Posted in In The Soap Shop, Products, Skin and Hair Care, tagged natural products, rose petal macerate on February 25, 2010| 18 Comments »
My most recent project, rose petal macerate.
The rose petals are added to olive oil, sealed in a glass jar or bottle, placed in a warm spot (like a windowsill that catches sun).
After two weeks the plant material will be strained and the remaining oil will be used as a carrier oil for a product.
I found the macerate to be rather pretty at this point. Thinking spring!
Posted in In The Soap Shop, Products, tagged chocolate mint soap, Goat Milk Soap on February 22, 2010| 6 Comments »
Product Monday has not been forgotten…a sneak peak at the soap I have been working on, Chocolate Mint goat milk soap. Soon to be available in the soap store, made fresh for St Paddy’s day.
Cool, mint green, with a great chocolate aroma.
Warning: Hide from those that have a sweet tooth.
Have a wonderful day!
Posted in In The Soap Shop, Products, tagged Goat Milk Soap on February 15, 2010| 6 Comments »
Several soaps graduated from the curing racks this weekend. I will be adding them to the goat milk soap store this week:
Cucumber Melon Goat Milk Soap
As always, if you have any questions, any special requests, or if you find the need to talk soap, drop me an email at any time (anniesgoathill@gmail.com), or comment here.
Enjoy your Monday!
Posted in AGH Business News, In The Soap Shop, Products on February 8, 2010| 8 Comments »
Lavender and Sweet Orange Goat Milk Soap
Today’s Product Monday is not about a product that is available in the online soap store. I am making an announcement.
My 2010 plans include heading back into all natural, and mainly near natural soaps. I will be dropping soap recipes scented entirely from artificial fragrances.
After I began making soap in 2003, I drifted into adding fragrance oils to my products. Fragrance oils allowed me to bring scents into the products that were not available via essential oils, however, using fragrance is “bugging” me at this time. I purchase product supplies, including fragrances, that are skin-safe and very much quality minded…but that does not erase the fact that some of the fragrance is not entirely natural.
A business owner, and people in general, go through welcomed transitions in their lives. They end up doing what is best for their businesses, their lives, and their customers, and getting there means always remaining flexible enough to change! With this particular change, I see Annie’s Goat Hill returning to the original track, using essential oil and all-natural blends that I am very pleased with, blends that reflect the bounty that nature provides!
The featured soap in this post, by the way, is wonderfully scented with lavender and sweet orange oil. I cut the loaf into bars last night, lovely! I will post pictures today. I have also been muddling my way through the instruction manual that came with a new camera!
Have a wonderful day!
Posted in AGH Business News, Products on February 1, 2010| 7 Comments »
The joys of owning a small business are never-ending. I really am delighted to be able to offer one-on-one service.
In most cases, when an order is received I make goat milk lotion fresh. When I make lotion fresh it allows the “best used by date” to be one year from date of purchase.
There are also other options when ordering goat milk lotion:
As a customer said to me today, “It was very nice talking with you. I enjoyed it!” Honestly, I always enjoy talking with customers too!
Please contact me at anniesgoathill@gmail.com , or visit the website at www.anniesgoathill.com .
Posted in AGH Business News, Products, tagged Goat Milk Soap, goat milk soap discounted, handcrafted soap, handcrafted soap discounted, ways to save on soap on January 27, 2010| 2 Comments »
There are a variety of ways to save when shopping in the Annie’s Goat Hill goat milk soap store.
Thank you to my customers for asking such thought filled questions! I love to answer you here. You never know when someone might be wanting to ask the very same question!
Now…for a brief word on discounts. We are living in a tough economy, but I do not believe in marking down products just to get them sold. I know you would rather receive the value of the products and services you pay for rather than money back in your pocket. Money back in your pocket is nothing when it equates to poor quality! For the sake of doing great business, and because I remember when I purchased hand-crafted soaps by the numbers, volume discounts are perfectly in line with my way of thinking!
Enjoy!
Posted in AGH Business News, In The Soap Shop, Products, tagged Gaot Milk Soap, goat milk soap gift set, Valentine's Gift Basket on January 25, 2010| 10 Comments »
One of my goals in 2010 is to offer more gift sets, new products, and to bring in the candles that I have been talking about for much too long! I am excited to begin meeting goals with the announcement of a new gift basket!
The Annie’s Goat Milk Soap Love Basket is filled with luscious items that can help transform a bath into a spa experience! The products are scented with the beautiful Annie’s Love fragrance (similar to Victoria’s Secret Love Spell).
Included in the gift basket:
Have you ever used a sugar scrub? A sugar scrub is wonderful for the rough areas of the body that suffer from the elements of winter. I use it anywhere on the body that needs a boost from gentle exfoliation (to slough off dry dead skin). I occasionally use the scrub on my face. But, I recommend going very gentle with a facial scrub. Facial skin is much more delicate than skin further down the body!
A gift card is available, as well as drop-shipment for gift sending. The gift set will be shrink wrapped, ensuring the basket arrives in excellent condition.
The basket itself is very attractive, with a removable liner.
The Annie’s Goat Milk Love Basket is now listed in my goat milk soap store.
Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!
Posted in AGH Business News, Products, tagged essential oils, Goat Milk Soap, natural soap, soap making practices on January 23, 2010| 10 Comments »
Today I am covering a valued question from a customer.
The soap that I normally purchase from Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps smells slightly different than the soap I purchased in the past. Did the recipe change?
Essential oils are natural. An essential oil can differ for various reasons. Factors that play into variances in essential oils are: the plant crop, the manufacturer (and distillation method), the region/climate the plant is harvested in, and the harvest practices.
Essential oils, like a good perfume, can age somewhat in the bottle. With good storage practices, essential oils can actually strengthen with time.
The creation of a natural soap requires careful measuring and tracking. Each recipe is followed to a “t,” using an electronic scale that weighs the ingredients to the tenth of an ounce. Even with careful measurements there are additional factors that can affect the soap from batch to batch.
So…to wrap this up, with all of the careful intentions in place, natural soap can differ slightly from batch to batch!
I love questions, please keep them coming!
Posted in In The Soap Shop, Products, tagged Goat Milk Soap, handcrafted soap on January 19, 2010| 8 Comments »
Please, do not purchase goat milk soap…unless you try handcrafted goat milk soap first!
Have you ever tried handcrafted goat milk soap? If you have, you know the luxury of a good bar of soap.
Goat milk soap is gentle, with a soft silky lather that pampers the skin.
There are a lot of goat milk soaps on the market. Try going a Google search. You will find an amazing number of goat milk soap makers! What I have found, however, by trying the soap myself, is that some larger producers sell goat milk soap that has more of a processed feel than the average handcrafted bar of goat milk soap.
I am not into knocking competition. In fact, I love seeing the varieties of soaps, creams, scrubs, and other cosmetic products! Most soapers are very much protective of their own product. There isn’t one I do not want to see succeed. Soap crafters seek and expect good results! They make their products gingerly, in small batches, using the utmost care. I support small business, especially the soap and cosmetic businesses!
The only thing I ask is…when you purchase soap, spend your money carefully. Watch the mass-produced cosmetic companies that stake a claim on goat milk soap. In my humble opinion, their soap is simply not the same.
I am jumping off my soap box again (for now)!
Posted in In The Soap Shop, Products, tagged cosmetic claims, labeling soap, soap, Soap Ingredients on January 14, 2010| 12 Comments »
Recently I have read claims made by handcrafted cosmetic and soapmakers that really “get my goat.”
First, let me explain to you in very simple terms, soap is considered soap until the manufacturer claims that the soap cures or prevents a medical condition. Notice how I am very careful with my wording in my Product Monday posts? If I claim that my soap clears acne, fights bacteria, you name it, I must call my soap something other than soap. It is obvious I do not have a license to sell drugs or medications, so I stick with selling soap.
I saw a claim today, via a handcrafted cosmetic ad, that stated, “Ward off H1N1 with these all natural ingredients.” Oh my word! People…I honestly want to take your ad to the shredder. First, you cannot stake those claims unless you are a licensed pharmaceutical company with a registered product. From what I saw, you are not. Secondly, you make it very difficult for us (soapmakers) to stay credible with the US government. It is your type of claim that causes the government to scrutinize the simple soap and cosmetic makers more than we know is needed.
I have learned a lot this year. And, we all make mistakes! I am much more careful with my product claims. I tell you the exact ingredients in my soap, and leave it to you to decide what it can or can not do (if anything) for your skin.
If you have a medical or skin condition, you should always seek advice from your physician!
Off my soapbox for today…I hope I (and other ethical soap and cosmetic makers) can continue to be in business, selling products that are wholesome, for many years to come!
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Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps 