Welcome to Meadowmint Soaps!

2018 is nearly gone - another year of growth, trials, joys, experiments, losses and gains. Typical in many ways for all of us, for as Solomon expressed it in his book on the search for life's meaning - "There is nothing new under the sun." Jeremiah reminds us though that GOD'S MERCIES are new every morning. If not for that, life WOULD be meaningless.

Our family welcomed "someone new under the sun" this summer, a precious baby girl born to our oldest daughter in July. Now I am a Grandma, in a household full of doting aunts and uncles.
Though I had never envisioned it, this daughter, Alisha, and her husband are launching into a soap venture of their own, in Michigan. It all started with a surplus of goat's milk. I wish them much success!

As in most of life's ventures change happens all the time. Some of my soaps I've decided to phase out, and there are also a few "new" varieties. One that has not made it into the compilation of pictures yet is Spearmint Patchouli"  - a combination of those two timeless and favorite scents. As with the Patchouli ( I never would have "gone there" in the first place because we do not like it, but someone asked for it at a market) this scent was requested. So far it has been appreciated by customers.
An experiment this year was a combination of orange and tea tree in a goat's milk soap. Tea tree is a powerful, more medicinal type of essential oil, and it has indeed proven to be of great benefit for some customers who are managing skin issues. I always love to hear when folks are experiencing healing with my soap!

A word on Titanium Dioxide. My preference would be to totally avoid anything in my soaps that is not unprocessed but I do use this whitening agent in a few of the soaps to maintain a contrast in color.  Some may have a concern about it; this is NOT the nano particle form of titanium dioxide, and poses no health concern, I believe. As well, the amounts used are minute. That said, I do plan to eliminate it in the Bergamot Grapefruit, contrasting with a pink clay instead.


My soap can still be found at Jim's Country Market on Grant Street in Chambersburg, at Paul's Country Market in Waynesboro, and at Country Breeze in Marion, all in Pennsylvania. Also, this summer I placed my soap in a newly opened Fair Trade shop in downtown Chambersburg - Another Man's Treasure.
Soap can also be picked up at my home in Marion and I will ship as well.

So as we look ahead to a new year, may it be one of  PEACE and JOY for all, and thankfulness for God's mercies new every morning!

Janelle

It has been a full year again on Marion Main Street. Bouquets of flowers have bloomed and withered, chicks and ducklings have joined the flock, cultured vegetables and hot pepper relish made and savored, and bicycle money earned by piled-up hours weeding carrots in the sun. 
Now we're gratefully gathering in the squashes, sweet potatoes, and stripping plants of those last peppers and tomatoes before frost. Apple butter and sauerkraut must be made before we sense that we can truly settle in for the winter. 

This past year I've discontinued some soaps that were slow sellers and introduced a few new varieties. As I glance through my soaps I see that they pretty well reflect who I am - a busy mother who doesn't have a lot of extra time to dabble in the artsy and decorative types of soap, but settles in to the natural, homey and down-to-earth creations. They are, most importantly, delightful to the senses after a long day in the garden or the kitchen! 

I have struggled to make a satisfactory bar of goat's milk soap, and am still trying to achieve a pale, creamy colored bar. Color aside, Shandy and Cindy, our two Alpine goats acquired this summer, are contributing their delicious milk to the cause. The combination of Lemongrass and the moisturizing qualities of the milk result in a soothing bar of soap. 

Blessings from our home to yours
Janelle

Good morning on this end-of-April day in Marion, PA. If you logged in to this blog you are evidently interested in my soap. Thank you! A number of things have changed since my last post. For one, my husband made me a wooden loaf mold so all my soaps are now more-or-less uniform bars. And I've added a few soaps to the tried and true "originals" : a plain soap bar with no scent or additives called Simply Soap, a fir needle scented bar for those who love the aroma of pine, Fir Needle, a refreshing pink grapefruit scented bar called Papaya Grapefruit, and a Sweet Spice bar scented with sweet orange, clove leaf, and vanilla fragrance oil.  A few more new soaps are on the horizon which include herb-infused oils.  As well, I have been incorporating more clays in my soaps for their soothing or cleansing properties. Lavender Lady now includes kaolin clay. The Gardener's Essential Scrub boasts generous amounts of both French Green and Australian Olive Green clays for their ability to attract and wash away the soil on the hands of avid gardeners.
 Recently a young lady praised the French Green Clay and Aloe Facial Bar for its success in clearing up a stubborn case of acne that had resisted other products. This bar includes the green clay and the soothing properties of aloe butter. Others have used other bars for skin issues and are thankful for the relief they've experienced. One key is to stop using that synthetic store soap and switch to the natural goodness of quality hand made soap! I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have at meadowmintsoaps@gmail.com.
Janelle

Welcome to Meadowmint Soaps!
I hope that you find my soaps as enjoyable to use as I do.  Once your skin feels the REAL-ness of these vegetable-oil based soaps and you inhale the life-giving aromas of the herbal essential oils, the cheap, perfumed detergent "soaps" from the grocery just don't satisfy.

Do understand that different batches of soap may vary in color due to differences in the essential oils and/or herbs used. This soap is made at home, not in a factory.

My goal was to make my soaps totally natural, using only herbal colorants. However, due to the oxidative nature of chlorophyll, I had to resort to a green oxide for a brighter green in some of the soaps.  Other than a couple oxide colorants (which are benign as far as I can tell), the soaps are about as natural as one can find. Most of the soaps derive their color from the essential oils or herbal additives. All are scented with herbal essential oils, with the exception of a vanilla fragrance oil in the Vanilla Butter.


"DOES THIS SOAP CONTAIN LYE?"
Yes! Soap is the happy outcome of the reaction of an alkali (sodium hydroxide - LYE) with water and fats or oils. It is impossible to make soap without lye.
Soap made with the correct ratio of lye to fats does not retain any free lye to possibly irritate the skin. I do however, add less lye than required to saponify my soap, resulting in a bar containing free fats for added moisturizing.

Soaps available at this time and ingredients are as follows.
(For the sake of space and time I will not list the water and sodium hydroxide content of the soaps. All are water based, with the exception of the goats milk and coconut milk soaps.)

                                                       Bergamot Grapefruit
              Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, mango butter, apricot kernel, and 
               castor oils - Red grapefruit and bergamot essential oils - Kaolin clay - 
                                                               Rose clay

Just Eucalyptus

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils - Eucalyptus essential oil 

Spirulina - Indigo.

Anise Orange

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, almond, aloe and castor oils - Star anise and Orange essential oils - Paprika - Activated charcoal.

Spearmint Patchouli

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, rice bran and castor oils - Spearmint and patchouli essential oils - Oatmeal - French green clay

Milk and Honey Tea Tree

Saponified coconut, rice bran, palm, apricot, almond and castor oils - Goat's milk - Orange and Tea tree essential oils - Oatmeal - Honey.

Breezy Orange Goat's Milk

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, apricot, almond and castor oils - Goat's milk - Orange and Lavender essential oils.

                                              Gingerberry                                                        

 Saponified coconut,sunflower, palm, almond and castor oils - Eucalyptus Lemongrass essential oils - Blueberry fruit fiber - Australian yellow clay.

   

                                                  Orange Potpourri
Saponified coconut,sunflower, palm, sweet almond, aloe butter and castor oils - Sweet orange and patchouli essential oils - Calendula petals - Cranberry seed - Clove and Nutmeg spices.  

                                                                 

                                                        Mint Sorbet
 Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, sweet almond, avocado and castor oils - Sweet orange and spearmint essential oils - French pink clay - Madder root

Lemongrass Goat's Milk

Saponified coconut and sunflower oils - Goat's milk - Saponified palm, Apricot kernel, Sweet almond and castor oils - Oatmeal - Lemongrass essential oil

                                                     Evening Rose
 Saponified coconut, rice bran, palm and castor oils - Palmarosa, sweet orange and lavender essential oils - Rosehips powder

Good Earth

Saponified coconut and sunflower oils - Aloe vera juice - Saponified apricot  kernel, aloe butter and castor oils - Lavender and rosemary essential oils -      Extracts of green tea, cucumber peel and rose hips - French pink clay

                                                

Activated Charcoal Bar

Saponified coconut, sunflower and palm oils, aloe butter, avocado and castor oils - Lavender, lemon and peppermint essential oils - Activated charcoal - Titanium dioxide 

My Rosemary
Saponified coconut, sunflower, aloe butter, apricot kernel, castor, and shea butter - Spanish rosemary and lemon essential oils - Brazilian purple clay - French green clay and Kaolin clay

Olive & Herb

 Saponified coconut and olive oils infused with comfrey and plantain - Aloe vera juice - Saponified palm oil and shea butter - Lemon and lavender essential oils - Oatmeal - French green clay

                                           Ginger Marmalade

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils - Lemon, tangerine, orange and gingergrass essential oils - Carrot juice powder - Paprika

Lavender and Comfrey

Saponified coconut, sunflower, rice bran, palm and castor oils - Lavender and rosemary essential oils - Comfrey root powder

Sunny Day

Saponified sunflower, coconut, palm and castor oils - Tangerine and litsea essential oils - Carrot juice powder - Calendula petals

                                                                Vanilla Butter

              Saponified coconut and rice bran oils, cocoa butter and palm oil -                                       Vanilla fragrance oil - Carob powder                                  

                                                      

Lavender Lady

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils - Lavender essential oil - Kaolin clay - Lavender buds

Coconut Milk

Saponified rice bran, palm and coconut oils - Coconut milk - Castor oil - Lemon, lemongrass and litsea essential oils - Nutmeg

Neem

Saponified coconut, rice bran, palm, sweet almond, castor and neem oils - Coconut milk - Peppermint, sweet orange and lemon essential oils - Oatmeal - Vanilla fragrance - Honey

Wintermint

  Saponified coconut, sunflower, rice bran, palm and castor oils - Spearmint, wintergreen and peppermint essential oils - Nettle herb - Titanium dioxide - Madder root

Patchouli

Saponified coconut, sunflower, rice bran, palm and castor oils - Patchouli essential oil - Oatmeal

Peppermint Surf
Saponfied coconut, sunflower, rice bran, palm and castor oils - Peppermint essential oil - French pink clay

Simply Soap

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils

Spice Garden

Saponified coconut, olive, sweet almond, palm and castor oils - Clove, lemon, cinnamon, rosemary and eucalyptus essential oils - Oatmeal - Clove spice

Sweet Spice

Saponified coconut, rice bran, palm, sweet almond and castor oils, cocoa butter - Sweet orange and clove leaf essential oils - Oatmeal - Vanilla fragrance - Clove spice

Frankincense

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, almond and castor oils - Frankincense and bergamot essential oils - Brazilian yellow clay - French pink clay - Kaolin clay - Titanium dioxide

Gardeners Essential Scrub

Saponified coconut, rice bran, and palm oils - Mango butter, Aloe butter and castor oil - Lemon, peppermint and basil essential oils - Cornmeal - Poppyseed - Oatmeal - French green and Australian olive green clays.

 AND FINALLY my signature soap, everyone's all-time favorite..........

Spearmint Splash

Saponified coconut, sunflower, rice bran, palm and castor oils - Spearmint essential oil - Titanium dioxide and green oxide

Soaps also available at : the Healthy Living Center at Jim's Farmer's Market : Fridays 8 - 6 and Sat. 8 - 2 in Chambersburg, PA
the Healthy Living Center at Belleville Market : Wednesdays 7 - 1  in Belleville, PA
Shady Lane Greenhouse in Marion, PA
Paul's Country Market in Waynesboro PA
OR
from my home in Marion, PA
To place an order or ask a question:
meadowmintsoaps@gmail.com