My Soap Love

I have been using handmade cold-processed soap for a few years now.  I discovered handmade soap when I first fell head over heads for a website called Etsy.  It was around 2006 when I came across Etsy and fell in love with the Handmade Movement.  I also became really interested in trying to go more natural in the products I was using in my home.  I kept coming across some scary facts about the different chemicals found in the products we are constantly exposing ourselves too.  One thing that I found was easy to try and turned out to be a very beneficial change was body soap.  Something about knowing that the product I use was created from scratch from simple ingrediants by an actual individual who I can email by name gives me a sense of comfort.  Also, having tried MANY bath and body products throughout life, I honestly can say cold-processed soap is the BEST soap I have ever used.  I would like to highlight two handmade soap makers who I have bought many bars of soap from and have never had a bad experience.  One of these is a local Virginia soap maker: Old Dominion Soap Company.  The soap sold by this shop is simple, inexpensive, but at the same time, FABULOUS!   The SimplyPom soap is my favorite, but the olive oil soaps and specialty soaps are just as lovely.  And, my favorite product of their's is the hemp oil lotion, which has been a miracle worker for my eczema ridden skin.  The second shop is an etsy shop called KBShimmer.  This shop is full of lots of fun and wonderful products, all that I have tried have been awesome.  But the soap is so fun and full of scent and color, great as a gift, and so fun in your own shower.  Give handmade soap a chance.  Know where your money is going, know what less packaging and simple ingrediants can mean for our Earth.

Yes, folks, another Gudonyatoo rave

I usually prefer to showcase the less well known artist on Etsy, but I got to tell you guys about this deodorant. It did something miraculous, I tell you, it conquered the stink of my tween on a hot day of playing hard and getting sweaty! I was not a fan of having my daughter use deodorant, but the girl was so stinky, I knew people could smell her. So I got her some deodorant, which went against my gut intuition but something had to be done. Well, when the over the counter stuff started irritating her skin and making her all itchy, I decided to spend the little bit of extra money and try some handmade deodorant. This deodorant worked fabulously and I can give it to my daughter without the fear of all of those chemicals... especially the aluminum. I can honestly say I am not up on the Alzheimers research, so I don't know if they still consider aluminum to be a possible risk factor, but after seeing my grandma struggle many many years with that debilitating disease, I felt a slight bit unsure when I bought my daughter deodorant from the store. Well, who knew handmade deodorant would work better! She had no itchy arm pits and she even said she felt less sweaty. AND, I smelled her arm pits and they smelled.... good.... I know, it is so hard to believe, but it is true. I am a true fan of Gudonyatoo!