Chemical versus Natural

I got myself ready early one morning, and decided to sit down and read emails while flipping through the three fuzzy channels that I get with no cable and no antenna. The Today Show was on, but they were just acting silly and had nothing of interest going on. Then there was a Catholic mass on the Christian channel. I am not Catholic. Finally, I stopped on a local spa infomercial.

This held my interest. I have never been to a spa so I thought I would watch and see what they offer. I make many great natural spa and skin care products, so I thought I would see how my stuff compares to theirs.

First off, they had a nice range of services from scar minimizing to acne reduction and facial peels. They also offered foot products, hair removal, and massage. Ok, I have the foot products, but I don't touch (massage) customers, tee hee, and neither do I have hair removal products. That is, I don't have hair removal products yet. I am working on a natural waxing, but have to test it more first.

Anyway, as I was watching, I noticed how none of their products were natural. They all work by chemical or physical means. Sure, it works, but I don't think it is good for your skin or the rest of your body. Scraping away the surface of your skin with chemicals or lasers doesn't sound very appealing to me. I make a wonderful peel that naturally removes dead surface skin cells while also nourishing the skin with vitamins and minerals.

The acne treatment that they use is a laser method. I admit that I don't know a lot about laser treatments, but the visuals in the ad seemed pretty harsh on the skin. By using the mud, toner, soap, peel or a combination of these, I have had numerous customers rid themselves of acne without aggressive treatments. The worst that happens is a little bit of heat generated from the peel.

The dead sea products that I carry have been shown to reduce scarring with continued use. I also have a good customer that has found scar healing simply through the use of my soaps and lotions. She had a stubborn scar that lasted for years, being inflamed and irritated, and couldn't even get a doctor to help settle it down. She started using my products, just because she is a friend, and she noticed complete relief and healing within weeks. She was amazed and tells everyone about it.

The mud mask can also be used to coat the feet for a soothing treatment, followed by a rub down with a moisturizing salt scrub. Some prefer a quicker treatment with my peppermint foot lotion, containing jojoba scrubbing spheres. Either way, your feet come out refreshingly smooth and soft.

So, as I turned the TV off and headed off to my store, I felt good that I could offer so many things that a spa has to offer, but without the high prices, and without the negative side effects of chemical or physical procedures. You can create your own spa experience in less time, with less cost, and just the way you like it. Or, have your significant other or a friend share your at home spa, and help each other paint on mud or massage feet.

Any way you look at it, I love what I do and being able to offer people a healthy choice. Let me know of your great experiences. I love to hear about it.

My weekend

As you might know, my husband and I own a professional archery shop in conjunction with my skin care product business. We sell bows and archery equipment, as well as service bows for customers.

This past weekend, we displayed at an outdoors event in Oshkosh, Wi. The event had been going on for years, and had a great turnout. We decided to vend and sell apparel representing the bow manufacturer that we retail. We paid our booth fee expecting to bring in much more in sales. This was our first show, and we had high expectations. The show reportedly brings in 70,000 during the 3 day event.


We set up and were ready to go, having lots of help on hand to assist with the sales. I almost got a whole book read. Yep, you guessed it, we flopped. Other repeat vendors told us that this year's attendance wasn't even one fifth of the past years. We didn't even break even. With the cost of the booth, extra insurance for the event, and the purchase of additional apparel items for resale put us in the black.

Many vendors even packed up and left after the second day. It was that bad. So, is this the norm all over the country, or is it just in my area? I really don't know. I do know that most folks were not buying. They were picking up the freebies and walking out with literature. Very few bought anything from anyone.

I was bummed. I was hoping to really get a good following. We did get our name out to the community by having the booth. There is no way to know how many people will actually come in to purchase at a later date, but I know we did let a few area people know that we are here. That is a great thing, but it sure makes for expensive advertising.

What do you think? Is this a nation wide symptom of a slow economy or is it different where you live? We would love to hear your comments.

How can I forget my own soap?

Ok, so I sometimes forget my own soap when I go away overnight. Yes, that is absolutely ridiculous, I know, but I always have more soap than I know what to do with, so why would I think of packing it?

So, anyways, when I forget my wonderful soap, I end up with my own eczema flare ups. I don't think of myself as having eczema just because I rarely have any problems. I only know that I have eczema because when I go to a hotel and forget my soap, I have to use the gross stuff that I find in the bathroom of the hotel.

When I use that soap, I start to dry out and my skin flares up in little red patches on the inside of my elbows. It started out as just the inside of my right elbow, every time I used soap that wasn't my own. More recently, I have been finding that my left elbow also starts to rash up and itch like crazy.

I kick myself when I forget my soap, but once I get home and start using my own soap for a few days, it is all gone again until the next time I have a brain fade and forget my soap. In the mean time, I can't stand the itching.

What I like to use to soothe the itching is plain shea butter. It is great stuff. I carry the unrefined shea butter so it has all the good properties to it. It is good for relieving itchies, rashes, and even bug bites. I rub it on my lips for lip balm when I find that I am parched.

So, that is my shameful admission for the day. I can't imagine what you all must think of my silliness, but I usually just have so much else to get ready that I barely get enough socks in my suitcase for three kids, one husband and myself.

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Fall Candles

Fall is just around the corner. A few weekends ago I went canoing and we saw some of the trees losing their green, much to my surprise. I am not ready for it, but it is on its way.

So, that means that I am starting to make more fall and winter scents. Candles are the first things that I am working on. Pumpkin Spice and others are richly scented with warm, soothing notes. They are sure to delight you in a variety of sizes.

I even have some lovely Blackberry Tea candles poured in one of a kind pottery containers, hand made by a local artist, Pottery by Angela. There are a limited number of these available, and when they are gone, there might not be any more.

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