I would like to share how my daughter and I use lemons to practice a more environment friendly, natural and healthy form of hygiene tried, tested and extremely effective. Please, if you can, use organic lemons:
Clean, fresh tongue: (Caution : please do not do this if you have sores on your tongue or bleeding. I will share in an upcoming post how I deal with oral hygiene). I dip my toothbrush in some lemon juice and brush my tongue. It cleans so nicely and gives a clean pink look. The tongue carries a great deal of bacteria that is the cause of bad breath. (To be honest, I just take a quarter of a lemon and rub it on my tongue but I am aware that many people have sensitive skin so please do not do this; rather use the toothbrush way previously suggested). After doing this, I brush my teeth or rinse my mouth with warm water.
General feminine hygiene: Stress, not drinking enough water, poor diet, inferior quality underwear, heat, sexual activity etc. can be the reason for alot of issues: after showering I add lemon juice to warm water rinse intimate areas; lemon water is a great disinfectant and refresher. I know that this may seem a bit foreign to many people, however, we have forgotten how nature has actually provided for all our needs.
Travel – especially long flights: I feel so uncomfortable being sedentary for 14 hours or more when I fly and so to freshen up, I always travel with a lemon cut in half put into a small holder or fresh bag; squeeze some lemon juice on toilet paper (I told you it’s real talk) and wipe under arms, the inside of your thighs and as mum would say “other important places”. Of course, flush away the toilet paper once you are done. Keeps one amazingly fresh on long hauls. Why don’t I use baby wipes etc.? Because they are not entirely natural and one half of a lemon can be used for lemon water on flights and the other half for freshening up. I can even use the lemon juice to clean the toilet seat before I use it. It’s an amazing cleanser provided by nature.
Under arm: Instead of using under arm sprays, roll-on that can be very toxic or powder that leaves a thin layer of a crumbly look that I see so often especially with ladies I use a little bit of lemon juice each morning under my arms (freshly squeezed). If you have very sensitive skin, then mix the lemon juice with some warm water and dab it under the arm pits after a shower (do not do this immediately after a shave – apply a tiny bit of coconut oil under armpits and later dab the lemon juice on). Very long lasting and completely fresh feeling. Simply wonderful.
Lemon blooms have the most beautiful perfume and I love to know that what I am using on my body is not some hardcore chemical in a beautiful package but really something that is easy to transport, versatile, environment friendly and really, truly refreshing.
Photography rozannawithaz
model: alma (in gratitude to her wonderful parents for allowing her to be my very first model)