You might have heard plenty about using clay to help deep cleanse your skin, or using different types of mud, but have you heard about diatomaceous earth?
This is a simply amazing, completely natural substance that few people know about. Diatomaceous earth is actually a type of fossilized phytoplankton skeletons. This plankton is then ground into a powder form. The above picture is a super magnified view of DE. Pretty cool, right?
There are two types of DE, regular and food grade. Regular DE can be used in the garden to stop insects and ants from invading your home and garden by literally cutting their little feet and bodies to pieces as they pass over it. DE is almost as hard as a diamond, actually, although to humans, it feels like powder.
For use on the body and for consumption, always be certain that you are buying food grade DE. This ensures that it’s been sterilized.
Diatomaceous earth is rich in silica, which is what gives your skin and hair that beautiful shine. It also makes teeth, bones, and nails super hard.
Unlike clay, food grade DE can be consumed to work from the inside out to give you beautiful hair and skin.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 little known uses for DE and what it can mean to you!
- Super Dandy Deodorizer
Although you might think that baking soda works pretty well to deodorize your fridge, freezer, and trash cans, but wait until you try DE! This must be the most deodorizing substance on the planet! Use it just like you would baking soda and you will notice the difference literally within an hour.
- Perfect Pest Control
This natural product works on just about every crawling insect you can imagine. It’s safe, even if your dog licks it off the floor! You can use a makeup brush to drop it into corners, nooks, and small places you can’t otherwise reach. It kills spider, ticks, cockroaches, fleas, ants, and earwigs, just to name a few. However, unlike other substances, it’s harmless to humans and pets.
- Tooth Whitener
Keep in mind that DE is very hard, so you only want to use just a sprinkle and only about once per week. However, when you follow this regimen, yellow or coffee stains simply come right off of your teeth, leaving you with a nice, white smile!
- Face and Body Scrub
For a super exfoliant and face mask, you can’t beat DE. This natural substance also has minerals, including magnesium, copper, zinc, and calcium. Your skin absorbs what you put into it, so this is a great way to get some trace minerals, especially magnesium, which is hard to come by. Mix one tablespoon of DE with some honey and a few drops of water to make a terrific face or body scrub. You can even let it sit on your face for 10 or 15 minutes to let it draw out the impurities.
- Intense Hair Nourishment
Studies have found that women who consume more silica had thicker, stronger hair. Well, who doesn’t want more of that?! Mix one teaspoon of DE (food grade only) in 8 ounces of water and drink about 30 minutes after every meal.
- Kill Those Garden Uglies
To break the life cycle of fleas (because they love to hang out and breed in the garden), as well as kill beetles, squash bugs, slugs, spiders, and other creepy crawlies, you can use child and pet safe DE. Simply dust the plant and ground with DE. Cover for one day so it affects the bugs you want to kill, but doesn’t hurt bees or butterflies. Then uncover and rinse. Repeat every 2 weeks for 2 months to break the life cycle of fleas.
- Kills Bedbugs
Although you can buy products that contain DE, many of those products contain other substances. You can try plain DE first, by dusting or blowing it around the frame of the bed and on the mattress. Check out this video for more info on how to use DE effectively.
- A Prepper’s Delight
If you are a prepper and you want to protect your stored grain, beans, or seeds from insects, you can safely add some DE (food grade only, of course!) to instantly kill insects who invade your supply. You can also sprinkle it around the area and try to kill them before they ever get to make entry.
- Improves Bones and Joints
Studies show that silica is very beneficial to bones, joints, and connective tissue. This would make DE an outstanding addition to any arthritis or osteoporosis treatment plan. Speak with your doctor for the correct dosage for your situation.
- Amazingly Absorbent
DE can absorb more than 1.1 times its weight in liquids. This makes it perfect for your kitty litter box, the bottom of trashcans, even for spills in the kitchen, such as oil. Speaking of oil put a pan of this under your car to absorb all those little leaks and drips cars can leave behind.
Regular DE can be dangerous if you breathe in the dust. Actually, any dust can cause breathing problems, so you should always use food grade DE and wear a mask, just to be on the safe side. Otherwise, DE is completely harmless to humans and pets.
Do you use DE at your home? Tell us how you like to use it in your neck of the woods.
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