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Archive for the ‘Goat Milk Soaps’ Category
Calendula, also known in the herbal world as “Mother of The Skin” is a flowering herb that seems to do well in just about all soil conditions. This wonderful plant not only adds beauty to the garden but offers medicinal and culinary benefits as well, and is most recognized for its effectiveness in treating skin problems such as wounds, burns, insect bites, shingles, eczema, and skin ulcers to name a few.
We grow and harvest Calendula every year, making infused oils and use the actual pedals of the plant in our goat milk soap bars. Calendula is very healthy for the skin and very mild. We recommend our Unscented or Calendula Oranges soaps bars for those who have extremely sensitive skin.
Harvesting Calendula is simple and can be a lot of fun, especially when the entire family gets involved. After picking the flowers we set them in drying racks out of direct sun light and moisture until they are completely dried. After they have dried we hand pick each pedal to use in our soaps, and store the rest in glass jars to use as needed.
Goat’s milk in general is extremely healthy for the skin, and when adding natural ingredients such as pure essential oils and actual pedals of the plant straight from the garden you couldn’t ask for a more healthier and natural soap bar.
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There are many skin care products available today that promise healthier and younger looking skin. Most of these products can be very expensive, and not as healthy as the label claims them to be. Here are some affordable and practical skin care tips that will keep your skin looking healthy and young. Also books such as Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair: Natural and Healthy Personal Care for Every Body, by Dina Falconi are highly recommended for equipping yourself with practical knowledge for healthier personal care.
- Your skin will experience a significant difference by eliminating the use of harsh soaps and detergents that are loaded with synthetic ingredients. Instead try using natural handmade soap such as goat milk soap. These soap bars still contain all the natural glycerin which promotes moisturizing properties, and have no synthetic chemicals that often cause many skin irritations.
- Drink plenty of water and eat healthy. You are what you eat! You should avoid drinking soda and sugary carbonated drinks, having at least 7-10 glasses of water a day. Also try to avoid snacks, instead eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, you will not only feel better but your skin will shine as well.
- If you exercise, be sure to shower and change your clothes shortly after exercising. When we exercise our body sweats, releasing many toxins. These toxins remain on our clothes and skin afterwards clogging our skins pores.
- Skin exfoliation. This is the removal of dead skin cells from the (epidermis) which is the outermost layer of skin allowing new skin cells to develop from the (dermis) the lower layer of skin. To learn more on skin exfoliation read this previous post, Skin Exfoliation For Healthier Skin.
There are so many products and techniques that promote healthier skin. These are just a few of the many practical and safe ways you can keep your skin healthier and younger looking. There really is no need to buy every new and expensive product that is on the market. Most of what your skin really needs should be pure and simple, not high priced and loaded with harmful ingredients.
Does your soap and shampoo leave your skin and scalp feeling itchy and dry, causing you to use a conditioner or reapply moisturizers throughout the day? Uh… sounds like a great way to keep one dependent on a product so that they keep on buying. The sick part of it all is at the expense of our well-being. Not only are the natural moisturizing ingredients such as glycerin taken out of these commercial soaps to sell to cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies to make even more expensive products, but are loaded with all sort of harmful chemicals in them. This is one of the major reasons why I and many others have taken a stand to only use natural skin care products such as goat’s milk soap. Did you know that goat’s milk is extremely healthy for your skin? It’s true! In fact Cleopatra was known for her great skin, and it has been written that she often bathed in goat’s milk. Goat’s milk has the closest PH of that of the skin making it one of the mildest soaps available on the market today. This has drawn many who suffer from sensitive skin and symptoms such as eczema and psoriasis to become lifetime users of such products. Goat’s milk is rich in both vitamins A and E, consists of natural emollients and triglycerides, enabling natural moisturizing, and is free from harmful chemicals. If you have never tried a goat’s milk soap bar and you suffer from dry itchy skin, I highly recommend you try a bar today.
I found this to be an interesting story, and a very familiar one to say the least. Although our family soap business has not grown to the size of that which is shown in this video, we started out with the same principles, wanting to make a healthier product to use for the family. It was not too long before the request for soap bars started to get bigger and bigger, that eventually it was suggested that we needed to start selling soap to at least help cover the cost of supplies. To make a long story short, Pure-N-Simple Soap is going into its 4th year of making handcrafted goat milk soaps and natural skin care products and find the demand for such products increasing more and more. We are so encouraged with every new testimony we get of how goats milk skin care products has helped so many with sensitive skin or with skin conditions such as eczema.
I have to admit helping my family grow this business has been one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever done. I have conducted a lot of research and have written many articles on the skin benefits of goat’s milk, and the permeability of the skin, and love to share this information when I am helping the family out when working at our local farmers markets and craft shows. Knowledge is power, and when you are equipped with knowledge you not only help yourself but can help so many others as well.
I encourage you today to do the research and evaluate what you are exposing you and your household to. Find a local soap crafter or visit us today at www.purensimplesoap.com and try a goat’s milk soap bar that is made with all natural ingredients. The story in the above video, goat’s milk was used to treat eczema; I have been using goat’s milk soap for several years now and can immediately tell the difference on my skin if I have to use a commercial synthetically made soap bar. Do you have a goat’s milk testimony, and if so I would love for you to share it by leaving a comment below.
Wow! It’s going to reach nearly 80 degrees this weekend here in Upstate NY. Forget about spring that’s summer weather. This season gets many of us inspired to do some spring cleaning, get the gardens ready, and just spend as much time outside as we possibly can. For the Pure-N-Simple Soap family this also means farmers market season is just around the corner. We have been diligently preparing all winter long making fresh batches of our goat’s milk soap products, and this will be our second season now having the greenhouse, as we have been growing and selling the herbs we use in our products as well.
Farmers markets are becoming more and more popular, as many are realizing the foods and personal care products are not as natural or as healthy as the big marketing companies say they are. It is so refreshing to see as the general public become more informed and led to make healthier decisions, flock to these markets to get the purest foods and products one can find.
I absolutely love the farmer’s markets season, as both a vendor and a shopper. The commodity amongst vendors is like second family, the relationships formed over the years are precious. I think I can speak on behalf of most vendors that after a long winter season it is such a joy to see your fellow vendors, and to catch up after a long winter. I also love buying at farmer’s markets; I know that I am always getting the freshest greens, and purest and most delicious products ranging from fruits, breads, eggs, meats, honey, syrup, garlic and so forth, Plus I am supporting local business’s! I think we are in no better time than to support our local farmers and business’s. You may notice that the cost may be a little higher than what you could find at a Wal-Mart or any other large business, but isn’t your health and ease of mind, knowing where you food is coming from worth the extra dollar or two?
It is my hope that you eat better, shop smarter, support local business, and visit your local farmers markets this season.
Of the many wonderful benefits goat milk has to offer for healthier, younger looking skin, exfoliation is one of them. Goat milk contains lactic acid which contributes to skin exfoliation, and is a natural source of alpha-hydroxy acids, which exfoliates the skin by breaking down the glue holding dead skin cells together. Alpha-hydroxy acids are also often used as a base in many lotions, because it has moisturizing properties as well. It is important especially as we become older and our bodies begin to slow down the process of naturally shedding dead skin cells, to exfoliate our skin. Though a goat’s milk soap alone contributes to exfoliating dead skin cells, you can also find goat milk soap bars molded in natural sea sponges, for a gentle exfoliation or in a loofah sponge for more aggressive exfoliation.
Once you have made the wonderful decision of using handcrafted soap bars such as goat milk soaps, it is important to know how to care for your new soap bar. Unlike commercial soaps that are loaded with synthetic ingredients and artificial hardeners, goat’s milk soaps are still in their most natural state, containing all the natural glycerin that occurs during the soap making process. If you were to leave a hand crafted goat’s milk soap bar in standing water it would turn to a mushy mess fairly quickly. This does not necessarily mean your soap is ruined, and that you just completely wasted your money. You can reshape the mushy pile of soap, usually most successfully a ball shape, allowing it to dry and reuse; however your soap will not last as long if you do not let it completely dry out between uses.
The best way to protect your handcrafted soap bars is to place them on soap trays that will keep the soap out of standing water, allowing the bar to dry out. There are many different soap trays to choose from ranging in all different prices. The main purpose is to have the bar in a dish that has drainage so that no water will puddle up. They make soap trays that have suction cups that conveniently stick to the side of the shower wall or nice dishes to place on shelves.
I have been making my own homemade soap trays, by just using window trim. Making your own soap tray is simple and fun, and they make great gifts. All you will need is some window trim, a saw, sand paper and polyurethane. If you know a carpenter you could ask for scrap pieces, all you really need is it to be about 4 inches long, and go with the ¾ inch rather than ½ inch thick trim. If you cannot access any scrap pieces, for less than $16.00 you can buy an 8 foot long piece of trim and make about 19 soap trays. That’s whole lot of gifts you can generously give out or you could decide to make a few dollars. Make sure to sand and polyurethane the soap tray for a final finish that will be water resistant.
Eczema is a skin condition that is most common with newborns, but adults suffer from it as well. It is still uncertain what causes this inflammation of the skin that leaves the skin in a rash like state, causing severe itching. Its appearance is mainly a redness color, with outbreaks of lesions that can become encrusted and scaly.
If you or your child suffer from eczema, and have been prescribed a medicated cream to relieve the symptoms but are just not comfortable about applying steroid creams and synthetic chemicals on your child, and or yourself, see if your doctor would recommend trying a natural treatment such as Tea Tree oil.
We have had several customers comment that by just using a goat’s milk lotion with Tee Tree oil had relieved them from eczema symptoms. The amount of Tee Tree oil in these lotions is very small; however you should still consult your doctor for treating eczema with Tee Tree oil, for it is known to have some side effects. Some may be allergic to the cineole in the oil, and it has been recommended not to use Tee Tree oil while breast feeding or if you are pregnant. Just because something is natural does not mean that it is free from all side effects. We are all unique and our bodies react differently, which it is why it is always wise to consult with your physician before trying any new method of treatment.
Why Goat’s Milk Soap Leaves The Skin Silky & Smooth
Monday, February 22, 2010
posted by Rob 11:06 AM
Many have commented on how soft and smooth their skin feels after bathing with goat milk soaps, and there are some really good reasons why this is true. Aside from the many benefits goat milk has for the skin, the biggest moisturizing attribute is that the natural glycerin is still in the soap. This by-product which naturally occurs during the soap making process promotes moisturizing properties. Glycerin is the most expensive ingredient in a bar of soap, which is why it is taken out of commercial soaps and sold to cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies to make expensive moisturizers.
You do not have to take my word for it, find out for yourself, by experimenting. I encourage you to wash regularly for about a month with a natural soap bar such as goat milk soap, that has no synthetic ingredients like fragrance oils, and has all of its natural glycerin, and tell me if you have noticed any difference.
Goat Milk Soaps Have Natural Antioxidant Properties
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
posted by Rob 1:00 AM
Antioxidants are nutrients found in certain foods that help fight off free radicals which are harmful molecules believed to contribute to many health conditions. They are metabolic byproducts that cause damage to both cells and tissues throughout the body. Without getting into a complete Physiology/Chemistry 101 lesson, it is my understanding that free radicals are simply, a molecule or atom with unpaired electrons making them unstable, attacking the nearest molecule available to steal its electron. When that molecule has had one of its electrons taken it has now become a free radical, which this eventually leads to a chain reaction leading to the disruption of living cells.
Most common sources of antioxidants come from food sources such as fruits vegetables, and plants. Vitamins A and E are both high in antioxidants, as well as flavonoids, which are commonly found in plants, vegetables, fruits, algae, tea, red wine and can also be found in dietary supplements such as Krill oil. These are all great sources of antioxidants but did you know that goat milk has antioxidant properties as well? Goat milk has both vitamins A and E, which help destroy free radicals generated in the skin by the pollutants that synthetic chemicals allow to pass through. Vitamin A is best known for healthy eyesight, and keeping the skin healthy and vitamin E by itself is said to be a very effective antioxidant, and when combined with vitamin C is known to be extremely effective in destroying free radicals. This is one of the many great health advantages goats milk has to offer and why choosing skin care products such as goat milk soaps is a wise, and healthy decision.