Brazilian Espresso Luxury Scrub Soap Bar with Cocoa Butter and Essential Oils Body and Face. An invigorating blend of ground brazilian espresso beans creates the ultimate exfoliating experience. http://www.naturalhandcraftedsoap.com

From Joni Lang and doTERRA  tips on uses of essential oils.

• doTERRA’s Citrus Bliss essential oil blend – Elevating, Disinfectant, Kills Airborne Pathogens, Immune Support, Stress Relieving, LOVE IT!
• Apply Peppermint, Myrrh, or Melaleuca essential oil to affected areas to ease Hives.
• For indigestion try Ginger, Orange, or Peppermint essential oil taken internally in a capsule or applied topically over stomach area.

I handmake all my tarts & they will come in A cello bag to keep the scent strong. Country Candles

Above are just a few of my wonderful followers on Twitter. Join me on Twitter and get a chance to read the great tips these artists post. Better yet, join them on their Twitter pages.

It has been a while since I featured soaps from other countries. To me, it is extremely interesting and informative to see what others are doing.

This beautiful bar is from Prague, Czech Republic. Named the Jasmine Dragon.

   From Positana, Italy, this pretty soap has a eye catching name of “Bambola”

 I haven’t run across anyone doing decoupaged soaps in quite awhile. This one is from Italy and very nicely done.

  This soap dish is from Portugal. Made from eco polymer. This I got to look up, as I have never heard of eco polymer. It really looks like resin. Perhaps this is another name for resin.

   As always SoapyChica in the United Kingdom, is showing beautiful soaps. See the spotlight http://soapstuffdaily.com/?p=429

You can see all of these soaps and more on http://en.dawanda.com/

Have a Happy Day,

Barb

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Look at this beautiful shop! Working in this delightful place will get all your creative juices flowing.

The Highland Soap Co. is a wonderful family owned soap and skin care business located in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.

Below are pictures of just a few of their products. You owe it to yourself to visit their site. And of course,  my readers from Scotland need to give them a personal visit.

Have a Happy Day,

Barb

I have always liked the scent of Citronella  and used it in all of my dog shampoos. Had a spray with citronella that freshened dogs between baths and kept the mosquitoes away.

I decided this was the day to look up Citronella and do a short article.

Did you know that Citronella has many uses besides as an insect repellant? According to what I am reading it was and is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Used in the treatment of fevers, menstrual problems, digestive problems,and internal parasites.

In aromatherapy, Citronella has been used as an insect repellant, to treat colds and flu, headaches, excessive  perspiration, migraines, and neuralgia.

Never having used Citronella for anything but insect repellant, I do not know if any of the above works. I do know that as an insect repellant it does work.  In another time frame, we used to spend our weekends anchored out on our boat. I always lit a citronella candle on the table while eating. It was great to keep the flys away from my floating picnic!

Amazing what you learn by reading and research! The plant sold as the mosquito plant is not Citronella, but a geranium with slight scent of citronella.

 This is what Citronella really looks like. A member of the Cymbopogon family. Commonly called Lemon grass.

 So, don’t be fooled and buy the mosquito plant that does not work!

 Citronella scented geranium.

Email me at barb@soapstuffdaily.com and I will be glad to give you my formula for Insect spray.

Got a another use for Citronella or experience with it? Leave it below in the comment section.

Have a Happy Day,

Barb

Dr Mom Essential Oils

I want you to meet Jessica Falcon. Jessica is has a new Artfire Shop, with her unique soaps inspired by Yoga. All of her soaps are scented with Essential Oils. Learn more from this interesting interview.

1. Tell us about yourself and your family - nosey  minds want to know!

          I’m 25 years old, I have a lovely toddler of 19 months, and a husband who is an NYPD Police Officer, and together the three of us make the very odd triple, the Falcon Family.

2. How did you come up with the name MiMi Naturals?

           The name Mi.Mi. Naturals is short for ‘Mindful Miya’s Handmade Natural Bath & Body Products’. The ‘Mindful Miya’ I speak of is my daughter; she is my Baby Buddha, a peaceful and happy baby who keeps me on my toes, and makes me as mindful, peaceful, productive as I can be, as well as happy with the little that we have.

3. The use of “Yoga” in your soap line is very interesting. It is very obvious that you are very much into Yoga and know what you are talking about.

           I have more than enough asanas to play with as soaps, I want to stick to being original, and as far as I know, no one else has come up with YOGA BLOCKS Soap Bars, and I’d like to keep it that way. I’d also like to try and not copy major soapmakers.

4. Do you have  a special name for your soaps?

         I call them “YOGA BLOCKS” Soap Bars. They are all scented with essential oils, and are natural and contain NO meat by products, sulphates, synthetic detergents, or preservatives.

Below is a listing of Jessica’s soaps and the Essential oils she uses in them.

      

Grapefruit essential oil is part of the citrus aroma family. Grapefruit essential oil remains a popular choice because of the oils uplifting, refreshing and energizing properties.

If you use Shea Butter or other butters in your skin care products, you know that sometimes Butters have a rancid smell. I have found that a few drops of Grapefruit Essential Oil will get rid of that smell and leave your butters smelling fresh. Unless you want the scent of Grapefruit in your product, add just enough to cover the rancid smell.

Grapefruit essential oil has many therapeutic uses and endless applications including:

1. Mix several drops of grapefruit essential oil with water and use as a cleanser (water bottles work great for this). To get rid of air borne germs simply use your diffuser with two or three drops of the essential oil.

2. If you are experiencing menstrual cramps try mixing two or three drops of essential oil with one ounce of your favorite carrier oil and massage on your lower back and abdomen.

3. Grapefruit essential oil is renowned for its fresh and uplifting qualities which makes it a perfect choice to help combat depression, headaches, stress or exhaustion. To use for any of these purposes try putting a couple of drops of the essential oil into your diffuser or try direct inhalation by placing a couple drops of essential oil on a piece of tissue or cloth and periodically breath in the wonderful scent.

4. Try bathing with several drops of grapefruit essential oil in your water. Add it to your water after you have finished running your bath water. Or if you only take showers, mix two or three drops into one ounce of your favorite carrier oil and enjoy as a body massage.

5. Grapefruit essential oil is very effective in battling acne. Acne can be treated by using grapefruit essential oil neat or diluted with a carrier oil, simple place a few drops of the oil or mixture on a cotton ball or pad and dab on the affected area.

6. Oily hair can also be treated with grapefruit essential oil. Add a few drops to water and rinse through. This treatment will also help with an itchy scalp.

7. To combat cellulite or water retention mix several drops of grapefruit essential oil into a carrier oil and massage on the affected areas.

8. Using grapefruit essential oil in your bath, as a hot compress or as a massage oil will give relief from arthritis, muscle fatigue, rheumatism, or general stiffness.

Although grapefruit essential oil is easy and safe to use it should be noted that it does have a shorter shelf life due to rapid oxidization and should be disposed of and replace every three to four months.

Have a Happy Day,

Barb

Dr Mom Oils by doTERRA

 A couple of weeks ago, I had an interview with Joni Lang of Dr Mom Oils. She can answer your questions concerning essential oils and of course, as a consultant with doTERRA  Joni has them for sale.

Last week my husband ended up in the hospital over night for heat exhaustion. If I had know about this particular essential oil it might not have happened. Joni told me that next time he is outside in the heat make sure he has some peppermint oil to rub on the back of his neck.  It will help to bring down his body temperature. Learn more great uses for Essential oils on Joni’s site.

I am so glad to now have Joni and her essential oils as an advertiser on this site. I hope all of you that use essential oils for health purposes or in your products will click on her ad. You will thank me for it.

                                            Dr Mom Oils, just a click away.

Visit Natural Handcrafted Soap and the first thing that strikes you is the enticing design of their website. It is rich and colorful. It is a very complicated site but extremely well done. The name tells you what they sell and is a keyphrase in itself.

The photography is excellent. I wanted everyone to see the soaps I randomly picked. As you can see, there is a very large selection. Based in North Carolina, they offer free shipping within the state.

Have a Happy Day,

Barb

If you missed reading the interview with Dr Mom Oils and BattysBath just  scroll down. The nice things about blog formats is not missing posts. Check in once a week and you can read all that happened the past week. Of course, I hope you will check in more often than that!

There is a lot of interest in Essential Oils and you can learn from the post as well as going to the site.

That was Saturday, then Sunday I had a very good interview with BattysBath. Learn about the name and why her business is a huge success.

Have a HappyDay,

Barb

According to Wikipedia, aromatherpy is a main use of essential oils.

Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine, in which healing effects are ascribed to the aromatic compounds in essential oils and other plant extracts. Many common essential oils have medicinal properties that have been applied in folk medicine since ancient times and are still widely used today. For example, many essential oils have antiseptic properties.^[3] Many are also claimed to have an uplifting effect on the mind. The claims are supported in some studies^[4][5] and unconfirmed in others.^[6]

I can confirm the use of eucalyptus and citronella oils. For years I made dog soaps and a dog spray. Not only did the soaps give dogs a clean, fresh scent, but got rid of the insects that bother and harm dogs. The spray was a quick way to keep insects off you and your dog, but was an in-between bath refresher.

How many of you use these two essential oils in your products? What were the products? Or, did you buy products because they had essential oils in them? Let us know, write your answers in the comment section.

Have a Happy Day,

Barb