Our Day

Today, we spent the day at the Autumn Extravaganza Arts & Crafts Show at the Minerals Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ.  We'd done this show in April when it was their first attempt a a craft fair, and had a decent day with a lot of interest.  It was a very small fair but with good vendors.

This time, a vendor organizer company had taken over and the fair grew from one room (the gym of the spa) to three rooms (the lobby, gym, and small back convention room).  Still a small fair, but nice.  Unfortunately, it also grew by three more vendors of handmade soap.  Total:  4.  That's unusual, especially for a fair of this size, and initially they were placing three of us all in adjoining booths!  Well, two of us obviously moved, and we lucked out and were placed in the lobby, directly to the right of the entrance doors to the spa.  That meant we had a differently-shaped space (the original was 10'x10') and needed to reorganize.  We actually really liked the way we were able to use the area.

That whole length there was Reef Botanicals!  We had two 6' tables end to end, and then a 4' camping table on the end forming an L.  Our banner is there at that far end because that's where the entrance to the spa was.

We got traffic from every direction and were very happy with the setup and location.  In fact, the spa is having another event on December 12, just before the holidays, and we plan to participate in that one too.

Although the patrons were somewhat inundated with soapers, they seemed really excited by our product line, and we did well.  Our most popular sellers of the day were the Hair Dew shampoo and the Home for the Holidays bath salt, though also especially popular were the lip balms, facial scrub, candles, and Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap.  People took a lot of cards too, and we're hopeful that the event gained us some regular customers!

If you're in the area, look for us at the event in December, where we'll also be offering gift baskets for the holidays.  Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a resort; the place is really friendly and non-members are as welcome as members.  In fact, the staff there were treating even us more like guests than anything!

In the meantime, everything is still available at our website, as well as on our HAFshop, and of course our giveaway is still underway until October 31!

My Face

This is me.

Pretty cute, right?  Sorry, had to throw that in there.  Hehe.

As a kid, I had pretty decent skin, even through my teen years. I got lucky.  Sure, once a month or so, I was likely to break out a bit, but for me, "breaking out" meant a bit of an issue on my chin or nose.  Once I hit my 30s, though, my skin changed, much to my dismay.  I'm more prone to a mild rosacea, especially when I'm stressed.  And I'm more prone to dry patches here and there and the occasional breakout.  Still in limited areas, still not a huge deal, but annoying to me.  Like a lot of women, after all, I'm my own worst critic and have a tendency to sometimes examine every millimeter of my face in my light-up magnifying makeup mirror.

Yeah, I'm nuts like that.  You know you are too.  Admit it.

Well, the other day, Eric looked at me and said, "Your face looks better."  And it does.  I noticed it too.  Me, the critic.

What's the difference?

I've been alternating, depending on my whim, between using Purity and Oatmeal Honey as a facial soap, rather than my old fancy facial cleanser (the one that is $32 for 8.3 oz and contains both sulfates and parabens, harsh and potentially harmful chemicals I definitely neither want nor need).  Hm...

Oh, and when I'm not using Purity or Oatmeal Honey, I'm saving time by washing my face in the shower... with my favorite Mock Turtle shampoo bar!  Reef Botanicals shampoo, you see, is just as healthy and harmless as the soap; it's just formulated to be more lathery and have extra hair-healthy ingredients.  That way, it's just as good as any of the other soap for skin, but even more healthy for hair.

With cocoa butter, chamomile, tea tree oil, eucalyptus, sea kelp, and honey, it's bound to be great for both hair and skin.

In fact, we have some customers who save time in the shower by just using their favorite Reef Botanicals shampoo from head to toe!

As for me, I'm curious to see the progress on my own face.  I'll keep you posted.

We're hip!

We're happening!

If you saw page 24 of the New York Times Magazine on April 5, 2010, you know what I mean.  According to this article, soap, real, honest-to-goodness soap, rather than "cleansers" and other such modern facsimiles made with various detergents, is the way to go.

Seriously!

And the Samurai Shopper is talking about washing faces, not just bodies.  I speak truth!  Observe:

She might as well be talking about Reef Botanicals soaps!  They're olive-oil-based and primarily animal-fat-free. They've got no preservatives, which are unnecessary in olive oil soaps, and use no synthetic fragrance oils.  The Coffee, Cool as a Cuke, Fudge Chunk, Honey Chocolate, Oatmeal Honey, Purity, and Root of the Matter are actually free of all fragrance, even those from essential oils.

I use Purity on my face every day.  That's our pure Castile made from the original Spanish plan:  just olive oil, lye, and deionized water, superfatted just a bit to prevent drying.

The Samurai Shopper also notes the convenience of bar soap in travel.  No more fussing and funneling allowable portions of liquid cleansers into those tiny bottles before dealing with TSA, just throw a bar of soap into a container, and you're off.  The same benefit holds for solid bar shampoos, of course.  If you travel a lot, solid shampoos are the way to go!

Ha, Funny!

A friend and fan of Reef Botanicals' Facebook Page posted this on the page yesterday...

It's from this blog:  http://roflrazzi.com/ but it's even funnier when you know that this particular Reef Botanicals fan is currently on his second bar of our shampoo, loves it, and also has long blond hair.

And no, Orlando Bloom is not a Reef Botanicals customer.  Yet.

What a Weekend!

And what a week!  It was great, but I'm now awfully tired and sore.

Eric spent every evening this past week making candles for our craft show this past Saturday, and I helped on the evenings I wasn't rehearsing.  We got together a good stock of Lilac, Cedar, and Ocean Surf candles for the show.  No, these are not going up on the site at this point, but if you want information about them, feel free to contact us.

Our setup has much improved since our first vending experience.  You'll remember the tiny IHOP booth from December.  It looked like this:

Hey, we worked with what we had, right?  But we've moved up in the world.  Our booth at the Minerals Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ looked like this:

And here are the closer views.  In this photo, from right to left one are our Ocean Surf, Cedar, Lilac, and Lemongrass & Sage candles, large and small baskets of loose soaps, and a sample gift basket.

On the left branch of the booth, we had soaps on a bamboo mat and more soaps and shampoos in the baskets.

And in the middle, we had more baskets of soap, the two-tiered shelf holding bath bombs and scrubs, and on the table were lip balms!  This time we had space for tester scrubs, so people could actually see, smell, and touch.  They really seemed to appreciate the opportunity and took full advantage.

All in all, it was a great show!  It was the first ever hosted by that resort, but they definitely plan to do it again.  I heard talk of another one in October, and one possibly in December, before the holidays I guess.  Plus, they want us back for their Bluegrass Festival on July 30!  Now that sounds like fun.  Music, partying, food, and vending.  We are so there!

One of the booths at the show was from a local small boutique in Vernon, and the owner seemed interested in discussing with us the possibility of carrying some of our products there too, which would be great.  Reef Botanicals has invaded Sussex County!  Ha!

That doesn't completely explain the exhaustion, though.

That night, I went to see a play with a friend, and then on Sunday I participated in the Manhattan MS Walk with a friend, my tenth year at the event.  Six miles through Manhattan and Brooklyn for a woman who doesn't exercise nearly enough is a tough haul, but it was really fun.  Always is.  I'm so glad one of our Deadwood Spa Bars is in the shower.  My aching muscles thanked me.

Last night, of course, more rehearsal.

All of that adds up to some serious tired.  But I'm still kickin', and off to rehearsal again in just a bit!  This is going to be a great show!

We're Not Neglecting You

I promise!  I know many of my posts recently haven't been soap-related, but have no fear!

We've spent a good portion of the weekend replenishing stock on the soaps and shampoos that you guys apparently find so wonderful that you've bought us out of house and home. This is a good thing, of course.  We love it when you love what we make.  We just need to keep making more, that's all.

We're making more tonight, too!  And soon I might have a new thing or two to talk about.  Soon.

Hm...

I went to the hairdresser on Saturday... the one who loved our Hair Dew Shampoo.  He still does, and in fact said that the next time I come back, he wants more!  He's also willing to sell it with our other soaps in his shop and endorse it for us, which is huge.

Back to my reason for going, though. I'm 39 and somewhere along the line, my hair started coming in white. Not all of it, mind you, not nearly. Just enough that it's noticeable. And not grey, white.  Uck.  So I color it.  The majority of my hair, which isn't white, is naturally a dark brown, and I always have it colored to its original hue.

I don't really time when I go, though it seems to happen every six weeks or so.  But the notice that I need to go... that comes probably the same way some of you realize you need to go.  Every once in a while, I'm in the bathroom under those bright lights, and I look into the mirror and say, "Yikes!  Wow, I need to make an appointment!"  That's when I go get a cut and color.  That happens to you too, right?  It's not just me?

I've checked the calendar, and my last appointment was on January 31, so it was about six weeks ago.

In between, my hair color changes.  We've all seen it, a few weeks after you dye your hair a nice dark brown, it starts to turn red.  Not Crayola red, but definitely red.  I've noticed it when I notice my white roots... the dark roots that also come in and comprise the majority of my hair are several shades darker than the rest of my hair, the part that's been dyed, even though my hair was quite dark when I left the salon.

Not this time.  I noticed it for the first time on Saturday, just before I went to the hairdresser.  The colored part of my hair and the dark hair that had grown in at the root were pretty much the same color.  My hair color hadn't changed!  The dye hadn't faded!  The only difference, only difference, is that I've been using Reef Botanicals Shampoo on a daily basis rather than commercial shampoo, mostly Mock Turtle.

So... what was fading and changing my hair color before?  Personally, I think it was the chemicals present in pretty much all commercial shampoos.  "No more tears" aside, they're pretty harsh stuff.

Is this a scientific fact?  Of course not.  We haven't run real tests.  I haven't even washed one side of my head with commercial shampoo and the other with Reef Botanicals just to see what happens.  I'm honestly not brave enough to carry two-tone hair should I be right about those chemicals.  But I've convinced myself that I want to continue using our stuff rather than the brands I used to use.

It's Official!

It definitely wasn't easy.

After much discussion and some debate, sleeping on it and thinking about it, Eric and I have come to a single conclusion: We just can't beat a name like Mock Turtle.  We love it!

That, my friends, is the new and official name of what was previously dubbed our "Contest Shampoo."

Our winner, who should be very proud of herself, is Tiffany Calvert.

We would like to truly thank everyone who participated and had fun with this, our first effort to give something back to you guys and to get you involved.  We had a great response, with well over 100 entries, and we appreciated over each and every one, the ones that taught us new words, the ones that made us giggle, and the ones that just plain sounded like pretty damn good ideas.

Contest Update

Our shampoo naming contest ended last night, and with well over 100 entries, we've narrowed it down to the top five.

To do so, Eric went through the emails we received and pulled all of the proposed names, without any identifiers, and printed up a copy of the list for each of us. We each narrowed the list down separately, then together, and then haggled to reach the top five. They are, in alphabetical order (and we still don't know who they belong to, since we haven't checked):

Mermaid Tresses
Mock Turtle
Scentual Morning
Sea Dew
Sun Salutation

After we've had some time away from the list, tomorrow night we'll haggle some more and announce the winner at 10 p.m. EST.

Thanks to everyone who entered! Check back tomorrow to see what we picked!

Finally! And a Contest!!!

So here it is, and I must apologize for the wait - the photo of our new shampoo.  I've been using it for the past few days too, and I absolutely love it!  Now that I know how to use bar shampoo (sparingly, that is), I don't have the slightest hesitation over this one.

It's a stronger scent than our first shampoo, which I find great for waking me up with the tea tree and eucalyptus.  In short, it rocks.  You can see it's greener than the other one; that's the sea kelp, said to be great for hair.  I honestly can't rave enough about this one, so I might as well stop here and introduce...

well, that's the thing.  We haven't got a name for it!  Hair Dew (our first shampoo) took much thought and made sense for that product, but with this one we're stumped.  So... we're leaving it up to you.  I should let you know that this contest is not limited to followers of the blog, it's also open to Facebook fans, Twitter followers, members of the Handmade Artists' Forum, members of other discussion forums of which I'm a member... in short, everywhere.  The prize?  A free bar of this new shampoo!  We'll send you one, and we'll foot the bill for shipping too (in the lower 48 of the United States).  If you're outside of the lower 48 states, you can feel free to enter, but shipping charges will be paid by you.

To enter, click here and use the contact form on the Reef Botanicals site to give us your idea for the name of the shampoo.  Unlimited entries per person, and the contest will end on Sunday, February 14, 2010, (yes, Valentine's Day) at 10 p.m. EST.  Just note that only entries emailed via the website contact page will be considered.  The winner will be announced here on Tuesday, February 16, and contacted via email for a mailing address.

Our ingredient list, to help you with ideas:  A variety of oils, cocoa butter, chamomile, honey, sea kelp, tea tree essential oil, eucalyptus essential oil.

For those of you who can't wait and want to buy the new shampoo before it's named, it's available on the site as "Contest Shampoo."

Lathery!

Our new shampoo is, anyway.

Yup, a second option for you.  And me.  We had a request for a shampoo made with chamomile, which is reputed to control dandruff.  Plus, I wanted one with less of the butters.  So we've done it!  This shampoo is made with chamomile tea, cocoa butter (no shea - or nuts of any kind, actually), various oils for a great lather, honey, sea kelp for elasticity (in your hair, not the soap) and hair health, and tea tree oil.  And it's scented with eucalyptus, for a really nice mix with the tea tree.

Yet another success!  And I'll have photos for you tomorrow.

A Rave Review!

A while back, we brought our wares to my hairdresser in Haworth to create a retail location.

I called today to find out how things were going.  It just so happened that a woman who'd bought one of our When Life Hands You Lemons sugar scrubs was in the salon when I called, and said that she loved it!

We also brought Billy, my hairdresser, one of our Hair Dew shampoo bars to try for himself.  We didn't want him to be selling a shampoo without knowing he could endorse it, since it is a hair salon.

He told me today that he's been using it every day and loves it!  He asked, "Does it ever dwindle?"  Ha, a testament to the value of this shampoo, it lasts a long time.

I've got a cold and feel miserable, so the pick-me-up was that much more appreciated, and the reviews that much more good to hear.

An Informational Interlude

Ever hear of Phenoxyethanol?  Yeah, neither had I.

We were researching online and taking a look at other soapers' ideas, products, and ingredients.  Among a list of organic ingredients used in American cosmetics, we found phenoxyethanol.  Eric and I both had some trouble pronouncing it at first, so he had to look it up.  We're curious that way.

What we found is frightening, at least to us.

Keep in mind, this ingredient is listed as organic and is therefore considered as acceptable in natural, organic items.  It's used by American cosmetics companies!  So what's so frightening?

If you look here, you'll see that it's known to cause:
Central nervous depression
Nausea, (excuse the impending grossness) vomiting, and diarrhea
Prominent headaches
Abdominal and lumbar pain
Acute renal (that's liver, folks) failure
and there's more.

Exposure methods?  Inhalation and dermal (skin) contact.  Interestingly, the site says, "If contact should occur, irrigate exposed eyes with copious amounts of tepid water for at least 15 minutes, and wash exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water.

That's interesting.  Now, keep in mind where we found this ingredient - on an organic soap website, being used in soap and shampoo!  You see the issue here?  Wash with it or wash it off?  Hmm.

There's a good debate regarding this chemical, found in many synthetic fragrances and used as a preservative here.

There's enough frightening information out there that we will not be using this chemical.  It also reinforces our decision to refrain from using synthetic fragrances and perfumes, since the chemical is present in many, and we'd have no way of knowing which.

Moral of the story?  Know what you're using!  "Organic" is not equivalent to "good for your" or even "safe."  As a face painting friend of mine in Minnesota is wont to say, habanero peppers are "non toxic," (and I'll add, that they can also be organic), but you wouldn't want to rub them all over your face!

Oooooooooooh, so that's the key!

Good grief, I'm a little bit doofy.  So you know I was kind of up and down with the shampoo at first, my hair felt weird for a while, then better.  A couple days ago, it was weird again.  And I talked to Eric, because I didn't want to be selling to anyone products that I couldn't stand behind.

And we realized what I was doing wrong on the "weird" days.

I was using it like soap.  When I use bar soap, I scrub.  When using bar shampoo, I was scrubbing.  This is wrong.  You need so very little of it (which means it lasts even longer!) that I was using waaaaaaaaaay too much and pretty much grinding it into my hair.  No wonder it was behaving strangely!

I've stopped that, and just barely rub it, or even lather it between my hands, and just use the lather... it still lathers like crazy and now works like a dream!  So... the key is... use a teeny tiny bit.  Make it last longer.  Get your money's worth.  And it'll be perfect.

Learn something new every day.

Excitement!

Yesterday, we didn't develop any new soaps, shampoos, scrubs, or products at all.

Instead, we made new batches of Fudge Chunk soap and Honey Chocolate soap.  We needed to replenish our stock because those two have been so popular in sales, but also because we have placed some in an actual retail location!  You can now find and buy several of our all natural products (soap, shampoo, scrubs, gift baskets) at Bruce's Floral Design, 311 Hackensack Street, Carlstadt, NJ.

In addition to our "indulgences," Bruce, a really personable and nice man, carries hand painted glass and other gift items.  Of course, he's also a terrific florist, creating his own form of art with his medium of live and silk flowers.

Definitely stop in, say hi, and  have a look around!

New Shampoo - Day 4

My friend Lisa called me today, from Mississippi.  She went ahead and, braver soul than I am, used our Honey Chocolate Soap as a shampoo last night!  She wanted to let me know today that her hair was clean, bouncy, shiny, and soft.  It wasn't dry and the color was still good (she hennas her hair red).  She loved it.  And she doesn't use conditioner.

This prompted me to be brave as well, and when I used our shampoo, I didn't use conditioner either, my first time ever in life not using conditioner by choice.

My hair is fine.

I don't mean the type of hair, which is fine but thick.  I mean my hair is doing well.  It's soft, and not straw-like.  Any other time I've been somewhere sans conditioner and washed my hair with commercial shampoo, my hair has been straw when I got out of the shower.

I also didn't use any styling products today.  I figured if my hair annoyed me, I was mostly home anyway and could just throw it into a ponytail.  Tomorrow, I plan to use the shampoo with no conditioner, and then my CHI Volume Booster.  I think I don't need the Silk Infusion anymore, but the Volume Booster keeps the curls better defined and separated.

So we'll see.

In the meantime, I must put in a plug for my brave friend, Lisa.  She's a great face painter and henna artist in Mississippi, so if you'e down there, make sure you contact her for your events!  And if you're not in Mississippi, visit her website anyway and pick up some cosmetic glitters or shimmer powders!  The Ultra Shimmer, Diamond Frost, or Golden Frost, housed in one of her applicator brushes is perfect for dusting your chest, arms, and neck before going out on the town.  She makes them herself, and she lives as close to chemical-free as she can, so you know they're good stuff.

New Product... !!!

Ever heard of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate?  I hadn't.  I hadn't, but I've been using it for approximately 39 years.  It's in my shampoo, you see.  Betcha it's in your shampoo too.  Why should you care?  Here's why.  Scary, right?  But what to do?  Hm... what to do... ?

Can you guess what we did?  Made shampoo!

What's in our shampoo, you ask?  Olive and other natural oils, sodium hydroxide, water, shea butter, cocoa butter, honey, peppermint essential oil, and rosemary essential oil.  For the benefits of these ingredients, click the links!  That's it.  Eventually, we will  have other varieties, of course.  But this is the first, in Rosemary & Peppermint.  Here's what it looks like:

Yes, a bar.  A solid bar of shampoo.  Weird, I know.  Eric had used bar shampoo before; I hadn't.  I'll admit, I was a little skeptical regarding its efficacy.  So before I agreed to list it for sale, I had to test it on my very own head.

Now, if you know me, you know that's huge.  I have long hair.  I love my hair.  I do not mess around with my hair.  I used the shampoo.  See how dedicated I am to all of you?  I risked my own hair for you all!

My observations...

New Shampoo: Day One

I used the shampoo and was surprised, despite Eric's assurances, at how quickly and well it lathered. I mean, it's a bar, for Pete's sake.  But it works!  My hair felt clean.  I did use conditioner, because I wasn't brave enough to refrain.  Besides, I figure my hair needs time to adjust.  Plus, I have hair that tends toward the dry.  I'm lobbying for us to make a line of all-natural conditioner because I just don't trust my hair without it.  It's long.  And I wash it every day, at least once a day.  But the shampoo worked!  It also felt very clean post-shower, even after the commercial conditioner.  The conditioner I used was Fructis.
I hate it.  Maybe I shouldn't say that, but I do.  I bought it once when I was away and forgot my normal stuff, and use it only occasionally.  But I feel like it doesn't really do the job.  But I used it on day one of the natural shampoo trial.

And then I made a real mistake.  Either my hair needs to acclimate to the new stuff, which it does, definitely, or it really just doesn't like my styling products.  I use CHI Silk Infusion and Volume Booster and I actually like them.  I've been using them for a few years now.  Well, I put them in, as usual, and my hair rebelled.  It felt weird and fluffy, and kind of greasy, and just altogether odd.  I hated it.  All.  Day.  So... next use, no product.

New Shampoo:  Day Two

My shower went as follows:  Cafe Mocha sugar scrub, followed by our new shampoo, then the conditioner I've liked all these years, Herbal Essences.  Still not brave enough to go sans conditioner with my long, fine but thick, dry hair.

This time, I was able to really pay attention to the shampoo, smelling the rosemary and peppermint, and then the touch of honey behind those scents.  Then I washed with Cool as a Cuke soap.  Rinsed off, rinsed my hair, and let it dry.

I don't blowdry, haven't in years, since I resigned myself to the fact that I just don't have straight hair.  Oh, the hours saved by quitting that practice!

I also got smart last night.  I bought a wide-toothed comb, the kind you're supposed to use to detangle hair, as opposed to the brush I've always used, that catches and breaks my hair.  Yeah, I know, if I care so much about my hair, why'd I use that sort of brush?

Absolutely no idea.

At any rate, I combed my hair while wet, and for the first time since I stopped straightening it, didn't use any styling products.  Love it!  Soft, clean, and holding the wave.  Success!