Which Product is Best for Me?

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While trying to pick between the Dream Bar, or The 'OG', etc., you may not know which to try. You can always try a sample first to figure out which is best. Or, you can read on and I'll just tell you why I made what I did and how we personally use them.  Also, if you are looking at the Lotion Bar or Homemade Laundry Detergent, scroll to the bottom for quick summaries about them and various uses. 

The 'OG' was my original soap that we modified over the years and that we use all the time. It's the only bar I offer that includes coconut oil. However, since coconut oil is both cleansing AND drying, I had to carefully adjust the amount of it so that the bar didn't leave our skin feeling dried out. The result was a bar that we use for bathing and shaving. Even my husband uses it to shave his face. He used to have to buy expensive shaving creams for his sensitive skin, and they all still left him with a rash after shaving. The 'OG' is the first soap he has ever used that doesn't do this to his face. 

The Dream Bar is a bar that I wanted to create for that extra moisturizing, luxurious feel. I really wanted a bar that was made for your entire body, head to toe, yet without the coconut oil. Let's be honest, coconut oil, as much as we love it and it's many benefits, it really isn't the best oil for your face. Even though it may not dry out the rest of your body, it still has a tendency to be more drying on the delicate skin of your face. That's not to say that I have never used The 'OG' on my face. I have and do, it's just, I prefer the feel of the Dream Bar. 

The Dream Bar is more of a luxurious, "I'm having spa time in my tub while my children go crazy outside," kind of a bar. 

The Castile Milk is the most interesting anomaly to me. You would truly think that a soap that is made out of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cow Milk, and Essential Oils would be, well, oily. Because everything it's made out of is.... oily. Haha! 

Not so! The Castile Milk Bar is EXTREMELY cleansing and will cut through oil and grease very well. When I'm in my kitchen cooking and I have oil on my hands, the Castile Milk Bar is my 'go to'. I have even used it to cut through grease on my dishes, because I haven't had Dawn in my home in many years.

*In fact, as a little tip to my fellow crunchy mommas that want to break their addiction to Dawn, but just can't get over how "natural soaps" don't cut through grease... either the Castile Milk Bar or a 1/4 cup of Baking Soda (Preferably Aluminum Free) added to your dishwater will do the trick.

In a world full of toxins, have an ally! I love Activated Charcoal for it's many, many uses! I think that the combination of the Activated Charcoal and Fulvic Acid is a powerhouse combo that is well known for their amazing abilities to deprive the body of toxins and heavy metals. Considering that, I put them together in a soap bar called the 'Detox Bar' that includes Hemp Seed Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Castor Oil, and Grapeseed Oil. So, you have your Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin F, a whole slew of B Vitamins, Omega 3, 6, and 9, linoleic and oleic acids. Not to mention the essential oil combination of Tea Tree, Lemon, and Lemongrass is amazing when it comes to antioxidation, anti-inflammation, disinfection, and far more! 

The more you research the ingredients in this bar, the more you will understand why it will be a mainstay in my first aid kit arsenal.

So many people are not yet familiar with 'Lotion Bars'. I get it, I wasn't either. But once I discovered them, I seriously got hooked. Our 'Lotion Bars' are made with a generous amount of Beeswax to keep them from submitting to the intense Texas heat. However, they may sweat if it's super hot and they are left in your car because I still had to make them soft enough that you could use them when they are left at room temperature. So, made with Apricot Kernel Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Castor Oil, Cocoa Butter, Beeswax, and your choice of essential oil, I personally use these to keep my skin soft from head to toe. Literally. You may want to buy two so that you have one for your face and lips, and the other for the heels of your feet, because it does it ALL! I even picked essential oils to help with keeping the pests at bay ;) 

The combination of oils that I chose was for people like me that don't want to sacrifice soft skin for grip. So, I avoided oils that left my hands feeling greasy. Plus, I enjoy knitting in the wintertime, and I don't want to leave an oily residue on my hard work. 

The Homemade Laundry Detergent is the first 'household' product that I began making from scratch back in 2010. I personally never felt good about Fels Naphtha. It was always the recommended soap to add to 'homemade laundry detergent recipes'. Even today, you will find combinations already put together online for making homemade laundry detergent that includes this product that is touted as supposedly making you a homemade detergent that is natural, clean, and safe from toxins. Last time I checked, there was nothing toxin free about products like titanium dioxide or dyes or a few other ingredients on there that make me cringe. 

But as a mom in a very rural area, what are you supposed to do when your local grocer only carries that?  

So, I decided to take the guesswork out of the homemade laundry detergent conundrum, and make a homemade detergent using my very own, handmade, Cold Processed Castile Soap!

It is made with Saponified Organic Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil and a 100% Pure, 3rd Party Tested Essential Oil, either Lemon or Lavender. Refreshing or Relaxing, your pick :) This is combined with Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate), Aluminum Free Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate), Sodium Percarbonate (think oxygen whitener), and Borax (Sodium Tetraborate). This combination leaves your laundry feeling clean and soft, while you feel guilt free. 

You may be unfamiliar with Sodium Percarbonate. Sodium Percarbonate is basically Washing Soda combined with Hydrogen Peroxide. When dissolved in water, it leaves you with Oxygen, Water, and Soda Ash (also called Sodium Carbonate or Washing Soda). 

All this goodness doesn't have to be isolated in your laundry room. It can also pull double, triple, and more duties as a sink, toilet, or tub scrub. I've even used it on carpet stains. However, just be sure that you test it in a small inconspicuous place to make sure it doesn't scratch or discolor the surface that you are wanting to clean it with. 

For stains, you can sprinkle a little on the stain and scrub with a soft, damp brush. Then rinse with cold water. I won't guarantee all stains will come out, but it'll definitely take care of many of them.