Tag: natural skin care

The Wonders of Bath Bombs

I am in LOVE with bath bombs! The color, the fizz, the aroma…It’s the reason I take baths in adulthood. Bath bombs have a way of creating a truly relaxing, therapeutic experience.

Bergamot instagram photo
Bergamot Bath Bombs scented with bergamot essential oil and colored with seaweed powder. Available at TheLovingEssence.com

Bath bombs are great because they cleanse and deodorize the skin without stripping it. Baking soda and citric acid are the core ingredients of bath bombs. Not only do these help to create the amazing fizziness of bath bombs, but they also help with cleansing.

Another amazing benefit of bath bombs is that they often times include natural oils to add moisture to the bathwater. This helps to leave your skin feeling very soft after a soak.

Rosemary Anise Bath Bomb
Rosemary Anise Bath Bomb scented with essential oils and colored with brazilian clay. Available at TheLovingEssence.com

 

At The Loving Essence we incorporate oils and butters like olive oil, almond oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter into our bath bombs to allow for a moisturizing, relaxing bath. That way after a nice soak your skin feels moisturized. Many of our bath bombs also include goat’s milk powder which is rich in vitamins A & E, B6 & B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Triglycerides, Selenium, and alpha hydroxy acid to help remove dead skin cells allowing renewal of cells.

If you haven’t already, I suggest giving bath bombs a try. They really help promote and enhance relaxation after a long day.

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Blue Magic Bath Bombs available at TheLovingEssence.com

 

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Handmade is Best Made (Soap Edition)

When I first began the natural skin care journey, I was opposed to any and all things “soap bar” related. Commercial soaps were drying and so was any other soap bar. I use to say, “Give me body wash any day”! When I was learning how to make my own skin care products, handmade soap would often come up and seeing all the colors often made me think of dye, skin allergies, eczema, dermatitis. All the things I had experienced in the past from using many commercial products. I had a major aversion. HOWEVER, what I have learned along my natural skin care journey from research and my own experiments is that HANDMADE SOAP IS LIFE! I wanted to lay down a few reasons here as to why I love natural, handmade soap so much and why I honestly think everyone should invest in this product.

  • Handmade Soap is Moisturizing

One of the natural by products of handmade soap is glycerin, a humectant that draws

Lavender Soap Brightened
Loving Lavender Soap

moisture to the skin and leaves skin feeling incredibly soft. In many commercial soaps, this natural byproduct is removed and used to make lotions or creams. Removing this byproduct causes skin to feel dry, itchy, harsh, flaky and can contribute to irritated skin for those who are sensitive. Those who make natural soap do not remove this natural byproduct and as a result handmade soap leaves your skin feeling incredibly soft after use! Many of my customers often remark that their skin feels even SOFTER after using handmade soap than it does after using body wash.

 

  • Handmade Soap Uses Natural Ingredients

Tumeric Powder soap
Radiant Glow Turmeric Soap

Handmade soap is made with natural ingredients such as coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, almond oil, goat’s milk, aloe vera juice, and clays. These ingredients are very gentle on the skin and help to nourish the skin. This is very different from many commercial soaps and body washes that use synthetic ingredients. While I am not completely opposed to their use (I do enjoy making body wash myself), however, I am aware that these are synthetic ingredients and are really detergents that can cause eczema and dermatitis in those sensitive skin. As a result, I tend to prefer to make handmade soap and encourage those around me to invest in this method of cleansing as well. While it’s true that handcrafted soap costs more than commercial, its value is in the results it has on the skin. It is true that many handcrafted soaps use fragrance oils in their products which is a synthetic ingredient; however, at The Loving Essence, we make absolute sure to use phthalate free fragrance oils as they do not have any effect on the reproductive and endocrine system of our users. Health is wealth and we make sure to use the best.

Charcoal and Lemongrass Soap 1
Charcoal and Lemongrass Handcrafted Soap

  • Handmade Soap is Unique

In addition to nourishing, moisturizing benefits of handmade soap, and probably one of my favorite parts of soap crafting, is its uniqueness! To me, handmade soap makes natural skin care even more fun! Even if you don’t use fragrance oils and choose to only use unscented products, you can still indulge in a nicely designed bar of soap with the same nourishing/moisturizing benefits and other natural skin care products and cleansers. Every soap maker has their own style and technique for designing soap, but the benefits are always there! For me, I enjoy the process of “room temperature soaping”. I find this route to be quick yet effective and I can get to my favorite part: designing!

Black Raspberry & Vanilla Oak
Rose Quartz
Calendula & Peach

Most people opt for handmade soap once they realize how moisturizing and nourishing it is on the skin. Just one use and people are often excited to come back for more. It’s really that good!

Visit The Loving Essence to try these handmade soaps and more!

 

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Small Business Saturday

santa-blank-chalkboard

In honor of Small Business Saturday, we at The Loving Essence are offering 10% OFF your ENTIRE order today! The offer will automatically be applied at checkout.

We are so grateful for all the support that we have received this year and we are grateful for the growth we’ve had the support we’ve received from our community. As a small business, it means so much to us and we look forward to continuing to be of service!

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The Loving Essence Loving Lavender Soap

And of course, because of our love of handmade soap and the amazing responses we’ve gotten from our customers, family and friends, be on the look out for a few of our Handmade Soaps coming soon! They will be ready in about 2 weeks and are expected to ship in time for the holidays

In the meantime, we have some really amazing products available for sale including our Soothing Chamomile Infused Lip Balms, body creams made with aloe vera juice and shea butter, body butters and our much loved seasonal item: lotion bars!

Hope to see you all at The Loving Essence and I look forward to continuing to be of service.

 

Visit The Loving Essence for all your skin and hair care needs!

 

Aloe Shea Body Cream
Aloe Shea Body Cream
Ylang Ylang Body Butter
Ylang Ylang Body Butter
Chamomile Infused Lip Balms
Chamomile Infused Lip Balms

 

 

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Aloe Shea Body Cream

Aloe Shea trio
Aloe Shea Body Cream at The Loving Essence

Over at The Loving Essence, we are currently offering this incredibly creamy, peach scented body cream for daily use. The primary butter used in this particular recipe was East African Shea Butter which is a slightly softer texture to the West African Shea Butter that I have come to know and love. I also included some colloidal oatmeal to soothe sensitive skin. Sodium Lactate and Panthenol (B5) is also present in this formula to help draw moisture to the skin as well as to improve hydration and reduce inflammation to the skin. Aloe shea Body Cream Inside

If you’re someone who enjoys body butters (as I do), I recommend giving this product a try as well. It absorbs quickly into the skin leaving it hydrated with out any extra residue.  Now because this product does contain I high percentage of water soluble ingredients, paraben and formaldehyde-free preservatives were added at a minuscule amount for safety. All lotions require this to keep any icky bugs out of our beloved products.

What I love most about this body cream in particular is the strong presence of aloe vera
juice. My aim was to create a product that would not trigger skin sensitivities. Aloe Vera Juice is hydrating and helps to seal moisture into the skin. Aloe Vera can also assist in reduce inflammation, itchiness, and irritation to the skin.

There is very little fragrance in this product. I try to use fragrances at a low percentage so as to reduce the chances of anyone developing sensitivities from our products. However, because many of the other ingredients are practically odorless, the fragrance comes through with a light and pleasant peachy aroma. I absolutely love it. All of our fragrances are phthalate free.

Body Cream

Get our Aloe Shea Body Cream and more over at The Loving Essence.

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Benefits of Lotion Bars

TLE PhotoI LOVE lotion bars! While they’re not exactly a lotion (a moisturizer that contains water or a “water phase”), it is a solid moisturizer, hence the term lotion bar. They basically look like little bars of soap (or chocolate, depending on color & design) that you can apply when you exit the shower for added moisture. Our lotion bars are made with an abundance of all natural oils and butters to create a solid moisturizer for the drier areas of your skin.

Ease of Use

Many people have asked me  how to use a lotion bar. One of the great things about lotion bars is that they are easy to use. They are solid at room temperature but they melt on contact with the skin. Simply remove from packaging and apply to skin. Hold it to your skin for 15 seconds to allow the oils and butters to melt. Massage into skin.

Emollient TherapyLotion Bar 4.jpg

While lotions are water-based, lotion bars are made with oils and butters. This makes them a wonderful addition to those looking to invest in emollient therapy (read more on emollient therapy here). If you have sensitive skin or often experience dry skin, lotion bars would be a good idea to include in your skin care routine.

Longer Lasting

White chocolate lotion bars.jpgLotion bars are much longer lasting than that of liquid lotions. Not only that but they are less greasy. Our lotion bars are formulated to allow for quick absorption into the skin leaving a healthy radiant glow upon application.

Travel Friendly

Because lotion bars are solid at room temperature, there is little concern that your moisturizer will be confiscated by TSA! In addition, our lotion bars are well packaged and compact, allowing you to store them in your purse or pocket with ease. You can pull them out at any time to moisturize those drier areas.

It is best to store your lotion bars in a cool dry place to prevent melting. However, if your lotion bar does melt, this does not affect the moisturizing properties of the bar. Simply place in the fridge for 10 minutes to allow it to harden again.

LotionBars.jpg

To try this and other products, visit The Loving Essence!

 

 

 

 

 

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