Rashes

Do you know much about rashes? What causes them? How to prevent them? Read on to learn more...

A rash is a change in the skin which affects its appearance or texture. A rash may be localized to one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, dry, cracked or blistered, swell and may be painful.

A rash breaks down the skin barrier and makes the skin more susceptible to infection. It is possible for a serious skin infection to develop in an existing rash. Signs of infection may include:

• Increased pain, swelling, redness, or warmth around the affected area.
• Red streaks extending from the affected area.
• Drainage of pus from the area.
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, or groin.
• Fever or chills with no other known cause.

Many rashes aren't necessarily cured, they are controlled. Rashes such as acne, eczema, atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, hives, or rosacea can can come and go depending on many factors. The best thing to do is to educate yourself about a rash you've been diagnosed with so you know what to expect in the future. Once you find something that helps your rash, you may need to continue treatment to keep it under control.

Atopic dermatitis: is perhaps the most common form of eczema. This is a hereditary skin problem that often begins in childhood as chapped cheeks and scaly patches on the scalp, arms, legs, and torso. Later in childhood, atopic dermatitis may affect the inner aspects of the elbows and knees.

"Dermatitis" means inflammation of the skin. "Atopic" refers to diseases that may be associated with allergies and tend to run in families. This is often worse in the winter months, when the air is cold and dry.

Skin affected by atopic dermatitis becomes extremely itchy and inflamed. It may look red, swollen, and cracked. In some cases, the skin can also weep and crust. Liquid that oozes out of such crusts is often not infected; what comes out is the body's normal tissue fluid. Treatment specific for eczema is helpful, not antibiotics.

Patches of atopic dermatitis may appear on various parts of the body, but the condition is not contagious. It may appear off and on throughout life, but there may be long intervals between outbreaks. Also, the condition does not get progressively worse with age; if anything, it is most extensive during childhood. Many use steroids to control the eczema, though steroids may hold a potential risk of future health problems with prolonged use.

We suggest using our Goat Milk Soap to alleviate dry skin conditions. Nutrients and vitamins in the soap help to give the skin what it needs to remain healthy and heal itself. Added moisture helps to coat the skin and retain the moisture that it has within. Use our lotions and raw organic unrefined shea butter to soothe the itching and dryness until your skin begins feeling normal.

Contact dermatitis: is a rash that is brought on either by contact with a specific material that causes allergy on the skin or with something that irritates the skin. This can be anything from frequent hand washing to poison ivy to detergents and fragrances.

We suggest our organic unrefined shea butter as a treatment to soothe the discomfort from these types of rashes, and then continued use of our Goat Milk Soap to keep the skin soft, healthy, and clean.

As for prevention, most of it is common sense. Watch for poison ivy, avoid fragrances and detergents, use goat milk soap daily to wash hands and body, retain natural moisture with goat milk lotion or shea butter...

There are many other rashes, but these are the most common complaints we see in our customers. Next time, we will focus on dandruff.

MythBuster Beauty

Below you will find a blog that was posted about my products. This lady bought some of my products, and did an independent review on what she bought. She liked it, and I didn't pay her to say a word of this. She actually paid me for products, and told it like it is....

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The Golden Goat, LLC: Handmade Soaps and Skincare

One attribute I greatly admire is the art form of making things from scratch. Anyone can throw a frozen pie into an oven, but to prepare a pie crust, roll it out and carefully lift and place it into a pie plate is a thing of beauty. To peel and slice freshly picked peaches and pour them lovingly into your prepared pie crust is even more spectacular.

The ability to create and perform these once everyday actions are lost to many of us. I cannot tell you the last time I rolled my own pie crust! We use our rolling pin for play-doh these days.

The art of making handmade soaps is another amazing art form to me. And lately, many independent handmade soap and skincare companies are appearing around the country. Beautifully thought out and carefully manufactured beauty products from their own kitchens.

Today I would love to introduce to you Pam Keller the owner of The Golden Goat, LLC from the heartland of America, Osh Kosh, Wisconsin.

In 2003, Pam found her passion for animals, particularly goats. Being a one income family, Jeff decided that the animals would have to pay for themselves so as not to affect the family budget. Pam, being a researcher at heart, discovered numerous ways to fulfill that demand, and settled on soapmaking.

She taught herself to make soap, and when the goat milk started flowing, she was ready to start selling her fantastic products. Local Farmer’s Markets and crafts fairs gave her a good footing and a loyal following. Soon, the customers requested a retail store front from which they could buy her products year round.

The first product that caught my attention was The Golden Goat’s Goat Milk Shampoo Bar. Being a fan of some different shampoo bars on the market, I found that this formula was easily equal if not a little more nourishing than the other shampoo bars I have tried (It must be the goat milk). This shampoo bar creates a lovely lather and has a naturally sweet scent. Shampoo bars are wonderful for anyone with a sensitive scalp, dry, or naturally curly hair (you can read more about my post on shampoo bars here). If you are a fan of shampoo bars you must try this one!

A few months ago, we went out to dinner with some good friends. I noticed that my friend Chris’ neck and face looked slightly irritated and also had a few knicks from shaving earlier that evening. Chris has been bothered by this issue for as long as he has been shaving, and I asked him if he would like to try a different type of shaving soap. He was more than glad to volunteer as a guinea pig!

Here is a bar soap for shaving. The added bentonite clay forms a slick coating on the razor edge. The razor glides sleekly over the skin, cutting the hairs in its wake. Less scraping the skin means fewer nicks, no dry skin, more softness. Amazingly, the clay does not dry your skin!

You have to try this to believe it. Men love it for their faces (and some men shave their entire head with it), preventing razor burn and nicks. Women love it for legs, underarms, bikini area…

No more little red bumpos on your legs. Sleek, shiny, soft legs are the norm wth this soap. As an added bonus, your razors will last longer since the blades aren’t being dullled from scraping your skin!

Chris has been using The Golden Goat’s Goat Milk Shaving Soap for the last month and has reported significant improvements with his skin. Less knicks, less irritation and a much happier face altogether.

No need to thank me, just doing my job Chris, just doing my job!

Not only does Pam create handmade soaps, she offers a variety of homemade skincare and cosmetic products at her online store, The Golden Goat, LLC. I am confident you will find something that you will want to try, and Pam is so incredibly nice; you might even make a new best friend in Osh Kosh, WI no less!

Mascara now in stock

You asked, I listened. I have had so many of you asking for mascara that I did a hunt for a good product. Mind you, I don't wear mascara, so I can't vouch for the wear ability of this product. It is made with natural ingredients, less the preservative. It has good oils in it, and the ingredients are not toxic.

It comes in three different colors, blacks and browns. I have a limited supply to see how everyone likes it. If it goes over well, I will restock the same product. You will have to let me know what you think.

I also got in more eye liners, in various colors. They are natural, also, and go on smoothly. If you like this product, I will continue to carry it. I would love to make my own, but I just don't have time for the research right now, so I will outsource it until I have the time to formulate my own.

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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