February Update...New Soaps & More!

Happy Valentine's Day from Simply Natural Soaps & Sundries, Co!   No matter who it is that you want to celebrate on Valentine's Day...Be it your significant other, your kids, your mom, or just a special friend, we have the perfect bath time gift for them all!      *Bubble bars are the perfect gift for scented sudsy bath time fun! *Our Type Scented Perfume Oils are an excellent addition to any gift. *Bath Bombs create a soft, fizzy and relaxing experience. *Soapy Scribblers make a great gift for your littlest loves. *Grab a bar of BEER soap or a bar of CHISELED for the man in your life...or give a bottle of our all Natural Beard Oil or Aftershave. Don't think that February 14th is the only day that these gifts are worth giving!  We carry these all year round. In addition to the soaps we added last month (Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, Cucumber & Aloe, Simply Baby), the following are ready to go for our Spring Collection. COUNTRY GARDEN This fresh, romantic, floral fragrance is fantastic during the whole year! This fragrance begins with top notes of fresh green clover, and ivy with middle notes of romantic snapdragon, rose petals, and carnations; ending with base notes of white musk and fig leaves. BEER SOAP made with Guinness Beer.  This fragrance is a sexy fragrance that will have you screaming, "I want my man to smell like that"!  Spicy-sweet blend of French verbena and lemon, a green Florentine iris and violet leaves, and sublime notes of Mysore sandalwood and ambergris.   PEARBERRY This fragrance is a fruity fresh fragrance blend of ripened pear, raspberries, strawberries, and gooseberries, with slight musk undertones. **REMEMBER: Seasonal Soaps are available while supplies last! Don't wait too long to order yours, or you might just be waiting until next year! Chester Hills 32nd Annual Maple Festival Saturday March 11 from 9-3 Come visit us and other vendors at this annual event! Features a pancake breakfast, music, wagon rides, and of course sugaring! Where: Skyline Trail in old Chester Center

January Update...Savings & What's been in our Soap Pot!

Spring is just around the corner! If you are like us, you are still trying to recover from the holiday season....and here we are already talking about spring!  We are still offering the discount on our Winter Skin Care Kit....but we need to keep preparing for the warmer weather, flowers....and inevitable bugs!   We know many of you look forward to the spring and summer Farmer's Markets so that you can restock on your dwindling bath & body products supply....Don't forget that there are many other options for getting your favorite products over the winter months! You can find almost our entire line of products at  The Majestic Theater in West Springfield.  Our soap can be found at Pilgrim Candle and Hinkley Harvest in Westfield, Four Elements Salon & Spa in Southwick, The Bread Basket in Russell, Peace Haven Farm Project in Blandford & Visual Changes Salon in East Longmeadow MA. Do you know of a Salon or Store...or any other kind of retail spot where you think our products would fit right in?  Let us know by sending us a message.  If we are able to get our products in the location, we will send you a FREE  thank you gift! The rest of our winter will be spent restocking products that sold out over the holidays, stocking up for the oncoming market season, and testing out potential new products. We're always looking for your thoughts on products that you wish we made or scents you wish we carried.  Your feedback is so important to us! Due to an overwhelming amount of requests, we have FINALLY brought back our Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soap!  We gave it a new look, and made it with goats-milk instead of cows.  It will be on our website in just another week or so and ready for you to bring home to your shower! This next soap is usually hard to come by.  It's pretty popular, but we have always made it in small infrequent batches...but due to requests, there is a large batch just about ready to go!  One of the most mildest forms of soap you can use, a Bastille Bar. Comprised of 75% olive oil, this bar is extremely gentle and is great on all skin types, especially those that are brand new.....or have been around for quite sometime! It is infused with chamomile flowers and includes coconut milk. We scent it with a light mild fragrance that reminds us of precious newborn babies....and therefore, we call it, Simply Baby. Another favorite making a comeback is our Cucumber & Aloe Shave & Body Bar.  This bar is packed with extra Castor Oil to give it some serious sudsing power...it can replace shaving cream...and also makes a great body bar!   Stay tuned for our next update to see what our new or returning spring soaps will be!

Soapy Sampler  Variety of 6 Half Bars $8.00 Buy Now

Winter Skin Care Kit $25.00 Buy Now

All Natural Lip Balm $3.00 Buy Now

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DIY Dishwasher Soap

Ok, so I think I am going to start selling the powdered dishwasher soap that I have been using for the last couple of weeks.  I really, really love it!  I swear it cleans my dishes better than any of the big name commercial products I have ever tried.  And what's better? I can pronounce ALL of the ingredients...and they are all things I already had in my house!

I figured I would post the recipe for anyone who has time or is into the DIY type projects...but otherwise, let me know if you would like to order some!

In a glass jar mix the following ingredients:

1 Cup - Borax
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 Cup - Citric Acid (double for hard water locations)
1/2 Cup - Kosher Salt


Now, the salt can turn this mixture into a SOLID ROCK!  To prevent this from happening, leave the lid off of the jar for a few days....and possibly once in a while after that.  I've just been leaving mine open in the cabinet or on the counter, but I read that you should only need to do so for a few days in the beginning.

If you continue to have problems, you can leave the salt out. It acts as an additional water softener and exfoliant.

Use approximately 1 tablespoon per load.

In your rinse aid compartment, fill it with white vinegar.  This will not make your dishes smell "vinegary" but works as a natural (and cheap!) rinse aid for your dishes!

That's it! Super easy!!  The only ingredient that you might have trouble finding is the citric acid.  Someone told me that you could use Kool Aid in place of it...I would recommend DO NOT DO THIS!!! Kool Aid, while it does contain citric acid, also contains several other ingredients that you really do not want to use on your dishes!  I have heard that you can find citric acid in your local grocery canning aisle. Though I have not had much luck with this.  I had to order mine from the site that I order most of my other soap making materials from.

If you would like to purchase the entire recipe completed, let me know...or I would also be willing to sell just the citric acid if you have everything else but cannot find that.

Check us out:  simplynaturalsoaps.net  to place an order or send us an email.

Psoriasis..Eczema..Itchiness...Oh My!

Yesterday I had someone ask me what I would recommend for Psoriasis.  I realized that I create things all the time that I use to treat my own and my daughters skin aliments, but I haven't said much about what I sell that would help, and I haven't blogged about any of it either.

I have a great salve that I use that I really wish I had thought to take step by step pictures of when I made my last huge batch because it really would make a pretty great blog post.

Anyways, today I will list out some herbs that I would recommend to help psoriasis or eczema or any other skin ailment.

Calendula: Can be used externally for ailments such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, sunburns, chapped lips, cuts, scrapes, bruises, and other various skin ailments. Calendula is an astringent, antiseptic, antifungal and anti-inflammatory. The petals can be used in lotions, ointments, infused oils, teas, tinctures, salves, in the bath, and many other ways to help produce results.
**Simply Natural Soaps & Sundries sells soaps that are made either with calendula infused oils or with petals in the actual soap.  Check it out here!

Lavender: Lavender is an antiseptic. The essential oil is used to help heal ailments such as acne, athlete's foot, dandruff, burns, eczema, psoriasis, boils, bruises, insect bites, and many other ailments. 

Chamomile: Aside from the many great things Chamomile can aid in, it is also great at helping skin elasticity.  If used with witch hazel it can even help with eczema.

St. John's Wort:  Can be used to treat bruises, burns, wounds, bites and other skin ailments.

Plantain: Is another amazing herb. It is used to treat so many things! I could do a whole post about plantain.  One of its uses is on skin conditions.  It can help with burns and bites and other skin ailments like psoriasis and eczema.  It works like aloe, to soothe the burn and itching sensation of skin ailments.  What's even better about this herb? You probably already have it growing in your backyard! It's a weed that grows all over. Here are a couple pictures to help you identify it.  Save money....you don't even have to plant it!

Evening Primrose Oil: Can be consumed (vitamin/pill form) or the oil can be applied topically to the effected area.

Milk Thistle: Can help regulate your immune system.  An immune system that is behaving irregularly can cause outbreaks of Psoriasis or other skin ailments. This herb can also help protect the liver.

Burdock Root: Burdock is very effective at managing or treating chronic skin ailments. It helps to destroy fungus and bacterial cultures present under your skin. It helps prevent or cure disorders such as boils, psoriasis and even acne. It can also help manage eczema.  Burdock contains large amounts of vitamin C which can help restore scaly skin.

Those are the main herbs that I want to talk about today. I might do another post this week on essential oils.

I plan on  making a few new salves using various herbs, but for now, if you would like to try one: Herbal Skin Salve is for sale on my website.

The Dirty Little Secret about Deodorant...

Source

So Deodorant. We all know what it is...and I'd say probably 99% of us use it.  Why?  Well, originally it started off as a way to keep away the smell from sweating that was caused by dirt and bacteria.  But as times changed the newest and greatest thing was added to many deodorants..... ANTIPERSPIRANT.

I am certain that the majority of people purchase their Antiperspirant Deodorants with out even giving a seconds thought to what they are putting on their body and what this product is actually doing to them.

Let's take a look at the ingredients list on the back of a deodorant container...

So the main ingredient I want to talk about just so happens to be the #1 Active Ingredient in an Antiperspirant Deodorant: Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex...now if that doesn't sound scary enough as it is....let's see what it does... Unfortunately Aluminum is found in many of the things we come in contact with during our daily lives such as in utensils, appliances, building materials and containers and is used in the production of glass, ceramics and rubber and is found in paints and fireworks..It is most harmful when used in products that are ingested or applied topically to the body.  It is used in products such as antacids, astringents, buffered aspirin, antiperspirants and food additives.  (1)

Aluminum is very poorly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract...only 0.1% of intake actually being absorbed. (2) There have been studies that show that a high level of exposure to aluminum can cause neurological and lung damage.




Even though the effects of orally ingesting aluminum are so harmful, a study that was done on mice showed that when applied topically to the skin, aluminum was even more dangerous to the body. A study that was done in 2001 showed that one application or an aluminum based antiperspirant under the arm allowed the body to absorb the aluminum through the skin and the aluminum remained in the bloodstream 15 FIFTEEN days after the one application under the arm. (3) This means that by applying aluminum to your skin, you are allowing the aluminum to end up in your body, blood stream and your brain.




Aluminum was first recognized as a human neurotoxin in 1886. (4) A neurotoxin is something that causes damage to nerves or nerve tissue. Post-mortem analysis of Alzheimer’s infected brains has shown increased levels of aluminum compared to people that did not die from Alzheimer’s. The short term symptoms of aluminum toxicity include memory loss, learning difficulty, loss of coordination, disorientation, mental confusion, colic, heartburn, flatulence, and headaches.(5)




The reason aluminum is used in deodorant is because it serves in blocking the pores under your arms. Making it difficult to impossible for your body to release sweat through them. While many see sweating as something "gross" or to be avoided...sweating is actually a natural occurrence that is very important for your body to do in order to maintain temperature. Sweating allows the body to regulate its temperature. Sweating causes a decrease in core temperature through evaporative cooling at the skin surface. (6) By preventing your body from being able to naturally maintain its core temperature, you are disrupting the normal function of the body.




The main focus in a deodorant should be to prevent odor causing bacteria. NOT to prevent your body from actually sweating. Sweat is not gross, it is totally natural, and everyone does it.




There are many other chemicals and ingredients that can actually be irritants to the skin if not even more harmful.




You may not be one of the people who's skin is more irritated when using deodorant than not, and you may not notice any of the symptoms of aluminum toxicity..but why risk it for your body? After years of using these products on myself, I feel jipped for not learning sooner how awful they were. And I feel it is my responsibility to learn all of these things so that I can properly educate my daughter so that she does not also have to be dragged into the typical path that society walks down of polluting our bodies without even knowing we are doing it.




Do your body a favor and take a look at what you are putting in or on it. You deserve better. It is so easy to make many of your own products. I will continue posting blogs with recipes and videos showing you how to make things. And as I perfect my recipes I will list them on my website: www.SimplyNaturalSoaps.net for you to buy should you not have the time or energy to make them yourselves. There are so many resources out there making it easier and easier for you to have access to all natural products that will not harm your body!































1. “Definition of Aluminum.” MedicineNet.Com. 9 Jan. 2008 <http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=39609>.




2. Flaten, Trond P. “Aluminium as a Risk Factor in Alzheimer’s Disease, with Emphasis on Drinking Water.”Brain Research Bulletin 55 (2001): 187-196. 19 Jan. 2008http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03619230.




3. Flarend, R, T Bin, D Elmore, and S L. Hemb. “A Preliminary Study of the Dermal Absorption of Aluminium From Antiperspirants Using Aluminium-26.” Food and Chemical Toxicology 39 (2001): 163-168. 22 Jan. 2008 <http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchemtox>.




4. Jansson, Erik T. “Aluminum Exposure and Alzheimer’s Disease.” Journal of Alzheimer\’s Disease 3 (2001): 541-549. 9 Jan. 2008 <http://iospress.metapress.com/link.asp?id=wb0qym7m9212er2t>.

Also available at: http://www.deptplanetearth.com/pub/jad3jansson.html


5. “Heavy Metal Toxicity.” Life Extension. 17 Jan. 2008 <http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-156a.shtml#alum2>.

6. "Perspiration". Wikipedia. 29 Dec. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspiration>.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Ok, I know, I know another blog about homemade laundry detergent.  It seems everywhere I turn someone is talking about it, writing about it, vlogging about it....so what's all the hype?

Well let's start with some of the reasons that I personally started looking into alternatives to conventional detergents....

1. PRICE:  It is INSANELY expensive to purchase conventional laundry detergent these days.  I cannot even believe the racket that these manufacturers are creating.  It's just plain nuts.  Why should someone spend on average $16 per bottle of laundry detergent that does anywhere from 36-48 loads of laundry? I can't even remember a bottle of detergent lasting that long, so I don't know what the count is based on.  I probably had to buy a new 100oz bottle every month to month and a half.

Photo Source

2. CHEMICALS:  This is the real monster in the closet and is the reason I want to spend the most time on.  Have you ever considered what exactly is in your conventional laundry detergent?  Did you know that laundry detergent manufacturers are not required to list out the ingredients used to make the detergent on the label?  Many of the chemicals used in your brand of choice are cancer-causing toxins.....and the people responsible for this do not even have to WARN you about it.  How ridiculous is that?  That we are not even allowed to be told what it is we are using on our family's laundry.
     In 2008, the University of Washington did a study on detergents and found that 99% of laundry detergents tested contained cancer-causing toxins, many of which were not on the label in the list of ingredients.  The most dangerous being nonylphenol ethoxylate. Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPE) are bad for the environment, bad for wildlife and bad for YOU.  Some of the problems that NPEs are noted for causing are: Endocrine (growth and development of tissues and organs) disruption, reproductive disorders such as decreased sperm counts in men, learning disabilities, birth defects, is known to mimic the hormone estrogen and is suspected in causing cancer as well. There have also been studies done that show this chemical to cause damage to heart and muscle function.  NPEs are a major chemical used in PESTICIDES!  It is so toxic that its use has been banned in Canada and all of Europe, but the United States continues to use it.  How nice of them.  
  Using conventional laundry detergent causes a layer of detergent to remain on your clothing once it has been washed.  This causes you to inhale the detergent as well as get the chemicals absorbed into your skin.  The chemical will not instantly kill you.  It causes damage over time and even just from small amounts of it. 
    The next toxin that can be found in all laundry detergents (that I am sure you will NOT find on the label) is formaldehyde.  This is used as a preservative in many things (such as some of the vaccines we give our children! Another discussion for another time)...things you may never have even considered it to be in.  I myself did not realize how many things it was in until I began doing research on vaccines for my daughter and on laundry detergent. The first thing I think of when I hear the word 'Formaldehyde' is the dead, horribly smelly frog that we had to dissect freshman year of high school.  12 years later, I can STILL remember the awful aroma it emitted.  Why in God's name would I want something like that going into MY body---which, by the way, just happens to still be alive!  Or worse--why would I want to knowingly use anything containing it on my daughter!?  The short answer is- I don't.  Formaldehyde has been known to have side effects such as skin, eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches and nausea and has even been linked as a possible contributor to some cancers, including leukemia.  Once of the main reasons that the detergent you purchase smells so strongly of 'fragrance' is because of more chemicals that are being used to cover up that hideous formaldehyde smell.  So when you inhale that pleasant smelling detergent, you may actually be inhaling trace amounts of formaldehyde or other dangerous toxins as well.
    Being a new mother as well as newly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, I really wanted to inspect the products that my family was using on their bodies or ingesting in one form or another.  I strongly believe that my disease is environment caused.  I'm not saying by any means that "I have MS because I used to use Tide to wash my clothes". Absolutely not. But using Tide (or any other conventional detergent) may very well be a factor in the long list of crap we pollute our bodies with that has since attributed to my development of Multiple Sclerosis.  I decided that I wanted to avoid as many toxins as I possibly could help. I know it's not easy, and I know it is damn near impossible to avoid them completely. I focus mainly on my daughter. I do not use soaps or washes or shampoos on her. Babies just do not need it. I mainly use all natural or homemade lotions and treatments for her eczema or diaper rashes, or whatever else she may need. 

Anyway- those are the two main reasons that I have chosen to steer my family away from the habitual use of conventional laundry detergents such as the infamous Tide. Let's move onto what is actually in the detergent that I use and how I go about making it. :)

The recipe that I use contains 4 basic ingredients:
     -Water
     -Borax
     -Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
     -Bar of Soap (Preferably homemade or all natural, but something like Fels Naptha, Dr.       Bonners or Ivory would work as well.)

     I also use essential oils, typically Lavender and Orange, though you could use any scent that you would like.


     Let's look at Borax...  20 Mule Team Borax was established in 1891.  Borax or Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate is a naturally occurring mineral composed of sodium, boron, oxygen and water.  It consists of 99.5 percent pure naturally occurring borax. There are no synthetic, man-made chemicals in it at all.  No fragrance, dyes, bleach or other additives.  Even though it is all natural and has a low toxicity--do not think that it is nontoxic so be sure to still keep it out of reach of your children, pets and even your crazy mother in law who might think it's a box of bath salts. :)
     Borax helps to soften hard water and cleans and deodorizes many different surfaces.  In doing my research I found a poorly written article that claimed that borax was dangerous and not to use it.  The problem with the article is that they were labeling Borax as "sodium borate and boric acid"  Borax is sodium tetraborate--a completely different compound.  It is NOT the same as boric acid or sodium borate.  Boron is a mineral and salt that is mined straight from the ground.  Boric Acid--the compound that can actually be harmful--is created by mixing borax with another acid such as sulfuric or hydrochloric.  Borax is completely natural and does not cause cancer or build up in your body.

     Next up, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda... Washing soda is NOT the same as baking soda.   Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, while washing soda is sodium carbonate.  You do not want to use baking soda in your laundry detergent.  Washing soda has a higher pH level than baking soda and therefore is a stronger compound to use for cleaning.   Washing soda is also great at softening water, it works as a bleach substitute by fighting stains, and also neutralizes odors.  It can also be used to treat stains such as oil, grease, wine or juice, lipstick and wax.

 Now onto the fun stuff!  The actual making of the laundry soap.  

First, I gathered up all of my materials & ingredients:

20 Mule Team Borax

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

Bar of Soap (Fels Naptha)

Empty Laundry Detergent Bottle or Suitable Container

Essential Oils

5 Gallon Bucket---with lid

The next step is to grate the bar of soap.  I just use the largest side of a cheese grater.                                                                                        You could use a food processor if you wanted.  You want to grate the whole bar (or as much as you can without grating your fingers into the mix as well!)   

Once the soap is completely grated you will add it to a pot that contains 4 cups of water.  I usually set it over medium heat.  You just want to get it hot enough to melt the soap down.  Continually stir so it does not burn or clump together.                                                      

After melting the soap down, you will want to fill your 5 gallon bucket half full with hot water.  Measure out your Borax & Washing soda.  Pour the soap into the bucket of water & then add the Borax & Washing Soda.  Mix thoroughly.

My Little Mixing Helper

Once everything is mixed well, fill the bucket the rest of the way with water.  Put the cover on tightly.  Let the mix sit overnight to harden/gelatinise.  

The next day when you open the container, it will look like a heaping bucket of jello or cellulite (like you see on tv!) Generally I give it a good mix again (or let my little helper do it).  Then I will fill an emptied out conventional laundry detergent container halfway with the soap mixture.  Then fill it the rest of the way with water.  Add your essential oils (if you choose), Shake, and you are good to go!  The soap WILL be clumpier than you are used to.  This is normal and perfectly ok. You will probably want to shake the container each time you use it just to give it a good mix.  

Below is the complete recipe, Enjoy!!

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap 

-Add soap to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium heat until soap is melted and dissolved.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until everything is dissolved and mixed together.  Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover tightly and let sit overnight to gelatinise.

-Mix again and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap mixture and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. I use Lavender and Orange

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- Approximately 1/2 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)