Celebrating Earth Day with Reverie Farms Bath and Body Products – Never Say Die Beauty

Read article : Celebrating Earth Day with Reverie Farms Bath and Body Products – Never Say Die Beauty

Saturday April 22 is Earth Day, and it’s more important than ever to do things to help protect the environment and to advance science to that end. I actually remember the first Earth Day oh so long ago. It was a very big deal because so little was being done at that time to protect our air, water and earth. Many years later, some things have improved but others not so much.

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Using earth and body-friendly products is a small way to do something to help our planet and ourselves, hopefully while doing other more impactful things to protect Mother Earth.

Today, I’d like to talk about a new-to-me brand, Reverie Farms & Soaps.

Reverie Farms and Soaps

I discovered Reverie Farms and Soaps very recently. A few weeks ago, in fact.

Reverie Farms is an actual family farm located in Argyle Texas, not too far from Dallas-Fort Worth. I have a friend who lives in nearby Denton TX, so I hope someday I’ll have a chance to visit the farm myself. They have tours!

In addition to making natural and organic soaps, other bath and body products and laundry soap, they sell their own farm fresh eggs, Nigerian Dwarf Goats and Anatolian Shepherd dogs. How cool is that?!

credit: Reverie Farms

credit: Reverie Farms

Reverie Farms has a nicely edited list of products that they sell:

• bar soaps in unscented as well as in a range of natural scents
• foaming hand soap
• soap savers (at the best price I’ve seen!)
• body scrub
• liquid laundry soap.

I’m a bespoke soap fiend so I was thrilled to get a chance to try out their bar soap and their foaming hand soap.

foaming hand soap and bar soap, neversaydiebeauty.com" width="908" height="1024" />

Natural Bar Soap

The Reverie Farms natural organic based bar soap is biodegradable, vegan friendly, and made with organic oils of sunflower and/or safflower, coconut, and sustainably sourced palm, essential oils, and rosemary extract. The sunflower, safflower, coconut, and palm oils are certified organic ingredients.

Importantly, the bar soap is NOT made with artificial ingredients like synthetic fragrances, dyes or preservatives. Reverie Farms uses organically grown products whenever possible. The soaps are scented only with essential oils, and they are colored with organic herbs and plant extracts. The soap base recipe is made from 100% certified organic oils.

Their are 10 different scents to choose from:

• Citrus Fusion
• Lavender
• Citrus Lavender
• Cleansing Lemon Twist
• Sage Lemongrass
• Walk In The Forest
• Peppermint
• Sensitive Shea
• Herb Garden
• Unscented.

Reverie Farms Citrus Fusion bar soap, neversaydiebeauty.com" width="807" height="1024" />

I am currently using Citrus Fusion. It has a mild citrus scent that that is gender neutral. It makes just the right amount of lather, and though it is hydrating, it isn’t greasy. Unlike some of the other hydrating bar soaps that I use that make the bottom of my tub really slippery, Reverie Farms Citrus Fusion does not.

The 4 oz. bar soap priced at $6 is a large bar that is going to last me a long time. Some bar soap seems to melt away in the shower, but this one doesn’t. Plus it fits perfectly on my soap saver. Frankly, I wish I had purchased my soap saver from Reverie Farms because theirs is more affordably priced at $3.50.

credit: Reverie Farms

Natural Foaming Hand Soap

I like to keep liquid soap on my bathroom vanity and at the kitchen sink. Lately I’ve been getting into foaming soaps because they’re ready to go when you pump. I was happy to get to try Reverie Farms Natural Foaming Hand Soap. Importantly, the pump itself is wide which makes it easy to pump. The soap comes out in a rich but delicate foam.

Like the bar soap, it is a biodegradable, natural organic-based soap that is biodegradable, vegan friendly, and made with organic oils of sunflower* and/or safflower*, and coconut*, vegetable glycerin*, rosemary extract and essential oils (the * means certified organic ingredient). Formulated for sensitive skin. It feels smooth and moisturizing, though with my dry hands I always follow up with hand cream after I wash my hands.  It has  no synthetic detergents or preservatives, parabens, and it is Non-GMO.

The foaming hand soap is available in several scents:

• Lavender
• Peppermint
• Sandalwood
• Lemongrass
• Rosemary
• Unscented.

I am using Sandalwood. Like the bar soap, it is a mild, gender neutral scent. The Natural Foaming Hand Soap plastic pump bottle contains 8 oz. and is priced at $6.25.

Other Products

As I mentioned, Reverie Farms also sells Body Scrub in 4 oz. jars in about 6 different scents for $6.25 as well as Natural Liquid Laundry Soap in 32 oz. bottles for $9.00. I’d like to try them both next. I really could use the Natural Liquid Laundry Soap because it’s good for sensitive skin, and it is perfect for delicates like my new silk pillowcase.

credit: Reverie Farms

credit: Reverie Farms

So visit the Reverie Farms website if you can’t make it out to Argyle Texas to visit the farm itself. With both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day coming up, I think the bar soaps, foaming soaps, and body scrubs would make for a really wonderful pampering basket of cleansers that are effective but gentle on skin as well as gentle on the earth. Plus you can get 10% off on your first purchase with the discount code for Never Say Die Beauty readers: NSDB417 (the code doesn’t expire but it can be used only once)  😛

Happy Earth Day!

Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2017 Never Say Die Beauty

Inexpensive DIY Bath Gels

Read article : Inexpensive DIY Bath Gels

Looking for Homemade Shower Gel Recipe

I do not like using soap when I shower and prefer to use bath and shower gel. I am constantly buying commercial bath gel and it gets very expensive. I am trying to save all the money that I can. Are there any recipes for bath gel that I could try?
Feff

Use Less Shower Gel

I have a foamer from Pampered Chef. It reduces the amount of bath gel that I use in half!
Alicia

Try Baby Shampoo Instead of Shower Gel

This isn't a homemade solution, but it may be just as cost-efficient. Generic baby shampoo makes a great, gentle bath/shower gel. You can often find store brands in a large bottle for well under $2 (making it 50 percent or less of the price of typical bath gels). Now, they even come in a shampoo plus conditioner formula, which gives your skin extra nourishing! Hard to beat. Enjoy!
LH

Young Women Under Shower photo from Shutterstock

Shaklee Product Works for Cleansing

I have used Basic H, which is a product by Shaklee. This is a liquid with perfect pH balance.

I had a very bad complexion in my younger days. I started using Basic H when I was about 22 years old. That was over 40 years ago! I keep a bottle (with a pump in it) on the shower shelf. One pump on my wet wash cloth is sufficient for my entire body. You feel so nice and clean with no soap scum to make you feel like your skin is drawing up! My complexion improved within three weeks and continued to improve throughout my life. People ask me all the time what the secret is to my nice complexion, as I don't have wrinkles either!

You can purchase this by the quart or gallon. I buy a gallon once a year and pour it into smaller containers for use. I also keep one pump bottle (an old Avon glass pump bottle that looks like a stalk of celery) at my kitchen sink. When I have loaded the dishwasher, I pump one squirt on my wet dishcloth and wipe up the stove, counter, and stainless steel sink. This is a smaller squirt than I use in the shower. It does such a good job that the sink rinses down and no droplets of water are left on it. They just slide down the drain. It appears like I have dried the sink with a towel!
Carol

Cheapest Shampoo is Great

For an inexpensive "bath gel", use the cheapest brand of shampoo on the shelf. Suave is usually the cheapest brand. You can add some cheap conditioner for added moisture or buy the 2-in-1 shampoo if it comes in a cheap brand. In some areas, dollar stores sell bath gels and shampoos too. You can also use shampoo as hand soap. Also, buying in bulk helps a lot. Shampoo is easy to find in bulk quantities, but be sure to compare prices carefully.
Sherry

Recipes for Homemade Shower Gel

Liquid shampoo and shower gel base provide the basis for the recipes that follow:

Base:

• 3/4 cup distilled water
• 1/4 cup shampoo concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt (or substitute with 1/2 cup unscented shampoo and increase salt to 1 teaspoon)

Makes 8 ounces

Green Apple and Aloe Vera Shower Gel

This sudsy formula is ideal for total body cleansing and can also be used as a shampoo.

To your base add:

• 2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
• 15 drops apple fragrance oil
• 1 drop green food coloring (optional)

Warm the water and pour into a ceramic bowl. Add the shampoo concentrate and stir until well mixed. Add the aloe vera gel, salt, apple oil, and coloring and stir until thick and well blended. Pour into a squeeze bottle and cap.

Georgia Peach Shower Gel

This is a skin-nourishing formula enriched with Vitamin E and essential apricot oil.

To your base add:

• 1 tablespoon apricot kernel oil
• 15 drops peach fragrance oil
• 5 drops Vitamin E oil (can use 2 capsules)
• 1 drop orange food coloring (optional)

Warm the water and pour into a ceramic bowl. Add the shampoo concentrate, stirring until well blended. Add the apricot kernel oil, salt, peach oil, Vitamin E oil (be sure to open capsules if used), and coloring then stir until well blended and thick.

English Lavender and Cream Shower Gel

This is a nourishing formula that cleanses gently, giving the skin the benefits of milk, an old-fashioned treatment for the complexion.

To your base add:

• 2 tablespoons powdered milk
• 10 drops lavender oil
• 1 drop violet food coloring (optional)

Warm the water and pour into a ceramic bowl. Stir in the powdered milk. Add the shampoo concentrate stirring until well blended and thick. Add the salt, lavender oil, and food coloring and stir until well mixed. I hope this will be of use to you. From what I have read on the subject, I am sure you can substitute any fragrance oil to suit your personal likes.
Willow

Check sale prices for Essential Oils on Amazon.

Homemade Shower Gel from Soap

I make our own version of the bath soaps that are available for a fraction of the cost. I have experimented with many different soap types and found the best success with quality soaps that have no deodorant claims. Our favorite is made with Dove Nutrium, but I've had good luck with Caress, Dove (regular), Camay, and Oil of Olay. If you use something with a deodorant property to it, it will likely "gel up" and not be the consistency you want for using with a shower "pouf".

You will need two bars of soap, coarsely chopped. Bring three cups of water to a boil (I use the teakettle), and combine the soap bits and the water. Stir until you see no more lumps and let the concoction cool. It will thicken as it cools, and you'll have a good portion of liquid soap similar to what you can buy in the store. I store it in sandwich baggies, which are tied off at the top. We refill our shower soap dispenser easily by snipping off the corner of the baggie and squirt the soap into the dispenser. While we may pay $7 for eight bars of soap, the end product lasts us well over a year, and we were spending much more than that buying the ready-made stuff.
Sue

Information on Homemade Shower Gel

I could write reams of information on this topic. The main thing that I want to point out is a potential concern about using commercial products to make a traditional soap gel. Some recipes go somewhat like this: grate one bar of soap and dissolve in 3 cups of boiling water.

The main problem that you may have with many this type of recipe is the fact that most soap bars out there are a combination of soap and synthetic detergents. These can react differently when dissolved, and their pH level can be quite low, which would allow bacteria to possibly grow when water is introduced into the mix.

Homemade soap has quite a high pH level and does not encourage bacterial growth. If you take the time to learn how to make soap and know which oils work the best for your skin, I'm sure that your own homemade bar soap will greatly surpass any shower gel/shampoo combination that you can buy on the market.

There are many soap making sites available, and most soap making supplier sites have great recipes, tips, and suggestions. There are also scads of emailing lists where you can "meet" other people who make soap. It is always fun to see what others are doing. A site that I would suggest is Majestic Mountain Sage (MMSage).

If you decide to try your hand at soap making, invest in a good digital scale such as a postal scale that measures down to 1/10th of an ounce. You should be able to find one at a business supply place like Staples for under $30. It will be the best investment that you can make. Great soap can be made using grocery store materials, so don't feel that you have to jump in and buy large amounts of specialty oils at the start. Once you make your own soap, there will be no going back. You may even like your own bar soap better than those bath gels you buy. I know that I can make a very special homemade bar of soap that is very conditioning for under $1 for a 3-ounce bar. Happy soap researching!
Shelley

Reviewed August 2017

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