Power of Sodium Bicarbonate

Sodium Bicarbonate: NaHCO3

Okay, no need to be alarmed, this is not a chemistry lesson at all… I am sure almost EVERYONE reading this has used sodium bicarbonate at least once in their lives… No you say??? Well, how about in CAKES! Yup, it's the baking soda indeed that makes the cakes super spongy… 

While travelling, my wise advice is to always pack some sachets of these amazing salts in your bag. You might never know when you'd need them…

The packs I always pack whenever on the go!

But baking soda is useful for many more purposes other than just helping puff up delicious spongy cakes, as in beauty care! Quite salty to taste, bicarbonates work excellent as bleaches and can help whiten up many things you want. Let's review the quick and cheap home beauty and care products we can rustle up in no time with a little help from the power of sodium bicarbonate...


1. Teeth whitener

How often have you wished for a pearly white smile? Never? Well good for you… Often? Then here is a cheap and effective way to do so… Baking soda comes in handy as the best home remedy for teeth whitening. And what's more? It also works effectively as toothpaste as well as mouthwash in case of emergency, like when forgetting to carry your toothpaste.

For this, you would need:
1. A quarter of lime or lemon
2. 2 teaspoons of baking soda

Power couple: Lemon juice and baking soda

Mix 2 teaspoons of baking soda in a plate and add a bit of lime or lemon juice together till it is a thick white paste. It will react and bubble but that's alright. Using a tooth brush, brush your teeth with the soda-lime paste like usual. Rinse off well and that's it.

Do it once or twice a week only. I'll give it at least 2 months, and then...

SMILE AWAY!

Smile an everlasting smile!

On the side note, toothpastes with bicarbonates have known to whiten teeth faster and better than normal toothpaste, however, the toothpaste does taste extremely salty, so watch out!

2. Underarm beautifier

Like I said, bicarbonates work well as bleach. A lot of us, especially brown or dark skinned with dark and thick hair strands, suffer from underarm stubbles and darkened armpits, and we often end up being all conscious about how our underarms look and the type of clothes we wear. Well, at least I do… So, I found an incredible way of lightning the underarm skin so that I can wear whatever without a care about my underarms ;)

Simply make a thick paste of bicarbonate with water and apply on clean underarms that are shaven or waxed. Alternatively, you can mix a teaspoon each of honey, lime/lemon juice, baking soda and turmeric together, make a paste, and apply on the clean shaven armpits. However let me warn you, if you just shave moments before this it might sting you. So, make sure you shave the morning if you wish to apply it during bedtime. Leave it overnight.

Can do it everyday or alternate days. You will see your underarms lightening in about 2 weeks :)

Show it off ya divas!

3. Black heads remover

As a teenager most of us suffer from hormonal changes and their side effects such as pimple, acnes and blackheads. Well, pimples and acnes are not something you can get rid of overnight but blackheads are something you can definitely rid within minutes!

Unsighlty and unwanted… Say goodbye to those ugly blackheads

Back in my school days we would use a quarter of a lemon and sugar granules, rub it over the blackhead areas such as the nose till the sugar granules dissolved. But no matter how much ever little effective it was, it always left us with bruised red noses that stung for a while. Seriously, not a great idea but what a girl bubbling with hormones wouldn't do to look pretty for her crush ;) !?!

Well here is a remedy quite effective without the pain:
Mix lemon juice, honey and baking soda to a paste and apply on the blackheads infested area. Let it dry, then wipe off with cold tissue. Done and done! It also leaves the skin feeling amazingly soft.

4. Anti-presperent and Deodorant

Sodium bicarbonate is an excellent BO remover! Although it does not give you a fabulous smell, it does help remove that fowl smell you get after sweating in the sun.

Well, personally I just take a shower with soap if I perspire and start smelling, but this is a quick alternative in case you are in no position to take a shower and get conscious about your body odour.

Smelling pretty!

Just rub a bit of baking soda powder in your armpits and that's it... Works like magic!

5. Shampoo

Baking soda and vinegar are two ingredients for your homemade chemical free shampoo that could work wonders on your hair. 

Simply mix 1:3 of baking soda to water  mixture and apply from root to tip. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Now, rinse it with 1:4  of vinegar to water mixture. You can use apple cider vinegar for this. Of course you know vinegar smell. For that either use fragrant essential oil with your mixture or apply them later. Let it sit for a minute more and then rinse it all off with cold water.

Heinz apple cider vinegar

Now, I won't make claims to whether it gives you volume and strength and yada yada yada… But it sure helps take care of your hair and scalp without the nastiness of chemicals and of course, cheap as hell.

6. Fabric whitener and softener

Now coming to home care products… You know, a lot of people ask how to whiten clothes at home without using chlorine bleach, some due to allergy, some due to the fact that chlorine smells, whatever the reason… And almost every article you read about brightening and whitening your white clothes without the harmful bleach mentions lemons juice and baking soda. I tried it out and must say, although it didn't show any drastic results, it did soften my white tops.

Soft like cotton balls...

You can either add 1/2 cup of baking powder in to the washing machine with your washing soap to whiten your whites, or check this out to soften the fabrics.

7. Antacids

Ever went to a fabulous party with extra spicy and scrumptious indian, thai, chinese, or mexican meal and got acid indigestion or heartburn to your utmost inconvenience? Well, solution of baking soda helps treat just that!

Ooh… That looks HOT!

Just gulp down a glass of water with a teaspoon of baking soda that you carry in your bag like me ;) and there you go… All good for second helping of that curry already :D

Read more about the medical uses of Sodium bicarbonate here.

8. Cleaning agents

It even works wonders as fungicides and biopesticides by retarding fungal growth. You can also use it to scrub and clean metal products such as aluminium and silver.

Then there are other uses of the "power powder" in larger quantity for industrial applications such as soda blasting, neutralising both acid and alkali (bicarbonate being amphoteric) and fire extinguishing, but that's a different subject.

I love my baking soda… Hope you find some good use for it too :)


Until next time…


LOADS OF LOVE,


bgJBji