfortable, a relief, embarrassing, cause for celebration, a reminder of womanhood, taboo, and more.  But funny?  We think so — and so did Laura S. of Ohio who sent us this story:

One evening on a car ride with my parents, husband, and ten year old nephew, I started singing the song Rock Around the Clock.  When I sang the first line of the first verse, my husband busted out laughing. Only I understood why.  The first line of the verse is as follows:

“Put your glad rags on, join me hon.  We’ll have some fun when the clock strikes one. We’re gonna rock around the clock tonight…..”

Although “glad rags” can mean “stylish clothes,” my husband had only ever heard of the term GladRags to mean your reusable menstrual pads, hence, his laughter! (My husband didn’t believe that I was singing the correct words until we looked it up on the internet.)  So now, whenever he sees me reaching for my GladRags, he asks if I’m getting ready to rock around the clock!

We know you have at least one silly period anecdote — from the time your four-year-old set the table with your “special napkins” to what happened the first time you wore your Moon Cup to school — and we want to hear it!  Goofy photos, like this one of 9-month-old Max wearing a (clean) GladRag as hat, are also valid entries for the contest.  Even better, the submitter of the most laugh-out-loud hilarious tale will win a Cloth Pad Sampler Kit!

How it works: Post your story or image as a comment on this entry by 3/17/10. We’ll pick a few favorites and to be voted on on the GladRags Facebook page.  The story or photo with the most votes wins a Sampler Kit!

So come on, make us laugh!

• Learn what your vagina thinks of the tampons or menstrual cups debate in Tampon vs. Keeper: One Vagina’s Story on youtube in which “A vulva puppet learns the difference between standard and reusable menstrual products.”
• Sarah Haskins & Friends Talk Periods, Pads, And Poop at what looks like a very interesting panel discussion with Susan Kim (who you might know as the co-author of Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation) and  television producer Allison Silverman.  Check out this Jezebel article for videos and commentary.
• Simple Organic has a great article on Green Goal Setting, Part 1: Personal Life in which the author sets out a number of goals to consider for the coming year including switching to reusable menstrual products.  This has inspired us to create some green challenges of our own.  Look forward to joining us in our GladRags Green Goals in the near future.

Joni Christine has won the Moon Cup Kit contest by posting a comment on last week’s Menstrual Monday blog entry.  Please email us by the end of the week at orders@gladrags.com to receive your prize!

March Monthly Friend: Mary

Name: Mary
Age: 26
Hometown: Laramie, WY
Current location: Laramie, WY
Occupation: University Staff

Interests: Dogs, cooking, coffee, travel…
Dreams: To be a great mom (in 12 weeks when my baby is due!)

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: 1 year
Reason for making the switch to reusables: I always found regular pads to be so uncomfortable, sticky, and frankly made me yeast-prone no matter how often they were changed. I know a lot of people are worried about the environment, and I care about that too of course, but the bottom line for me was comfort. I picked up GladRags at my local organic co-op and loved them! I have since switched over completely.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: So I noted above that I am 28 weeks pregnant. You might think, why does she even need GladRags??? Well let me tell you… it wasn’t too long into the pregnancy that I began to realize that when you are pregnant, everything drips like a faucet. I was at the library a few months ago in an elevator, trying to crane around to look past my belly to see what was on my pants when my boobs started leaking milk too. I may not be having my period, but if I don’t wear a liner every day it looks like I peed my (stretchy) pants! No fun at all. This is the adventure that is motherhood, I suppose. Since I had used GladRags my last few periods before I conceived, they were the natural choice for protection with the increased discharge and I am so grateful! Not only do I leak but I sweat too and I think I might die of heat rash if I had to wear sticky plastic every day. Yuck. Not only have cloth pads been good for me, they have been good for my baby too. I’ve been inspired to stock up on reusable breast pads and cloth diapers! These more natural options just feel right, and that’s important when I’m making choices for the little girl I love the most.

• Dr. Machelle Seibel writes about vaginal pH and how different events and items can effect it.  He notes that tampons can absorb the natural fluids that vaginas need to maintain pH.  Read his very interesting and short article if you need another reason to not use tampons.
• The Diva Cup commissions a fun informative video about why eco-conscious ladies should use alternative menstrual products in Eco Menstrual Innovations: Diva Cup Give Pads and Tampons the Green Boot.
• Animal New York brings to light what happens When Men Create PMS Ads (see photo) shows us some confusing imagery and targeting techniques.  Apparently, a Chilean ad campaign for a midol-type product is attempting to market their product to men to buy for their female significant others.  What do you guys thing of this ad?  Funny?  Disgusting?  Sexist?  All three?

Bonus: Truth Be Told blog is hosting a GladRags giveaway and review.  You can win a color pad sampler pack!  Find out the many ways to enter here.

What it’s all about: This cute comic begins with Kitty, who tries her hardest to be green in her daily life, — we see her carrying a tower of empty bottles to recycle, standing on a city bus, shopping at a farmer’s market, and so on.  While browsing for  eco-living tips she notices they never address a certain important topic: feminine hygiene products!

Who it’s for: If you’re new to reusable menstrual products, you’ll love the user-friendly reviews of cloth pads, menstrual cups, and sea sponges.  Each product type has step-by-step instructions on how to use it, plus the pros and cons — complete with cute comics, of course!

Why you should check it out: Leamy does a great job explaining the impact of disposable products in terms of waste, resources used, health, and cost. Her drawings are infinitely likeable, and she presents information in a fun, no-pressure tone.  This zine would be a great resource to help introduce friends to menstrual alternatives!

Take a look: Pick up a copy of Greenblooded from Metrokitty.com and be sure to check out Leamy’s other comics while you’re there!

Make a zine you’d like to see reviewed on our blog?  Have a suggestion for a great book we should read?  Let us know in the comments!

Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism by Alison Piepmeier

• Ascics shoe company comes out with a running shoe that changes shape based on where a woman is on her menstrual cycle.  Read more about how our arches change here.
• Blogger Stumptown Crunch has a great article on why the Diva Cup is so awesome!  The article include some striking visual aids (see photo).
• Frugal for Life reviews GladRags and offers Color Sampler Pack giveaway in a recent post!
• Crunchy Chicken discusses a new product, the glass menstrual cup.
• More menstrual humor (this time from a woman!) in the video Aunt Flow from Let’s Talk….Period from humorist and blogger Bern This.