The Natural Beauty Workshop

Candy Shop Solid Sugar Scrubs

2010-03-15T09:05:00-04:00

These super cute, single use sugar scrubs are a fun twist on an old favorite. Made with Melt & Pour soap base, they are a cinch to whip up, and to make they are totally adorable! For this recipe, we used Rosehip & Jojoba Melt & Pour Base, one of our many unique specialty MP Bases. To customize this recipe, try substituting any of our other MP Bases, along with the Fragrance Oil and Carrier Oils.

Candy Shop Sugar Scrubs

Ingredients

16 ounces Rosehip & Jojoba Melt & Pour Base
2 ounces Fractionated Coconut Oil
2 ounces Rosehip Seed Oil
4 cups White Sugar
1/2 oz. Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil (Raspberry is a great choice too!)
1/2 teaspoon Pink Glimmer Mica
1/2 teaspoon Cobalt Mica

Special Equipment Needed

2 Brownie Pans (9" x 13" Baking Pan)
Double Boiler

Directions

This recipe is made in two batches. Start by lining the brownie pan with a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Use enough paper so that you'll be able to lift the edges out once your scrubs have cooled. Next, chop 8 ounces of Melt & Pour Base into cubes, then melting it in a double boiler. While the Base is melting, measure and pour 2 cups of Sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the Pink Glimmer Mica to the sugar and mix it well, making sure to break up any clumps. Once the Melt & Pour Base has melted completely, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 oz. of Fractionated Coconut Oil, 1 ounce of Rosehip Seed Oil, and 1/4 oz. of Fragrance Oil to the Base and stir well. Next, slowly pour the colored sugar into the Melt & Pour Base, stirring continuously. Make sure the sugar is fully mixed by breaking up any clumps that appear. If the mixture begins to harden too quickly, return the double boiler to the hot water as you stir. As soon as the sugar is mixed in, pour the hot mixture into one of the brownie pans. Use a spoon to quickly spread out the mixture, creating one even layer over the pan.

Wash out your double boiler pot and repeat this process, substituting the Pink Glimmer Mica for the Cobalt. Once both batches are finished, you'll need to leave them in a cool, safe place for them to harden up. Make sure you give them plenty of time to cool, or you could damage them during the next step. Once you are sure the scrubs have cooled completely, you can pop them out of the brownie pans. Use the paper lining to gently lift them out of the pan if possible. If that doesn't work, turn the pan upside down on a clean work surface and tap the bottom to help knock them loose. If you are still having trouble, try popping the pans into the freezer for two minutes each.

When the scrubs come out of the pans they should be in two large slabs. Carefully trace a grid of horizontal and vertical lines in the surface, then carefully cut along the lines, creating cute little cubes of scrub. Package them as soon as you can to keep them from attracting moisture.

Usage & Packaging

These itty bitty little scrubs are meant for single use. On your way into the shower or bath, grab a cube and use it to scrub rough spots on your arms, legs, hands, feet, or back. These are a little too harsh for your face, or other sensitive areas. The scrub can be rubbed on as is, or you can crush the cube into a more classic texture, but gently pushing on the edges after it has been warmed in water.

Candy Shop Sugar Scrubs fit quite well in our Acetate Soap Boxes, and will look extra cute when they are decorated with our free, printable labels. Click here to download a label sheet: Download Candy Shop Sugar Scrubs Sheet

Rainforest Lip Butter Recipe

2010-03-10T09:58:00-05:00

This creamy, moisturizing lip butter is made with some of the most beneficial skin care ingredients that the rainforest has to offer. Rich Cupuacu Butter, nourishing Acai and Maracuja Oils are blended with natural Beeswax and Andiroba Oil to create a soft, conditioning lip treatment. Mango Flavor Oil adds an exotic aroma to this recipe, but if you prefer an all natural balm, try using 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite Mint Essential Oil in its place.

Rainforest Lip Butter
Makes about 5 Ounces, enough to fill about 15 1/4 oz. Slider Tins.

Ingredients
1/2 ounce Maracuja (Passion Fruit) Oil
1/2 0unce Acai Berry Oil
1 ounce Andiroba Oil
2 ounces Cupuacu Butter
1 ounce Beeswax
1 teaspoon Mango Flavor Oil

Directions
In a double boiler, gently melt the Beeswax and Cupuacu Butters together. Remove the mixture from heat, then add the Maracuja, Acai, and Andiroba Oils. When these are mixed well, add the Flavor Oil and stir again. If you like a very intense scent in your lip balm, add an extra teaspoon of Flavor Oil to the mixture. Personally, I prefer how a hint of Mango Flavor Oil blends with the natural aroma of Cupuacu Butter. Carefully pour the mixture into Lip Balm containers. Be careful not to over-fill the slider tins, as they will not close properly if they too full. Allow the Lip Balm to cool completely before moving them.

Usage & Packaging
This nourishing Lip Balm can be applied to dry lips as often as you like. They look great in our 1/4 oz. Slider Tins, and will look extra special with our free printable labels. To download our label template, click here: Download RFLabelSheet These can be printed onto plain paper, card stock, or sticker paper. Please note, that they do not conform to Avery or Word Program templates.

Save on Sea Salt, Camelina Oil, Cherry Kernel Oil, & Organic Jack Pine Essential Oil at FNWL

2010-03-09T15:37:23-05:00

Great savings going on now at FromNatureWithLove.com! Stop by our Sales & Specials Page to view our current sale prices and sizes.

Reader Question - Using Jojoba Esters in Body Butters

2010-03-08T11:10:00-05:00

It's almost that time again when the summer months will be very hot and humid in North Carolina. I wanted you to tell me about the different jojoba waxes; (50,60,70). I wanted to know if you think that adding the MP-70 jojoba wax with some beeswax will help the body butters from melting so much. My butters are getting popular; and they are oil based; and I didn't necessarily want to change from oil based to water based because that's what makes them so unique, I need all the help that I can get. I usually keep them on ice--then I give to customers, I tell customers NOT to leave them in the car or in the pocketbook. Any more suggestions will be appreciated. - Antoinette

Hello Antoinette,

Thanks for asking about Jojoba Esters. Like liquid Jojoba, Jojoba Esters are a very special type of wax. When they are cool, they are firm and waxy, but when they are warmed they melt into the lovely and familiar texture of Jojoba Oil. I find Jojoba Esters to be a great way to increase the firmness of whipped body butters without making them feel overly waxy. They harden well, but will soften upon skin contact, making them a perfect additive for Body Butters. To determine exactly how much of the Esters to add to your existing formula, I would recommend experimenting with Jojoba Esters 70, the hardest of the esters, by adding it to your body butters at a rate of 5%, 10%, and 15%. (The softer esters aren't likely to make a noticeable difference in this type of formula.) Compare the three experimental batches to see how they feel on your skin, and how the behave when you subject them to various temperatures. Of course, no additive can completely protect an oil based product from melting in extreme temperatures, but by adding Jojoba Esters you may be able to improve your butters' resilience slightly. Many handmade skin care purveyors choose not to offer their body butters online during the summer for this very reason. Mail and UPS trucks can get extremely hot. So hot, that even firm lip balms have been known to melt during transit. Another option you might consider, is to notify your customers of the danger of melting, and then let them choose, based on their local temperatures, whether or not to take the chance of ordering it during the summer.

Does anyone else have tips for dealing with summer heat and melting products? How do you protect your recipes when the weather heats up? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Natural Facial Cleansers

2010-03-04T10:20:00-05:00

Choosing the right facial cleanser is integral to the success of your regular skin care routine. Some faces need require a gentle touch, while others need something a little more astringent, or exfoliating. No matter what your skin care needs are, creating something all natural, and tailor made to your needs, is sure to make your skin happy.

The simplest to create, and my personal favorites, are facial scrubs. To put it simply, scrubs are made by combining an exfoliant with a wetting agent. When it comes to facial scrubs, I prefer to use the most gentle exfoliants possible. The delicate skin on your face doesn't need much scrubbing power if it is exfoliated regularly, and it can actually be damaged by too much rough scrubbing. When you look for a facial exfoliant, consider its shape, grain size, and composition. Some of my favorites are Oat Flour, Banslochan (Bamboo) Powder, Adzuki Bean Powder, and Almond Flour. Unless it has been specially milled for use in facials, try to avoid harsh exfoliants such as salt, sugar, or pumice. These heavy duty exfoliants should be reserved for the body or feet. There are countless possibilities for wetting agents. Try to choose one that will be beneficial to your skin type.

The simplest, and most neutral wetting agent to use is water. Spring water or Distilled Water are best, but plain old tap water will do just fine. Hydrosols are a great choice for custom made facial scrubs. They have a huge range of properties that can suit all kinds of skin types. Some are astringent, others are soothing, and some even tout anti-aging properties. Fresh milk or yogurt is another great choice. These natural dairy products contain lactic acids, which can help to brighten the skin by exfoliating very gently. Some other ideas for wetting agents are green or herbal tea, diluted juices, or facial creams.

You can enhance Facial Scrubs by including Powdered Extracts, CO2 Extracts, Essential Oils, or Moisturizing Facial Oils. Whatever recipe you create, keep in mind that it should be used immediately, as these types of formulas don't tend to keep well. I recommend storing the dry portion and wet portion separately, and combining enough for each serving as you use it. This will not only provide you with the freshest Facial Scrub possible, it will help to avoid the hassle of including preservatives in your recipe.

Reader Question: Using Floral Waters to Create Body Splashes & Linen Waters

2010-03-01T13:51:04-05:00

How do I make a Linen Water or Body Splash using the Floral Waters (FNWL)? - Brenda

Hi Brenda. Making Linen Waters and Body Splashes from our line of Floral Waters is easy. Start off by picking a Floral Water to work with, or a blend of Floral Waters if you'd prefer a unique scent. If you'd like the formula to be very strong, you can use the Floral Waters at full strength. If you'd prefer a lighter scent, you can cut the Floral Waters with as much as 50% Distilled Water. If you do choose to add Distilled Water to the Floral Water, you'll need to add an additional preservative. Try using Liquid Germall Plus at a rate of .1%. That works out to about 4 grams per gallon of Body Spray or Linen Water.

New Blog Features: Chat & Search

2010-02-25T12:46:43-05:00

We are always looking for new ways to make the Natural Beauty Workshop a better resource for our readers. Recently, we added two new tools to make using this blog a more interactive experience. First, we added a new and improved Search Bar powered by Lijit.

Lijit Search

You can find this tool on the right sidebar of the blog, or on our new Search Page. If you are looking for a special recipe, or want to learn more about a particular skin care ingredient, try entering it into the search bar. The tool will automatically provide you with a list of related articles, posts, or recipes!

We've also added a Chat Window to our sidebar. Find it on the right side of the page, under Questions and Comments. Powered by Plugoo, this interactive widget allows readers to chat one on one with Emmy, our blog hostess, and primary author. Use this window to ask questions about ingredients, formulations, or techniques. If Emmy is offline, you can leave a message (please include your email) for Emmy to respond to later.

If you'd rather email your questions or comments, send Emmy an email at hostess@naturalbeautyworkshop.com. We're always happy to help with our readers recipe or ingredient questions.

Rosehip

2010-02-23T14:49:16-05:00

The Rosehip plant produces an amazing little berry that is not only packed with Vitamin C, Essential Fatty Acids, and healthy minerals, it contains an oil that is prized as a natural skin and hair care ingredient. Rosehip Oil comes in an amazing amount of varieties, the most popular of which are straight up, cold pressed Rosehip Seed Oil and Organic Rosehip Seed Oil. These two Oils are fairly delicate, with a shelf life of only around 6 months. This makes where you purchase your Rosehip Oil very important. You must work with a trusted retailer, or you could run the risk of receiving an expired batch. Because of Rosehip Oil's high fatty acid content, it can sometimes have a slightly acidic aroma, even when it is fresh. This makes testing freshness "by nose" pretty difficult. It's a good idea to keep track of your fragile Oils, like Rosehip, by labeling them with the date you received them.

So why would you want to work with a fragile Oil, such as Rosehip? For starters, the high content of Essential Fatty Acids, Vitamins, and Minerals make it a very nutritious choice for both the hair and skin. Its natural antioxidant value makes it great for anti-aging formulas, and its light, penetrating texture makes Rosehip perfect for facial creams, masks, and even oil based serums. Rosehip Oil is said to help slow premature aging by reducing the formation of lines and wrinkles, reduce the formation of scarring, and may even be able to help regenerate new skin cells.

Rosehip CO2 Extract boasts all of these fine qualities and more, being a more pure and concentrated form of the standard Oil. It has a slightly astringent property which makes it great for oily skin, combination skin, as well as mature or damaged skin. It is also much more stable than standard Rosehip Seed Oil, having a shelf life of about 1 year. Rosehip CO2 Extract is a great way to incorporate the properties of Rosehip Seed into formulations on a smaller scale. This extract can be used at as little as 2% to begin adding Rosehip properties to a formula.

For water based recipes or ingredients, formulators can use Powdered Rosehip Extract*. This water dispersible powder is concentrated at a rate of 4:1, meaning that it is four times as strong as the original extract. Powdered Rosehip Extract is also rich in Vitamin C, which is rarely found in stable ingredients such as this. When stored in a cool, dry, place, Powdered Rosehip Extract has a shelf life of about 2 years.

Rosehip Powder and Rosehip Seed Powder provide yet another way to use Rosehip in skin and hair care recipes. These crushed Rosehip powders can be used as natural exfoliants in scrubs, masks, or ubtans. They can also be infused into water to make natural tub teas or wetting agents.

*Click here to learn more about using Powdered Extracts.

Salt Scrub Recipes - Plus, Save 50% on Sea Salt at From Nature With Love

2010-02-19T12:50:16-05:00

For a limited time, From Nature With Love is offering an amazing discount of 50% on all sizes of Fine Grain Sea Salt. Visit our Sales & Specials Page to take advantage of this special offer while supplies last. Its uniform texture, light color, and rich mineral content makes Sea Salt a perfect ingredient for Salt Scrubs. It works well with almost any scent or color choice, and is totally shelf stable. This is the perfect time to stock up on this must-have ingredient.

Need some inspiration for what to do with all of that Fine Sea Salt? No problem! The following recipes from The Natural Beauty Workshop feature Fine Sea Salt as the main ingredient.

Oatstraw

2010-02-15T12:04:22-05:00

With its soothing properties and rich silica content, Oat Straw Powder makes an excellent addition to both hair and skin products. When used in shampoos, hair conditioners, rinses, and hair masks, Oat Straw imparts a softness and shine that your hair will love. It can also soothe itchy or irritated scalps. In skin care products, Oat Straw acts as a calming agent, making it great for sensitive skin formulations.

When infused into water or oil, Oat Straw Powder releases a deep green color into the infusion. It is so potent, that it can even be used to color both melt & pour and cold or hot process soaps. The Powdered Herb is great for creating oil or water infusions, bath teas, hair masks, or facials. Oat Straw is also available as a Powdered Extract. The water dispersible extract can be used to impart Oat Straw properties into almost any water based formula. It works very well in shampoos, skin creams, lotions, and conditioners. Oat Straw Powdered Extract will not, however, add any noticeable color to a formula.

Valentine's Day Photo Blast

2010-02-14T08:23:00-05:00

In celebration of Valentine's Day, we've decided to share a heaping portion of lovey dovey shots from our Flickr Photo Group. These love inspired projects warmed my heart, and I hope they warm yours too!

From Soapy Chica:

From Campo di Fiore:

From Aquarian Bath:

From Morgan Street:

From Purple Sparkle:

From Anita's Sweet Treat Crafts:

From Nk9708:

From Soapier:

From Soap Scentsations:

From a Breath of French Air:

From Drachenzuber - Seifenmanufaktur:

From CaliBeijaFlor:

I hope you enjoyed the spread! If you'd like to participate in our Flickr Photo Group, you can join here for free.

Introducing the From Nature With Love Color Palette Tool

2010-02-10T15:34:41-05:00

Pairing colors and scents is an important part of creating gorgeous, memorable skin care products. Creating a presentation that pleases the eye will not only attract people to pick something up, it can actually enhance the overall experience. Because of our subjective senses, choosing the right color to accompany a particular aroma can play a huge role in a recipe's success.

To help make color choices easier, From Nature With Love has created a searchable Color Palette Tool that allows you to browse our massive selection of Fragrance Oils and Candle Fragrance Oils by color. This innovative tool can help your creative process start from the visual end, giving formulators a new source of inspiration for recipe planning. If you prefer to start your creative process with scent, you'll be happy to know that each of our individual Fragrance Oil and Candle Fragrance Oil product pages are now marked with suggested color choices.

In the future, we'll be adding lots of other products to our Color Palette Tool. Keep an eye out for our next addition. Essential Oils will be added soon!

What are your favorite color and scent combinations? We'd love to hear about them in the comments below!

The Beauty By the Batch Artsan Directory

2010-02-01T14:53:12-05:00

Having trouble finding a particular handmade beauty or skin care product? Looking to find new artisans to purchase things like candles, mineral makeup, or even green home care products from? Then check out The Artisan Directory at Beauty By the Batch. The Artisan Directory makes it easy for shoppers to find just about anything they may need. And because the Directory only features products that are made "by the batch", you can be sure to find something special.

You can browse artisans by specialty and product range, or in alphabetical order. While you are visiting Beauty By the Batch, make sure the stop by the Personal Care Article Section. Beauty By the Batch features informational articles on a wide range of subjects, including baby care, aromatherapy, hair care, and more.

We've Been Added to Alltop!

2010-01-27T10:52:00-05:00

We're very excited to have the Natural Beauty Workshop added to Alltop.com, one of the most comprehensive blog catalogs on the web. Not only does Alltop bring together the best of the best when it comes to the blogosphere, it organizes its content very well, making it a breeze to find great blogs that are writing about the topics you love. Thanks for the add, Alltop!

Want to get your blog featured on Alltop? Check out their submissions page for details!

Grape Seed Oil

2010-01-22T07:55:00-05:00

The benefits of Grape Seed Oil are no secret. Jam packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and nutritive minerals, these little seeds offer a bevvy of goodness. What is less well known is the variety of Grape Seed Oils that are available for use in cosmetics, hair care, and skin care. Standard Grape Seed Oil is available in both Conventional and Organic varieties. Both of these standard Grape Seed Oils offer a light, moisturizing texture that is great for revitalizing dry skin or hair.

In addition to Standard Grape Seed Oils, there are two specialty Oils that are worth considering. Both our Riesling and Chardonnay Grape Seed Oils are cold pressed, an extraction method that results in one of the highest quality Grape Seed Oils possible. Rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients, and essential fatty acids, these light, nutritive Oils make an excellent addition to high end massage oils, creams, or body lotions.