Accessorize Your Gifts

Check out these awesome new soap dishes that just arrived, made from sustainably grown Southern Pine. A great addition to those little gift packs you're making this time of year.

Loofahs

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The loofah is a climbing plant with beautiful yellow flowers. The luffa plant is a cucurbit, a group of plants including gourds, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Its fruits are cylindrical and during ripening the interior is transformed into a dense network of fibres somewhat like a mesh.

It is the only known plant that can be grown and used as a sponge.

Loofahs can last for months and are excellent exfoliators. They gently remove dead cells (exfoliate) and make skin soft, smooth and healthy looking. It is also said that the fibres stimulate blood circulation, making it useful in the fight against cellulite.

If you are trying to be more environmentally friendly, try cutting the loofah in rounds and use it as a pot scrubber, use it whole as your car wash sponge or kitchen sponge... even to scrub your veggies. Loofahs contain no chemicals and are completely biodegradable.

Get crafty and make your own loofah soap!

TIPS for using the loofah:

-The best way to use he loofah on your body is to get it wet and soft first, then apply your soap of body wash.

-Keep your loofah clean and fresh by letting it dry between uses. Do not leave it in a wet soap dish between uses.

-To clean your loofa, soak it in hot water with a little baking soda and vinegar, rinse and let it dry completely.

Relax with a Seaweed Face Mask - Recipe

Seaweed is a rich source of organic proteins, minerals, and vitamins including B12 (not found in land plants), vitamin E, amino acids, and other nutrients.

A seaweed treatment can act as a powerful detoxifier that draws out toxins and impurities while adding beneficial nutrients to the skin.

Seaweed may also help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and stimulate the body's circulation, infusing the skin with moisture. Used as a body wrap, it may help to minimize cellulite.

Seaweed Mask RECIPE:

2 tsp - Seaweed Powder

1 tsp - White Clay

1 tsp - Liquid Honey (unpasteurized)

2 tsp(aprox) - Aloe Vera (liquid or gel) 

4 drops - Relax or Skin Therapy Essential Oil (optional)

METHOD: Mix the seaweed together with the clay. Add the honey and enough aloe vera to make a spreadable paste that will not drip. Add in the essential oil drops of your choosing.

Method for using the Seaweed Face Mask:

1. Cleanse face well
2. Prepare the mask as above
3. Cover the face and neck area of a layer of seaweed paste
4. Leave for 20-30 minutes until dry
5. Dampen to rehydrate mask and rub face and neck area to exfoliate
6. Rinse off with warm water, finish with a moisturizer

TIPS: Be careful to not get the mask too close to the eyes. It is always important that whatever you do to your face, you do to your neck area as well, including moisturizing.

Next Time You Do Laundry, Try Soap Nuts!

Are you looking for a more environmentally-friendly way of doing laundry? Give Soap Nuts a try.

Soap Nuts are actually not nuts at all. They are berries (also known as Soap Berries) that grow on trees in India and Nepal. They contain large quantities of saponin in their shells. It acts as a natural, gentle detergent when it comes into contact with water. Without any chemicals, fragrances, or dyes, they are safe and gentle for hand-washing delicates and are also tough enough for regular laundry. They are 100% non-allergenic and will leave your clothes soft, clean, and fragrance free with no need to use fabric softeners.




How do you use Soap Nuts?
For laundry soap, you can use them in one of two ways:

1. Toss 4-5 Soap Nuts in a muslin (cloth) bag and put it in with your laundry. Make sure that you take them out before putting your clothes in the dryer. The nuts will do 4 to 5 loads.

2. Boil 15-18 whole Soap Nuts in 6 cups (1.5 quarts) of water for 30 minutes. The liquid you have is now a concentrated, chemical-free detergent. The leftover shells can be placed in your compost. Use 3 Tbsp (45 ml) of this detergent with each load of laundry. This allows you to do approximately 60 loads of laundry. Keep the liquid in the fridge, or add preservative (approximately 2 tsp of Germall or Liquipar to cooled soap).


Soap Nuts can also be used, in the liquid form, to clean just about anything; from dishwasher detergent to window and glass cleaner. They are a great multi-purpose cleaner.

With great cleaning power and no harmful chemicals, Soap Nuts are one of the best cleaners you can buy!

New Fragrances!

Suds N' Scents has two new fragrances that we are excited to tell you about! They are both body and candle safe. If you send us an email letting us know that you saw them on the blog, we'll send you a free sample!

Ginger Tea Fragrance

This fragrance is just beautiful, one of our new favourites! It's a fresh, clean, happy scent; one that would make a great body mist. It has notes of Earl Grey tea, ginger, yuzu, bergamot, geranium, and base notes of light musk and berries.  

Chai Spice Fragrance

This fragrance is just the right blend of spicy cinnamon, star anise, fennel, cassia, and nutmeg, with slight woodsy herbal notes. 

Insect Bite Treatment - Recipe

This Insect Bite Treatment is a must have for anyone who spends time outdoors. It also works really well as a zit zapper!

RECIPE:

45 ml (3 tbsp) Witch Hazel

45 ml (3 tbsp) Alcohol (can use denatured alcohol, rubbing alcohol, or vodka)

2 ml (1/2 tsp) Calendula Oil
10 ml (2 tsp) Polysorbate 20
5 ml (1 tsp) Skin Therapy Essential Oil Blend

METHOD: Mix the Calendula Oil, the Polysorbate 20, and the Skin Therapy Essential Oil Blend together in a glass measuring cup. Let them sit together for a few minutes. Then add the Alcohol and the Witch Hazel. Stir well and pour into glass rollerball containers. Shake well before use. (You could also store your mixture in a glass bottle until ready to put in the rollerball containers).

Go Green with Microfiber Cleaning Cloths!

Why Switch To Microfiber?

These highly absorbent cloths can hold 6 times their weight in water, to soak up even the toughest dirt and grime and they can be reused hundreds of times. They have been designed for cleaning bathrooms, kitchen surfaces, stoves, walls, tables, glass, highly polished surfaces or any area that requires a thorough cleaning.

These cleaning cloths can be used with little or no cleaning products so they are  great for home use especially with small children and are better for the environment. Fewer cleaning products means fewer containers are put in the garbage.

There is also a microfiber cloth designed for exfoliation, gentle enough for use on the face as well as body. It's great for makeup removal.

Remember you can always add a few drops of essential oil to your water to boost the antibacterial cleaning in your home. Try the Four Thieves Essential Oil Blend.

Welcome to the Suds N' Scents Blog!!

Suds N' Scents is excited to introduce our new Soap Making & Beauty Blog, where you will be able to find recipes, tips, and ideas for making your own home-made soaps, make-up, skin care and natural cleaning products.

We are looking forward to sharing our knowledge and experience with you, as well as keeping you up to date with some of the new products that Suds N' Scents is carrying.

So whether you're a serious soap-maker, or just starting out, we hope to keep you inspired and full of ideas!