Thursday, May 9, 2024

Welcome to Meadowmint Soaps


FINALLY you see before your eyes an updated and current listing of the soaps I have available to sell. Yes, I make too many kinds but at least I hope that means there is something to fit everyone's need or whim. 
PLEASE NOTE that I very rarely check this blogspot. (Missed a few customers that way...) At the end of the soap listings is my email address where one can contact me. I will post it here as well. 
This is the best way to contact me with questions or orders. 

       meadowmintsoaps@gmail.com 

Sunday, December 23, 2018

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.

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

Friday, October 16, 2015




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

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

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

Tuesday, July 19, 2011


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 - Pink grapefruit and bergamot essential oils - Kaolin clay - 
                                                               Rose clay


Anise Orange

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, almond, castor oils 
and shea butter - Orange and anise essential oils - 
Carrot powder - Activated charcoal


Just Eucalyptus

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


  Sweet Spice

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm. almond, castor oils and cocoa butter - Orange 
and clove essential oils - Vanilla fragrance oil - Oatmeal - Clove spice


Breezy Orange Goat's Milk

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


                                                     Spearmint Patchouli

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


                                                                 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 oil - Goats milk -Saponified sunflower, palm, apricot kernel,
 sweet almond and castor oils - Oatmeal - Lemongrass essential oil


                                                            Evening Rose

                   Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils - Palmarosa, 
                         orange, and lavender essential oils - Powdered rosehips

                            
                                                    By The Sea

            Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, and castor oils, and mango butter - 
                   Eucalyptus and lemongrass essential oils - French green clay -                                                       Australian olive green clay - Kaolin clay - Indigo
 

                                                 Spice Goat's Milk

                     Saponified coconut oil - Goat's milk - Saponified sunflower, palm,
                             apricot, almond and castor oil - Nutmeg, clove, amyris 
                                          and cinnamon essential oils - Oatmeal


Activated Charcoal 

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 oils, and shea butter - 
 Rosemary and lemon essential oils - Brazilian purple clay -
 French green clay and Kaolin clay


 Olive and Herb

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


Honey Lemonflower

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, castor and apricot oils and mango butter -
 Lemon and litsea essential oils - Kaolin clay - Calendula petals - Honey
       

Lavender & Comfrey

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


Sunny Day

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


Morning Mist

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm, almond, avocado and castor oils - Lavender,
 eucalyptus and rosalina essential oils - Cambrian blue clay


                                                             Vanilla Butter

          Saponified coconut and sunflower oils, cocoa butter, palm and castor oils -                                          Vanilla fragrance oil - Carob powder                                  
                                                      
 
Lavender Lady

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


Neem

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


Patchouli

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


  Peppermint Surf

Saponified coconut, sunflower, rice bran, palm and castor oils - 
Peppermint essential oil - French pink clay - Titanium dioxide


 Simply Soap

 Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils - 
French yellow clay


Mechanic Man

 Saponified coconut, palm, almond and castor oils and shea butter - 
Frankincense essential oil - Cut rice - Activated charcoal - 
Rolled Oats - Patchouli essential oil


Sherbet

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils - Orange, lemon and pink
 grapefruit essential oils - Kaolin clay - Madder root


Spice Garden

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


Frankincense

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


Gardeners Essential Scrub

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and castor oils, shea butter and mango butter - 
Lemon, peppermint and tea tree essential oils - Cut rice - Oatmeal - 
French green clay - Australian olive green clay - poppyseed


Lavender Cream

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and apricot oils - South Mountain Creamery
 heavy cream - Saponified castor oil - Lavender essential oil -
 Kaolin clay - Lavender buds - Brazilian purple clay


  Mint Cream

Saponified coconut, sunflower, palm and apricot oils - South Mountain Creamery heavy 
cream - Saponified castor oil - Peppermint and spearmint essential oils - 
Kaolin clay - Rose clay - Cranberry seeds

   AND FINALLY my signature soap..........

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
Paul's Country Market in Waynesboro PA
Another Man's Treasure in Chambersburg, PA
OR
from my home in Marion, PA
To place an order or ask a question:
meadowmintsoaps@gmail.com