The shea tree produces nuts that provide an incredible product for your skin. It’s called shea butter. The fat from the shea tree nuts is extracted and becomes a great source of smoothing and conditioning for skin cosmetic products. This easy-to-use, natural source offers multiple applications. The following are just a few of the top shea butter benefits.

It moisturizes

No one likes the feel of dry, cracking skin. Shea butter has a high fatty acid content, which makes it a great moisturizer. It absorbs rapidly into the skin to restore lipids, develop moisture for your skin and provide a protective barrier to harsh exterior conditions.

It soothes

If you struggle with arthritis or other inflammation issues, shea butter may be able to help your condition. This substance activates cytokines when it is applied to the skin, which may help slow inflammation. Due to its moisturizing properties, shea butter may also help prevent inflammation caused by dry conditions.

It protects

Some research on shea butter suggests that it also has antibacterial properties. Because of this, its application may protect the skin from bacteria that can cause acne. Shea butter further helps with acne prevention by restoring moisture and creating a healthy balance of oils in your skin.

It prevents

Who doesn’t want to look younger? A popular shea butter benefit is its potential to reduce the effects of aging. The application of shea butter may reduce fine lines and wrinkles that aging produces on the skin. It promotes cell regeneration and collagen production to help keep you looking young and vibrant.

It shields

While shea butter isn’t an effective sunscreen on its own, it can provide an additional layer of protection against the sun’s rays. It contains a natural SPF level of 3 to 4, so it’s great to spread over your sunscreen for more protection and moisturizing benefits.

It treats

If you suffer from skin conditions such as psoriasis or eczema, shea butter can help. It offers relief to itching as it soothes the skin, moisturizing and reducing inflammation. Since the shea butter is absorbed quickly by the skin, it can help provide relief if you experience a flareup.

It heals

If you experience a sunburn, a bug bite or another type of skin wound, shea butter benefits could help you. The oils in this substance can reduce swelling, redness and itching. The fatty acids in shea butter provide soothing and healing for the skin. These acids can also help shield the wound from exterior irritants while the skin recovers.

Reap the benefits

To start enjoying shea butter benefits today, visit Soaps & Scents. We’ve been making beautiful handmade soaps for over 25 years. We have bar and liquid soaps in a variety of fragrances, and even some fun soaps, such as our Ducky or Cupcake soaps. We make everything by hand in small quantities, and all of our merchandise is free of animal products. We use the highest possible percentage of essential oil and fragrance oil, so the products will maintain their wonderful scent even years later. Contact us today with any questions or stop in to our store in El Cajon, CA to shop our shea butter products.

Now that we’ve welcomed 2020 in El Cajon, CA, it’s time to start thinking about Valentine’s Day. If your holiday season could have used a dose of romance, there’s no better way to start remedying that than by setting the mood for February. To celebrate, our soap shop is rolling out a brand-new line of soaps, sugar scrubs and linen and room sprays, all in soft, romantic scents and colors. Here’s a closer look at some of our latest creations:

  • Strawberries and champagne: Why limit strawberries and champagne to the consumable kind? You can enjoy the scents of this romantic treat in the bath, bedroom and more.
  • Cashmere: This sensual blend has notes of vanilla, musk, saffron, florals and other spices, making it ideal for those who love their florals to go a little deeper. You’ll enjoy this scent when getting ready for date night, or while setting the mood at home.
  • Black amber: The scent of amber is derived from resins. It’s an earthy, warm scent that can contain benzoin or labdanum. This is another rich scent that’s great for romantic nights in or out.
  • Lavender: Lavender is perennially popular thanks to its clean, fresh floral scent and soothing qualities, making it a solid choice for both Valentine’s Day and to welcome in spring.

Festive Valentine’s Day and spring colors

Of course, we make sure that our products look just as beautiful as they smell, so we’re making great use of seasonal colors. This Valentine’s Day, and heading into spring, our focus is on reds, pinks, lavenders and off-white tones. They’re perfect for display—if they last that long!

While red is commonly thought of as a color of passion, pink is often used to signify romantic love. White and off-white signal purity and peace, whereas lavender is associated with wisdom and sanctity. Even the colors used are chosen with care—we want to help create your ideal space and mood, no matter what the occasion may be.

New product alert

We’re also excited to roll out a brand-new product: loofa scrubbies. These scrubs are designed to wash away dead, flaking skin and moisturize your body. Our loofas will be made with the same fragrances we’ve described above, but in a different form: a loofa scrubby is glycerin soap poured into a loofa. After the soap base sets up, they are cut into slices, which shows the soap all through the loofa slice.

At the turn of the last century, the concept of liquid soap was still somewhat foreign. B.J. Johnson had only just invented his liquid soap, derived from palm and olive oils, two years before, in 1898. Over the next century, Johnson’s Palmolive and liquid soaps like it soared in popularity.

As another century dawns, however, the environmental impacts of the products we use every single day must be carefully considered. Read on to find out just how much your liquid soap is costing you and the planet—you just might find yourself in search of some environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA.

Not your grandma’s bar of soap

When you think of a bar of soap, you might have an unhealthy mental image in your head. You picture the old-fashioned generic bars. They left you only with dry skin before they withered down to a useless, paper-thin sliver.

That’s not what bars of soap are today. Today’s bars are forged in fun shapes and filled with high-quality soap plus healing herbs and plants specially designed to soothe your skin. In other words, if you have reservations about bar soaps’ ability to clean your skin as well as liquid, you shouldn’t—today’s bar soaps are exquisite slices of luxury that liquid soap cannot touch.

About that carbon footprint

Though the two may be comparable in terms of ease of use, liquid soaps can’t touch environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA. One Swiss study determined that the carbon footprint of liquid soap far outweighs that of bar soap.
For starters, liquid soap takes more than five times more energy to produce than traditional bar soap. Once it’s created, liquid soap is often wrapped in several layers of plastic that simply can’t be found in the packaging of bar soap, which is most often wrapped in cardboard or paper. The result is that liquid soap takes more than 20 times more energy to package.
For those doing the math, that means liquid soaps have a production cost of approximately 25 times more than that of bar soaps.

Rapid reuse

Another drawback to liquid soap is the speed with which it’s used. Whether you realize it or not, most people use liquid soap much more rapidly than bar soap. More volume per use means that you’re running through plastic bottles (and costly liquid soap) much more frequently than bars of soap.

When you switch to traditional soap, you’ll find that you’re not only reducing the refuse you put into the environment, but you’re also saving some money.

Come to Soaps & Scents

Californians on the hunt for top-of-the-line environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA need look no further than Soaps and Scents. Our handmade small-batch bar soap is not only good for the environment, but it’s also the pinnacle of luxurious self-indulgence. It’s possible to save the planet and indulge yourself in the process.

Stop by Soaps & Scents to discover the wonders of living a healthier, happier and greener lifestyle. We can’t wait to see you!