a year in the wild.

Get Happy With Cheery Sunflower Soap

2012-01-28T15:42:00.001-06:00

We get plenty of sunshine here in Texas during the winter, but I know that’s not always the case in other regions. Lack of sunlight and prolonged periods of clouds and rain can eventually get a body down. Did you know that our cheery natural Sunflower Soap can help? (Hey, it beats lying around on some overpriced couch recalling your unfortunate childhood, right?)

The uplifting citrus essential oil blend can actually boost production of the happy hormone serotonin and reduce levels of the stress related hormone norepinephrine. So the next time you start sinking into doom and gloom, lather up with our citrus scented Sunflower Soap for a shot of golden sunshine in a bar!

The Soapmaker's 10 Commandments

2012-01-11T07:57:00.000-06:00

As we venture into the New Year, please remember....

1. You shall use no other soap but your own.
2. You shall not make a carved image out of soap.
3. You shall not take the name of any soap in vain.
4. Remember wash day, to keep it clean.
5. Honor your teachers and your mentors.
6. You shall not murder anyone over soap. Duh!
7. You shall not commit adultery involving a bar of soap.
8. You shall not steal anyone's soap. Ever.
9. You shall not bear false witness against other soapmakers, even if they melt and pour.
10. You shall not covet a soapmaker's work shop, or a soapmaker's spouse, nor her new molds, nor his giant stick blender, not her milk goat, nor anything that is your fellow soapmaker's.

The bottom line? Love EVERY soapmaker, as yourself! :o)

Cozy Up!

2012-01-03T09:12:00.000-06:00

When temperatures fall and bone chilling winds blow...there's nothing quite like a nice warm bath! Baths reduce stress, increase circulation and promote deep sleep. The recommended bath temperature for most is a comfortable 110 degrees. Add some therapeutic bath oils or bath salts, then soak to your hearts content (15-20 minutes should do it). To help warm your home, don't drain the bath water until it completely cools. Of course you will have vacated long before that and moved on to sipping hot chai tea by the fireside while wearing your softest flannel pajamas and thickest wool socks.

Close the drapes, bring out the board games, throw on an extra blanket, and fluff up your nest! Cozy up with your loved ones this winter (that includes pets)...and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Are You Mistletoe-Ready?

2011-12-14T14:20:00.001-06:00

Keep your skin & lips soft, smooth & mistletoe-ready with our healing, organic body balms. Enriched with jojoba oil & vitamin E, they're the perfect stocking stuffers for frosty weather!

The All Important Dish

2011-12-01T07:54:00.001-06:00

Soap dish, that is. You've gotta have a good one if you want to keep your handmade soap from turning into a gushy hump of mush.

Here's a sampling of some I've collected over the years. OK, the Old Spice shaving mug, the old aluminum travel case, and the antique dish washing wand aren't really "dishes"...but then neither are the cedarwood soap decks or the fossilized limestone soap rock. They all do hold soap though, so that works for me.

I found some alternative soap dishes here, some awfully cute ones here, and some gorgeous handmade ones here.

What holds your soap?

The Mindless Masses

2011-11-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend millions of Americans will be camped out in parking lots, stampeding the malls, fighting at the registers and piling up their carts. All so they can acquire more cheap, unnecessary, foreign made stuff, then try to impress their family and friends with it. When George Carlin talked about "stuff", he was so right... a typical American house is just "a place to keep all your stuff while you go out and get more STUFF!"

Don't buy into it! You don't need all that junk...and neither do your kids, your family or your friends. Give simple, eco friendly, or homemade gifts instead. Then spend time making memories with someone you love this weekend instead of the mindless masses at the mall. It's your call.

With Gratitude

2011-11-22T10:00:00.001-06:00

"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way."

- Native American prayer

At this time of thanksgiving and celebration our thoughts turn gratefully to you...our readers, our followers, our many faithful and loyal customers. Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous holiday season.

A Wild Soap Bar LLC

Maggie, Mike, Jory, Jackie, Cael, Tina, Aubrey & Caden Hanus

Identity Crisis

2011-11-18T07:31:00.001-06:00

As if their soap was anything special! humpfff! They're jealous 'cause they can't make artisan soaps like these. I mean I'd seriously like to take a bite out of that corn! (not sure I'd want to wash with it though)

Our natural soaps have never had an identity crisis either, but they're still world's ahead of Ivory in terms of skin care, scent, and visual appeal...not to mention social responsibility. I'm just sayin...

So what's the weirdest/most artistic soap you've ever seen? Post a link here if you can so we can all take a peek.

11/11/11

2011-11-11T07:49:00.000-06:00

Today, three 11s align for the first time in a century! What will YOU be doing during that magical point in time when the clock reads 11:11:11 on 11/11/11? Perhaps you'll be attending a service to honor our veterans. Maybe you'll be at your cubicle dreaming of lunch. Or you might be lying in a hospital bed wondering how you're going to pay for all this. No matter where you are, if everybody simply pauses to acknowledge their blessings and to hope for the future there'll be a lot of positive energy flowing out into the universe. That's bound to stir up something good!

You can find all sorts of interesting facts, even strange weather phenomena surrounding this day, and the study of numerology places great emphasis on it too. But some attribute all the different phenomena to nothing more than a classic case of apophenia, or the human tendency to find meaning or patterns in randomly occurring data. Depends on who you ask I guess.

When it comes right down to it, I believe 11/11/11 will be exactly what you make it. You hold the key. Now go out and make it a good day!

Gather 'Round for the Holidays

2011-11-04T18:47:00.001-05:00

Tired of all the commercial hype? Looking for a simple yet meaningful way to spend time with family and friends this holiday season? Start a primitive new tradition this year...the Hunter Gatherer Party!

Set out on a leisurely walk through the woods to gather dried naturals for your very own homespun holiday wreath. Take time to really soak up your surroundings. The gathering is half the fun. Look for grape vines (shown), pinecones, acorns, feathers, or moss...anything that catches your fancy. The sky's the limit and you're the designer.

Once you get your found treasures home, put on some festive music, brew up a pot of mulled cider or wine, and let the natural beauty guide you. A few spools of craft wire, some garden clippers, and a couple of hot glue guns are about all the tools you'll need. Simple designs are often the most striking. But there's no right way or wrong way, just your way. You'll soon have a lovely new wreath to adorn your front door that cost you next to nothing...but the memories.

Ah yes, the memories!

Fabulous for Over-Forty Fennel

2011-10-27T17:42:00.000-05:00

Aside from it's culinary uses, fennel is used for its soothing, cleansing and toning effects on the skin. It's especially good for mature complexions as it helps keep wrinkles at bay while improving circulation and fighting water retention and puffiness. It's a powerful antioxidant that also exfoliates and detoxifies.

By design, fennel is an integral part of the therapeutic essential oil blend in our anti-aging Wild Carrot Complexion Soap. Enriched with wild shea butter and wholesome goats milk, this fabulous-for-the-over-forty-crowd bar has everything going for it. And you thought it simply smelled good? (licorice lovers...you KNOW what I mean)

It's Here! FINALLY!!!

2011-10-18T08:15:00.000-05:00

Introducing our brand new website,
 with new and improved features we think you're gonna love! For starters, if you
 register, it'll save all your personal info. Forget about tediously typing out all that stuff every time you want to order. That'll free you up to linger a little longer on 
Facebook...or at least to fire off a few extra tweets. Sweet.

You can also save your shopping cart and return to it later, view 
your order history, retrieve tracking info, find the nearest store that carries our products by zip code, or sign up for membership on our new wholesale site with instant approval. You can even buy an email
 gift certificate if you want. 

We've worked really hard over the past 
several months to bring you these new features. So... what do you think?

The pH Myth

2011-10-05T10:33:00.001-05:00

Contrary to popular belief, skin & hair are not affected much by pH. They contain substances (keratin & fatty acids) that adjust pH levels with which they come into contact. That coupled with the fact that a product's pH will drift during its shelf life, means there's really no such thing as a "pH balanced" product. That's a hyped up marketing term created by the cosmetics industry to sell you more stuff. Unless extremely high or low, the pH of a product will not adversely affect the skin and hair.

Take real handmade natural soap for instance. It's definitely alkaline (generally around pH 10), but if properly made, it doesn't present a huge threat to skin and hair like the makers of those commercial synthetic "soaps" would have you believe. Quite the contrary. A high quality, moisturizing ,natural handmade soap actually improves most skin problems! (you know, the ones caused by those fake synthetic laden albeit "pH balanced" detergent bars!) We've received countless testimonials over the years to prove it too. Real results from real people...not profit driven corporations feeding you a line of bull. Mildness does not equal low pH folks. It just...ain't...so.

According to the late Aubrey Hampton, cosmetic chemist and natural products formulator, "A product's pH is not a danger to the body, but the synthetic chemicals used in cosmetics - often to alter the pH to please the ones who fall for the "pH balanced" story...ARE."

Just Say NO to GMO!

2011-09-28T09:07:00.000-05:00

When we formulated our new organic body balms it was important to us to use certified organic oils, but we also wanted to use non-GMO corn starch since corn is one of the world's most prevalent GMO crops. (Soybean is another one, which is one of the reasons we don't use soy in our products. That and because it makes a softer soap.) Awareness is growing about the dangers of genetically modified organisms and A Wild Soap Bar is committed to protecting our food supply any way we can.

October is Non-GMO Month. The focus is that everybody has a right to know what's in their food (and bodycare products) and to avoid harmful GMO's if they want to. Even if you don't believe in the dangers of GMO's, you should still get behind the core American value of the right to know. When governments and monopolistic corporations conspire to keep you in the dark...you should be concerned.

The Right2Know March is Oct. 1st in New York and Oct. 16th in D.C. The more people that can make it to these events, the more awareness it will create and that's all it takes to educate tons more people. We have a long way to go before GMO labeling becomes a reality, but awareness and education are the first steps, along with supporting companies and organizations that....

Just say NO to GMO!

Oasis of Calm?

2011-09-16T17:21:00.000-05:00

Turn your bathroom into an oasis of calm! On the surface it sounds so inviting. But before you can kick back and relax...you know...you'll need to scrub down that tub first.

What do people think when they peek behind your shower curtain? I've done it my friend, and you know you've done it too! The state of one's bath tub says a lot about one's life. So better get rid of the ring!

And while you're at it, declutter the joint too. Cause all that extra stuff is weighing you down. The expired medications. The rock hard bath salts. That pile of dirty clothes... they're ruining your zen. Feng shui experts would surely poo poo it. So pick it up, stash it, sort it and toss it. Just do it. It's for your own good.

ok NOW you're ready to build your oasis! (By this time you've certainly earned it!) Bring in the fresh flowers. Light up the candles. Lock that door and fill up the tub. Step in. Tune out. TURN OFF.

aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

(but don't forget the wildly aromatic soaps at some point and the replenishing body balms when you emerge!)

Lost and Lonely Pines

2011-09-11T08:10:00.000-05:00

Sorry to say there's still "a fire burning in them lost and lonely pines" (click above to hear the bluegrass song by the Lost Pines band)

With Love from A Wild Soap Bar

2011-09-06T14:33:00.000-05:00

A Wild Soap Bar sprang into action today & donated 200 peppermint scented bath sized bars of natural handmade soap to our Central TX neighbors in need along with a monetary donation to the Red Cross of Central TX. It felt good to help, even in a small way. After months of relentless drought, record breaking heat, and devastating wildfires, I hope our handmade soap brings a little bit of pampering to everyone who receives it. Enjoy!

She's Cryin' WildFire

2011-09-05T21:02:00.000-05:00

My husband and I decided to drive over to see the Bastrop fires after dinner...only about 15 miles from our house as the crow flies. Wish I'd brought the real camera. I've never seen anything like it. Fully three-fourths of the entire horizon was covered with thick plumes of smoke. I stood there and tried to comprehend what was happening in my backyard. I thought about all the homeless people that have nothing more than the shirts on their backs tonight. I thought about all the poor helpless pets and livestock that were trapped somewhere and didn't make it out. And then I thought about all those gorgeous old growth pines in Bastrop State Park that I've loved since I was a kid that I'll never ever see again. I don't think I was fully prepared for what I saw. I broke down and cried.

About That Jar of Vaseline...

2011-08-25T15:24:00.000-05:00

I unearthed this rusty relic from underneath a junk pile the other day and it got me to thinking. Friend or foe? Is Vaseline really as bad as I've been led to believe? I know it's made from petroleum (a non-renewable resource that heavily pollutes) ...and admittedly, that's already a pretty big strike against it. But does it actually cause cancer?

One woman in Alaska (with super dry skin) seems to think that as long as it's been manufactured by a trusted brand it's harmless. She did a bit of investigative work too and there's some interesting ideas in her article. I enjoyed it. But she relies mostly on information provided by the FDA and by Unilever itself, neither of which has ANY motivation to show the danger$ of petroleum product$. Know what I mean?

Here's another article about mineral oil (which Vaseline is a form of) and I believe this guy's done his homework a little more thoroughly. He concludes that properly refined mineral oil is perfectly safe for use on the skin too, but points out that it's not the least bit environmentally friendly. I'll probably have to go with that stance for now. He made a lot of sense. Though I won't be slathering it on my skin anytime soon.

One thing's for sure, there are a lot of whacky uses for Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. Actually they're not that whacky either. I know I've used some of them. How about you?

A Busy Life

2011-08-19T10:44:00.001-05:00

I know. It's been eons since I posted to my blog. Between running a business, building 2 homes on site, bringing new products to market, building a new web site, and well, just "life"....where does a person find time? I'm keeping the grand kids today (one of my favorite jobs) so that's that. Luckily big sister Aubrey (12) helps immensely with little brother Caden (19 mos). Here's a few pics I snapped earlier. A busy life is a good life! Gotta go now.

B.S. BLISS

2011-07-28T16:31:00.000-05:00

If you could stick your nose in this jar of super scented

mineral essence grapefruit eucalyptus dead sea bath salts

like I did...you'd probably experience this...

PURE. BLISS.

That's it. I'm headed for the tub.

But I'm curious...how often do you use bath salts?

What for? And what are some of your favorites?

It's All About Our Fans

2011-07-23T10:21:00.001-05:00

Snapped this photo of the rocks in our driveway and wanted to shout out to our fans!

All Work & No Play?

2011-07-19T14:52:00.002-05:00

Does it ever seem like all work and no play to you? I found myself thinking that far too often, so I finally set out to do something about it. In my last post I boldly proclaimed that I wanted to be an artist someday...."when I retire". Well what on earth was I thinking? That day may never come and besides, I needed a creative outlet NOW.

So I carved out a modest little studio space inside our already over-crowded soap shop. (It's absolutely amazing what you can accomplish when you have ulterior motives.) See what I mean?

OK, so it's not my dream space...but it's a little space to dream in. There are no antique library card files to hold my enormous rubber stamp collection. No eastern windows to bathe my work in the soft morning light. No polished bamboo floors. No sleek European furniture. (Actually it looked more like Early Goodwill.) But I did manage to find a bit of insight and inspiration there. Mostly, I just had some fun. After a few blissful hours in my humble new studio, I emerged with artwork in hand. Success!

Introducing.... my SoapBox series. Beautifully embellished little paper mache boxes that hold...you got it....our natural handmade soaps! Covered with rustic grass papers, tiny pressed plants, bits and beads and...did I mention dreams? Find them for sale on our gifts & accessories page, but it's really not about the sales. Nope. It's ALL about the joy of creating! Yes. That's what these little boxes hold. Cheers!

2011-07-09T06:37:00.000-05:00

Just ordered this gorgeous coffee table book called Artist's Handmade Houses. I've been telling everybody lately I'm going to be an artist when I retire (if and when THAT ever happens). But hey, a little inspiration never hurt anybody, right?

Here Comes the Sun

2011-07-05T11:45:00.001-05:00

Somedays you wake up and the world is just bursting with possibilities. Like the day I took the first photo with my new iPhone 4 (below). It was the misty morning view from the inside of our log home, the one we're in the process of moving out of. The one we're fixing to...gulp...tear down. And then rebuild on the exact same spot.

Tearing down your home of 30+ years can be stressful (ya think?), so to ease the transition, I took some of my favorite artwork and turned it into yard art near the travel trailer we're calling home. The idea came to me a little late....since I had already packed up most of the things I could have used. For instance, that blue bottle collection would've made a killer bottle tree. And I could have dangled some more of my stained glass & wirework pieces amongst the trees. But I'm not about to backtrack...so these will have to do. Familiar suns & moons greet me everyday now on my walk between the trailer and the soap shop.

I'm super excited about the possibilities to come. It's a new day...a new dawn...and I'm up for the challenge. (at least today, anyway)

What exciting possibilities are you looking forward to?