The Power of Tea Tree Oil

For centuries aboriginal people of Australia have been using Tea Tree Oil for various ailments.  There have been many scientific studies that conclude that Tea Tree Oil has powerful antifungal, antiviral, and antibiotic properties.

I myself have used tea tree oil for years.  When I was in college I had a horrible throat infection that just would not go away - no matter how many prescriptions I was given.  A friend's mom, who was a naturapath, suggested I try making a rise with a few drops of tea tree oil in water and garggle with it.  I gave it a shot.  A week later, no more throat infection!

There are many other suggested uses for Tea Tree Oil.  According to the book Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James F Balch it can be used for:

• Disinfecting wounds
• Healing of any skin condition including acne, athlete's foot, and cuts & scrapes.
• Fungal infections
• Herpes outbreaks
• Insect and spider bites
• Scabies
• Vaginitis
• Warts
• Can be added to water and gargle for colds and sore throats
• Can be added to water and used as a douche for yeast infections.

Tea Tree Essential Oil and Lavender Essential Oil are known as the only essential oils that can be applied directly to the skin and have a nominal risk of skin irritation.  If however, skin irritation occurs, you should discontinue use.

 I've also used it in homemade household cleaner - a few drops of tea tree oil in a water/white vinegar solution leaves your house smelling fresh and clean while (hopefully!) killing germs.  A few drops of Tea Tree Oil in a load of laundry will provide the same effect for your clothes.

All this to say, it's pretty amazing stuff!  I have a feeling that it helps a lot of other medical issues that we don't even know about yet. 

Soap Crayons!

I've wanted to make soap crayons for quite a long time.  I knew my girls would love them, and I knew they'd be a big hit for a lot of other kiddos out there too!  I finally got around to making some during my last Soaping Day, so here they are!

They come in a 4-pack, although not every pack contains blue.  I didn't make enough of those this time around.  Oops!  Next time I make them there will be one of each color for sure!  :)

These crayons are now live on my Etsy store! 

New Product Pictures!

I might be the only person in the world who will get excited by this...

I got new pictures!

My friend Heather at CLICKPhoto volunteered to take some lovely product pictures of my soaps!

You can click on each photo for a larger view.

So happy with the results!

Introducing the Variety Pack!

Decisive has never been a word used to describe me. 

Flexible?  Yes.  Agreeable?  Yes.  Variety lover?  Yes. 

Decisive?  No.

Which is why I decided to offer a Variety Pack of my most popular glycerine soaps!

They include 5 crowd pleasing unique soaps:  Lemon Bar, Lavender Bliss, Lemongrass, Dock of the Bay & Cafe Latte.  All for the great price of $22.00 + shipping ($5.15 within continental US). 

You'll save money on shipping with this Pack, due to the fact that they all fit nicely into a small flat rate shipping box with no extra wasted space inside.

So pop on over to the Etsy store and check out the Variety Pack today!

Custom Order Brain Soaps!

When I first started this whole soap making thang I had no idea what I was getting into.  I thought I'd make pretty fru fru soaps, maybe cupcakes or butterflies or something.

I had no idea that my top seller would be brains.

But they are.

And frankly, I'm kind of warming up to the brains.  They're kind of pretty, when you look at them from the right angle.

Too bad I'm not a better photographer!  I'm workin' on it!

But these aren't just brains, they're special order brains!  Made with a custom fragrance and color for a party.  I have no idea what kind of party, but I'm sure having brain soaps there will make it extra special.

Now to wrap them up and send them to their new home!

Think you might need some brains?  I have my standard Bag O' Brains, but if those don't suit your taste I can make them however you like as a custom order.

New Soaps on Etsy!

Today I finally got around to posting pictures and listings from my most recent Soap Day.  Here they are!

Lemon Bars!  I decided to make these in 5 oz. bars so that people could enjoy the sweet lemon sparklies a bit longer.

Gardener's Soap!  Perfect for dry & dirty hands after a long day's labor.

And my most recent batch of Lavender Bliss!  This was such a popular soap last time around that I've had to make more.  These have a relaxing fragrance blend of lavender, bergamot, and patchouli essential oils.

All of these and more can be found on my Etsy Store.  :)

Homemade Dry Laundry Detergent

Since venturing into the world of soap making I've been exposed to all kinds of possible things I could make.  Some things, I just sort of shrug my shoulders and say, "meh".  And others I just can't wait to try! 

This was one of the things I couldn't wait to try for my own personal use.  Laundry Soap.  And it is SO EASY that I really don't know why I haven't tried it before.  The recipe, pretty much couldn't be simpler.

Dry Laundry Soap

1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Oxyclean
1 bar of Fels-Naptha (Zote, Kiss My Face pure olive oil, or Ivory)
Few drops of Essential Oil (optional)

Shred the bar soap.  I read in one post to leave the soap overnight before shredding because it helps dry it out.  I don't know if this is true or not, but I am a girl who follows directions, so I did it.  Not sure if it made the shredding easier since I have nothing else to compare it to.  Some people leave the shreds as they are, some people then run the shreds through a food processor.  I chose to leave them as is.  Mix with remaining ingredients.  Done.

Use 1-2 Tablespoons per load.  I have an HE washer, and on my washer you have to turn the cup around in order to accomidate dry detergent. 

I've run one load so far and I'm very impressed!  This load had my kitchen apron in it, which was stained with berries from jam making and it came out spotless!

Here's the video on youtube that taught me out to do it, I thought it was one of the better demonstrations out there.