March Is National Crafting Month!

Throughout March, Soaps & Scents has been celebrating National Crafting Month, an event that throws a spotlight on all sorts of crafting, whether it’s making beautiful notecards, decoupaging a small box for mementoes or making your own soap products. Whatever types of crafting you enjoy, March is the month to set aside some time to practice them. Crafting is a fun way to boost your own creativity and relieve stress all at the same time.

Another way to celebrate National Crafting Month is to purchase handmade items from local crafters, like handmade soaps in El Cajon, CA. Soap-making is an ancient practice that has developed a lot over the years, and purchasing beautiful handmade soaps allows your body to enjoy a special treat.

History of Soap-Making

Soap is historically made from a combination of fats (usually from animals) and ashes. Humans have been making soap since ancient Babylonia, around 2800 B.C. Though Babylonians were the first group of people to master soap-making, many other cultures also followed suit with their own versions, including the ancient Egyptians, the Phoenicians and the Romans.

The Romans are in fact credited with giving soap its name, which apparently comes from stories about Mount Sapo in Rome. The story goes that when animals were sacrificed on Mount Sapo and a rain followed, the rain would push animal fat and ash down to the Tiber River. Women washing clothing in the river noticed the clothes became cleaner following one of those heavy rains.

The method of combining animal fats and ash lasted for thousands of years, until around the 1800s in France, when a man named LeBlanc found a way to chemically produce soaps that cut down on its cost. Today you can still buy soap made from that chemical process, as well as soaps made in a more traditional way.

Handmade Soaps

With so many soaps on the market, it can be tough to know what to choose. However, it’s often beneficial for your skin to purchase something gentle and natural, and lots of companies have jumped on this bandwagon and advertised “natural” products without many natural ingredients.

The best way to purchase natural soaps is to head to a business that is dedicated to the true craft of soap-making. Luckily, Soaps & Scents has offered this exact model for over 20 years! At Soaps & Scents, we handmake all of our soaps in small batches, which allows us to focus on each ingredient and ensure that our customers have the best possible health experience while using our products. We can also consult with you about your skin’s needs to find gentler or fragrance-free soaps to suit your individual needs.

Since 1994, Soaps & Scents has brought the local community a variety of handcrafted items, including body lotions, bath bombs and handmade soap in El Cajon, CA. You can even pick up a beautiful soap shaped like a cupcake or a ducky, which makes the perfect gift to celebrate the hard work of crafters during National Crafting Month. Stop by and see us today!

Even though the weather in winter tends to be a little drier than in other seasons, it’s our springtime activities and hygiene habits that are most likely to dry out our skin as the season changes. In fact, the changes of seasons are the most crucial times to condition your skin to accept moisture so it doesn’t suffer from dryness all year long.

At Soaps & Scents, we advocate product safety and being environmentally conscious as you give your skin the best products to keep it from drying out. Here are just a few tips we have for people to get the most out of their skin care routine this spring:

Exfoliation:
The start of the spring can be a great time to exfoliate, because the winter weather combined with constant access to snow, sludge and salt can do a lot of damage to the skin and result in a buildup of dead skin cells. A light micro-dermabrasion followed by a moisturizing mask can help you get rid of the dead skin cells you built up over the winter months so you can rejuvenate your skin for the spring and keep it smooth and hydrated.

Use lighter lotions:
The winter months generally require thicker creams and serums to protect the skin against harsh temperatures and wind chills. Now, however, as the weather is warming up, you can swap out those heavier products in favor of lighter lotions. This will be especially important as the weather starts to get a bit more humid.

Use sunscreen:
Really, you should be using products with SPF all year long, but it becomes especially important as you start to expose more of your body to sunlight. Spring is a very high-risk time for sunburn and skin damage caused by UV exposure. This is because the sun doesn’t feel quite as powerful because the weather is so mild. You should still be sure to apply sunscreen (or other lotions with SPF) every day and reapply before activities outdoors.

Pick up some new products:
You’re going to be spending more time in the sun once spring rolls around, so why not take the change of season as a time for you to go out and pick up some new products to add to your skin care regimen? Here are just a few of the products we suggest—all of these are available from our soap store:

  • Sugar scrubs: These all-natural exfoliating scrubs make your skin feel soft using cane sugar, vegetable glycerin, jojoba, shea butter and various essential oils.
  • Loofa soaps: A glycerin soap with loofa captured within, these soaps will naturally exfoliate your skin as you wash and expose the loofa.
  • Shea butter creams: Known as Whipped Body Frostings, these creams are seven percent shea and cocoa butter, and absorb quickly without leaving a greasy film behind.

For more information about the products we have to offer for your skin care regimen this spring, contact Soaps & Scents or visit our soap store today.

Shop with us!

Now that we’ve made it through Christmas and New Year’s, the next big holiday we have to look forward to is Valentine’s Day. As you see holiday stockings and ornaments switched out for chocolate hearts and rose petals on store shelves, it’s a great time to start thinking about what you will do for that special someone on February 14. If you’re looking for a unique gift that your loved one will really get some use out of, it’s worth it to consider picking up some scented bar soap. Artisan soaps make beautiful gifts, and when you get your soap from Soaps & Scents, you can select from a number of romantic aromas that are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day soap scents

Scent is an incredibly powerful sense. Some of our best memories are tied to specific smells, and there are a number of scents that we intuitively connect to love and romance. At Soaps & Scents, we know how powerful scent can be, which is why we offer a wide range of aromatherapy products. Here are a few of our best scents for Valentine’s Day:

Champagne:
One of the most iconic ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day is by breaking out a bottle of bubbly. You can experience the smell of a sweet, dry glass of champagne with our champagne-scented bar soap. This soap is perfect for a relaxing bath and allows you to enjoy a champagne-inspired aromatherapy experience that’s almost as good as the real thing.

Bordeaux:
If you prefer a rich red wine over a glass of bubbly, our Bordeaux Blend soap is perfect for you. We utilize a blend of scents inspired by the richness and warmth of the best red wines. This aromatic soap bar can make any bath or shower feel more luxurious. If you have a wine lover in your life, our Bordeaux Blend soap is a fantastic gift.

Rose Petals:
Nothing is quite as quintessentially romantic as red roses. Our Rose Petals soap has a sweet, delicate rose petal scent that’s great for year-round use. In addition to the beautiful aromatic blend of fragrances, this soap is also topped with real rose petals, making it a gorgeous gift to present to someone you love.

Strawberry Vanilla:
Fresh strawberries are a popular Valentine’s Day dessert option, and our Strawberry Vanilla soap is just as sweet. We use a blend of fragrances to create the fresh, fruity scent of strawberries and add in warm, sweet notes for a rich vanilla scent.

Valentine’s Day soap scents

At Soaps & Scents, we have been perfecting our line of aromatherapy and skin care products for 25 years, and we continue to add new products to our inventory. Whether you’re looking for something special to treat yourself with or you are searching for a thoughtful gift for a friend, family member or loved one, you can find what you’re looking for in our online store. Browse our inventory today and reach out to us if you want to find out more about what we offer.