Skin Deep: Tea Tree Oil

 Tea Tree oil is kind of a big thing in your all-natural health and beauty cabinet. You might have heard the name but not know much about it. I am a big fan of Tea Tree Oil and use it in my Tea Tree & Blue Clay soap. So I'm here to give you the inside scoop. And it has nothing to do with tea - the kind you drink.

Oil from the tea tree (botanical name: Melaleuca alternifolia) is a miracle worker ingredient for skin because it has amazing topical properties -- it is antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral all at the same time.

The tree grows wild in Australia, but is now cultivated extensively to be a wellness and beauty product ingredient. Camellia Sinensis is the plant harvested for drinking tea, and it can sometimes be called the tea plant, tea shrub or even tea tree, but they have nothing in common and no connection at all - well except for the word "tea" in their name, duh. 

Tea tree oil should never be consumed internally, it's toxic! But it's perfectly safe to apply directly to skin, even in its pure form. It is used in soaps, liquid soaps, and many other skin preparations such as blemish treatments, skin masks, even owie and boo-boo preparations.

It has a clean, herbal scent, which some might find a bit strong or medicinal smelling in its straight form. As a fragrance, it blends well with lots of other essential oils. I particularly like it with lavender and mint, which is the combo I've created for my tea tree soap bar.

Acne Remedy

With its potent antibacterial and anti fungal properties, tea tree oil is an effective natural remedy for acne, breakouts, inflammation and redness. It works by unclogging pores and killing bacterial which are responsible for zits. And it helps prevent the formation of new blackheads or whiteheads too, when used regularly. It hydrates and soothes skin at the same time, calming irritation and reducing redness. 

Regular use of tea tree oil soap can help clear up acne, helping to create naturally glowing smooth skin. If you're interested in boosting its effects and speed up the healing of blemishes, you can dab a small amount of the essential oil directly onto your spots (clean skin only), using a cotton swab or Q-tip. To prevent future outbreaks, you can apply directly onto your clean face on a regular basis, but keep in mind that it is quite a strong disinfectant and might cause irritation if you have sensitive skin.  It's best known as a spot treatment, so start there. And if you feel a tingling sensation, it's a good idea to blend the tea tree oil with water, another carrier oil (like jojoba or almond) or with a bit of lavender essential oil. The lavender oil has similar properties, yet is much milder, and can help with redness and sensitivity too. Bottom line, fighting skin problems with tea tree oil is still proven much less irritating than the drugstore benzoyl peroxide acne treatments.

Body Odor

Tea tree oil can help beat body odor. Our Tea Tree & Blue Clay soap is the closest thing we have to a "deodorant" soap - which are antibacterial, but not antiperspirant. Tea tree oil is both antibacterial and antimicrobial, and bathing regularly with this soap will help diminish the bacterial that lead to body odor.

Infections

Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic that helps heal cuts and scrapes, and is also effective against more serious infections. Daily bathing or showering with tea tree oil body products and shampoo has even been proven an effective method of decolonizing a person carrying MRSA, and at the same time, being much less harsh on patient's skin than chemical-based antibacterial agents.

Applying tea tree oil, or a tea tree oil based remedy on minor cuts, scrapes, abrasions, scratches, etc. can be a great way to stay all natural and plant-based, get effective proven results, and not worry about chemical irritation and side effects. 

Have you tried the Tea Tree oil soap? or any other tea tree product? What did you think? We'd love to hear your experiences with tea tree oil!

One of my favorite stories . .

comes from a customer who sent me an email years ago. I keep these things to re-read when I need a boost. But I think they make great testimonials too, and I've been added a few little shorter ones to my monthly email missives.

This one is a bit longer, but it's so good I wanted to share it. Just found it yesterday when I was doing a little clearing out of the computer files.  Here goes:

I so enjoy your products!  I don't know how many years I've been using them, but it's been quite a while. I want to tell you a couple of little stories.

Not the actual customer! Just a gorgeous woman.

A while back, I gave a co-worker a bar of your soap for her birthday.  She came in the next week, so excited!  She said she had given up using bar soap years ago because she found it so drying but when she took her shower that morning, she had taken off the wrapper of your soap, and used it.  She couldn't believe how it made her skin feel! She said when she got out of the shower, she dug the wrapper out of the garbage, read it and found it had olive oil.  She was so delighted that I made a copy of your flyer and brought it to her.

Story number two: I get a massage every two weeks.  I started about 11-12 years ago as the practice-dummy for my dear friend who was attending massage school.  It felt so good, that I've kept it up! She always comments on what nice skin I have and I work hard to accept that compliment because as I get older (almost 64 years old now), I'm getting age spots and little dry bumps, etc. About six weeks ago, she commented that my skin was so dry and asked if I had changed soap?  I thought for a moment and said that I had changed soaps in the shower -- that I was using a free sample of the new Dove Moisturizing bar that I had received in the mail.

She said, "Well, go back to what you were using, because it was better for your skin." Then, I remembered what my co-worker had said (I have to admit that I have never really looked at the ingredients of your soap) about the olive oil.  I went home, and tossed the Dove and put a new "Breakfast Soap" in the shower. I also mailed her a bar from the stash I keep on hand, along with a copy of your flyer.  She's going to order some for her daughter, who has dry skin.

Yesterday, I went for my massage and she immediately commented that my skin was back to "normal"!! - N.R.

So grateful to have happy customers!

Soaping with Salt

One of my new spring seasonal soaps is the Sea Salt soap. Which probably sounds weird if you haven't ever heard of salt soaps before. If you have heard of them, or even tried them, then you'll want to just head over and grab a bar of this heavenly scented lovely version, because mmmmmm, it's swoonie.

So the rest of you, you're thinking, what?! Why put salt into my soap? Isn't that crunchy? and what's with all the food in my shower?

Have you ever had a little tropical vacation and spent some time bobbing in the ocean waves? Surfing and sunning all day, and then when you get back to the casa and showered off, realized that your skin felt silky smooth and actually pretty great looking? That's not the mai tai's  talking. It's a real thing. The salt content in sea water is a pretty nice thing. Just by getting wet, it dissolves off dry and dead cells, leaving your skin a little smoother and fresher.

If you've only been in the pool, you know that the chlorine totally dries you out. You can't slather enough lotion on yourself while your skin cracks like the desert and your hair turns green. But splashing in the real waves? It's actually hydrating instead of drying. Our human bodies are made of up something crazy like 60% water and salt is the only mineral we digest, even absorbing it through our skin while we're floating away our stress.

Salt water has the added benefit of cleansing and rinsing off debris, bacteria, foreign toxins and the like, curing acne, cuts and wounds (even if a big one stings a little). No matter what you've got, sea salt water is going to heal your irritations. 

So how do we get this fabulousness at home? Well, if you're a soaker, then the Dead Sea Bath Salts are a great way to surf for beauty in your bath tub. If you're like most people, you've only got the shower. THAT'S why we stuff the salt into your soap. A bit of sudsing with a salt bar gives you all the spa-like benefits of an ocean dip or a long soak in the mineral bath salts, just in the time it takes to belt out your favorite song in the shower.

February is as good a time as any to get salting yourself. Dry, pasty white, winter skin could use a little healthy glow right about now. Am I right? 

And this one soap bar smells as good as it feels. Essential oils of lavender, rosemary, mint and thyme give it that irresistible luxury spa fragrance you can’t stop sniffing.

Just a couple more notes about this one, since it will be just a tad different from the other bars you're used to: 1) it is definitely smooth and not crunchy or scrubby feeling. The salt already dissolved in the soap recipe, and any residue will also dissolve immediately when it hits the water. 2) The suds will be salty tasting, in case you happen to lick some, or your kids start swearing like sailors. 3) It might not be my first choice for a leg-shaving soap, especially if you're prone to nicking your ankles. 4) It's still got great lather and lasts just as long, but sometimes the last little sliver will crumble apart as it gets down to the last salt crystals. 

If you've had one of my previous salt bars and have comments, suggestions, tips, feel free to leave a comment. And if there is anything else I didn't cover, or you've got more questions, also drop it in the comment box below. I'd love to hear what you think of the salt soap craze!

The #1 (Not-So-Secret) Tip For Beautiful Skin

I have a secret to share. I think I’ve found the fountain of youth. Yeah, I know you’re laughing. But really. This is sorta big. And I can’t just keep it to myself.

It’s water. Now, you’re really laughing. So f’ing cliché and stupid, right? “Drink more water.”

Whenever I read that or somebody spouted the “drink 8 glasses a day” drivel, I just brushed it off or ignored it. Well that’s not exactly true. I actually tried it a few times but oh my god it’s so hard. And truly, who has that much time in a day to spend running to the toilet anyway?

But then New Year’s. And with it came a few new resolutions, one of which was try to drink a ton more water. Mostly because the holiday season stress and naughty eating did me no favors in the health department. Drinking more water is on every health list, so that’s where I started.

I don’t actually like to drink water. At all. I will drink tea, or put lemon in it whenever I was trying to take in more fluids. But this time, I tried to make myself drink plain water and maybe even begin to like it. I started with a huge glass jar (64 oz), which should have been the requisite 8 glasses. I filled it up in the morning and tried to down it regularly throughout the day. I’m not going to lie. This takes real commitment. WOW. The first week I think I ran to the toilet every 15 minutes. But I stuck it out. Mostly because the results were fast and amazing. My skin felt better (way, way better) in only days and looked so much different, even in a week. Softer, dewier, younger than it had in years. Especially around my eyes. In the last few months they had gotten wrinkly in the lids, hollow underneath, and just plain tired looking. I thought I was just getting to that point where, duh, aging catches up with you. But maybe that was just dehydration?

The second week was easier and I was actually getting thirsty if I somehow missed drinking my glass of water in an hour or so. At this point, I was trying to increase my water drinking to add another half of that jar before the day was done. The bathroom breaks stretched out longer. I felt like I had more energy. I didn’t feel so stiff – in fact I was feeling sort of bendy and stretchy. No more creaking in the knees. But there was also backlash – a couple of devastating floods across my desk, destroying piles of work, when I knocked the stupid water glass over that I wasn’t used to having there.

And then I found this article: a woman in the UK who had done the same experiment and her results. Nothing short of amazing. Holy cow, LOOK at her face! It claims that she started drinking a gallon a day, but that's not actually true. I found her original article, the one she wrote herself, and it was only 3 liters a day, which was my own jar and a half amount. If you only have a minute to spare - check out that first article because it's short and succinct, outlining how the proper amounts of water are essential for really every function of your body, from digestion, to joints, to skin, all of it.

And then, if you want to read her week-by-week diary of what it felt like for her for the first month, check that article out here. It's nothing short of miraculous. It is honestly the fountain of youth. Or as close as we're going to get anyway. Convinced? Headed for your water bottle?

I'm not at a full month, but I've got reason enough to make this a regular thing now. Still working out the "making it a habit" part. Like remembering to take it with me in the car when I run errands. Or how not to tsunami my keyboard. It's a work in progress. One that I highly recommend if you're a water-avoider like I was. And yes, it's supposed to help you lose weight too. Flushing toxins, keeping you feeling full, curbing cravings. Gah! Even more benefits. :)

Going Natural for Beauty

If going a little more natural is on your list of New Year's resolutions, here's a great list of ways to use things like lemons, vinegar and one of my faves - coconut oil - for DIY beauty care.

The Importance of Moisturizing

If you think regularly using moisturizer on your skin is just for the ladies, or just to feel pretty, you are dead wrong.  Moisturizing is absolutely vital to healthy skin. 

The human skin is the body's largest organ and requires regular attention to stay young, healthy and free of problems. Moisturizers prevent and treat dry skin.  They also protect sensitive skin, improve skin tone and texture, and mask imperfections.

At the most basic level, moisturizers hold water in the outermost layer of skin.  They also act as a temporary barrier, keeping in your own natural skin oils, hindering evaporation, and warding off exposure to the elements.  They also soften rough or dry patches, because that crocodile look is so not appealing.

What Moisturizer to Use

Using lotion or moisturizer on a daily basis should be part of any good skin care routine, but some are better than others. The moisturizer that's best for you depends on several factors, including your skin type, your age, and whether you have specific conditions (hello acne).  Generally choose a lotion with vitamins and sun protection (SPF 15 or more).

• Vitamin A and Vitamin B5 increase firmness and build moisture levels.
• Anti-Oxidant Vitamins C and E help protect new skin and fight skin damage.
• PABA-Free SPF 15 sunscreens help prevent premature lines and wrinkles.

Take into consideration your own personal skin type too.  General guidelines are:

• Normal skin. Normal skin is not too dry and not too oily. To maintain this natural moisture balance, use a water-based moisturizer that has a light, nongreasy feel. 
• Dry skin. To restore moisture to dry skin, choose a heavier, oil-based moisturizer that contains ingredients that help keep your skin hydrated. For very dry and cracked skin, look for a richer shea butter or cocoa butter type moisturizer which has more staying power than creams do and are more effective at preventing water from evaporating from your skin.
• Oily skin. Oily skin is prone to acne and breakouts. Though oily, such skin still needs moisture, especially after using skin care products that remove oils and dry out the skin. A light moisturizer can also help protect your skin after washing. Choose a water-based product that's labeled noncomedogenic, which means it won't clog pores.
• Sensitive skin. Sensitive skin is susceptible to skin irritations, redness, itching or rashes. Look for a moisturizer that contains soothing ingredients, such as chamomile or aloe, and doesn't contain potential irritants, such as fragrances, dyes, preservatives, chemicals galore. Also, avoid products containing acids, which can irritate sensitive skin.
• Mature skin. As you age, your skin tends to become drier because your oil-producing glands become less active. To keep your skin soft and well hydrated, choose an oil-based moisturizer, along with antioxidants or alpha hydroxy acids to combat wrinkles. These ingredients help hold in moisture and prevent flaky, scaly skin.

Skin type can vary quite a lot - it's not set for life.  Things like environment, hormonal changes that occur in pregnancy and menopause, and disease can change your natural skin type temporarily.

When to Moisturize

The most important times to use moisturizer are after a shower, bath, shaving or exfoliation, even if this is a couple of times a day. Moisturizing after a shower is important because hot water strips moisture and oils out of your skin, leaving it parched and dry. While hot water may be relaxing, it also wreaks havoc on your skin. Don't skip the moisturizer.

Moisturizing Helps Skin Stay Young and Reduces Skin Problems

The skin on your face, ears, neck and chest are very sensitive to environmental changes and are the most frequent areas of the body known to develop skin cancer. These areas of skin shed cells more rapidly than the rest of your body, so they need moisture to do their repair work, and that allows for younger skin cells to rise to the surface (that fresh, healthy look). The gentle massaging action that happens as you're applying your moisturizer helps stimulate blood circulation and new cell generation. 

Moisturizing everyday can reduce the chance of developing extreme dryness or oiliness. Absolutely counter-intuitive, but over-washing and/or using too many harsh, drying acne or blemish creams can actually cause acne. Skin needs to keep a certain natural balance, and your oil glands will begin to produce more oils - actually over-producing oils to compensate, causing more trouble than you started with. So even if you're fighting zits, continue to moisturize daily.

Quick Tips for A Natural Glow

• Watch the water temperature – Hot showers and baths are not good for your skin. Shower for a shorter amount of time and with warm water. You’ll see the difference in your skin.
• Pat dry, don’t rub dry—After a shower gently pat your skin dry instead of rubbing your skin dry. Your skin will stay just a tad bit damp which will be sealed in when you moisturize, giving you a bigger boost.  Rubbing is just irritating anyway.
• Drink more water – the moisture your skin receives also comes from your body. Yep, that 8 cups a day rule. Or at least close to that. And eating clean never hurt either.
• Use really good soap - Handmade with the best ingredients (like mine) wouldn't hurt :)
• Use a humidifier – If you live in a dry place or during winter months when the heated air is quite dry, a humidifier can add much needed moisture to the air.
• Give extra special attention to your hands — hands show the affects of a dry environment more than any other part of the body. Apply lotion (or a great natural salve or balm) after hand washing.
• Wear sunscreen when outdoors – nothing will save your skin more than protecting it from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Wear a low, or high, SPF sunscreen depending on your outdoor activities.
• Apply lip balm regularly — applying a good, natural lip balm frequently helps heal dry, cracked lips. 
• Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!

Dry Skin Brushing - A Diagram

Maybe you've already heard my preaching about dry skin brushing.  Or maybe you've heard about it from somewhere else and are still not sure what all the hoopla is about.

I've put all the benefits and how-to's in one place on my web site, here. But I hadn't seen an actual diagram of how the brush strokes were supposed to go.  I'd only read the usual directions - that the strokes should go towards the heart.

Just a few days ago I found this site which has several posts about what it is, the benefits and finally the (very strict) Ayuverdic technique, which has been used for thousands of years. Personally, I just don't like to follow rules, any rules, that strictly. I'm not afraid that if my brush accidentally goes up in one spot instead of down, or vice versa, that I'm going to mess up my entire lymphatic system or rupture a blood vessel.  But that's a decision you can make for yourself. I do try to follow the strokes as they are generally advised, but mostly I follow my own intuition about what feels good on my own body, and I believe we all should use that power as much as possible. Having said that, below is the front and back diagram, and if you want to read more about what these folks have to say about it, check them out here.

If you want to know more about the whole process and why to do it, then head over to read the biggie guide on my site and see what the fuss is all about.  And it's good.  Real good.  Like super healthy, anti-aging, get rid of cellulite forever good.

Also, if you just need a new brush, I've got two styles located here.

Eating for the sake of beauty.

Beauty is an inside-out job. That whole "you are what you eat" thing? It's for reals. Harsh, I know, but oh so true.

It doesn't matter how much you spend on pricey face creams.  If your lifestyle includes smoking, drinking, partying all night, and snarfling junk food, or any combination of those things, it's going to eventually show up on your face, and the rest of your skin too. And even more so once you've past those dewy golden 20-something years.  It's cumulative.  And it's not pretty.

The good news is that it's not hard to boost the beautiful.  And it involves eating.  Bonus. 

Obviously following a few of the other basic rules is going to take you farther down the road:  reducing stress in your life, getting enough sleep every night, moisturizing well, using sun protection, etc.  None of that is new info.

But the eating part is where you might want a little more advice.  Again, there are some really obvious ones, like ditch the processed foods, reduce sugar intake, avoid over-imbibing on alcoholic beverages, and the other trendy one now - try gluten-free. 

So what are you left with? Well, piles of great stuff that not only makes you feel good - they make you look good too:  fruits, vegetables, whole foods of all kinds.  There are many that boost your body’s skin-beautifying, specifically collagen production, the stuff that keeps your skin, firm, tight, taut and toned, sorta like it's workin' the CrossFit.  Here are 7 foods you might want to add in to your healthy eating that just might do a little something for your looks too.

1. Water-rich vegetables like cucumber and celery have a high sulfur content which is important because collagen can’t be produced if sulfur isn’t present. Plus they are naturally hydrating.  Fresh, plump and resilient is what we're going for, not dried up, flaky raisin.

2. Seafood (fish, mostly, not shellfish as much) is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which helps create stronger skin. Skin cells are surrounded by a fatty membrane that protects them. When the cells are healthy, they are able to support the structure of the skin.  Going for that smooth, wrinkle-free look. We love our Pacific Northwest Salmon around here and it always tops the omega-3 list. (Bonus points for eating sustainable fish and/or wild-caught instead of farmed-raised.)

3. Red vegetables are a natural form of sun protection. Tomatoes, peppers and beets contain the antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene acts as a natural sun block, protecting the skin from damage while increasing collagen levels at the same time. (Bonus points again for organic and/or local. And if both? Jackpot.)

4. Dark green vegetables which are rich in vitamin C (especially spinach and kale) have multiple skin benefits. Vitamin C is key to the production of collagen, maintaining firmness and elasticity, creating scar tissue and ligaments, and helping skin repair itself.  It also takes those dastardly free-radicals out at the knees - the ones that cause dryness, fine lines and wrinkles.  It's been found not not only neutralize free-radicals, but reverse DNA damage, including sun damage. (Again, go organic if possible, and local if that's an option.)

5. Berries scavenge those pesky free radicals too, acting as anti-oxidents and anti-agers.  They're chock full of Vitamin C also - helping you get back that radiant glow.  Blackberries and blueberries are the real go-getters, but all berries are your friends. (Organic, blah, blah, local, blah, blah.)

6. White tea.  Another anti-oxident super beauty food. You've heard all about the incredible benefits of green tea, for everything including skin.  Well white tea is even better, because it's the least processed tea leaf, keeping more of its catechins intact, the polyphenols that go to town on free-radicals. White tea protects the structural proteins of the skin, specifically collagen. It prevents enzyme activity that breaks down collagen, contributing to lines and wrinkles, keeping you more juicy, plump, and fresh. One other benefit I might add, white tea contains ECGC, an antioxidant that prevents new fat cells from forming - not like anybody cares about that, right? (Organic? yes, please.)

7. Orange vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and pumpkin, are rich in vitamin A, in addition to other nutrients, which restores and regenerates damaged collagen, plus increases overall skin tone, health and appearance from sun damage. (Just because I can't say organic enough in one post.  Organic is the bomb.)

No need to starve for beauty.  Just keep it clean and the world will be a prettier place.

Holy Guacamole! It looks good on you.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  A great excuse to dive into a vat of guacamole - not that I need an excuse.

I adore avocados. Whatever you might have heard about them being too many calories or too full of fat?  Bunk.  Eat boat loads and you'll be healthier than ever, inside and out.  They are loaded with all the good fats, the ones that lower your cholesterol and make everything from the tiny cells up work better. The phtyonutrients and vitamins are just extra bonus gifts.

And they make you more beautiful on the outside too. So moisturizing from the inside when you eat them - you can also do all kinds of things with them on the outside of yourself too.  Like mash them up and apply directly to your face, or elbows, or patches of dry skin and psoriasis.  (Or after a couple too many margaritas, just plunk your face in the dip bowl, but stay clear of the chips!)

I think I come across something almost daily that touts the benefits of avocados for health, for healthy skin, for beauty. And I take it with a grain of salt -- and some lime juice, garlic, chopped jalapenos . . . any time, even breakfast. I'll shove in a little extra today, because there will be an abundance of tortilla chips around.  Ole!

Don't believe me on all the avocado love?  Here's an article on Natural News that has a long list of recommendations and quotes from all kinds of big experts in the health field - a treasure trove of ideas on how to use avocados to look and feel your best.

It's even great for hair! So if you're slathering gets a little out of control or you really are face first in the dip, no worries. You'll have glowing skin AND shiny, bouncy hair too.

What's in this stuff anyway?

Have you ever wondered what was actually in that new bottle of shampoo, or body lotion, or face cream?  And wondered if that stuff was actually good for you?

Chemicals and pesticides and toxins, oh my!  That's all you ever hear about any more.  Everything you eat and wear and put on yourself is loaded full of crappy chemicals that are unhealthy for you and probably will cause cancer at some point.  It can be pretty frightening.

But if the answer is label reading, then crap, we're sunk.  Nobody can decipher all those huge long words on every bottle, label, can, tube etc.  I know the saying, "if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it" and I suppose that is generally true.  It's the chemicals and synthetic additives that have the long scary names.  But even natural ingredients can sound bad sometimes, and I don't know about you, I never learned latin in school either.

If you want to really know what's in your beauty product something, check out Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database.  It's online, if you've got the time.  But they've also got a mobile app, which is genius if you're in the drug store browsing the shelf and just don't know which way to go - you can check it out by phone.

There is so much information over there it's ridiculous.  They have over 68,000 products by name, plus a search bar for every ingredient known to man (or woman).

They cover food too, and cleaning products for your house.  Articles, the latest research - its a wealth of great info.  Great place to get started if you're serious about taking some of the junk out of your daily routines.

Not your grandmother's rose

We love to give small glimpses of what goes on behind the giant green curtain - well, maybe we don't have curtains - but behind the scenes in the studio and the process behind what we do and why we do it.

Last month we announced all of the new spring seasonal products in our Spring Newsletter, and several items in the new product line are scented with rose petals:  Rose Petal Soap, Rose Petal Aromatic Spray, and Rose Petal Dead Sea Bath Salts. Why rose? Because February is the month of love and rose is the quintessential flower of love. Seems like they should hold hands and kiss, right?

The fragrance of rose has inspired poets,  lovers, and dreamers for eons. Greek legend claims the red rose came from the blood of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The name of Aphrodite's son Eros, god of love, is an anagram for rose. Cool, eh?. Folktales from China to Europe tell similar stories about the rose as a symbol for the unfolding of both spiritual and physical love and perfection.
Pure rose essential oil is some of the most expensive stuff on earth because it takes so very many rose petals to distill into a drop of the liquid gold while rose bushes are sensitive and difficult to care for.  We've used a high quality fragrance oil which contains some of the same compounds as the essential oil, yet is as fresh as a bouquet straight from the florist.

The area of the brain which processes scent is right next to the memory department, and as we all know, so much of our experience of smells is directly tied to memories of previous times and places where we have experienced that before - like cinnamon and baking cookies at Grandma's when you were a child. Plus other random stuff, like the scent of Ralph Lauren Polo men's cologne and the 70's, eww.

Rose is one of those scents that evoke quite a few memories, and some of them involve grandmas everywhere since it's a bit of an old fashioned scent.  But rose is also thoroughly modern and lovely.  Nobody turns down a dozen fresh roses on Valentine's Day.  Or thinks oddly that fresh rose petals are scattered on their pillow at the ritziest hotels, or strewn around the poshest of spas.  It's a classic for a reason.  Rose is timeless and beautiful.

Revered for it's gentleness, it soothes and hydrates when used in skin and beauty products, and is often included in anti-aging skin care for its cell rejuvenation properties.  In aromatherapy it eases tension and anxiety, calming stress.

Rose was the perfect pick for this spring.  We've already gotten great feedback from folks who are loving it. And if you're into layering -- and not just socks, but scent too -- then you've got all 3 products play with.