Christmas Order Deadlines

Thanks for all the Christmas orders this year! We have been so busy, visitors to our shop have been amazed by the empty shelves. As we often joke at this time of year - we need more elves!

Rest assured, we'll continue to work around the clock to re-stock. There is currently only a handful of bath bombs and bath melts available (every year we have sell outs!), but more are being manufactured today and tomorrow to make sure last minute hampers can be made up. So fingers crossed the shop will be looking less bare later on today, and there will be plenty of fragrant options!

Deadlines and dates:
Website orders - the last date for receiving these is Sunday 18th December. We intend to ship orders received by this date on a first class Royal Mail service, to try to ensure they arrive on time but this cannot be guaranteed. Large orders will be shipped on a next day courier service. Hampers are all being shipped on a signed for service, so please ensure someone is at home to receive parcels.

Ruskin Shop - we'll be open every day until Christmas Eve between 10.30am and 4.30pm. The exception is tomorrow 16th December (sadly we have to attend a family funeral), so we'll be open 10am - 11am and after 2.30pm - 4.30pm on that day. We'll be open between 10.30am - 1.00pm on Christmas Eve.

After this, we'll be closed for 2 weeks - to recover! Our websites will continue to accept orders, but these will not be processed until after we return to work on 10th January 2012. Sorry for the inconvenience of this longer than usual close down, but we'll definitely need to re-charge our batteries after this year!

We're off to the Frost Fair!

Phew! We've been so busy in the last few weeks, with a fantastic evening shopping event and Christmas Craft Fair at the Ruskin Glass Centre last week. It was wonderful to meet so many new and old customers, so thank you for popping in to buy your Christmas gifts!

This week, we're off to Shrewsbury to set up our stand at the Frost Fair. This is a fabulous event organised at the National Trust's Attingham Park each year. There's a huge number of craft and food stalls and once again we're in the largest marquee. It's one of our favourite events each year, so we hope to see you there between 2nd - 4th December 2011!

This means that our shop will be closed until Tuesday 6th December 2011. Website orders will still be accepted as usual, but they won't be dispatched until after we return on the 6th. We'll be processing orders in date order, as they arrive, but there's still plenty of time before Christmas.

Natroma Holistics at the Ruskin Glass Centre

Quite a few new customers to our Ruskin Glass Centre shop are surprised to find that The Natural Soapworks is run by Holistic Therapists. Our specialisms are Clinical Aromatherapy and Sports Massage Therapy, and even though we're usually busy making natural skincare products we enjoy giving massage treatments and the satisfaction that comes from helping our holistics clients.

Sadly we know what it feels like to be rushed out of a treatment room because the next person has arrived, so we wanted to offer a tranquil setting for our therapies. Our treatment room was purpose built and luxuriously appointed to provide a relaxing and soothing environment. We also only offer limited appointments each week, to ensure that clients don't feel like they're on a massage production line! But we can be flexible about offering evening appointments outside of our normal opening hours if required. We can also attend sporting events and offer on-site corporate staff therapy packages for local businesses. We're also pleased to have made arrangements for a Reiki Master to visit us each week, and she'll be offering appointments most Thursdays.

We've added a new page to The Natural Soapworks website which gives more information on the Holistic Therapy treatments we can offer in our luxurious Stourbridge treatment room. Please ring us on 01384 399451 to discuss your requirements and arrange an appointment with a therapist.

Natural Skincare Christmas Gift Ideas

It's begining to smell a bit like Christmas.....and it's because our Christmas Gift Catalogue was released on Saturday for Stourbridge customers. We're displaying the gift packaging in our shop, and the lovely smell is coming from our Fragrant Christmas Decorations!

Today we've also begun uploading items onto The Natural Soapworks Christmas Hamper page, so it's now just 12 weeks and counting! More hampers will be added in the coming days, and we'll keep the page updated as items sell out.

We're particularly pleased with the 2011 Four Seasons hampers. Stourbridge customers will remember these from a couple of years ago (and have kept asking for them to return) so they have been updated and will be available on the website for the first time on the botanical soap hamper page. They're presented in ivory gift hampers wrapped with luxurious teal coloured organza ribbon and a beaded leaf decoration. We hope you like them!

Christmas is coming....

Despite the lovely weather, we're already receiving lots of enquiries about Christmas gifts. Rest assured - it's all in hand! Behind the scenes, we've been working on some lovely new natural skincare gift hampers and organic soaps, so it's been smelling a little festive in the workshop! So there's not long to wait now - our Christmas catalogue will be available to local customers on the 1st October, and we'll be uploading Christmas gift ideas onto the websites around that time too.

Customers will remember that it became a little manic last year (understatement!), so we're advising everyone to order early this year since we have no doubts that we'll have to close our order book early again.

Finally with busy times ahead, we've decided to take a short break from the workshop after the August Bank Holiday. Our Ruskin shop will be closed between Sunday 28th August - Monday 5th September, but we'll be staying open on-line so website orders will be processed as normal. Hopefully we'll have a chance to recharge the batteries, before the festive season really begins!

Fizzing Butter Melts

For a while now, Stourbridge customers have been enjoying our lovely petal covered fizzing bath melts as stand alone products. By popular request, we've now added these to The Natural Soapworks website, so our internet customers can also enjoy these gorgeous bath treats! They are individually wrapped in cellophane bags, making them perfect as small gifts or as an affordable alternative to our usual bath bombs.

Unlike many other bath melts we've seen, ours do not contain any synthetics or detergents, so they are completely natural with only essential oil blended fragrances and no artificial colours. They are quite tricky to make since they have to be hand rolled in petals, and we've also designed some lovely new fragrances including Uplift, Exotic Flowers and Ylang Geranium. You'll find that our Fizzing Bath Melts gently melt and fizz in hot water and release lots of petals and botanicals into the bath water, for really luxurious bathing!

They contain lots of organic (Soil Association accredited) shea and cocoa butters, so bath melt fans have been telling us they are so moisturising that body lotion is no longer required and they're also suiting dry or troubled skin conditions. We'd suggest that you just pat your skin dry after leaving the bath, to allow the natural butters and essential oils to sink into the skin. We're so pleased customers are enjoying using these so much!

It's busy at The Natural Soapworks again!

Sorry it's been a while since we last posted, but it's been a little busy at The Natural Soapworks just lately! Anyone who's spotted our page on Facebook, will have seen that Paul recently achieved his Level 4 in Advanced Sports Massage. It's a fantastic achievement since this is a very challenging level of study, and means that we can now offer remedial and preventative sports massage therapy in our on-site treatment room. We have no doubts that Paul is going to be very busy, and he'll be happy to discuss treatment options with prospective new clients.

We've also been busy manufacturing lots of natural skincare too, and we're delighted to welcome the return of some old favourites! The first is Blue Lagoon, our gorgeous exotic soap that's enriched with Monoi de Tahiti which started life as a special edition soap but became so popular that we had to keep on making it. We decided to give it a facelift since we weren't happy with the depth of colour of the bar (it used to be striped), so it now has a lovely blue colour with a purple swirl. Blue Lagoon has a deep, sweet and exotic aroma which is heavy with ylang ylang and vetiver, lifted with citrus notes. Blue Lagoon is available in our shop and on The Natural Soapworks website.

We're also re-releasing our rhassoul clays masks! Regular users will remember that these were withdrawn earlier in the year, after we received feedback that the mask was becoming too thick for the airless pump packaging and the nozzle was becoming blocked. But we had so many requests for them to return, that we had to find a solution. These masks have always been a favourite with us, since they were specifically developed to support break outs and gently deep-cleanse the skin (use once or twice each week). They have a lovely creamy texture so will not set on the skin, making them lovely to use and easily removed with a muslin cloth after a facial treatment. The masks are available in Rose and Orange Blossom fragrances, and have been repackaged into glass jars. Jars aren't our favourite method of packaging cosmetics since it's so easy for fingers to contaminate the product, so we'd suggest that the mask is removed with a spatula. These are available on the Natroma website, and we hope everyone enjoys using these again!

Finally we wanted to mention that we'll be closed between Friday 15th - Monday 18th July inclusive, since we'll be attending a National Trust Summer Fair at Attingham Park in Shropshire. Last year it was a lovely event, so we're really looking forward to attending again.

Magnificent Monoi!

We've pleased to report that we have a new supplier for our Monoi de Tahiti - and it's just lovely! We've always had a soft spot for this lovely tiare flower infused coconut oil, since it smells so wonderful and suits all skin types. It's also an ingredient in our South Pacific goats milk soap....so yes...we've already made a batch and it should be ready in a few weeks time!

We've found that Monoi de Tahiti is particularly suited to sensitive and troubled skin, and sinks in easily to leave a luxurious, fragrant sheen on the skin. As many customers will know, we have sensitive skin and eczema in our family, so we were delighted when we found that Monoi not only smells wonderful but also has skin-soothing properties too. At this time of year, we think that Monoi makes a wonderful natural face oil so that's why we supply it in 10ml rollerball bottles (perfect for a little facial massage). It's also available in larger bottles too, and to celebrate it's return, we're offering some special offers on our Facial skincare page.

So what should you know about about Monoi de Tahiti? Monoi is produced via a process called enfleurage, where tiare blossoms (Tahiti's national flower) are gently macerated in pure coconut oil. Monoi means 'scented oil', and since 1992 genuine Monoi production and ingredients have been protected. This means that genuine Monoi has to be extracted from mature coconuts gathered from Cocus Nucifera trees growing in French Polynesia, and only tiare buds from Gardenia Tahitensis species of Polynesian origin are permitted.

Research has found that Monoi oil is rich in skin soothing ingredients, making it a naturally concentrated emollient that is capable of penetrating and re-hydrating the skin's epidermis. It is believed to offer skin protection from both the sun and wind, and supports troubled skin conditions. So how would you use Monoi? Here are a few suggestions:

• After bathing - a light application will offer skin moisturing qualities.



• As a pre-shampoo hot oil treatment - simply apply a small amount to dry hair and leave as required, before shampooing the hair. Monoi will deeply condition the hair, to leave a healthy shine.



• During a bath - add a few drops to the water to release the lovely floral fragrance and encourage relaxation, whilst giving the skin extra softness and a subtle fragrance.



• As a natural massage oil - it is well suited to massage since it sinks in easily without leaving any oiliness.



• Monoi can also be used as a tanning and aftersun oil. However we do not recommend this, since excess sun exposure can damage the skin.

Monoi is an unusual oil, since it is solid at below 68F (20C). This is perfectly normal, and shows it is a genuine oil without any synthetic emulsifiers. So in warm weather it will be a pale golden oil, and in colder weather it is an off-white solid oil. This is why we sell Monoi in bottles - it creates far less mess to use it from a bottle when it's a liquid! It needs to be melted before use, so when it's cold you can either stand your bottle of Monoi on the radiator, or in a cup of hot water. Solidifying and melting will not have any impact on the Monoi, but it is very important to never use a microwave to warm Monoi.

We hope you enjoy using this deliciously fragrant, exotic oil!

Natural Soapworks to leave the Red House Glass Cone

Sadly we've taken the decision to leave the Red House Glass Cone. The studio looks small and quite dark now, so we've decided that it's best that we consolidate everything in one location. Customer feedback has been that they much prefer the light and airy feel of our Ruskin Glass Centre shop and holistic treatment room. Our expansion to the Ruskin Glass Centre has proved to be a fantastic move for our business, and it's lovely to be located in such a creative community (and the cakes on site are pretty special too!) But even so we're having to face the fact that we've outgrown the place where it all started and will miss our canal side studio. We'd like to wish our friends at the Cone all the best for the future.

So April looks like it's going to be a strange month due to us moving, the Easter Bank Holidays (and a certain Wedding), so we've revised our opening hours this month. Rest assured, our internet shops will continue to operate 24/7 as usual.

Natroma exfoliators and handcreams are back!

We're pleased to see the return of some old favourites to our Natroma line up. These include our lovely jojoba bead exfoliators and concentrated handcreams.

The exfoliators are now available in 3 varieties: Dry Sensitive (with rose, geranium and palmarosa), Normal Combination (with neroli, petitgrain and bergamot), and Sensitive (with German and Roman chamomiles and lavender). These are lovely light exfoliators that are packed with wonderful botanical oils - jojoba, papaya, evening primrose and comfrey, moisturising panthenol and skin calming sea buckthorn and calendula botanical extracts. They contain jojoba beads which are tiny spherical beads of jojoba which gently exfoliate the skin without any scratching or irritation. Don't be surprised by the colour of these, the cream is naturally yellow due to the presence of generous amounts of those botanical extracts. Further details on why we've selected these ingredients can be found on our Exfoliator page on the Natroma website.

We've made some changes to our hand creams and they now contain jojoba and coconut oils with organic shea butter, and are enriched with panthenol, glycerine and aloe vera. Customers will notice that this new version feels really silky, so we're really pleased with how these feel on the hands! More information on why we use these ingredients is on our Hand and Nails page on the Natroma website.

Regular customers will also notice that our hand creams have new packaging. The packaging was the reason why we temporarily withdrew our hand creams from sale. We had received feedback that the harder tube was difficult to use by customers with hand or joint problems. So we're very pleased to have found some new white tubes that are much softer than before, making the tubes much easier to squeeze.

Mothers day and Easter gift ideas

We've enjoyed some lovely weather during the last few days, and it's inspired us to create some lovely uplifting gift ideas for Mother's Day!

This year we've focussed on creating some luxurious botanical bathing hampers, designed to support the skin after a long, cold winter. Our fizzing bath melts are full of cocoa and shea butters, so will be perfect for Mums who like to enjoy long relaxing baths. These pretty hand rolled bath melts weigh a generous 40g, and have been formulated to gently fizz as they melt into the bath water releasing pretty petals and botanicals. They're naturally fragranced with essential oils blended by our Aromatherapist, and will leave the skin smelling gorgeous. It's best if you gently dry yourself after taking a bath, to allow the natural oils and butters to sink in and moisturise the skin.

We also have a sunny Springtime hamper this year, that's wrapped in a flowery gold and green organza ribbon. Our Springtime soap was a favourite from last year, so we've brought it back again as a special edition, palm-free goats milk soap. It has a gentle, but uplifting fragrance with a rich creamy lather. In this hamper we've also included 3 fizzing bath melts (a variety of fragrances are available), and an uplifting chill pill bath bomb. We hope that Mum's enjoy this sweet, but cheerful range of products and that they find the time to take a well earned rest!

These and other hampers are now available on our Mothers Day webpage, and we'll also have a wide selection of hampers available in our Ruskin shop in the coming weeks. We're accepting orders on Mother's Day hampers too, so will be happy to make specific items if you have a particular gift idea in mind. Local customers will also have the option to include Natroma Holistics treatment vouchers inside their hampers. So why not treat your Mum to a full body massage, or perhaps an Aromatherapy Facial or Foot Reflex treatment?

Dates for the diary for local customers are Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th March 2011. The Ruskin Glass Centre will be hosting a Spring Fair, with a range craft exhibitors showing handmade products that would be lovely as Mother's Day gifts.

Goats Milk Soap Offers!

We're reviewing our soap stocks at the moment, and this will give visitors to our Stourbridge Ruskin Glass Centre shop a soapy treat! We currently have a selection of cold process goats milk soaps for sale at reduced prices.

Sometimes these soap bars are slightly strange shapes, they may be under 100g in weight, or they may be a little older so will be losing some of their fragrance. But did you know, that older soap is actually better? This is because soap becomes harder and milder as it matures. We often compare it to the way that good cheese or wine has to be matured! This is why we like to mature our soaps for many weeks (or even months) to ensure they're at their best before they're presented for sale. Because all of our soaps are naturally fragranced with essential oils, they will gradually lose their smell on the outside of the bar. But rest assured some of the fragrance will reappear as the outer layer of soap is washed away.

Website customers should visit our Special Offers page, if they want to try some of these soaps with our Goats Milk Duo offer.

We reckon these older goats milk soaps will be lovely to use and will be especially good for troubled skin types. So grab a bargain while you can, we only have limited stocks!

Romance is in the air!

Yes it's that time of year again....Valentine's Day is nearly here!

So this year we've developed a new aromatherapy blend that should appeal to both men and women. It's called Romance and is a complex blend of the aphrodisiac essential oils, including ylang ylang, cedarwood, frankincense and patchouli. Romance smells initially quite sweet, but there's a lovely woody depth to it too. Because it contains cedarwood, it's not recommended during pregnancy, but that's not problem since we'll be happy to make any of our Valentine's products with our Sensual blend (which is safe to use thoughout pregnancy).

We have a wide variety of Valentine's gift ideas available in our Ruskin shop, including heart shaped bath bombs (with or without rose petals), bathing salts (a special edition version that contains pink Himalayan salts), fizzing bath melts (hand rolled in rose petals), heart shaped soaps, lantern candles, aroma teddys, sensual incense and crystal heart necklaces. Romance is also available to purchase as a 10ml essential oil blend - perfect for diffusing in an oil burner.

We also have a selection of Romance items to purchase from our Valentines Day web page. We'll accept website orders until 10th February, to allow time for them to be delivered.

Support the campaign to end cruel animal tests

This week saw the launch of an important campaign by BUAV. As you know, BUAV operate the internationally recognised scheme which enables consumers to identify cruelty-free cosmetics. The Natural Soapworks and Natroma aromatherapy skincare are part of this scheme, and that's why our products display the Leaping Bunny on their packaging. We are strongly opposed to any form of animal testing.

On 11th March 2009, all animal testing of cosmetics in the EU was stopped (largely due to two decades of campaigning by the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments - ECEAE). But this ban had a catch since it's currently still permitted for three types of animal tests to be carried out in non-EU countries for cosmetics sold in Europe. This arrangement is permitted until March 2013, to to allow non-animal tests (‘alternatives’) to be developed and approved.

However EU officials are currently considering whether to extend the ban for another 10 years, due to pressure from some cosmetics companies. If this is agreed it could mean 10 more years of animal cruelty, where animals are needlessly injected, gassed, force-fed and killed worldwide for cosmetics products sold in the EU.

So we're supporting BUAV's campaign to try to ensure this doesn't happen. We'd encourage all of our customers to visit the campaign website and sign the petition to say NO to cruel cosmetics in Europe! We hope you visit the campaign website, read the facts and show your opposition too.

PS: A belated Happy New Year everyone! (We've had a busy start to the year, so unfortunately there hasn't been enough time to add to the blog until now). More soon!