We talk a lot about indoor and outdoor air pollution around here, so when I ran across this infographic at sustainablog, I couldn't resist sharing it with you guys. It gives a lots of information about common carcinogens that we encounter both in the workplace and at home. Check it (you can click the graphic to view a larger version):

Indoor Air Quality and Cancer

The part of the graphic that struck me most was the section at the end on cancer and indoor air quality. The air inside our homes is often far more polluted than the air outdoors, thanks to chemical cleaning products and off-gassing from our furniture and housewares.

If you're not familiar with off-gassing, it's when a product made with harmful toxins releases small amounts of those chemicals into the air. A good example is that "new car smell." What you're actually smelling is all of the chemicals used to make everything from the seats and steering wheel to the dashboard, gear shift, and floormats. When you think about what's actually causing that smell, it's not such a pleasant odor!

Looking for some tips to improve the air quality in your own home? Check out these 9 ways to make your home's air safer!

Indulge in a little self-care with these DIY beauty recipes!

Self care means taking the time to do for yourself. We get so swept up in obligations and our day-to-day routine that sometimes we sacrifice our own mental health to get things done. When we neglect ourselves, we can become irritable, exhausted, and even make ourselves sick. Self care doesn't have to take a lot of time. It's just about stepping away - even for just 15-20 minutes - and doing something nice for ourselves. It could be enjoying a cup of fancy coffee, listening to a favorite podcast, taking a walk, or indulging in a little DIY beauty.

No matter what holiday you celebrate, this time of year is incredibly stressful. Even if you don't observe any of the December holidays, chances are lots of folks in your office do, so your work days have been hectic from being short-handed all month. Whether your stress comes from getting gifts together and dealing with family or from fighting holiday traffic, we all need a little self-care this time of year.

Check out these five beauty recipes to pamper yourself!

1.    DIY Bath Bomb - A hot bath is a great way to sneak away for a short time and relax, and a bath bomb really ups the luxury!

2.    Homemade Sugar Scrub - Treat your dry, winter skin to a decadent scrub that will leave you smelling and feeling great.

3.    Simple Homemade Oatmeal Face Scrub - Relax with a soothing oatmeal scrub!

4.    DIY Face Scrubs For Any Skin Type - If all of that holiday stress is making you break out, try choosing one of these face scrubs according to your skin type.

5.    Mint Sugar DIY Lip Scrub - We sometimes neglect our lips in our beauty routines, but they need a little care, just like the rest of our bodies! Lip scrub to the rescue!

What do you do to care for yourself when you feel a little overwhelmed? Let's share more self-care tips in the comments! My favorite way to treat myself is a warm bath or a nice long walk with a comedy podcast. Take that, stress!

Have you had a hectic December? Now that most of the holiday hectic-ness is behind you, why not do something nice for yourself? Nothing melts away holiday stress like a decadent bath, and you can make your bath extra special with a DIY bath bomb that naturally fizzes!

Bath bombs are a great way to add a little aromatherapy to your tub, and the the salts help your muscles relax.

The trouble with store-bought bath bombs is that they often contain a lot of icky "fragrance" to scent them and artificial colorings. Who wants to soak in that? Fragrance is an unregulated term, which means it can refer to any of dozens of chemicals, some of which are allergens and other harmful compounds.

Related Reading: Handy Guide to Essential Oils

When you make your own bath bomb, you control what goes into it, and Skip to My Lou has a great, very basic recipe that works great! She uses a sphere-shaped mold, but any 3d mold you have would work. She suggests that an old plastic Easter egg would work, and I bet that you could press these into molds or use cookie cutters to shape them, too. Just make sure you press the mixture in firmly, so it sets.

Ready to make a bath bomb and get your relaxation on? Get the tutorial here!

From the things you eat and drink to cleaning supplies and cosmetics, we come into contact with hundreds of synthetic chemicals on a daily basis, and thanks to laws about proprietary ingredients, companies don't always have to tell us what it is we're exposing ourselves to on a daily basis. Unacceptable Levels, a new documentary, wants to change that by educating folks about the chemicals we interact with every day.

Check out the trailer:

The film is all completed, but before the filmmakers can distribute, it needs to be polished and then vetted by an attorney, and they are completely out of cash.  Attorney fees and professional editors cost money, and they're trying to raise $50,000 to help them get this film into theaters. You can donate to their Indiegogo campaign here.

Check out a this of video excerpt that the filmmakers have shared:

We are surrounded by unregulated, barely-tested chemicals, and if more consumers knew the truth about the products they were buying, we might see a positive change in these industries and in our legislation. If you want to help get this film distributed, you can donate to the Indiegogo campaign and spread the word by sharing the campaign with your friends and family.

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by JPC24M

Fall might be right around the corner, but around here mosquito season feels like it has no end in sight. Thanks to an unnaturally warm winter, the bugs have been out of control this year! I can't take the dog out back to play without getting covered in bites. Blech! That's why I was thrilled to run across this all natural mosquito repellent from Eco Etsian Aquarian Bath.

Commercial mosquito repellents are bad news. They're loaded full of mystery chemicals and fragrances, some of which are even carcinogenic! No, thank you!

Aquarian Bath's repellent is a balm, rather than a spray, so you massage it onto your skin. She makes her balms out of totally natural, plant-based oils and wax, so really it can double as a (strong-smelling) lotion. So, what's keeping the mosquitoes at bay, if there's no DEET in this tin? The balm contains a blend of essential oils that smell nice to people and terrible to bugs: lemongrass, spearmint, rosemary, and catnip. Pretty cool, right?

Because it's oil-based and you rub it into your skin instead of spraying it on the surface, this natural mosquito repellent also lasts longer than conventional bug sprays. The $12 price tag might seem on the hefty side, but since you don't have to reapply, you end up using less to do more.

Have you bought or made a natural mosquito repellent that you love? Tell us about it in the comments!

We are certainly in the thick of summer, aren't we? Raise your hand if you've gotten a sunburn yet!

Even the best of us forget the sunscreen sometimes, and that sunburn is a painful reminder to check your beach bag before you head out next time. Not only are sunburns uncomfortable, too many burns up your chances of developing skin cancer later on. Experts say you have about eight hours from the time you burn to treat your skin and minimize that risk.

The summer sun can be tough on your skin, but don't fret! You can whip up a few simple easy summer beauty products to soothe your summer skin.

1. DIY Cooling Spray

Combine a few simple ingredients in a reusable spray bottle - an old perfume bottle, perhaps? - and spritz your way to comfort. The aloe gel in this recipe makes it perfect to use on skin that's maybe gotten a little bit more sun than you intended. Keep this in your beach bag so you can start treating that sunburn ASAP.

Get the recipe here!

2. Cucumber Mask

Don't put that aloe away just yet! Deseed and mash up half a cucumber along with about 1/4 cup of aloe gel to create a soothing cream for sunburned skin. Gently massage on wherever you're burnt and rinse off with cool water after 20 minutes.

You can make this extra refreshing by sticking the mixture into the refrigerator before you use it!

3. Black Tea

The tannin in tea is perfect for soothing a sunburn. Get the recipe here!

4. Apple Cider Vinegar

It may not be the best-smelling remedy, but the acetic acid in vinegar can help heal sunburned skin. You can put the vinegar into a spritz bottle or rub it directly onto your sunburned skin. Rinse off with cool water after 20 to 30 minutes.

Have you guys found any effective DIY sunburn remedies? Share away in the comments!

Image Credit: Sunburn photo via Bigstock

Brewing up a cup of hot, black tea might not sound the most appealing during the hottest months of the year, but the tannins in tea are great for soothing sunburned skin, and don't worry: you let it cool before you apply it.

I am terrible about using sunscreen. Sometimes I remember to apply some when we first get to the beach or the pool, but it's hard to remember to reapply once you get caught up in all the summer fun, isn't it?

Sunburns are painful but they're also very unhealthy. If you get too many serious burns in your lifetime, you up your chances of skin cancer. The good news is if you treat burned skin within eight hours of exposure you can mitigate the damage, at least a little bit. That's why this year I am whipping up a spritzy sunburn remedy that I can toss right in my beach bag in case of emergency!

Homemade Sunburn Relief Spray

Materials

• Reclaimed spray bottle
• 1 black tea bag
• 4 ounces of water (1/2 cup)
• 4 drops of lavender essential oil (optional)

Directions

1. Bring your water to a boil, then add your tea bag.

2. Steep the tea for 20 minutes. You want it to get super strong. Once you're all steeped, let your tea cool completely, then transfer to your spray bottle along with the lavender oil.

3. Spray liberally on sunburned skin.