Detox Bath {supercharge your Epsom salt bath!}

 
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jar of layered detox bath with small bowl of black lava sea salt

Supercharge your Epsom salt bath with this natural detox bath recipe featuring charcoal infused sea salt, baking soda, and bentonite clay. A natural detox bath is an amazing way to cleanse your skin and refreshen your body. While there are many different recipes that you can follow, this is my favorite one – adapted from the book Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair by Dina Falconi. These types of baths work well if taken right before … Continue reading →

Soap Books & Resources {à la carte}

 
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on left side is handmade soap naturally colored with rose clay; photo on right is freshly poured soaps in soap molds

While my Natural Soapmaking Ebook Collection continues to be a best seller, I’ve also received a lot of requests from readers wanting to purchase individual items from the set. This weekend, I dug into my online shopping cart system, made some tweaks and changes, and finally made that happen! If you’ve ever wanted to just purchase one ebook at a time from me, then you’re at the right place. Each item is listed separately below, … Continue reading →

Preserving & Using Jewelweed

 
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Jar of fresh jewelweed infusing in apple cider vinegar.

Jewelweed is an excellent natural remedy for poison ivy, poison oak, bug bites, and general itchy skin conditions. If you’re fortunate to have any growing around you, be sure to harvest some now to preserve for year ’round use! Lately there’s been an increase in reader interest and questions about jewelweed, so I took a quick video clip of how I make “jewelweed juice” to share here on my site. In addition, you’ll also learn … Continue reading →

How to Add Lanolin to Soap Recipes

 
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jar of lanolin with borage flower and sprig of thyme

Learn how to adjust for and add lanolin to soap recipes, plus guidelines for using it. Kimberly asked a great question the other day, about how to include lanolin in a soap recipe she’d recently made. She also wanted to try including it in my Dandelion Scrub Bar recipe, but wasn’t sure what changes to make. I thought it might be helpful to type up my answer here, in case anyone else has the same … Continue reading →

6+ Uses for Lavender Leaves

 
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Lavender flowers are only around for a short time, but there are plenty of uses for lavender leaves! Learn how to harvest, dry & use them in DIY projects. First though, you may wonder – what are the health benefits of lavender leaves? While the leaves haven’t been studied as specifically or extensively as the flowers, “Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) flowers, leaves and oil contain linaloyl acetate, linalool, perillyl alcohol, 1,8 cineole (eucalyptol), and at least … Continue reading →

Sinus & Headache Balm

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This easy DIY sinus and headache balm is an all-natural remedy that helps relieve stuffy noses, allergies, and headaches. I created this balm recipe specifically for a relative with chronic sinus problems that have kept them from sleeping well for years. They reported that it helped immensely and they even regained some lost smell after using it! In testing it on myself first and then a few others, I found it had the bonus benefit … Continue reading →

What’s Wrong With My Soap? {troubleshooting cold process soap problems}

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what's wrong with my soap? soft soap and crumbly soap

We all have soapmaking fails. This ultimate troubleshooting guide breaks down the reasons and solutions for 30+ common cold process soap problems. On a daily basis I receive emails from readers about problems and questions encountered while making soap. (Currently, I have 70+ of those emails in the queue to answer!) A few months ago I realized that I’ve been writing variations of the same answers over and over for several years now, so it … Continue reading →

Elderberry Vinegar Honey Caramels Recipe {+video}

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Elderberries and apple cider vinegar combine with honey, butter, and vanilla to make these delicious antiviral elderberry vinegar honey caramels. We’ve made elderberry syrup and elderberry tincture, now it’s time for elderberry vinegar! I’ll also show you how to turn that vinegar into a delicious honey caramel treat with an antiviral boost.   Step 1: Make the Elderberry Vinegar Fill a jar about 1/2 way with fresh elderberries, or 1/4 with dried. Add herbs if you’d … Continue reading →