Regular facial soaps have been known to be drying and harsh, but not when you add skin loving botanical ingredients. In addition to the naturally occurring gylcerin in each handmade soap, there is also rich shea butter, grounded rose hip and colloidal oatmeal.
All these ingredients are a “dream” in natural skincare. The rose hip powder is full of Vitamin C and carotene. Oatmeal naturally helps soothe and relieve minor skin irritations. Both the rose hip and oatmeal are finely grounded and makes for a smooth bar with gentle exfoliation. In addition, the shea butter helps with extra skin moisturizing qualities.
Pure shea butter has been known to help with fading scars, treating eczema and psoriasis. Dry lips and skin also benefit from the application of shea butter. And it also help deal with stretch marks and uneven skin tone as well. This list really goes on and on.
The rose shea dream facial soap is scented with rose fragrance, to remind you of a stroll in a blooming summer rose garden.
Ingredients: Oils of olive, palm, safflower, coconut, Shea butter, rice bran and grapeseed oil. Distilled water, sodium hydroxide, rosehip powder, colloidal oatmeal, and rose garden fragrance oil.
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Another new soap I like to introduce for March is something more floral.
It is made with goat milk and scented with the sweet smell of honeysuckle. I thought it would be nice to imagine being in summer when it’s barely spring.
Notice the speckles? They are from the Himalayan pink salt. You may wonder if the salt would sting any cuts or rashes. But I personally think the salt offers a healing component. Just give it a try and see for yourself!
This soap also has skin loving oils such as avocado and rice bran. And finally a good heaping of fine pink Himalayan salt.
I’ve always loved Himalayan salt, as I am slightly obsessed with the salt lamps. Himalayan pink salt is mined from the pristine Himalayan mountain range. It has 84 trace elements and iron. Not only is it great for cooking, it’s also great for skincare.
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I would love to have my own potted lemon tree. Beautiful European gardens always have rows of lemon or other citrus. And it’s such a welcome sight to see the bright fruits in the middle of winter. Although I’ve noticed some variety that bear fruit all year.
According to Sunset’s March 2010 issue, one of the most popular potted citrus tree of the moment is the “Eureka”. Photo from Four Seasons Growers.
Four Seasons Grower recommend this type of plastic terra cotta color pot. As a black container would end up heating the root.
And here are more good advice from them for successful container growing of citrus:
1. Select the right size pot with adequate drainage holes.
2. Use a soil mix that is lightweight and drains well. If the mix is dense or contains peat moss, amend your soil mix with 1/4-1/3 volume of 1″ redwood shavings.
3. Develop a watering schedule so the tree stays on the dry side of moist.
4. Provide 8 or more hours of direct sunlight or grow light per day.
5. Plant the tree so the root collar is above the soil line and the top of the root crown is barely below the soil. Do not cover the trunk with soil at all.
When young, the fruit of the Eureka lemon is green but streaked with gold. It then matures to pale yellow and has pink flesh. This sounds like a cross between a pink grapefruit and lemons.
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The latest soap off my curing rack is one that is packed with goodness! Instead of water, I substituted it with beer. As beer has all kinds of nutrients from the hops and barley malt.
The top layer has activated charcoal, which has the powerful ability to trap inorganic matter and pollutants. It’s able to absorb thousands of times its own weight in pore-clogging impurities. So it helps give your skin a nice deep cleansing ability.
The second layer has less charcoal and more of spirulina and rice extract. Spirulina is an algae that also help detoxifies and is rich in antioxidant agents. It brings many vitamins and trace elements to benefit the skin.
This bar is scented with sweet and fruity lychee (the popular Asian fruit). I also added an uplifting scent of tangerine fragrance oil and grapefruit essential oil. It’s a good way to brighten your day.
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Last weekend, I decided to pick up Costco’s Kirkland brand of green tea. It was surprisingly very good green tea. The tasted reminded me of the green tea served at authentic Japanese sushi restaurants.
It turns out the teas are Japanese grown green tea and packed by Ito En. According to Ito En, out of Japan’s 47 prefectures (provinces), there are only three major tea producing regions. For a small island nation where space is a premium, growing tea must be something they cherish.
It is definitely good green tea. Even when steeped for a long time, the green tea never gets bitter. It reminded of the green tea I got from Two Leaves and a Bud, but so much cheaper. Being that it was 100 bags for around $12. They are also available at Amazon for slightly more.
The tea is packed in flat nylon mesh bags. At first thought, maybe this contributed to the taste of better tasting tea. As the material is suppose to encourage a better infusion. Many “gourmet” packaged tea have been using these nylon tea bags for the past decade.
The downside to the nylon bags is that it’s not biodegradable. And at the rate of 100 bags per customer, that’s a lot of nylon bags being thrown in the landfills.
I also don’t feel so safe (health wise) about exposing the nylon bags to the high temperature of my water.
Due to these reason, I can’t get myself to purchase the teas again. I would suggest they change to tea bags made from natural fiber. Even the cornstarch based mesh tea bags are biodegradable, but they are still made with GMO- based material.
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I have a cabinet full of supplements, from fish oils to CoQ10. In the past, I was never big on taking supplements or pills of any kind. But it wasn’t until I found out how effective the supplements were for my health, that I took them more regularly.
My favorite is CoQ10 as it’s not only good for your gums, it’s also good for your skin. Another great supplement is fish oils. They provide Omega 3 fatty acids are great for health and beauty (skin).
The best place to get both CoQ10 and fish oils is at Costco. The fish oils are a great deal at $10 for 400 softgels of 1,000 mg.
Other supplements I take daily is Jarrows Bone-Up. It’s a multivitamin which has calcium, vitamin C and D3 as well as other good stuff for young women.
Senator John McCain has introduced the “Dietary Supplement Safety Act”. If passed, it will drive up the cost of dietary supplements and restrict your access to them.
We need to make sure supplements are within all of our reach. This act even has a misleading title to it too. I have emailed my representative about opposing this bill. Please take action by clicking here.
Just enter your zip code to contact your local representative. It’s simple and easy to do. Exercise your right to representation!
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I’ve made wine soap, now it’s time for beer soap. Beer contains many nutrients such as wheat and hops. People have washed their hair with beer and find it leaves it well conditioned. But I personally think washing with this soap bar would be much easier.
In case you are wondering, it does not smell like beer after it’s cured (over 3 weeks). It looks almost like a bar of chocolate, but I would advise you to not eat it.
The addition of spices such as cinnamon and cloves is great for the skin. It’s naturally antimicrobial, detoxifying, stimulating and has antioxidants too. Because the soap is made naturally using the cold process method all the nutrients are retained.
If you suffer from skin rashes or just want healthier skin made with natural ingredients, try handcrafted soap!
Ingredients: Olive oil, Coconut oil, Palm Oil, Soybean oil, Castor oil, Sapporo Beer, Grounded cloves, ginger and cinnamon, Vanilla fragrance.
All the vegetable oils combined with the beer becomes a skin conditioning bar. I made sure to add lots of lovely spice and Vanilla fragrance oil to blend in with the beer soap. It’s a perfect soap bar for both men and women! It’s also a very warming soap, especially for the winter time.
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A recent study by the The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry noted six scents that helps soothe away stress.
The scents include lavender, lemon, orange, grape, mango, and basil. Each of these fruits and herbs contain linalool, which is a chemical that appeared to offset the effects of stress. Linalool provides a calming effect on the limbic center of the brain, which is involved in processing emotions.
I’m surprise peppermint didn’t make it on the list. Peppermint is great at relieving headaches and also very uplifting. I always feel more relaxed and calm after being around peppermint.
The scent of any fruit makes me happy. Especially guava, but mangoes come out second. There is actually a tree that grows in my mom’s yard with leaves that smell very much like green mango. The young leaves are edible and taste just like tangy green mango! I don’t know the name of it, but will have to take a picture of it when spring arrives.
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Ever since I started using a French Press, I have been drinking more herbal tea. The French Press makes it easy to brew and pour. Normally I would fill my unbleached tea bags with loose tea and then brew.
But you don’t always need special equipment, just a tea infuser or something to strain the tea will work fine.
Photo of fresh stevia plant from ECO library.
So far I have made the following blends:
Peppermint, Hibiscus, and Stevia: This is one of my favorite blends, since the Stevia leaves add some sweetness to the tea. Stevia leaf is great, it’s sweet but has zero calories. American sugar substitutes are selling them as Truvia and other names. A few years back, I was really intrigued by the sweet leaves. I even bought a stevia plant so I could eat the fresh leaves.
Rooibus (red tea) and hibiscus flower: Rooibus looks more like red pine needles. This combination makes for a very tangy and red colored tea! Loaded with vitamin C too. Even people who don’t like tea think this is good tea.
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This is the latest soap that just finished curing after 4 weeks. Time seems to go slower when you are waiting for them to cure. But if you just leave them alone and check back later, it’s really not that long!
In the beginning, there were some nice swirls. But now it’s pretty much in one color that looks almost light brown in color.
It’s a smooth skin clarifying soap made with Moroccan Red Clay. The clay will help with the removal of impurities and toxins. It’s good for those with oily or acne prone skin.
It would also make a great shaving soap due to the smoothness of the clay. A shaving brush or facial scrub could be used to increase the later.
Other ingredients include olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and grape seed oil.
I have tried it in the shower and noticed it’s a hard bar that turns smooth once it’s wet. The scent is also very light and refreshing, less of the lavender and more of sweet orange scent. The combination is very pleasant smelling handmade soap full of gylcerin that is a treat for your skin!
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