All posts by ruthsoaper

Bees Wax

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It was not my intention to start with blogging about bees wax as an ingredient in my products, but it seems very appropriate since we harvested honey this week, and I am now cleaning the bees wax so that it can be used for making balms. Up to this point I have been purchasing the bees wax that I use in my balms, but now I am excited to say that I will transition to using our own wax when it is available.

Question: Is bees wax a natural product?

Answer:  Absolutely! It doesn’t get more natural. I would not call it organic because I could not guarantee that my bees have not been foraging in a neighbors field that has been sprayed with round up, unless of course, I owned 3 square miles or more around each hive that I could assure has in no way been treated with chemicals.  I would, however, consider bees wax as natural as the air we breath.

Next question – can you eat bees wax?

Answer: Yes!! It use to be natural to buy honey that was still in the comb and it would be eaten comb and all. Now days honey in the comb is more of a specialty item, but that is certainly one way to assure that you are getting raw honey. Below is a link for just one of many articles out there about eating honey comb.

http://honeycombs.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-honeycomb-edible.html

In making my products I use bees wax as a binding and thickening agent. The higher the percentage of bees wax in a product the more solid the product will be. But for more potential benefits of skincare products with bees wax you can check out this article from natural health.

Beeswax In Skin Care Products

Some people use bees wax as an ingredient in their handcrafted soap to make a harder bar of soap, but after experimenting with this in my recipes I did not find it necessary.

Next time I will write about the one ingredient that is in almost every product I make.

Until then I wish you well 🙂

What are you putting on your skin?

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Seek Truth In All Things

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist, a dermatologist, an expert in nutrition or an expert in anything else for that matter. Mostly what I have learned has been through books, internet research (I concede this is not necessarily the most reliable resource), trial and error, and some of it is just common sense.

What you put on your body is probably as important as what you put in your body because many nutrients as well as toxins can be absorbed through the skin (to me this would be common sense).

Since many of us don’t even read the ingredients of the (packaged) food we eat, I have to ask, have you ever read the ingredients in the soap, shampoo, lotion, face cream or other skin care products you use? If you have succeeded at this than you are a better person than I, or at least you have better eyesight than I do. My attempts at  reading ingredients only serve to frustrate me because the printing is impossibly small and the words are usually things I have never heard of.

My answer to this has been to begin making my own skin care products. The ingredients are simple and while the term natural could be disputed, there are very few ingredients in my products that could not be eaten.

So continue following my posts and I will talk about some of the ingredients I use, why I use them, and what benefits they have for the user.

Thanks for reading. 🙂

Why Buy Handcrafted

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Handcrafted items are items or products that have been made by hand rather than being mass produced by machines. In my opinion there are many advantages to purchasing handcrafted items.

When buying handcrafted items you are usually buying something that is made by person who specializes in his/her craft. They have studied and practiced the art and  have become at least proficient if not a master of the craft. The crafter usually has chosen their craft because they enjoy it and find satisfaction in producing a high quality product made with tender loving care.

When you buy a handcrafted item you can and should get to know the person who made the  product. This allows you to ask questions about what goes into the product (materials or ingredients, time, processes) and you can determine whether or not you are getting you money’s worth. People usually love to talk about what they do and what they know. So ask questions.

It is easier to find exactly what you are looking for rather to make do with what is available. If you are looking for something made in a specific size, pattern, or to meet a specific need you are better off finding a handcrafter who will make what you want, than to spend your hard earned money on something that is not what you want.

When you buy from a handcrafter you know where your money is going. If you buy locally you are supporting your local economy.

An advantage to buying/using handcrafted soap is that the glycerin that is naturally formed during the soap making process is retained in the soap. Generally soap manufactures remove the glycerin from the soap and use it for other things.  So when comparing the cost of a bar of handcrafted soap, to whatever you may be using now, be sure to account for the added value of the glycerin.

There are a couple of potential disadvantages to purchasing handcrafted items. Many times the handcrafted items will be more expensive than the mass produced item. This is understandable considering that the handcrafter is not purchasing materials in high volume, also it  takes him or her much more time and effort to produce the product than if it were done by machines. But often the quality of the handcrafted product far out weighs the added expense.

The other potential disadvantage to purchasing handcrafted items is that you won’t find them in you big box stores. You will probably have to go to a specialty shop, a craft sale or seek out the handcrafter through other means.

Overall I believe there are great advantages to purchasing handcrafted items.