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Letter from the Editor: Buzz Words Click here for Essential Oils 101 Vol II
Many things come and go, but I like to focus on classics. After exploring many body shops recently, (and I could not BELIEVE there is mineral oil and petroleum in everything now) below are my findings. There are many new buzz words for candles, soaps and lotions, but here is what I tried and just loved the best as far as scent combinations go: Tangerine and Ginger, (awesome), stimulating, Eucalyptus, Spearmint and Mango, Calming, Bulgarian Lavender and Vanilla, helps sleep. Patchouli and Geranium Rose are just out of this world sensual when mixed together. I like this in a solid perfume form. Sweet Pea is reported to be a very popular seller, but it does smell just like sun ripened raspberry to me. Nevertheless, I love Sweet Pea, because I always loved the song. Written by a postal worker, it was a great one hit wonder.
As a final note, we now have the best quality vegetable glycerin soap on the market, at the best price, we feel.
It
appears that edible love lotion is being sold and bought by everyone, from every
walk of life. It is the hottest
I believe the "buzz words" I discussed above would be GREAT combinations. Fragrance oils, such as vanilla, and sandalwood can be used since they do not come in any affordable essential oil form. Click here for our new line of essential oils.
Pink Grapefruit Everything I was born and raised in upstate NY, and I love Apples. Being in Florida the other 20 years, citrus just never appealed to me until my own customers educated me on citrus and showed me just how wonderful it is. Pink Grapefruit and Tangerine are most definably at the top of the list. In fact, I had such a demand for pink grapefruit, you will now find a very high quality I located, on the flavor menu as well as the essential oil menu of our site.
The next simple melt and pour is a pink grapefruit I did with our bee mold, another classic shape I like in our collection. Here, the clear glycerin soap picked up the pink from the grapefruit. You cannot add water based food color to glycerin soap, and I do not like to use artificial color when possible.
I Got Slush:
What Oil of Choice? You do not have to buy our oils. You can get Safflower oil right at the grocery store that is also very high in vitamin E. I tend to like oils such as Carrot and Black Cumin which typically cannot be found locally. But most edible oils will do just fine.
Since time has been a
real issue these days, I find this recipe for instant chai fast and
easy. I simply buy the Mix well in a large bowl and pour into a quart sized mason jar: 2 Cups of Non-Dairy Creamer 1 Cup of Instant Iced Tea (Plain, not with Lemon or Sugar) 2 Ounces of powdered vanilla 2 ounces of powdered honey 1 Ounce of Nutra Sweet 1 Ounce of Chai Spices (Cinnamon, Cardamom, Coriander, Nutmeg)
As a side note I was able to enhance and explain better How to Make Your Own Gourmet Coffee Beans, which are great money saving gifts and you should see that by clicking here.
To Make Hard Tack Candy: Makes About 150 pieces of hard tack candy. 1 and 3/4 Cup of Sugar 1/4 Cup of Agave Nectar, Honey, or Vegetable Glycerin 3/4 Cup of Light Corn Syrup 1 Vitamin E capsule 1/2 Teaspoon of Lemon or Lemon Grass Oil 1/2 Cup of Purified Water, with food color if desired. Line a 9 by 9 inch baking pan with foil, all the way up the width of the pan. Oil with safflower or canola oil. Combine everything but the essential oils in a pot and cook, sitting over medium heat-high heat until the mixture starts coming to a boil. Return to medium and heat and keep stirring until the temperature of the candy is 290 degrees. This will take about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, stirring your essential oils or other additives, including vitamin E oil, in. Then pour into small ice cube strays lined with oil or the pan mentioned above. If you are using a pan, begin to "mark" your break lines. When the candy is broken and at room temp, you may want to shake them up in a zip lock bag with flavor oil or a touch of regular oil and then shake in powdered sugar for a lovely finished appearance.
Soy Candles: Questions and Answers
My Candle Drowned: You either
put way too much fragrance in your initial mixture, used a wick My Soy Candle Has a "Mottled" Look Soy must be rather cool when poured, not steaming hot. Steaming hot will result in a mottled look as well as adding way too much fragrance. I think I use 1/2 ounce of fragrance oil for every pound of soy I make. The only other answer is you may be using beads or pastilles, which I find are just awful. Soy Flakes are the best form of SoyWax™ I know to date. I always add 5% melted beeswax to my soy candles and never have this issue. It offers the candle a more rich and opaque appearance.
Essential
Oils 101 Part 2 by Leane Ketcherside
There
are many types of Lavender, but my favorite is Lavendula
angustifolia, preferably from Bulgaria. It has a milder, less camphorous
odor than other types of Lavender, and it blends with absolutely everything.
Lavender will always add to an EO blend, and imparts its soothing, healing,
antiseptic and calming properties even when used as a very small part of the total
blend. Mabel carries only this type of Lavender, and it’s the best! Lavender,
Tea Tree and Geranium are on a very short list of EOs which are safe to use
“neat” or undiluted. For minor burns, stings, scrapes, etc, just apply one
drop of either oil to your index finger, rub with the other index finger and apply
directly to the injured site. Tea Tree (Melaleuca
alternifolia) is known all over the world for its anti fungal, anti bacterial
and anti viral properties, and is used in all kinds of shampoos, lotions, sprays,
soaps and salves. It is truly one of Nature’s most healing and versatile
offerings. Geranium (Pelargonium
Graveolens) is used extensively in skincare for its antiseptic, soothing and
healing properties, and is well known for its ability to ease tension, stress,
depression and edema (better known as “bloat”, water retention, swollen
ankles, etc.) It is treasured for its effects on mature skin, as well as for its
lovely smell. Mabel carries a beautiful Rose Geranium and I just love it! Now,
let’s get down to some recipes using these remarkable oils! Cold Sore SOS! I
don’t just get fever blisters—I get fever monsters that will completely take over my
bottom lip, the inside of my nose—even the corners of my mouth! Here is a blend
that I make sure I’m never without:
6 drops Lavender, 6 drops Tea
Tree, 6 drops Rose Geranium Blend these into a clean
amber or blue glass bottle. At the very first sign of the tingle or itch of a cold
sore, apply one drop of this blend to a cotton ball or your finger and apply to
the area. Use up to three times a day, and it’s possible to keep the blister
from breaking out at all. Cold Sore SOS and Everything Else Balm! This
is another item I’m never without. If the dreaded blisters do pop out, keep your
lips (or the inside of your nose, if you get them there) slathered with this
comforting cross between a butter and a balm: 4 ounces
Mabel’s Aloe Butter base
4 ounces Mabel’s Lip Balm Base
16 drops Bulgarian Lavender
EO
16 .04 ounce Mabel’s Balm pots
4 ounce glass container (Mason jar works great) Melt
the Aloe Butter and the Balm bases together in the microwave. Keep checking and
remove when just melted. Using a separate dropper for each Essential Oil and the
Phenonip, gently stir in the EOs and the Phenonip. With the last dropper, fill up
the balm pots and allow to cool. Pour the rest of the base into the 4 ounce
container. Use this as a soothing, healing balm for all types of scrapes, bites
and ouches. Use the lip balm/butter just as you would any other, whether you have
a cold sore or not! Acne Soap My
son has Cystic Acne and it’s a miserable thing for anyone to have, especially a
young person. The embarrassment and self-consciousness he suffered just broke my
heart. He was unable to take the prescribed drugs for this affliction, for which I
am thankful. The side effects and cautions scared me half to death! I created a
daily/nightly regimen for him, including the following soap recipe. I’m happy to
report that we saw improvement very quickly.
12 ounces Mabel’s M&P soap base (Clear or Opaque)
18 drops Bulgarian Lavender EO Melt the soap base and allow
to cool a bit. Gently stir in the Neem and EOs. Pour into the mold and allow to
set. Pop out of the mold and it’s ready to use. My Dog has Hotspots! I
have four dogs (Lucy, Gracie, Pearl & Dani Rose) and they all get the dreaded
hotspots. The constant licking nearly drove me out of my tree, and the steroid
treatments from the Vet caused other unhappy problems. After much research, I put
together this recipe, which I consider to be a sanity saver! My dogs are happy,
too, which means we can all sleep at night! Hot Spot Spray
½ cup Aloe juice (from the Pharmacy @ Wal Mart or the Health food
store) ½ cup Distilled Water
½ cup Jojoba Oil
12 drops Bulgarian Lavender EO Combine the Aloe juice, Distilled water and Jojoba oil and shake well. Using a separate dropper for each, add the EOs, Neem oil and Phenonip. Pour into the spray mister, and store the rest in a Mason jar in a cool, dark cabinet. There is no emulsifier in this formula, so you’ll need to shake it up well before you use it. Spray directly on hotspots. This is also great to soothe those sore, rough elbows, and makes a terrific in-between-baths spray to freshen their coats and alleviate that “Eau de Doggie” stink. Just mist on and brush through the coat. Always be sure to avoid spraying the ears and face!
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The Farm House Mold has always been
my classic favorite. This is a simple white almond cold crème soap I
made with a touch of almond fragrance oil and melted cold crème. We
now have these molds back in stock. I was using them myself and ran
out! Just never pour your soap hot or you will warp these pretty
molds. 
To the left is a photo
of my soy crème. This article
is based on a few e-mails I have most recently received. One
customer's lotion came out like slush and the oil and water did separate
like Moses. After talking to her for awhile I found out she made the same
mistake I made a few weeks ago. She just dumped the hot oil into the
hot water while slowly mixing it in. This does make all of the
difference in the world, and it can explode if it is just dumped in at the
same time with hot water. Also, this is one product that cannot be
re-done. A teaspoon of Borax may still save the day if you are almost
done making lotion, do not see any thickening, and had hard water did not
know it. 
items in bulk at Sam's Club and mix at home, storing
in a quart sized mason jar. It is fattening as all get out, but a great
treat when you are in a rush. Four heaping tablespoons of this makes chai
with hot water in a snap: 
This is a VERY cool subject but we
cannot sell such a finished product. FDA has so many rules to limit herbs,
and allowing few promises to be made--most likely due to the pharmaceutical lobby
money. England, however, is full of herbal apothecary stores. What you do in your own home is
game, but do use caution and study up on your herbs. I recently came across a recipe for all natural honey and lemon herbal cough
drops you can make at home. After reading the very basic and neat recipe, I
figured you can infuse the sugar (basic candy recipe) with other herbs, like
"Not Hungry," and "In The Mood" or whatever you find are truly
beneficial herb drops, and not harmful. Ironically, a close customer of mine wrote me
about what she calls "Hard Tack Candy." Same idea, but she does not
make it in a pan and slice break points in the candy as it cools. She oils
tiny ice cube trays with safflower oil, pops them in the freezer and rolls them in
powdered sugar when they come back down to room temperature. Doing that also
solves the oil residue issue. Making your own candy 
Like lotion,
this is another article based on a few e-mails I have most recently
received. One customer's candles simply drowned. Another's came
out white big white spots. Typically, this is one product that you CAN
fix. 
that was
purported to be cotton and/or hemp and was not, and the only other
answer is the company you bought your SoyWax™ from really sells donut
oil that looks like SoyWax™. In this situation, the customer had
bought wicks from a different company and after hours of my experimenting,
it came down to where she got her wicks. Metal wicks will cause the
candle to burn way too fast and result in drowning. Soy needs a heavy
cotton wick. I recommend you buy our SoyWax™. 
In this issue, we’ll explore some basic
information about