Handmade Soap by Mother Earth Essentials
As a child, Carrie, our Founder, only collected one thing—soap. From fancy soaps in beautiful boxes to unique-shaped soaps (and some of them too wonderfully scented that she wouldn't even dream of using them). From the very start, she knew she wanted to offer handmade soap through Mother Earth Essentials and they very quickly became some of our community's favorite products.
Mother Earth Essentials cold process soaps are handmade. Sap made with the cold process method will appear shinier and polished, versus hot process soap, which tends to be more rustic. Cold process soap has no added detergents—it's made through the chemical reaction between lye and oils. It is also better for the environment and is healthier and more moisturizing for the skin.
The base of our soaps consist of coconut, olive and sustainable palm oil. With the addition of botanicals and essential oils, our soaps nourish the body, mind and spirit.
Making Your Own Soap
The most difficult part of making cold process soap is working with the lye solution. Handling lye with care is an important part of the process but even though lye is a chemical, the soap-making process renders it neutral and not harmful to your skin.
Using a basic soap recipe, you can add essential oils to cater to your own preferences and needs. There are so many oils and blends out there—all with their own unique properties—and sometimes trusting your gut and listening to what you body needs will help you choose what oils to work with.
If you need some inspiration, here are a few tried-and-true essential oil blends:
- Peppermint & Sage—tingly, refreshing
- Lavender & Patchouli—relaxing, calming
- Wintergreen & Spruce—soothing, uplifting
- Eucalyptus & Peppermint—clarifying, invigorating
Tobacco Patchouli Handmade Soap
Tobacco is considered a sacred medicine. The smoke is believed to be the pathway to the spirit world. It is also used as an offering of thanks or when requesting something from nature, an elder or knowledge keeper. Sacred herbs are powerful. Tobacco can be healing or harmful depending on how it is used. When used in a sacred way, it can promote good health and assist with spiritual guidance, gratitude and growth. Commercial tobacco is very harmful and is laced with thousands of harmful chemicals. Tobacco can remind us that life is a gift. It is the eastern direction of the medicine wheel.
Sweetgrass Handmade Soap
Sweetgrass is sometimes called the hair of Mother Earth and is considered a sacred gift. After the grass is harvested, it is carefully braided; the three sections representing mind, body, and spirit. By braiding it, we bring those aspects of our being together, care for and strengthen them. When we smudge with sweetgrass, we are taught that the smoke from that burning sweetgrass prepares us for prayer because the scent is pleasing to the Creator. It is the northern direction of the medicine wheel.
Wildmint Sage Handmade Soap
Sage is found abundantly in dry areas of North America and has an herbal, spicy scent. It is used in ceremony for smudging; as a means to cleanse negativity from ourselves and our spaces. Our ancestors also used different varieties of sage for medicinal purposes. It is the southern direction of the medicine wheel.
Cedar Balsam Handmade Soap
Cedar is nature’s purifier and boasts a distinctly resinous fragrance. Leaves are cleaned from the stems and separated into small pieces to be used in many ways (for making tea, bathing and ceremony). It represents grounding, maturity, purification and balance. Elders suggest walking with cedar in your shoes to walk in a good way down your path and it was one of the first gifts of natural healing shared with settlers upon their arrival (its high vitamin C content was a great antidote for scurvy). It is the western direction of the medicine wheel.
Brought a bar of soap home from Banff. Wife loves it. Need to get some more.
Hello we are the Meeks Bay Resort operated by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. We are currently looking to stock our retail store at the resort which is on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Not only do we carry soaps for our showers and in our rooms and cabins also are accommodated with soap. I would be the acme if foolishness to inquire about bulk orders of bar soap, shampoo/conditioner. But What I am interested in is…. do you have single serving options for the same products Bar and Soap Shampoo/ Conditioner. Thank You
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