My soap doesn't melt, but I do

I can't stand the heat and humidity, so Saturday, June 21st, will be my last day at the farmers' market until Fall. I will continue making soap and my other products and you may call or e-mail me whenever you need. You may also shop for my products at the Local Harvest Grocery.

If you haven't tried home made soaps...

...and wonder what all the fuss is about, read on! Long ago, soap companies began removing glycerin and other great natural soap ingredients to increase profits. This required the need to add other less "skin-friendly" chemicals. (Just read the ingredients label on your store purchased bar of soap.) This process made "soap" more detergent than true soap. Soap cannot be made without using lye (Sodium Hydroxide). Before you panic, let me explain. Lye is used in the soap-making process but the finished product contains NO LYE. When mixed with the skin-loving oils used in my soap, lye goes through a chemical change called saponification. The lye is gone and all you have left is a truly wonderful product that will clean your skin without drying it out! You will love the feel and you will find that handmade soaps lasts longer than commercially made "soap."

Buzz Off Soap #1

Today was my first time back as a vendor of my Naked Soaps & Soy Candles at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market & Bazaar since late Spring. I opted out of the summer venue due to the heat and humidity (it's an outside bazaar) of the summers in St Louis. I can't take it. Although the humidity was in the 90s today, it was tolerable because the temp was in the 70s and it was overcast and threatening rain, which didn't come until we were packing up. Good timing, weather gods--thank you.

I've gotta say, I love my soaps, and during mosquito season, I especially love my "Buzz Off" soap formulas. The mosquitoes were biting when I got there--at least they were biting me. I just picked out a bar of Buzz Off #1 formula soap and rubbed it onto my bare skin and lightly over my clothing. Voila! No more mosquitoes on me today.

Oh, there ain't no bugs on me, No there ain't no bugs on me.
Well there may be bugs on some of you mugs, but there ain't no bugs on me!

My Buzz Off #1 formula is in a rich olive oil soap enhanced with Palm and Coconut oils and Shea Butter. Scents of pulverized whole cloves, pure, natural essential oils of peppermint and geranium which repel the insects while you enjoy your time outside. It has been one of my best sellers, mostly in the summertime.

My Buzz-Off Insect Repellent Soap #2 is loaded with five 100% Natural Essential Oils known to repel winged creatures--Citronella, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Cedarwood and Lavender. Useful against no-see-ums and especially effective repelling Mosquitoes.

Do they it really work? Well, that's always a loaded question, because every one's skin chemistry is so different. We all probably have someone in our family to whom bugs flock while leaving others alone. This soap is also one of my best sellers from May through September.

So both soaps work very well for a lot of people, and it will probably work well for you too. I've never had a customer tell me it didn't--they just come back for more. You can use them as usual in the shower, or travel with the dry bar, and moisten the bar slightly to rub it on as a repellent. This is soap, though; so don't use it above or around your eyes.

Soap bars come in 4.5 to 5 oz hand cut bars and sell for $6.00 each or two for $11.00.