The Natural Soapworks is awarded BUAV’s Humane Cosmetics Standard

Today we have received some fantastic news – The Natural Soapworks and Natroma product ranges have achieved the Humane Cosmetics Standard (HCS)!

The HCS is the only internationally recognised scheme that enables consumers to easily identify and purchase cosmetic and toiletry products that have not been tested on animals. The standard is managed by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), and the ultimate aim is to end all cosmetics and household products testing on animals.

From now on, our products will be able to bear the Leaping Bunny Logo, since we have never conducted or commissioned animal testing on our products or their ingredients.

We are very proud to be a member of this standard and you’ll soon see our details in the BUAV’s Little Book of Cruelty Free. In the coming weeks we’ll be issuing further information, but for now if you’d like to read more on the standard, please visit: Go Cruelty Free

Natroma and Miron violet glass refill service

Since the beginning of glass production (during the time of the Egyptian pharaohs), violet glass or golden containers were used to preserve precious oils, salves, and alternative medicines. These containers worked because the sun emits both visible and invisible light. We can see the visible spectrum (as a rainbow of colours), when white light is channeled through a glass prism, but there is also light that is invisible to our eyes – the infra red and UV-A part of the spectrum.

Sunlight is vital for plants to grow, but if they are over exposed to the sun after reaching maturity, the light accelerates the process of decay. This means that products that are packaged in traditional coloured glass packaging (clear, amber, blue and green) allow visible light to pass through so do not offer the same protection as violet glass. Miron violet glass is made in Switzerland and works like a natural filter, since it blocks most of the visible light with the exception of the violet part of the spectrum but remains permeable to UV-A and infra red light. This unique combination protects against the aging processes of visible light, and lengthens shelf life and potency of products contained within violet glass.

Over the last few years, several scientific tests have been carried out on spirulina, rose water, drinking water, oils, cereals, honey, fruits and other substances to prove the protective quality of violet glass. (The picture right shows an example of what happened to a cherry tomato left in clear glass compared to the protection offered by the violet glass).

Chemical analysis by gas chromatography of rosewater, (stored for two months in either violet or amber glass) showed that within 2 months the amount of several important aromatic compounds had decreased significantly following storage in amber glass. No change was observed in the sample stored in violet glass showing the protection against decomposition by visible light.

This is why this very special glass was chosen for the Natroma range, where it protects our Hydrolat Toners and Oil Serums. We have to import these bottles to the UK, but we felt it was important to offer superior packaging that naturally increases shelf life, and protects the natural potency of our organic natural ingredients. The bottles are also very attractive too!

Refill service now available on the Natroma website!

We've always offered a studio refill service for products packaged in Miron glass (just bring your empty bottle back into the studio and we'll re-fill it with the same product again). So we’re very pleased to announce that we’re now offering refills on our Natroma website too! So when you purchase full sizes of Natroma products packaged in Miron bottles, don’t throw the valuable violet glass away when the bottles are empty. Instead, order a refill from our website (packaged in recyclable plastic) so you can top up your bottle and re-use it again. In this way, you’ll be helping the environment since the plastic bottle will be lighter for mail order and there will be no need to recycle the violet glass. To encourage you to recycle we’re pleased to offer refills at a cheaper price, that reflects their ‘no frills’ packaging.

Coping with oily skin

Just lately we've had a few customers ask us about which products can help oily skin. Using the correct cleansing regime is often a major factor in supporting oily skin, so we hope the following short article will help.

Oily skin can be prone to acne, often beginning at puberty when the body starts to produce hormones called androgens. These cause the enlargement and over-stimulation of the sebaceous glands in some people (particularly young men). The extra oil mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria on the skin's surface, which in turn blocks the skin pores – leading to spots. Unfortunately many commercial acne products work by drying out the skin, but some products actually make the condition worse since the skin reacts to the dryness by producing even more oil. A vicious circle continues since the products are applied as more spots appear, leading to more dryness then more oil production and even more spots!

Natroma products do not work in this way. Our cream cleanser contains natural ingredients, to work in harmony with the skin. There are no harsh alcohols in the formulation so the cream isn’t drying. It also contains castor oil, which is very moisturizing but absorbs slowly into the skin. This means the cream can be safely applied so it mixes with the dirt and impurities on the skin, and can be wiped away easily. The cleanser also contains gentle white clay to draw out impurities, and panthenol to gently moisturize the skin.

To use the cleanser it’s best to use a single pump of the cream, and gently apply over the face. Massage very gently onto the skin (do not rub), paying attention to the areas around the nose and chin which can be more prone to break outs. Rinse out a clean muslin cloth in hand hot water, and wring out so the cloth is warm and damp. Then use the cloth to gently remove the cream, and you’ll lightly exfoliate the skin at the same time. Do not rub, and try not to damage existing spots since this can spread infection. Alternately simply rinse the cream off with water (as you would, if using a soap). Use the cleanser each morning and night and by gently cleansing (rather than stripping the skin) you’ll remove excess oil, gently remove dead skin cells and leave it without any dryness. This will help to break the vicious circle, and should calm down any breakouts. Weekly deep cleansing with one of our rhassoul Clay Masks (we’d recommend our Chamomile variety) will also help to draw out skin impurities.

Remember that our skin’s condition is largely dependent on a healthy lifestyle, so also try to:

• Eat more fruit and vegetables.
• Drink more water to hydrate the skin.
• Take regular exercise.
• Take about 10 minutes of fresh air and sunshine (avoiding the midday sun and very strong sunlight) when you can since it stimulates the production of Vitamin D which is essential for healthy skin.
• Reduce your caffeine intake (contained within coffee, tea and fizzy drinks etc).
  
• Reduce the amount of refined (white) sugar and carbohydrate in the diet since this can increase hormone levels (particularly in young men) making you more prone to spots and acne.

We hope you've found this information useful!

NEW! Natural Shaving Kits

We've just updated our Natural Soapworks Pamper Hamper page with a range of new natural skincare hampers which would be perfect for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. By popular request, we've included some new natural shaving items which would be great for Father's Day.

Our Natural Shaving Kit (left) contains some our our luxurious Forest Spice shaving soap. It's a specially formulated goats milk soap, that contains a lovely blend of woody essential oils (with skin caring properties), and rhassoul clay which is a fabulous clay that's usually used in spa treatments. This gives the soap a really lovely feeling on the skin, with a rich creamy lather (without lots of foam) which keeps the razor close to the skin so it glides and reduces razor burn. Teamed with the shaving soap, we've added a natural bristle wooden shaving brush and one of our Natroma Shaving Oils.

The Shaving Oil is presented in a Miron violet glass bottle with a pipette attachment, so you can measure out the correct amount of oil for a pre-shave mini massage. This helps the facial hair to lift and soften, so the razor will glide more easily and cause less irritation. The oil is packed with skin-kind botanical oils and herbal extracts - all formulated to calm and nourish the skin.

Our larger Shaving Hamper (contents shown right) also contains a black stone soap dish to stylishly drain the shaving soap between uses, and a new Natroma After Shave Balm. This is a lovely completely natural balm, for use after shaving to naturally condition and moisturise the skin with botanical butters, oils and herbal extracts. In this hamper we also include a fact sheet on shaving, with a recommended routine for obtaining the perfect shave!

What is aromatherapy?

These days, there are all manner of products on the market claiming to have aromatherapy benefits. The problem is that quite often cosmetics have names that make them sound like aromatherapy products, but they only contain minute amounts of essential oils or even have synthetic fragrances. These products may not even be formulated by a professional Aromatherapist, so how do you spot the genuine article? We hope the following information about essential oils and aromatherapy will be useful.

Aromatherapy is often defined as the careful, controlled use of essential oils, to enhance the well-being of the mind, body and spirit. Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile, and fragrant substances that are extracted from flowers, berries, twigs, wood, seeds, fruits and leaves of many familiar plants. Essential oils have many different properties and research has shown that each oil contains a complex mixture of chemical components which contribute to essential oil therapeutic qualities. These could be stimulant, expectorant, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, relaxant, calming, soothing or uplifting. The important thing to stress is that they need to be used with respect and knowledge, so aromatherapy is far more than just pretty smells!

A professional Aromatherapist will have extensive knowledge of the therapeutic qualities and the chemical components within each essential oil. This enables them to create synergistic blends that are personalized for their client, taking into account their needs and any existing health conditions. In the hands of a knowledgable professional Aromatherapist, this means that these plant essences can be therapeutically blended to assist with stress, enhance health and support the body’s own healing processes. Clinical aromatherapy focuses on achieving synergy within the essential oil blend, and usually employs massage to use essential oils in a holistic treatment. So while this is not a medical treatment, aromatherapy has been found to work psychologically and physiologically to improve well-being.

In the coming months, we’ll be featuring a number of essential oils to explain their qualities and why we use them in our handmade natural skincare products. In the meantime, you can see more about our natural ingredients on our websites.

The Natural Soapworks and Natroma product ranges are formulated in-house by a professionally qualified Clinical Aromatherapist, and member of the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA).

Palm Free Goats Milk Soap Slices

We're pleased to announce that our handmade palm free soap slices have now been added to The Natural Soapworks website. We're really proud of these, since they use a new formulation of our popular goats milk soap. It's a really creamy, bubbly soap made even better by the lack of palm oil in the formulation, so they are completely orangutan friendly soaps! They are pretty soaps too, with delicate aromatherapy blends of essential oils.

These are slightly larger soaps, at 120g each, sliced from a log and hand decorated with pretty botanicals. We hope you enjoy using them!

The 2010 ducklings have arrived!

We just wanted to mention some new arrivals were spotted this afternoon - the ducklings have finally arrived!

We've been expecting them for a while, so it looks like Spring is definitely here. Visitors to the Red House Glass Cone should visit the canal side, and look out for 13 little ones this year. They are quite noisy and have lovely yellow colouring at the moment. We'll try to post some pictures, if they will keep still for a few moments!