Natural Handmade Skincare and Toiletries

Over the course of the year, whilst travelling from fair to fair, one product that attracts people to come and talk to us is our Natural Baby Balm, it has a unique name that always get people laughing.

Now We have some Amazing News to share with all our Friends and customers, We sent off some of our wonderful Baby Skin care line to be tested by Mummies and the results we have received back is just wonderful, Our Bootiful Baby Bum Balm passed their approval, Won New fans and Has also won A TIPS Award for 2010. This is not just for Nappy change but it can also be used all over for general skin care, it has a rich creamy texture and mum’s can use it too.

TIPS is a UK based website for New Mums and those with experience but want to be updated with updated News on taking care of babies and the best products to use for babies. It is run by a highly a respected UK Midwife with lots of experience and a fierce advocate for breast feeding for the past 25 years.

I, like most young women these days,  invested £10 in a pair of the spectacular Knitted cardigan boots you find in shops all over. They are truly warm but the soles are not much to write home about so  after a few short months mine died a natural death. Just when I was going to take it to the cloths bank it downed on me that I can actually cut it to make a leg warmer and an indoor slipper from it and save it from the impending death. See below at the  picture for inspiration for chopping your old boots. I walked around all on saturday and sunday wearing the leg warmers and i was very impressed with it as it effectively kept my legs warm. I have been wearing my slippers non stop around the house.

I have been very busy of late and as such have not been able to update my articles much. My apologies to the few people that are following. I hope that when i am not so inundated with work i will be able to share all the  bits and pieces as i carry around  a little book and scribble topics in to write about. I had share this though, i have fallen in love with this song below and i keep playing it over and over whilst working. It is actually  a couple of years old and i don’t understand Yoruba but it is a very nice song to listen to as it also has some English bits. The song is by the Nigerian Act Infinity and the song is called Olori Oko.

Get you Afro dancing on
Infinity Music Video

Everything has a shelf life, least of all anything that we constantly introduce our fingers into such us the creams we use daily and all other cosmetics and toiletries. Most things would, simply put, die (expire or be contaminated) or become unusable or even unsafe to use without preservation. This is why preservatives are used in the food we eat, the cosmetics we apply on our bodies and in almost everything else.

Preservatives would prolong and protect any product that contains water such as creams from microorganism growth (molds, bacteria & yeast). These can mostly be unseen with the eyes but would happen to any unpreserved product that is unrefrigerated in as little as a few days and when it is refrigerated maybe in 2 weeks (This is why when you watch any programme on TV that gives a recipe and it tells you to store for only 2 weeks you need to adhere to it). Some tell tale signs of cosmetics that have ‘gone off’ would be a change in colour, Scent, and growth on the surface. To bring it home, most COSMETICS contain preservatives because they also contain water which would encourage microbes growth if left unpreserved. The only types of cosmetics that are usually not preserved are oils or anhydrous products. Body butters, body oils, those with high alcohol content, perfume and dry bath products such as bath soaks, bath bombs etc.

Natural Products
Even natural skin care creams need to be preserved, as a consumer you should question any Aqueous product that is claimed to be containing NO PRESERVATIVES or is SELF PRESERVING. Just with everything else there has recently been innovative means developed to package products in containers that help with protecting cosmetics enough to not need TO add preservatives. Products that are in aerosol packaging are a good example of this. Any typical skin care product would not use any more than 1-1.5% or at most most most 2% of preservatives in a product. There is also no need for preservatives in Handmade soaps as they are made using a Traditional method that uses ingredients that would not allow for the growth of microbes.

Parabens
There are methyl/ ethyl/propyl/butyl/isopropyl and probably many others I personally don’t know about. Some parabens occur naturally an Ex is methylparaben which occurs naturally in blueberries, where as some are produced synthetically in a lab.  Parabens are high on the list of naturally aware consumer’s list of I would not use anything that contains parabens. They are a group of preservatives widely used both by cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. They are cheaper to use, very effective for preserving and have a long history of usage which means that there has been a lot of studies done on them. This is the reason why they are very popularly used by most commercial manufacturers. However, they have become controversial in recent years as some studies have shown a link between toxicology, allergies, breast cancer, estrogenic activity and carcinogenic concerns. This study is one that has divided some, and commercial manufacturers and a lot of the scientific community. Naturally studies would usually use unusual proportions and in unusual circumstances. Have a look on wiki for more readings on PARABENS.

Read about Parabens

OVERALL
I am a cottage kitchen chemist and a naturally precautionary principled person (my nice way of saying Hypochondriac). I have only written this in the hope that by reading this and doing some research on the subject you can find your own balance. My personal stance is I would not use products that are not preserved, and I do not use PARABENS as a personal preference as there are alternatives to them. Also always look out for FORMALDEHYDE , I recently purchased false eye lash extensions from Boots and I was shocked when I noticed the ingredients contained formaldehyde and returned to ask for my refund. Being Ghanaian I figure that I would one day be embalmed in more than enough of the stuff, so there is no hurries for me to start drenching myself whilst I’m still breathing.

Read about Formaldehyde

Our New range of Natural Babies Skin care and Toiletries

One of my favourite products i make are Natural skin care for  babies and children, I enjoy making them as it is fun to make and it gets me really thinking. Although this is sometimes not clearly stated, IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE TO USE THE SAME TOILETRIES FOR ADULTS FOR BABIES AND children under 36 months old. It is also not suitable to use highly fragranced products and certain types of ingredients. Toiletries for children under 36 months require  A SEPARATE  certification in accordance with cosmetic regulations.

You can get some great advice and lots of read, advice for mothers on SHARRON TROTTERS WEBSITE (TIPS).

Today  as you go about your daily chores, please stop to spare a thought for the millions of women, men and children all over the world who are HIV positive.  Thankfully life is getting better for some people who live with the virus and stop to drop something in a  box in exchange for a ribbon.

Click to Join the group For more reads! Article from notes on the Facebook Fan page.

This time of the year we all love to wrap up, keep the windows shut tightly and the heating on full blast. This can only result in the skin losing moisture and drying up, problems like eczema flare up and various skin irritations.
SO HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO PRACTICE THROUGHOUT WINTER TO ENSURE THAT YOUR SKIN REMAINS SUPPLE AND SMOOTH FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

Water: As everyone knows the virtues of water there is no need for me to Harper on. This is just a reminder.

Skin moisturisers: Moisturise frequently, at least twice a day this is the time of year that really one should use Anhydrous Products (these are balms, body butters & oil and butter based moisturisers). Body butters and balms are effective against moisture loss.

Lip balm: Always remember to apply a good lip balm, one that softens and moisturises the lips (ideally not petroleum jelly based ones as they only sit on top of the skin really with no other benefits). And avoid licking your lips, it would cause you more grief than relief.

Sunscreen: Just don’t pack your sunscreen away with your summer clothing yet, the skin needs protection still as the skin is still vulnerable to the winter’s sun reflective rays this time of year.
Hands: Give your hands a good scrub with a mild and body scrub or body ex-foliate Soap, and follow with something simple like olive oil, Shea butter or a thick hand cream. If you naturally have dry hands scrub your hands regularly and moisturise throughout the day as often as possible. Also remember to protect your hands with gloves when you go out.

As i travel on the tube everyday to work in london, i always break into a smile when i see the Cadbury’s advert of chocolate made with Ghanaian Cocoa in the underground stations. It reminds me of when i was growing up in Ghana. I loved eating raw cocoa whenever someone came to visit us from the village and they brought along some cocoa for us the kids. As i come from a big family of 5 you can just imagine myself and siblings fighting over one pod of cocoa, we would crack open the pod by hitting it against a wall and then either count the seeds and share them equally if by natures law they added up to an even number or the oldest got more, and youngest got less(This a Ghanaian way of sharing).

I am so happy that such a big company has chosen to buy fairly traded products because it means that the farmers are being paid a fair price for their hard toil. I buy on a small scale fairly traded Shea butter and cocoa butter too from Ghana and i  tell you that the cocoa butter has a natural chocolatey smell that makes our  Virgin cocoa butter smell like a nice warm chocolate, The conditioning Lip balm has a natural flavour all on its own without the use of any synthetic flavourings.

But from now when you bite into your Cadbury’s chocolate you know that your little treat is making a big difference to somebody.

Ayekoo which is in Twi means Welcome, Well done or Congratulations. It is a popular Ghanaian salutation which is used to welcome or commonly used to infer congratulations.
On Saturday when i opened Facebook, every Ghanaian on my friends list had excitedly expressed how proud they are to be Ghanaians in celebration of The Ghana under 20 national football team winning the World cup. Being no exact big football fun i also wanted to express how excited and happy i am for the country, The team and everyone else gladdened by this news so i made soaps.
Now i have to say that i am not in the business of making <b>fancy soap,</b> i like to <a href=”http://www.alternatestyle.co.uk/gbu0-catshow/soaps.html”>Soap</a> that does the job, cleanse the skin and impart some of <b>Nature’s</b> Ingredients properties that enhances, heals and nourish beautiful. I apologies for my not so beautiful soap because it lacks the attention to details and patience one requires when it comes to making soap for aesthetics. This is just a simple simple soap with lots and lots of glycerin.

<b>But over all well done to Ghana, the boys and everyone involved in taking the boys all the way.</b>

I get asked so often about how Shea butter can be used,  so here are a few ideas on how to use your shea. Apart from using it neat on dry or chapped skin you can add oils like olive oil, almond oil and  sunflower to your  Shea butter to soften it if you are colder climates as Shea butter can harden beyond belief. Back in Africa where the temperature is always hotter, Shea is always mildly soft. By adding liquid oils, you can also benefit from the added properties the oil you use has.

Skin

Shea is good for matured skin and great for those who suffer from Eczema, psoriasis and dry skin conditions as it is healing and soothing. It also improves stretch marks (which i know all about), if you like body art i.e. tattoos like myself then  you can dab a wee bit on instead of petroleum jelly, you can also apply directly to your lips instead of lip balm, on cracked heels, elbows, use instead of cream for sensitive skin and baby’s bottom and even when babies have nappy rash.

Hair

Apply directly on your scalp if you have dandruff, itchy scalp, dry hair and to improve healthy hair growth. This applies to all hair types, But go easy on it as Shea is heavy.

Food

It is also used for cooking and and making yummy things like chocolates, but i wouldn’t recommend it simply because i haven’t used it in cooking before.

Recipes 1:

add 20gr of oil (of choice) to

80gr of Shea butter

5-10 drps of Essential oils(if you have & want it to smell nice)

Recipe 2:

20gr oil (of choice) Olive/sunflower/almond

60 gr Shea butter

10gr cocoa butter

10gr glycerin

Melt everything together in a bowl sitting in hot water,stir and allow to cool.

Recipe 3: Bath time Skin Treat

Drop half a tea spoon of Shea butter in a filled bath(water warm to mildly hot) and lie in for up to 30 minutes, when you come out your body will be covered with a mild film of the Shea. This pleasure is not limited to those with baths only, you can apply directly to your body in the shower too, after rinsing soap off, or in a bucket full of water to wash with or as a feet soak treat.

Recipe 4: Kids Bath bomb treat

This is what i use to keep my little man excited.

30gr bicarb soda/baking soda/soduim bicarb

20gr citric acid

2 drops of food colour

2 drops of Lavender Essential oil(No more, please as some Essential oils would burn)

5gr Shea butter

Melt the shea butter in a cup by sitting the cup in hot water and allow it to cool but still liquid, mix all other ingredients together and pour the shea in and mould quickly into a ball or use any house hold items as a mould ) For moulds, let your imagination run wild. youghurt cups, cup cake tins etc.

AAAAA