Natroma by The Natural Soapworks

Christmas Order Deadlines

2011-12-15T08:53:00.006Z

Thanks for all the Christmas orders this year! We have been so busy, visitors to our shop have been amazed by the empty shelves. As we often joke at this time of year - we need more elves!

Rest assured, we'll continue to work around the clock to re-stock. There is currently only a handful of bath bombs and bath melts available (every year we have sell outs!), but more are being manufactured today and tomorrow to make sure last minute hampers can be made up. So fingers crossed the shop will be looking less bare later on today, and there will be plenty of fragrant options!

Deadlines and dates:
Website orders - the last date for receiving these is Sunday 18th December. We intend to ship orders received by this date on a first class Royal Mail service, to try to ensure they arrive on time but this cannot be guaranteed. Large orders will be shipped on a next day courier service. Hampers are all being shipped on a signed for service, so please ensure someone is at home to receive parcels.

Ruskin Shop - we'll be open every day until Christmas Eve between 10.30am and 4.30pm. The exception is tomorrow 16th December (sadly we have to attend a family funeral), so we'll be open 10am - 11am and after 2.30pm - 4.30pm on that day. We'll be open between 10.30am - 1.00pm on Christmas Eve.

After this, we'll be closed for 2 weeks - to recover! Our websites will continue to accept orders, but these will not be processed until after we return to work on 10th January 2012. Sorry for the inconvenience of this longer than usual close down, but we'll definitely need to re-charge our batteries after this year!

We're off to the Frost Fair!

2011-12-01T08:56:00.002Z

Phew! We've been so busy in the last few weeks, with a fantastic evening shopping event and Christmas Craft Fair at the Ruskin Glass Centre last week. It was wonderful to meet so many new and old customers, so thank you for popping in to buy your Christmas gifts!

This week, we're off to Shrewsbury to set up our stand at the Frost Fair. This is a fabulous event organised at the National Trust's Attingham Park each year. There's a huge number of craft and food stalls and once again we're in the largest marquee. It's one of our favourite events each year, so we hope to see you there between 2nd - 4th December 2011!

This means that our shop will be closed until Tuesday 6th December 2011. Website orders will still be accepted as usual, but they won't be dispatched until after we return on the 6th. We'll be processing orders in date order, as they arrive, but there's still plenty of time before Christmas.

Natroma Holistics at the Ruskin Glass Centre

2011-10-10T19:08:00.007+01:00

Quite a few new customers to our Ruskin Glass Centre shop are surprised to find that The Natural Soapworks is run by Holistic Therapists. Our specialisms are Clinical Aromatherapy and Sports Massage Therapy, and even though we're usually busy making natural skincare products we enjoy giving massage treatments and the satisfaction that comes from helping our holistics clients.

Sadly we know what it feels like to be rushed out of a treatment room because the next person has arrived, so we wanted to offer a tranquil setting for our therapies. Our treatment room was purpose built and luxuriously appointed to provide a relaxing and soothing environment. We also only offer limited appointments each week, to ensure that clients don't feel like they're on a massage production line! But we can be flexible about offering evening appointments outside of our normal opening hours if required. We can also attend sporting events and offer on-site corporate staff therapy packages for local businesses. We're also pleased to have made arrangements for a Reiki Master to visit us each week, and she'll be offering appointments most Thursdays.

We've added a new page to The Natural Soapworks website which gives more information on the Holistic Therapy treatments we can offer in our luxurious Stourbridge treatment room. Please ring us on 01384 399451 to discuss your requirements and arrange an appointment with a therapist.

Natural Skincare Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-10-03T18:10:00.006+01:00

It's begining to smell a bit like Christmas.....and it's because our Christmas Gift Catalogue was released on Saturday for Stourbridge customers. We're displaying the gift packaging in our shop, and the lovely smell is coming from our Fragrant Christmas Decorations!

Today we've also begun uploading items onto The Natural Soapworks Christmas Hamper page, so it's now just 12 weeks and counting! More hampers will be added in the coming days, and we'll keep the page updated as items sell out.

We're particularly pleased with the 2011 Four Seasons hampers. Stourbridge customers will remember these from a couple of years ago (and have kept asking for them to return) so they have been updated and will be available on the website for the first time on the botanical soap hamper page. They're presented in ivory gift hampers wrapped with luxurious teal coloured organza ribbon and a beaded leaf decoration. We hope you like them!

Christmas is coming....

2011-08-22T10:41:00.002+01:00

Despite the lovely weather, we're already receiving lots of enquiries about Christmas gifts. Rest assured - it's all in hand! Behind the scenes, we've been working on some lovely new natural skincare gift hampers and organic soaps, so it's been smelling a little festive in the workshop! So there's not long to wait now - our Christmas catalogue will be available to local customers on the 1st October, and we'll be uploading Christmas gift ideas onto the websites around that time too.

Customers will remember that it became a little manic last year (understatement!), so we're advising everyone to order early this year since we have no doubts that we'll have to close our order book early again.

Finally with busy times ahead, we've decided to take a short break from the workshop after the August Bank Holiday. Our Ruskin shop will be closed between Sunday 28th August - Monday 5th September, but we'll be staying open on-line so website orders will be processed as normal. Hopefully we'll have a chance to recharge the batteries, before the festive season really begins!

Fizzing Butter Melts

2011-08-14T14:29:00.009+01:00

For a while now, Stourbridge customers have been enjoying our lovely petal covered fizzing bath melts as stand alone products. By popular request, we've now added these to The Natural Soapworks website, so our internet customers can also enjoy these gorgeous bath treats! They are individually wrapped in cellophane bags, making them perfect as small gifts or as an affordable alternative to our usual bath bombs.

Unlike many other bath melts we've seen, ours do not contain any synthetics or detergents, so they are completely natural with only essential oil blended fragrances and no artificial colours. They are quite tricky to make since they have to be hand rolled in petals, and we've also designed some lovely new fragrances including Uplift, Exotic Flowers and Ylang Geranium. You'll find that our Fizzing Bath Melts gently melt and fizz in hot water and release lots of petals and botanicals into the bath water, for really luxurious bathing!

They contain lots of organic (Soil Association accredited) shea and cocoa butters, so bath melt fans have been telling us they are so moisturising that body lotion is no longer required and they're also suiting dry or troubled skin conditions. We'd suggest that you just pat your skin dry after leaving the bath, to allow the natural butters and essential oils to sink into the skin. We're so pleased customers are enjoying using these so much!

It's busy at The Natural Soapworks again!

2011-07-06T13:36:00.007+01:00

Sorry it's been a while since we last posted, but it's been a little busy at The Natural Soapworks just lately! Anyone who's spotted our page on Facebook, will have seen that Paul recently achieved his Level 4 in Advanced Sports Massage. It's a fantastic achievement since this is a very challenging level of study, and means that we can now offer remedial and preventative sports massage therapy in our on-site treatment room. We have no doubts that Paul is going to be very busy, and he'll be happy to discuss treatment options with prospective new clients.

We've also been busy manufacturing lots of natural skincare too, and we're delighted to welcome the return of some old favourites! The first is Blue Lagoon, our gorgeous exotic soap that's enriched with Monoi de Tahiti which started life as a special edition soap but became so popular that we had to keep on making it. We decided to give it a facelift since we weren't happy with the depth of colour of the bar (it used to be striped), so it now has a lovely blue colour with a purple swirl. Blue Lagoon has a deep, sweet and exotic aroma which is heavy with ylang ylang and vetiver, lifted with citrus notes. Blue Lagoon is available in our shop and on The Natural Soapworks website.

We're also re-releasing our rhassoul clays masks! Regular users will remember that these were withdrawn earlier in the year, after we received feedback that the mask was becoming too thick for the airless pump packaging and the nozzle was becoming blocked. But we had so many requests for them to return, that we had to find a solution. These masks have always been a favourite with us, since they were specifically developed to support break outs and gently deep-cleanse the skin (use once or twice each week). They have a lovely creamy texture so will not set on the skin, making them lovely to use and easily removed with a muslin cloth after a facial treatment. The masks are available in Rose and Orange Blossom fragrances, and have been repackaged into glass jars. Jars aren't our favourite method of packaging cosmetics since it's so easy for fingers to contaminate the product, so we'd suggest that the mask is removed with a spatula. These are available on the Natroma website, and we hope everyone enjoys using these again!

Finally we wanted to mention that we'll be closed between Friday 15th - Monday 18th July inclusive, since we'll be attending a National Trust Summer Fair at Attingham Park in Shropshire. Last year it was a lovely event, so we're really looking forward to attending again.

Magnificent Monoi!

2011-05-02T15:51:00.004+01:00

We've pleased to report that we have a new supplier for our Monoi de Tahiti - and it's just lovely! We've always had a soft spot for this lovely tiare flower infused coconut oil, since it smells so wonderful and suits all skin types. It's also an ingredient in our South Pacific goats milk soap....so yes...we've already made a batch and it should be ready in a few weeks time!

We've found that Monoi de Tahiti is particularly suited to sensitive and troubled skin, and sinks in easily to leave a luxurious, fragrant sheen on the skin. As many customers will know, we have sensitive skin and eczema in our family, so we were delighted when we found that Monoi not only smells wonderful but also has skin-soothing properties too. At this time of year, we think that Monoi makes a wonderful natural face oil so that's why we supply it in 10ml rollerball bottles (perfect for a little facial massage). It's also available in larger bottles too, and to celebrate it's return, we're offering some special offers on our Facial skincare page.

So what should you know about about Monoi de Tahiti? Monoi is produced via a process called enfleurage, where tiare blossoms (Tahiti's national flower) are gently macerated in pure coconut oil. Monoi means 'scented oil', and since 1992 genuine Monoi production and ingredients have been protected. This means that genuine Monoi has to be extracted from mature coconuts gathered from Cocus Nucifera trees growing in French Polynesia, and only tiare buds from Gardenia Tahitensis species of Polynesian origin are permitted.

Research has found that Monoi oil is rich in skin soothing ingredients, making it a naturally concentrated emollient that is capable of penetrating and re-hydrating the skin's epidermis. It is believed to offer skin protection from both the sun and wind, and supports troubled skin conditions. So how would you use Monoi? Here are a few suggestions:

After bathing - a light application will offer skin moisturing qualities.

As a pre-shampoo hot oil treatment - simply apply a small amount to dry hair and leave as required, before shampooing the hair. Monoi will deeply condition the hair, to leave a healthy shine.

During a bath - add a few drops to the water to release the lovely floral fragrance and encourage relaxation, whilst giving the skin extra softness and a subtle fragrance.

As a natural massage oil - it is well suited to massage since it sinks in easily without leaving any oiliness.

Monoi can also be used as a tanning and aftersun oil. However we do not recommend this, since excess sun exposure can damage the skin.

Monoi is an unusual oil, since it is solid at below 68F (20C). This is perfectly normal, and shows it is a genuine oil without any synthetic emulsifiers. So in warm weather it will be a pale golden oil, and in colder weather it is an off-white solid oil. This is why we sell Monoi in bottles - it creates far less mess to use it from a bottle when it's a liquid! It needs to be melted before use, so when it's cold you can either stand your bottle of Monoi on the radiator, or in a cup of hot water. Solidifying and melting will not have any impact on the Monoi, but it is very important to never use a microwave to warm Monoi.

We hope you enjoy using this deliciously fragrant, exotic oil!

Natural Soapworks to leave the Red House Glass Cone

2011-04-10T12:02:00.004+01:00

Sadly we've taken the decision to leave the Red House Glass Cone. The studio looks small and quite dark now, so we've decided that it's best that we consolidate everything in one location. Customer feedback has been that they much prefer the light and airy feel of our Ruskin Glass Centre shop and holistic treatment room. Our expansion to the Ruskin Glass Centre has proved to be a fantastic move for our business, and it's lovely to be located in such a creative community (and the cakes on site are pretty special too!) But even so we're having to face the fact that we've outgrown the place where it all started and will miss our canal side studio. We'd like to wish our friends at the Cone all the best for the future.

So April looks like it's going to be a strange month due to us moving, the Easter Bank Holidays (and a certain Wedding), so we've revised our opening hours this month. Rest assured, our internet shops will continue to operate 24/7 as usual.

Natroma exfoliators and handcreams are back!

2011-03-18T08:46:00.005Z

We're pleased to see the return of some old favourites to our Natroma line up. These include our lovely jojoba bead exfoliators and concentrated handcreams.

The exfoliators are now available in 3 varieties: Dry Sensitive (with rose, geranium and palmarosa), Normal Combination (with neroli, petitgrain and bergamot), and Sensitive (with German and Roman chamomiles and lavender). These are lovely light exfoliators that are packed with wonderful botanical oils - jojoba, papaya, evening primrose and comfrey, moisturising panthenol and skin calming sea buckthorn and calendula botanical extracts. They contain jojoba beads which are tiny spherical beads of jojoba which gently exfoliate the skin without any scratching or irritation. Don't be surprised by the colour of these, the cream is naturally yellow due to the presence of generous amounts of those botanical extracts. Further details on why we've selected these ingredients can be found on our Exfoliator page on the Natroma website.

We've made some changes to our hand creams and they now contain jojoba and coconut oils with organic shea butter, and are enriched with panthenol, glycerine and aloe vera. Customers will notice that this new version feels really silky, so we're really pleased with how these feel on the hands! More information on why we use these ingredients is on our Hand and Nails page on the Natroma website.

Regular customers will also notice that our hand creams have new packaging. The packaging was the reason why we temporarily withdrew our hand creams from sale. We had received feedback that the harder tube was difficult to use by customers with hand or joint problems. So we're very pleased to have found some new white tubes that are much softer than before, making the tubes much easier to squeeze.

Mothers day and Easter gift ideas

2011-03-09T20:06:00.006Z

We've enjoyed some lovely weather during the last few days, and it's inspired us to create some lovely uplifting gift ideas for Mother's Day!

This year we've focussed on creating some luxurious botanical bathing hampers, designed to support the skin after a long, cold winter. Our fizzing bath melts are full of cocoa and shea butters, so will be perfect for Mums who like to enjoy long relaxing baths. These pretty hand rolled bath melts weigh a generous 40g, and have been formulated to gently fizz as they melt into the bath water releasing pretty petals and botanicals. They're naturally fragranced with essential oils blended by our Aromatherapist, and will leave the skin smelling gorgeous. It's best if you gently dry yourself after taking a bath, to allow the natural oils and butters to sink in and moisturise the skin.

We also have a sunny Springtime hamper this year, that's wrapped in a flowery gold and green organza ribbon. Our Springtime soap was a favourite from last year, so we've brought it back again as a special edition, palm-free goats milk soap. It has a gentle, but uplifting fragrance with a rich creamy lather. In this hamper we've also included 3 fizzing bath melts (a variety of fragrances are available), and an uplifting chill pill bath bomb. We hope that Mum's enjoy this sweet, but cheerful range of products and that they find the time to take a well earned rest!

These and other hampers are now available on our Mothers Day webpage, and we'll also have a wide selection of hampers available in our Ruskin shop in the coming weeks. We're accepting orders on Mother's Day hampers too, so will be happy to make specific items if you have a particular gift idea in mind. Local customers will also have the option to include Natroma Holistics treatment vouchers inside their hampers. So why not treat your Mum to a full body massage, or perhaps an Aromatherapy Facial or Foot Reflex treatment?

Dates for the diary for local customers are Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th March 2011. The Ruskin Glass Centre will be hosting a Spring Fair, with a range craft exhibitors showing handmade products that would be lovely as Mother's Day gifts.

Goats Milk Soap Offers!

2011-02-24T20:11:00.003Z

We're reviewing our soap stocks at the moment, and this will give visitors to our Stourbridge Ruskin Glass Centre shop a soapy treat! We currently have a selection of cold process goats milk soaps for sale at reduced prices.

Sometimes these soap bars are slightly strange shapes, they may be under 100g in weight, or they may be a little older so will be losing some of their fragrance. But did you know, that older soap is actually better? This is because soap becomes harder and milder as it matures. We often compare it to the way that good cheese or wine has to be matured! This is why we like to mature our soaps for many weeks (or even months) to ensure they're at their best before they're presented for sale. Because all of our soaps are naturally fragranced with essential oils, they will gradually lose their smell on the outside of the bar. But rest assured some of the fragrance will reappear as the outer layer of soap is washed away.

Website customers should visit our Special Offers page, if they want to try some of these soaps with our Goats Milk Duo offer.

We reckon these older goats milk soaps will be lovely to use and will be especially good for troubled skin types. So grab a bargain while you can, we only have limited stocks!

Romance is in the air!

2011-01-26T18:19:00.005Z

Yes it's that time of year again....Valentine's Day is nearly here!

So this year we've developed a new aromatherapy blend that should appeal to both men and women. It's called Romance and is a complex blend of the aphrodisiac essential oils, including ylang ylang, cedarwood, frankincense and patchouli. Romance smells initially quite sweet, but there's a lovely woody depth to it too. Because it contains cedarwood, it's not recommended during pregnancy, but that's not problem since we'll be happy to make any of our Valentine's products with our Sensual blend (which is safe to use thoughout pregnancy).

We have a wide variety of Valentine's gift ideas available in our Ruskin shop, including heart shaped bath bombs (with or without rose petals), bathing salts (a special edition version that contains pink Himalayan salts), fizzing bath melts (hand rolled in rose petals), heart shaped soaps, lantern candles, aroma teddys, sensual incense and crystal heart necklaces. Romance is also available to purchase as a 10ml essential oil blend - perfect for diffusing in an oil burner.

We also have a selection of Romance items to purchase from our Valentines Day web page. We'll accept website orders until 10th February, to allow time for them to be delivered.

Support the campaign to end cruel animal tests

2011-01-23T09:22:00.004Z

This week saw the launch of an important campaign by BUAV. As you know, BUAV operate the internationally recognised scheme which enables consumers to identify cruelty-free cosmetics. The Natural Soapworks and Natroma aromatherapy skincare are part of this scheme, and that's why our products display the Leaping Bunny on their packaging. We are strongly opposed to any form of animal testing.

On 11th March 2009, all animal testing of cosmetics in the EU was stopped (largely due to two decades of campaigning by the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments - ECEAE). But this ban had a catch since it's currently still permitted for three types of animal tests to be carried out in non-EU countries for cosmetics sold in Europe. This arrangement is permitted until March 2013, to to allow non-animal tests (‘alternatives’) to be developed and approved.

However EU officials are currently considering whether to extend the ban for another 10 years, due to pressure from some cosmetics companies. If this is agreed it could mean 10 more years of animal cruelty, where animals are needlessly injected, gassed, force-fed and killed worldwide for cosmetics products sold in the EU.

So we're supporting BUAV's campaign to try to ensure this doesn't happen. We'd encourage all of our customers to visit the campaign website and sign the petition to say NO to cruel cosmetics in Europe! We hope you visit the campaign website, read the facts and show your opposition too.

PS: A belated Happy New Year everyone! (We've had a busy start to the year, so unfortunately there hasn't been enough time to add to the blog until now). More soon!

Christmas arrangements

2010-12-20T09:43:00.004Z

Now as we enter the final week before Christmas, we'd like to thank all of our customers for their valued support and custom during this busy pre-Christmas time. Rest assurred, we'll still be opening our Ruskin shop during the coming week (Tuesday to Thursday), with a shorter day on Christmas Eve (please see the opening hours to the right). So there's still time for local customers to visit us for last minute natural skin care gift hampers!

The website is still accepting orders, but it is now so close to Christmas (and the weather isn't helping) that we cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas. But for lower value orders received before midnight on 21 December, we will automatically upgrade the normal postage to 1st class (by Royal Mail) in the hope the parcels will be delivered by Christmas Eve. On larger value orders (over £50) received before midnight 22 December we will automatically upgrade to a next day courier service which should arrive in time for Christmas provided someone is available to sign for the delivery.

This year (for the first time since the company began) we will be taking an extended break over Christmas. We've been so busy, that we need to re-charge our batteries! The Ruskin shop will close at 12.30pm on Christmas Eve (the Cone shop is now closed), and will re-open again on Tuesday 11th January 2011. Website orders received from 23 December will begin to be processed from 5 January 2011. (So there's no problems with placing orders over the Christmas break, and they will be dealt with in the order they arrived). Due to the UK VAT increases, we will be revising the websites over the Christmas break with new prices effective from 4 January 2011.

So from all at The Natural Soapworks and Natroma Holistics, we'd like to again say thanks to our customers for their valued and loyal support. The move to new premises put us under a great deal of pressure this year, so your patience and understanding has been wonderful. We hope that everyone has a peaceful and restful Christmas, and a Happy New Year in 2011. Have fun!

Christmas Shopping Evening

2010-12-13T13:07:00.002Z

We'll be open this Wednesday 15th December between 11am and 9pm.

We thought it might be useful for customers to have a late night shopping evening at our Ruskin Glass Centre shop, to stock up on last minute Christmas gifts! We'll have a range of special offers, Secret Santa ideas, natural skincare hampers, Christmas candles, fragrant Christmas decorations and more. So we hope to see you all on Wednesday!

We've also taken the decision to close our Red House Glass Cone shop for the next few weeks. Most people are now visiting our larger shop at the Ruskin, so it makes sense to have all of the stock available from one location.

Fantastic Frost Fair...but busy, busy!

2010-12-06T13:19:00.006Z

We'd just like to say thank you to all of our customers, new and old, who visited our stand at last weekend's Frost Fair at Attingham Park. We had a wonderful time, and we were so pleased with the lovely feedback about our new range of pretty soap slice and botanical hampers! We hope the gift recipients enjoy using them.

But it's back to work again - visitors to both of our shops will find empty shelves at the moment! But don't worry, we're working around the clock to manufacture fresh bathing products and will have a selection of Christmas hampers available within the next day or so.

We also have a late night shopping evening planned for the Ruskin Workshop - so why not visit us on Wednesday 15th December for your last minute Christmas shopping. We'll be open between 11.00am and 9.00pm on that day, so hope to see you soon!

Christmas events and gift orders

2010-11-22T11:05:00.002Z

Christmas is rapidly approaching now, and this means that we'll have reduced opening hours at our shops due to attending some Christmas Craft events. So we thought we should warn of the following closures:

Sunday 28th November - we'll be attending the Christmas Fayre at Hampton Manor in Hampton-in-Arden (for sat nav directions use postcode B92 0DQ).

Thursday 2nd to Monday 6th December - we'll be closed due to attending the Frost Fair at the National Trust's Attingham Park in Shropshire. The event runs between 3rd-5th December.

Internet orders will continue to be processed as normal. For Stourbridge customers, we've received lots of Christmas gift orders so it looks like we're going to be very busy in the coming weeks! Therefore we'll be closing our order book at the end of November, so there's just one more week to send in your order.

Red Cone Christmas Craft Fayre 20-21 November 2010

2010-11-15T21:01:00.004Z

This coming weekend is the Red House Glass Cone's Christmas Craft Fayre. This marks the begining of the Christmas Festival, and Santa will soon be coming to the Cone each weekend in December.

So we'll be extending our opening hours in Studio 7 again (please refer to the opening hours on the right of this page), and will have a lovely range of natural skincare and goats milk soap Christmas gift hampers available to purchase or order in time for Christmas.

Please note, that this weekend we will not be opening our Ruskin shop.

Christmas is coming!

2010-11-11T20:21:00.005Z

We've been a little quite on the blog in the last few week - it's because we've been so busy! We're settling into the Ruskin workshop very nicely, and visitors may well have noticed a certain Christmassy smell in the air. Yes, we've been blending our Christmas Spice essential oil blend again, and our natural Christmas decorations are now smelling wonderful and will be hung on the Christmas tree very soon!

So we've finally managed to upload some of our Christmas gift ideas onto the Natural Soapworks website. This year, we've expanded our range of naturally decorated recycled gift hampers - and they look very pretty without causing problems for the environment.

Mindful that times are still tough, we've also done everything we can to keep prices down so website customers will find a great range of hampers containing pretty hand decorated goats milk soap slices and botanical fizzing bath melts - all for under £10.

We're expecting the next few weeks to be very busy, as we prepare for a number of Christmas craft events. So website orders are currently being processed on a 2 day turnaround, and we will continue to post out hampers until the Christmas postal deadline is reached....or we run out of soap!!

Visitors to the Workshop, are advised to place their Christmas orders as soon as possible now - we're expecting to have to close our Stourbridge order book within the next week or so. We hope to see you soon!

Ruskin Glass Centre shop opens

2010-10-24T18:52:00.007+01:00

The Natural Soapworks new shop at the Ruskin Glass Centre opened yesterday. We'd like to thank all of our loyal customers who called in to see us, and sent us good luck cards and flowers. We were really touched to receive so many good wishes, and it really made our day! We're still busy stocking the shelves and working on the unit, but here's a picture of how the shop area looked on the first day.

During the coming half term week we intend to open the Ruskin shop between 10am and 4pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This will coincide with the opening of the Ruskin Glass Centre's cafe, which will be offering a selection of complimentary cakes and coffee to visitors.

We're likely to be closed later in the week since we are re-fitting the Studio 7 shop, but local customers can ring our new telephone number (01384 399451) so we can advise on opening hours. We will also post an update on the blog, later in the week. We intend to re-open Studio 7 at the Red House Glass Cone on Saturday 30th October for the 'No Tricks, Just Treats' Halloween Funday. There will be no impact on website orders - these will be processed as normal.

The final thing to mention, is that the 2010 Christmas Catalogue is now available to local customers, to pre-order natural skincare Christmas gifts for collection from our Stourbridge premises during November and December. Many of these Christmas gift ideas will be uploaded to the website later this week.

Opening day preparations

2010-10-17T09:45:00.002+01:00

We're now working around the clock to ensure the Ruskin Glass Centre shop is ready for opening on Saturday 23rd October 2010. The new treatment room is nearly complete, and we're now moving onto shop fitting and stocking the new shop. We're going to be very busy! For this reason, our Red House Glass Cone Studio 7 is now temporarily closed. We hope that as many customers as possible can join us on Saturday, to celebrate this expansion of our business:

Opening day special offers
Join the Natural Club to make savings on your purchases
Enter our opening day prize draw
Receive a discount on your first holistic treatment booking
Enjoy a glass of wine/soft drink while you look around the new shop
Launch of our Christmas Gift catalogue

Our new address is: The Natural Soapworks, Workshop 7 Ruskin Glass Centre
Wollaston Road, Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 4HF. The Ruskin Glass Centre has free on-site parking. We'll be open between 10am - 5pm on the 23rd, so we hope to see you there!

Ruskin opening date confirmed as 23rd October 2010

2010-09-30T23:53:00.003+01:00

Building work on our new unit at the Ruskin Glass Centre is progressing well, and at last we can confirm our opening date as Saturday 23rd October 2010. So hold the date in your diaries!

We'd really love it if as many customers and friends as possible, can join us to celebrate and enjoy a glass of wine (or two!) We will have been in business for just over 4 years, so we're really excited to be expanding into this lovely new unit!

We'll post more information in the coming weeks....

On the move...

2010-09-18T09:14:00.003+01:00

Building work is now underway at the Ruskin Glass Centre, to build our new holistic treatment room. Work on the unit is expected to continue for another couple of weeks, so the opening of our new shop will be in early October.

In the meantime, we have to begin removals and this means there will be some disruption to our normal opening hours at the Red House Glass Cone. This weekend we'll be open for most of Saturday, but there will be reduced opening hours on Sunday due to packing and furniture removals.

We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to local customers, but website orders will be unaffected by these changes. We hope you can bear with us, while we prepare the new premises!

The Natural Soapworks at the Ruskin Glass Centre

2010-08-28T18:45:00.002+01:00

By now, visitors to the International Festival of Glass will have noticed that a certain Stourbridge soap company is named on one of the new business units at the Ruskin Glass Centre. Today we've been asked about this quite a few times so we wanted to confirm that yes, it's true - The Natural Soapworks is expanding again!

Anyone who has visited us over the years at the Red House Glass Cone will have noticed that we keep outgrowing our premises. So we've taken the decision to expand into a much larger unit at the vibrant new business centre at the newly refurbished Ruskin Glass Centre. This will enable us to open a larger shop and we're also having a fully equiped holistic treatment room built so we can offer Natroma aromatherapy and holistic therapies too.

It's all very exciting, but we're currently awaiting building work to be completed before we can open the new unit. So for now, please continue to visit us at the Red House Glass Cone and we'll post more information about the new premises later in September!

2010 International Festival of Glass Soap

2010-08-22T19:01:00.010+01:00

Who would have thought that glass making would be the inspiration for a soap?!

The 2010 International Festival of Glass weekend is fast approaching (August Bank Holiday 27th - 30th August), and will be celebrated across the Stourbridge Glass Quarter, so we knew that we had to create a new soap. In 2008, we launched our very popular Festival soap. This has since been re-named as Kaleidoscope and still features it's 4 colour swirled pattern. This year's special edition soap is called Crystal.

Crystal has been inspired by the 'frit' (chunks of glass) that's melted in the pot in the furnace. Once the molten glass reaches the correct temperature its gathered onto the blowpipe, and then the glassblower gets to work creating their beautiful masterpieces.

Crystal is a sweet smelling (Geranium and Lavender) chunky topped soap, that's mainly cream coloured with pink and purple chunks running through each bar. Each bar is quite unique, and as the outer part of the bar is washed off it will reveal different patterns. Crystal is one of our lovely new Natroma coconut milk, palm-free soaps so is suitable for all skin types, and vegan customers.

The International Festival of Glass will take place between 23 August - 11 September at venues across Stourbridge's Glass Quarter including: Ruskin Glass Centre, Broadfield House Glass Museum, Red House Glass Cone, Bonded Warehouse, Holy Trinity Church and the Dial Glassworks. So we hope that you enjoy the Festival and pop in to see us at the Red House Glass Cone over the Bank Holiday weekend!

NEW! Palm Free Coconut Milk Soaps for Natroma

2010-07-24T20:45:00.005+01:00

Phew...it's been a busy week! We attended the Attingham Park Summer Fair last weekend, and met lots of new customers who seemed to love our handmade skincare and soap products. It was lovely having a chat about the benefits of aromatherapy and natural skincare, and we're looking forward to seeing everyone again with our Christmas Gift Hampers at the Frost Fair at the end of the year.

We've also been busy with press interest in our Humane Cosmetics Standard accreditation from BUAV . It's been lovely to receive so much positive support for our efforts and we're very proud that our products now bear the Leaping Bunny logo, an internationally recognised symbol of cruelty free cosmetics. We'll continue to bring you news of the the valuable work that BUAV does to eradicate the practice of animal testing - which we feel is cruel and unnecessary.
So to celebrate a fantastic week, we're launching some new products - a new range of Natroma soaps! We've listened to customer requests and we think these are pretty special - formulated without palm oil (so they're environmentally friendly) and containing coconut milk (so they're perfect for vegan customers), with pretty natural colours and essential oil fragrances. We felt it was important to introduce this range, since quite a few vegan customers felt left out when we specialised in goats milk soaps. Well we think the Natroma soaps feel lovely on the skin, and have a really bubbly, creamy lather that's every bit as good as one of our goats milk varieties.

We've also specially formulated each of these soaps, enriching them with specific oils and botanicals to support the skin. There's an antibacterial soap (which we admit is a bit smelly!) that contains tea tree, rosemary, lavender and neem oils. We've included two very gentle soaps in the range - Carrot & Rhassoul (top of the soap pile in the picture) and Hemp & Oatmeal (bottom of the pile) both of which have gentle essential oil blends so they could be used as facial bars and will suit sensitive skin. For lovers of floral soaps, there's Exotic Rose which has a delicate blend of rose, geranium and ylang ylang essential oils (middle of the pile) and we've splurged with this one including evening primrose oil in the formulation.

Customers also asked us for simple recyclable soap wrappers, so these soaps are hand wrapped in recycled kraft paper but we couldn't resist adding a little organza ribbon trim! Better still, some of these soaps will be available with hand decorated tops, so they'll make perfect stand alone gifts too.

We hope you enjoy using these palm-free Natroma soaps.....and watch this space since we have several more of these soaps on the way!

The Natural Soapworks is awarded BUAV’s Humane Cosmetics Standard

2010-07-09T17:56:00.003+01:00

Today we have received some fantastic news – The Natural Soapworks and Natroma product ranges have achieved the Humane Cosmetics Standard (HCS)!

The HCS is the only internationally recognised scheme that enables consumers to easily identify and purchase cosmetic and toiletry products that have not been tested on animals. The standard is managed by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), and the ultimate aim is to end all cosmetics and household products testing on animals.

From now on, our products will be able to bear the Leaping Bunny Logo, since we have never conducted or commissioned animal testing on our products or their ingredients.

We are very proud to be a member of this standard and you’ll soon see our details in the BUAV’s Little Book of Cruelty Free. In the coming weeks we’ll be issuing further information, but for now if you’d like to read more on the standard, please visit: Go Cruelty Free

Natroma and Miron violet glass refill service

2010-07-04T19:29:00.011+01:00

Since the beginning of glass production (during the time of the Egyptian pharaohs), violet glass or golden containers were used to preserve precious oils, salves, and alternative medicines. These containers worked because the sun emits both visible and invisible light. We can see the visible spectrum (as a rainbow of colours), when white light is channeled through a glass prism, but there is also light that is invisible to our eyes – the infra red and UV-A part of the spectrum.

Sunlight is vital for plants to grow, but if they are over exposed to the sun after reaching maturity, the light accelerates the process of decay. This means that products that are packaged in traditional coloured glass packaging (clear, amber, blue and green) allow visible light to pass through so do not offer the same protection as violet glass. Miron violet glass is made in Switzerland and works like a natural filter, since it blocks most of the visible light with the exception of the violet part of the spectrum but remains permeable to UV-A and infra red light. This unique combination protects against the aging processes of visible light, and lengthens shelf life and potency of products contained within violet glass.

Over the last few years, several scientific tests have been carried out on spirulina, rose water, drinking water, oils, cereals, honey, fruits and other substances to prove the protective quality of violet glass. (The picture right shows an example of what happened to a cherry tomato left in clear glass compared to the protection offered by the violet glass).

Chemical analysis by gas chromatography of rosewater, (stored for two months in either violet or amber glass) showed that within 2 months the amount of several important aromatic compounds had decreased significantly following storage in amber glass. No change was observed in the sample stored in violet glass showing the protection against decomposition by visible light.

This is why this very special glass was chosen for the Natroma range, where it protects our Hydrolat Toners and Oil Serums. We have to import these bottles to the UK, but we felt it was important to offer superior packaging that naturally increases shelf life, and protects the natural potency of our organic natural ingredients. The bottles are also very attractive too!

Refill service now available on the Natroma website!

We've always offered a studio refill service for products packaged in Miron glass (just bring your empty bottle back into the studio and we'll re-fill it with the same product again). So we’re very pleased to announce that we’re now offering refills on our Natroma website too! So when you purchase full sizes of Natroma products packaged in Miron bottles, don’t throw the valuable violet glass away when the bottles are empty. Instead, order a refill from our website (packaged in recyclable plastic) so you can top up your bottle and re-use it again. In this way, you’ll be helping the environment since the plastic bottle will be lighter for mail order and there will be no need to recycle the violet glass. To encourage you to recycle we’re pleased to offer refills at a cheaper price, that reflects their ‘no frills’ packaging.

Coping with oily skin

2010-06-24T20:20:00.006+01:00

Just lately we've had a few customers ask us about which products can help oily skin. Using the correct cleansing regime is often a major factor in supporting oily skin, so we hope the following short article will help.

Oily skin can be prone to acne, often beginning at puberty when the body starts to produce hormones called androgens. These cause the enlargement and over-stimulation of the sebaceous glands in some people (particularly young men). The extra oil mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria on the skin's surface, which in turn blocks the skin pores – leading to spots. Unfortunately many commercial acne products work by drying out the skin, but some products actually make the condition worse since the skin reacts to the dryness by producing even more oil. A vicious circle continues since the products are applied as more spots appear, leading to more dryness then more oil production and even more spots!

Natroma products do not work in this way. Our cream cleanser contains natural ingredients, to work in harmony with the skin. There are no harsh alcohols in the formulation so the cream isn’t drying. It also contains castor oil, which is very moisturizing but absorbs slowly into the skin. This means the cream can be safely applied so it mixes with the dirt and impurities on the skin, and can be wiped away easily. The cleanser also contains gentle white clay to draw out impurities, and panthenol to gently moisturize the skin.

To use the cleanser it’s best to use a single pump of the cream, and gently apply over the face. Massage very gently onto the skin (do not rub), paying attention to the areas around the nose and chin which can be more prone to break outs. Rinse out a clean muslin cloth in hand hot water, and wring out so the cloth is warm and damp. Then use the cloth to gently remove the cream, and you’ll lightly exfoliate the skin at the same time. Do not rub, and try not to damage existing spots since this can spread infection. Alternately simply rinse the cream off with water (as you would, if using a soap). Use the cleanser each morning and night and by gently cleansing (rather than stripping the skin) you’ll remove excess oil, gently remove dead skin cells and leave it without any dryness. This will help to break the vicious circle, and should calm down any breakouts. Weekly deep cleansing with one of our rhassoul Clay Masks (we’d recommend our Chamomile variety) will also help to draw out skin impurities.

Remember that our skin’s condition is largely dependent on a healthy lifestyle, so also try to:

Eat more fruit and vegetables.
Drink more water to hydrate the skin.
Take regular exercise.
Take about 10 minutes of fresh air and sunshine (avoiding the midday sun and very strong sunlight) when you can since it stimulates the production of Vitamin D which is essential for healthy skin.
Reduce your caffeine intake (contained within coffee, tea and fizzy drinks etc).
Reduce the amount of refined (white) sugar and carbohydrate in the diet since this can increase hormone levels (particularly in young men) making you more prone to spots and acne.

We hope you've found this information useful!

NEW! Natural Shaving Kits

2010-06-03T08:54:00.007+01:00

We've just updated our Natural Soapworks Pamper Hamper page with a range of new natural skincare hampers which would be perfect for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. By popular request, we've included some new natural shaving items which would be great for Father's Day.

Our Natural Shaving Kit (left) contains some our our luxurious Forest Spice shaving soap. It's a specially formulated goats milk soap, that contains a lovely blend of woody essential oils (with skin caring properties), and rhassoul clay which is a fabulous clay that's usually used in spa treatments. This gives the soap a really lovely feeling on the skin, with a rich creamy lather (without lots of foam) which keeps the razor close to the skin so it glides and reduces razor burn. Teamed with the shaving soap, we've added a natural bristle wooden shaving brush and one of our Natroma Shaving Oils.

The Shaving Oil is presented in a Miron violet glass bottle with a pipette attachment, so you can measure out the correct amount of oil for a pre-shave mini massage. This helps the facial hair to lift and soften, so the razor will glide more easily and cause less irritation. The oil is packed with skin-kind botanical oils and herbal extracts - all formulated to calm and nourish the skin.

Our larger Shaving Hamper (contents shown right) also contains a black stone soap dish to stylishly drain the shaving soap between uses, and a new Natroma After Shave Balm. This is a lovely completely natural balm, for use after shaving to naturally condition and moisturise the skin with botanical butters, oils and herbal extracts. In this hamper we also include a fact sheet on shaving, with a recommended routine for obtaining the perfect shave!

What is aromatherapy?

2010-05-12T18:04:00.007+01:00

These days, there are all manner of products on the market claiming to have aromatherapy benefits. The problem is that quite often cosmetics have names that make them sound like aromatherapy products, but they only contain minute amounts of essential oils or even have synthetic fragrances. These products may not even be formulated by a professional Aromatherapist, so how do you spot the genuine article? We hope the following information about essential oils and aromatherapy will be useful.

Aromatherapy is often defined as the careful, controlled use of essential oils, to enhance the well-being of the mind, body and spirit. Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile, and fragrant substances that are extracted from flowers, berries, twigs, wood, seeds, fruits and leaves of many familiar plants. Essential oils have many different properties and research has shown that each oil contains a complex mixture of chemical components which contribute to essential oil therapeutic qualities. These could be stimulant, expectorant, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, relaxant, calming, soothing or uplifting. The important thing to stress is that they need to be used with respect and knowledge, so aromatherapy is far more than just pretty smells!

A professional Aromatherapist will have extensive knowledge of the therapeutic qualities and the chemical components within each essential oil. This enables them to create synergistic blends that are personalized for their client, taking into account their needs and any existing health conditions. In the hands of a knowledgable professional Aromatherapist, this means that these plant essences can be therapeutically blended to assist with stress, enhance health and support the body’s own healing processes. Clinical aromatherapy focuses on achieving synergy within the essential oil blend, and usually employs massage to use essential oils in a holistic treatment. So while this is not a medical treatment, aromatherapy has been found to work psychologically and physiologically to improve well-being.

In the coming months, we’ll be featuring a number of essential oils to explain their qualities and why we use them in our handmade natural skincare products. In the meantime, you can see more about our natural ingredients on our websites.

The Natural Soapworks and Natroma product ranges are formulated in-house by a professionally qualified Clinical Aromatherapist, and member of the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA).

Palm Free Goats Milk Soap Slices

2010-04-24T18:16:00.005+01:00

We're pleased to announce that our handmade palm free soap slices have now been added to The Natural Soapworks website. We're really proud of these, since they use a new formulation of our popular goats milk soap. It's a really creamy, bubbly soap made even better by the lack of palm oil in the formulation, so they are completely orangutan friendly soaps! They are pretty soaps too, with delicate aromatherapy blends of essential oils.

These are slightly larger soaps, at 120g each, sliced from a log and hand decorated with pretty botanicals. We hope you enjoy using them!

The 2010 ducklings have arrived!

2010-04-11T19:37:00.003+01:00

We just wanted to mention some new arrivals were spotted this afternoon - the ducklings have finally arrived!

We've been expecting them for a while, so it looks like Spring is definitely here. Visitors to the Red House Glass Cone should visit the canal side, and look out for 13 little ones this year. They are quite noisy and have lovely yellow colouring at the moment. We'll try to post some pictures, if they will keep still for a few moments!

Skin Spring Clean with Natroma

2010-03-08T15:34:00.005Z

Now that the days are lengthening in the UK, it's lovely to see some very welcome sunshine! Spring is on the way and we'll soon be baring more skin again, so it's a good time to review your skincare regime. During the colder months it's easy to neglect the skin, and it can become damaged by being exposed to the elements and the dry air from central heating systems.

Therefore we'd recommend using a cream cleanser and a muslin cloth each day, to gently cleanse and exfoliate away dry patches, and brighten the complexion. Our gentle facial approach, involves a 3 stage process which takes only a couple of minutes each day - it's no fuss and can be built into even the busiest of mornings and evenings.

First of all you massage our rich cream cleanser across the face, allowing it to draw out skin impurities. We formulated this to harness the deep cleansing power of organic caster oil and white clay, with the moisturising benefits of nilotica shea butter and D-panthenol, and the wonderful skin soothing properties of calendula and chamomile botanical extracts. These are gentle cleansers, fragranced only with organic hydrolats (flower waters), making them well suited to sensitive skin types, safe to use around the eyes and perfect for removing make up.

Our Natroma cleanser works best when used with a muslin cloth. You simply rinse a muslin cloth in hand-hot water and wring out so the cloth is warm and moist. Use the cloth to gently remove the cleanser cream, make-up and skin impurities - and it will lightly exfoliate the skin to leave it feeling refreshed, brighter and clean.

We'd then suggest using some hydrolat toner to ensure all traces of cleanser are gone and to further refresh the skin. Hydrolats are produced during the steam distillation of essential oils, so contain dissolved plant extracts which are kind and soothing to the skin. Ours are presented in a Miron glass, a special violet glass which protects the hydrolat from light.

The final stage of our mini facial, is to smooth on some moisturiser. Like the rest of our range, Natroma's moisturisers are handmade and contain a blend of flower waters, botanical oils (including jojoba oil), natural plant extracts (rosehip seed and arctic cranberry seed), and are lightly fragranced with Neroli and Rose essential oils. We're proud of these lovely moisturisers since they feel light on the skin and sink in quickly to provide lasting skin hydration without any greasiness.

Make up can be applied after moisturising, making this a quick but enjoyable mini pampering session at the start and end to every day!

To encourage everyone to try out the Natroma range, we have a special Spring Offer on the Natroma website. We're offering the facial starter kit (includes a 30ml cleanser and moisturiser in airless pumps with a 50ml hydrolat and a muslin cloth). This kit should last for around 4-6 weeks and normally costs £15.25, but our special Spring Offer saves you 15% and is just £12.95 These are available in 3 varieties - Chamomile (unscented), Rose and Orange blossom (Neroli). We hope you enjoy!

The Natural Soapworks supports WWF's Earth Hour - are you?

2010-02-28T18:40:00.007Z

We've just signed up to WWF's 2010 Earth Hour.

On Saturday 27 March 2010 at 8.30pm, the aim is for a billion people around the world to switch off their lights for one hour – WWF’s Earth Hour. This will be a very public show of support for the people and animals that are threatened by climate change. WWF are also encouraging us all to think about our impact on the environment, and to take part in fun fund raising activities as everything goes dark.

Visit the WWF website for ideas if you want to take part.
We hope you join us in the big switch off!

Sustainable palm oil and the plight of the orangutan

2010-02-22T22:40:00.004Z

We wanted to add a brief note regarding the BBC's Panorama 'Dying for a biscuit' programme which was screened in the UK earlier this evening. It gave a good insight into the issues surrounding the palm oil industry, and the effect palm oil plantations are having on the habitat of the wild orangutan and other animal species. Further information on the palm oil trade can be found in this article on the BBC's website.

We'd like to re-emphasise to our customers, that we have already taken steps to only source palm oil from a sustainable source (in Colombia) for use in our handmade soaps. We have also undertaken extensive product development, to successfully develop a luxury palm-free soap formulation which is the basis for our new range of contemporary soap slices. As the programme highlighted, it isn't always easy to care for the environment when the supply chain for botanical oils is so difficult to regulate. But we hope that in some small way, our efforts will highlight that companies can take steps to ensure they do not contribute to the demise of the wild orangutan.

If you have been troubled by what you have seen and would like to help BOS UK (Borneo Orangutan Survival), remember that we continue to sell our charity soap. Or you can visit the BOS website for information on how you can directly contribute towards their work to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned orangutans in Borneo.

Mother's Day Natural Soap Hampers

2010-02-11T09:29:00.011Z

We've just uploaded some new goats milk soap gift hampers on to The Natural Soapworks website, which would make perfect Mother's Day gifts. Our new contemporary soap range will be added to the website in the coming weeks, and we're very pleased with them!

The botancial mini soaps, will be available in 2 sizes: 25g (these are the cute mini soaps which have been featured in our natural skincare gift sets for a while), and 40g (a new larger mini soap). These look fantastic in our elegant, hamper boxes.

We're particularly proud of our new contemporary soap slices, since they look beautiful but are also handmade using our new goats milk palm-free soap formulation. We first introduced this soap recipe when we launched 'Orang 2' (our charity soap, which supports Borneo Orangutan Survival - BOS UK). It will be the base formulation for our contemporary soap range, so is particularly suitable for anyone who wants to avoid using products which contain palm oil. This soap range will introduce several new soap fragrances, and the first six are: Springtime (a refreshing and uplifting blend with herbal and citrus notes), Rosebud (delicate, sweet rose notes), Hippy Rosie (rose geranium with patchouli), Exotic Flowers (rich sensual notes of ylang ylang and jasmine), Marigold (with lavender and chamomile), and an old favourite, Lavender.

These are being previewed in our Mother's Day hampers page on the website, and will soon be available as individual soaps. We hope you like them!

Goats milk soap stocks are improving!

2010-01-19T22:58:00.008Z

It's been a busy few weeks at The Natural Soapworks....making lots of soap!

Christmas was so busy that we actually ran out of some of our most popular varieties, but rest assured we now have lots of lovely goats milk soap bars curing on our drying racks. But before they are ready, we still have lots of soap offers which will be available in the studio and on the Special offers page of The Natural Soapworks website during January.

The website also has a new soap (it usually sells out in the studio before we have time to add it to the website!) which is called Blue Lagoon. This is a really lovely soap with a deep evocative fragrance of ylang ylang blended with vetiver and citrus notes. It has a deep purple base layer with a thicker blue layer over the top and contains Monoi de Tahiti, which makes the lather really creamy. It's one of our most luxurious goats milk soaps, so catch it while you can, by visiting the goats milk soap page on our website: Blue Lagoon goats milk soap

We should also mention that we're having lots of fun developing some new goats milk and coconut milk soap varieties. These are for a new range of contemporary soaps which are on the way - they will be launched in time for Mother's Day... so watch this space!

Natural Soapworks New Years Resolutions

2010-01-03T16:02:00.008Z

Happy New Year to all Natural Soapworks customers!

It's been lovely to hear back from so many people, regarding their Christmas orders - it sounds like your gift recipients loved our packaging and have had an enjoyable time trying out our skincare products too. Our thanks for the lovely feedback!

It's now that time of year, when we all make some resolutions. So as a responsible skin care business, we thought we'd share some of our resolutions for 2010 with our readers.

We resolve to:

1. Continue to only make skincare products containing natural fragrances from essential oils and natural colours.

2. Continue to source only the finest ingredients for our skincare products, taking care in selecting responsible, eco-friendly suppliers who are opposed to any form of animal testing.

3. Continue to only use sustainable palm oil in our goat's milk soaps - so our soap production never contributes to the destruction of the orangutan's habitat in Borneo.

4. Introduce a new range of soaps in 2010, which will not contain any palm oil within their formulation. Watch this space!

5. Continue to publicise and support the work of Borneo Orangutan Survival UK, and their wonderful work to save and rehabiliate orphaned orangutans.

6. Continue to only use paper, glass and plastic product packaging which can be recycled. Our gift packaging will also be recyclable (or be manufactured from recycled materials).

7. Continue to re-cycle boxes and packaging materials and ensure that used printer toners etc are donated to charitable causes.

8. Maintain our stance of refusing to use cosmetic ingredients containing parabens, SLS detergents, pthalates, PEG's, petroleum derived ingredients (including mineral oil) and other nasty ingredients in our products.

9. Continue to be perfectionists - whether it be taking extra care when we manufacture our handmade skincare products, or packaging them with care so they reach our mail order customers in perfect condition. This also means that we'll value and continue to listen to customer feedback, so we keep on improving The Natural Soapworks and Natroma product ranges.

10. Continue to offer our customers great value for money by selling concentrated natural products which last and genuinely work in harmony with the skin. We'll also increase the selection of items available to mail order from The Natural Soapworks website.

We'll review these at the end of 2010 to see how we've done!

So to start things off this year, we've made a few changes to The Natural Soapworks website. Sadly part of this is due to changes in our prices, due to the increase in VAT and raw material costs etc. But this is our first price rise since 2008, and we've done everything we can to keep our products as affordable as possible. We'll also be updating the special offers page regularly so website customers can benefit from extra savings throughout 2010. So remember to visit: http://www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk/Special.aspx

To end on a positive, we've also reviewed our website postage charges for 2010 - these used to be on a sliding scale which was dependent on the value of the order. But from today we're pleased to announce a flat rate approach for The Natural Soapworks website. Orders under £50 will now cost just £2.95 on postage, and if you spend over £50 then postage will be FREE!

Thanks for reading!

Christmas Greetings!

2009-12-23T16:57:00.006Z

The Natural Soapworks is now closed for Christmas and New Year. We'll re-open the studio on Saturday 2nd January 2010, and website orders will be prepared and despatched from Monday 4th January 2010.

We'd like to thank all of our customers, for their ongoing support and custom. It's been our busiest Christmas to date, and it's lovely to think that so many of our hampers will be opened on Christmas morning. We're now going to take a well earned rest!

We hope you all have a peaceful and relaxing Christmas and a Happy New Year 2010!

Last chance to purchase Natural Soapworks Christmas skincare gift hampers!

2009-12-16T23:04:00.013Z

We're relieved to be able to say that the last of our Christmas gift hamper items have now been manufactured! It's been a very busy few weeks for everyone at The Natural Soapworks, so once again a big thank you to all of our customers who popped in to collect their orders and wish us a Merry Christmas!!

But it's not over yet! There's still one more weekend before Christmas, and we know how frustrating it can be when you can't find a suitable gift for someone.

That's why we're going to open up Studio 12 again during this last weekend of the year, and we'll have a range of Natroma skincare products, goat's milk soap mini soaps, botanical bath melts and other lovely fragrant goodies available to purchase. We still have a few of our special £5 Secret Santa hampers too, but they'll be selling out soon!

On Saturday and Sunday we'll be offering our popular 'while you wait' hamper wrapping service, so remember to pop in and see us if you're in need of some final gift inspiration!

Our final opening hours for 2009 will be:

Thursday (17th) from 1pm-4pm

Friday (18th) from 11am - 4pm

Saturday (19th) from 11am-4pm

Sunday (20th) from 11am - 4pm

Monday (21st) 10am-1pm

Tuesday (22nd) 11am - 4pm

Natural Soapworks Christmas orders

2009-12-08T19:54:00.002Z

We just wanted to add a quick thank you to all of our customers who are calling in to collect Christmas gift orders from the Studio. Last weekend was busy and we're expecting the coming weekend to be even busier! It's been lovely to see everyone, and we'd like to thank you for your seasonal good wishes.

As we predicted, some of our goat's milk soap varieties are now at very limited stock and will definitely sell out before Christmas. (Sorry but Geranium, Herbal Zest and South Pacific are now down to just a handful of bars). So if you'd like a particular fragrance, we'd advise you to try to purchase very soon.

We're already scheduling lots of soap manufacture in the coming weeks so we can bring old favourites back to the shelves towards the end of January. Phew! Looks like we're going to be busy again.....

Christmas time at The Natural Soapworks

2009-12-02T13:48:00.004Z

It's a hive of activity at the Soapworks at the moment! Christmas has well and truly arrived, with orders seeming to be arriving from all over the place - which has made it a little difficult to blog.

Apologies for this, but we're rushed off our feet and need to maintain the momentum of making our natural skincare goodies and packaging them into hampers. To give you an idea of what we mean, this week we've been making hundreds of bath bombs and fizzing bath melts - since as usual it's difficult to keep up with demand for these. Fingers crossed there should be a good stocks available again by this weekend! Also, we're already running low on certain soap varieties, so we'll be updating the website as each variety sells out - if you want a particular variety over the Christmas period it may be best to purchase early to avoid disappointment.

From this weekend, remember that Santa takes up residence at the Cone, with his own grotto and fun activities for children - so you'll need to ring the Cone for details since pre-booking is essential! See you soon...

Natural Soapworks Christmas Gifts!

2009-11-21T07:46:00.004Z

This weekend, the Red House Glass Cone hosts it's popular Christmas Craft Market. There will be an abundance of craft stalls including items handmade by the Cone's resident businesses: jewellery, textiles, painted ceramics, glass designs, and of course The Natural Soapworks bathing and skincare goodies!

This year looks like being an extra special event, with mulled wine and roasted chestnuts on offer. We'll be offering some a fantastic skin care hamper offers, free gifts if you spend a certain amount, festive soaps and bath bombs, Christmas candles, handmade fragrant Christmas decorations and much, much more! The Christmas Craft Market is open on Saturday the 21st of November from 11.00 am till 4.00 pm & on Sunday the 22nd of November from 11.00 am till 4.00 pm.

In praise of Rhassoul Clay

2009-10-25T18:19:00.003Z

We're continuing our series on Autumnal skincare, with this short feature on the benefits of gentle facial exfoliation.

Colder weather means that it’s even more important to exfoliate the skin to reveal healthy, plumper new cells underneath. The summer sun can leave the skin feeling dry and tight, so using a muslin cloth as part of your cleaning approach does help. But we're great believers in the use of facial masks, and when used once or twice each week, these ensure your complexion remains bright and uncongested.

Rhassoul is a spa quality clay which has been evaluated in the USA, to test the effectiveness of including it in facial mask treatments. This research concluded that rhassoul clay gave measurable improvements in skin clarity, elasticity and texture and even reduced dryness even after one treatment! It has a very unusual texture when mixed with water - becoming cooling and almost gel-like when it's applied to the skin. We selected this remarkable clay for our masks since it is very gentle, so can be tolerated by all skin types, and it cleans without stripping sebum from the skin. (Readers may be more familiar with green clay masks, which can be quite harsh and drawing on the skin, cracking as they dry out). Instead our non-drying cream clay masks contain rhassoul with hydrolat flower waters, jojoba and coconut oils, soothing aloe vera, D-panthenol, glycerine and botanical extracts. You can read more about these natural ingredients at: http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d5-exfoliators-rhassoul-clay-masks/

On a personal note, I find that rhassoul clay can be a life saver when my very sensitive skin decides to have a nasty flare up! I have mild roseaca and it misbehaved just recently, so I quickly reached for my rhassoul clay mask to calm things down again. I’m pleased to say that it cooled the uncomfortable burning sensation, and over the next few days was invaluable for exfoliating away the nasty little dry bumps that formed on the surface of my cheeks. So I definitely love rhassoul clay!

Natural foot care

2009-10-18T08:37:00.006+01:00

In the third of our series of articles abour Autumn skincare, today we're looking at the feet.

A major problem associated with the feet at the end of Summer, is dry, cracked heels. These are typically caused by wearing open backed sandals during the summer. Cracked heel problems can vary between dry or flaky skin, to hard skin and deep fissures which may be very sore. So it’s a good idea to treat your feet to a pedicure.

We’d suggest using a natural pumice stone to smooth away areas of toughened skin. But a gentler approach would be to use a foot scrub to slough away dead skin. This is why we developed our Peppermint Foot Scrub (see http://www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk/Saltscrubs.aspx)

These contain a mixture of fine salts (including Dead Sea Salt), nourishing botanical oils, honey, shea butter, and Vitamin E. It's fragranced with lavender, peppermint and tea tree essential oils, and leaves the feet feeling moisturised and with a delicious fragrance! After smoothing the skin, we'd suggest that a balm product is applied to assist with re-hydration of the skin.

Psst....watch this space, since we have a new foot product on the way! Our rich Foot Balm contains jojoba oil, cocoa and avocado butters, with healing lavender, chamomile and tea tree to refresh and nourish the feet. We'll be adding this to the website in the next few days.

Looking after your lips the natural way

2009-10-12T23:22:00.005+01:00

In the second of our articles on Autumn Skincare, we're focussing on the lips...

Colder weather will affect your lips, making them more prone to chapping and soreness. Unfortunately the wind and cold temperatures can cause the lips to flake, usually due to dehydration. So it's important to remember to drink lots of fluids, and use a lip balm to moisturise and protect the lips, ensuring they stay soft and in condition.

Our Lips Silk lip balm is rich in unrefined cocoa and shea butters, and is enriched with avocado oil and Vitamin E. It has no added flavour (but definitely smells of chocolate), since we think it's better that you aren’t encouraged to lick your lips. If your lips become sore or chapped, then it's Lips Soothe to the rescue! This is an enriched version of our lip balm, which is bright yellow in colour (but don't worry, it doesn't stain the lips). The colour comes from the Sea Buckthorn botanical extract we've added to the formulation, and together with some comfrey oil it really does calm things down when your lips are feeling uncomfortable.

PS: We know that many people like to use a flavoured/fragranced lip balm, so we're finally giving in to customer requests. Later in October we'll be launching a new range of lip balms which contain subtle organic aromas/flavours so watch this space!

Natroma Autumn Skincare Advice

2009-10-09T16:38:00.003+01:00

Sadly the days are shortening, and it’s definitely becoming chilly at night! So while Autumn may encourage you to enjoy outdoor activities, it’s important to remember that your skin will retain less moisture as the air becomes cooler and drier. This is why at this time of year, many people experience dryness, fine lines, dull and sallow skin tone, sun and age spots, flaking and irritation as well as the flare-up of some conditions like rosacea. So it’s a good idea to pamper your skin in the Autumn and make some adjustments to your skincare regime in readiness for Winter. During the coming weeks, we’ll be publishing a series of articles on Autumn skincare starting with the hands and nails.

Hands and Nails

Nails and cuticles can become dry and flaky at this time of year, so we’d suggest that you invest in products which will replenish lost moisture to keep the skin soft and in good condition.

Our orange blossom and rose hand creams have a lovely formulation, enriched with jojoba and avocado oils with glycerine, comfrey and evening primrose extracts to nourish and condition the hands without greasiness. For the nails we’d particularly recommend a butter enriched nail balm. Our Nail Silk contains shea and cocoa butters, jojoba and avocado oils to replenish the nail surface and surrounding skin. This is a rich balm which smells heavenly (it contains frankincense and neroli, with a touch of lime) but it sinks in within a few minutes. Many of our customers enjoy massaging their nails and cuticles with Nail Silk, whilst watching the TV each evening.

For extra special pampering, invest in a pair of cotton gloves. Slather your hands with balm and hand cream and wear the gloves in bed. You’ll be amazed at how much softer your hands will feel in the morning!

Visit http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d26-nails-and-hands/ for more information on these items.

Anniversary Event Thank You!

2009-10-04T19:58:00.004+01:00

We'd just like to say a special "thank you" to everyone who popped in to see us during our anniversary weekend. It was lovely to see everyone, and we were very touched by your good wishes and birthday cards! We launched our new Natroma dry facial masks and Q10 Facial Balm, so we hope that you enjoy using these new products.

We're sure that lots of you, are now checking through our natural skincare Christmas gift catalogue (we handed out loads this weekend), so we plan to have the display of Christmas gift hampers available to view in Studio 12 during the next few weeks.

The first 50 orders placed in Studio 7 during October will qualify for a 10% discount. We've already taken quite a few orders this weekend, so we suspect the next few days may be a little busy! With this in mind, we have extended opening hours this coming week:
Wednesday 12pm - 4pm
Thursday 10.30am - 4pm
Friday 11am - 4pm

Hope to see you soon!

Natural Soapworks Anniversary Event 3rd - 4th October 2009

2009-10-02T13:08:00.004+01:00

Our anniversary event has arrived! To celebrate 3 years of making natural skincare, we'll be offering 10% off every item purchased in the studio at The Red House Glass Cone this weekend. In addition to this, we'll also be giving away a free bath bomb with every puchase of Q10 (full size) products. There's also a prize draw and we'll be demonstrating some lovely new products which we're launching this weekend. These include a new Q10 facial balm (a natural, intense moisturiser), some dry facial masks (supplied in powder form so you can mix them at home, and we do not need to add any preservatives), and a new Exotic Flowers body lotion enriched with camelina oil. We'll have testers available so you can try them out during your visit.

We'll be opening Studio 7 & 12 between 11am and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, and hope you can join us to see the launch of our Christmas Gift Catalogue! We have some lovely gift ideas this year with stocking fillers from £1, and a range of natural skincare gift hampers ranging from £3 upwards. In total we have 64 different items in the studio catalogue, so there should be something for everyone. The new hampers will be on display in Studio 12 for the next few weeks, so you can see them before placing your order. Since it's our anniversary, we'll also be offering a special 10% off the first 50 Christmas orders placed in the studio during October, so you're advised to order early this year!

So that website customers don't feel left out, we'll also be offering a 10% discount off purchases made on the Natroma website at http://www.natroma.co.uk/ this weekend.

To take advantage of this 10% discount, please enter: CELEBRATE at the checkout. This code will only work on Saturday and Sunday (3rd-4th October). This offer is not applicable retroactively, and may not be used in conjunction with any other discounts. To qualify for this special discount all website orders must be paid by Sunday 5th October at 11:59pm BST.

Fragrant Rock & Fossil Festival

2009-09-16T14:13:00.002+01:00

On 19th & 20th September Dudley concert hall and museum will be hosting the bi-annual rock and fossil festival. We'll be exhibiting, and have created some special ammonite soaps and dinosaur bath bombs.

So why not visit with all the family? The festival will be open between 10 am and 5 pm on Saturday, 10 am and 4 pm on Sunday, the entrance fee is only £1.00 per person. Exhibitors will be there from the world of geology, and there are special events including superb fossil and crystal displays, gems and cut stones, jewellery, face painting, fossil casting and lots of craft activities for children. There will be a Birds of Prey Display and lots of small animals from Dudley Zoo to interact with too!

Studio customers should please note that we'll have reduced opening hours this weekend.

Natural Soapworks & Natroma Anniversary event!

2009-09-06T09:26:00.006+01:00

How time has flown by! Can you believe it, The Natural Soapworks is nearly 3 years old, and Natroma is also approaching it's first birthday too.

It's been a fantastic few years, and we've loved formulating more and more bathing and skin care products. Whoever would have thought that a soap making hobby would turn into a product range which now numbers over 100 items! But probably the nicest part of what we do, is that we get to meet lots of people to talk about skincare (and our products of course!) The feedback has been wonderful, and we're really chuffed whenever someone pops in to say "thank you" or tell us about why a particular soap or a cream is really suiting their skin. Thank you -it always makes our day!

So to celebrate our two anniversaries, we're holding a "First and Third Anniversary" event at The Red House Glass Cone on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October 2009. We'll have lots of special offers, will be launching some new products, running a prize draw, and revealling our Christmas gift range! So why not call in to collect your copy of the Christmas Catalogue. You'll also be able to have a look at the new seasonal hampers which will be on display, so you can start to think about which Christmas goodies to send to your friends and loved ones.

For website customers, we don't want you to feel left out. Orders placed on The Natural Soapworks and Natroma websites on the 3rd and 4th of October will also have some special offers...we'll tell you more, closer to the time.

So for now, pencil these dates into your dairies!!

Bath Bomb Workshop - Sunday 27th September 2009!

2009-08-28T12:01:00.005+01:00

Have you ever wondered how bath bombs are made? By popular request, we'll be running another bath bomb workshop on Sunday 27th September. This is the last chance this year, to have fun making lots of fizzy bath treats using natural ingredients and essential oils.

The workshop will include a session on creating bath bomb recipes, including how you add in additional luxury ingredients like botanical oils and butters. We also include a session on blending essential oils for use in the bath, so you use the right concentration to fragrance your new creations!

The session will start at 10am, and lasts until lunchtime. The cost is £25, and this includes all the materials and use of equipment etc. You'll get to keep all of the bath bombs you create, and these will be available to collect a few days after your course. We can also post out the bath bombs, if people live further away (but there's a separate postage charge for this).

This course is limited to 8 attendees, so book early to avoid disappointment. Lots of fun and laughs guaranteed!!

It's beginning smell a bit like Christmas....

2009-08-20T11:04:00.004+01:00

It's that time of year again, when soap production is stepped up in readiness for Christmas. We've been very busy formulating so we can introduce a few new seasonal soaps for this year. But there will be some old favourites too. So don't worry Frankincense & Myrrh fans, the first batch was made yesterday and the studio smells just heavenly!

So if you pop in to see us this weekend, we hope you'll understand why there's more than a hint of Frankincense, Myrrh, Cinnamon and Clove in the air. We'll be on site all weekend, but will have limited opening hours on Saturday since we're running another soap making class to introduce another group of people to the addictive fun of soaping!

Handmade @ The Cone Exhibition

2009-08-02T19:22:00.004+01:00

Here's the reason, why there weren't many posts during July! We've been preparing for an exhibition at the Red House Glass Cone in Stourbridge (it runs from this weekend until 13th September 2009). In a moment of sheer madness, we decided to create a soap sculpture....so here it is!

It's made from our cold-processed handmade goat's milk soap, and contains over 1000 hand carved bricks which form the shape of the Cone. As you can imagine this was really difficult to do, to ensure that each layer decreased at the correct angle to make up the outline of the Cone's shape.

Then on the outside of the Cone, we've added a collection of hundreds of ivy leaves and flowers - all moulded by hand from coloured soap. We estimate that it's taken well over 100 hours to create this sculpture, and we will be taking great care to ensure that it doesn't get wet!!

So if you're interested in wacky pieces of art, we hope you'll pop along to see our Natural Soap Cone. It smells quite nice too!

Explorer 8 problems for The Natural Soapworks website

2009-07-06T19:57:00.002+01:00

We're sorry for there being a long gap between blog postings. It's because we've been very busy during the last few weeks, but we'll be adding more articles and telling you what we've been up to very soon!

On a practical note, we've found that The Natural Soapworks website is having problems with the latest version of Explorer so the drop down menus aren't working. This is a bit of a problem since you need to use these menus when placing orders! So if you've upgraded to Explorer 8 , we'd suggest that you choose the Compatibility View so you can see everything as normal. To do this, you simply click on the Compatibility View button which is located in the top right hand side of the browser address line, next to the Refresh button.

Isn't technology wonderful! In due course, we'll have to see if this part of our website can be changed, but for now this offers a simple fix for users.

Botanical Soap Making Courses

2009-06-10T17:16:00.011+01:00

We're still taking bookings for our popular cold-process soap making courses this Summer. But we wanted to mention a special annual one which is scheduled to run at The Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Saturday 27th June 2009.

Our soap making class will run from 10.30am - 4pm in the Study Centre. This is such a beautiful venue, since you'll have the chance to walk around the gardens and glasshouses during the lunch break and after the class ends.

We always run the soap making classes at The Botanical Gardens with a larger group. This is a big advantage during the practical sessions, since participants work in pairs to share the vigorous whisking that's involved in making real soap! Since it's a bigger group, there's also a discount on our usual course fees, so you'll only pay £65.

So if you're interested in learning how to make real soap in a beautiful botanical setting then please contact the Study Centre to reserve your place on 0121 454 1860.

http://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk/leisurelearning/workshopseries?id=11

"Oh what a lovely smell...."

2009-05-28T15:38:00.015+01:00

Everyday we hear positive comments about the lovely smell within our little shop. It's a joke that you only have to arrive in the courtyard at the Red House Glass Cone, and then you simply follow your nose to find our shop!

It's amazing how smells can be so evocative, and it's nice to know that we can create such a postive reaction. The second comment we usually hear is how our products do not smell like the ones on the high street, and descriptions usually include words like: uplifting, relaxing, gorgeous, sophisticated and above all...natural. It's at this point, we usually have to explain about the difference between synthetic fragrances and the pure aromatherapy grade essential oils that we use.

So what are essential oils? A technical definition would be: concentrated, hydrophobic liquids (i.e they won't mix with water) containing volatile aroma compounds derived from plants. More simply they are the natural oils extracted from plant material. Usually this is via steam distillation, but they can also be expressed (such as squeezing the peel of citrus fruits) or by solvent extraction. The cost of essential oils varies according to how difficult it is to extract the essence - so this is why citrus oils are typically cheap whereas rose (which may require kilos of rose petals to produce a single ounce of rose otto essential oil) is very expensive.

Essential oils are highly concentrated essences, each with it's own distinctive aroma, which should be handled with knowledge and care. They should not be applied undiluted on to the skin. They are sold in small bottles which have a dropper attachment and this is so they can be carefully measured out, and there is less chance of them being accidentally injested. They should always be stored in a cool, dark place away from animals and children. Aromatherapists use these volatile aromatic compounds to assist a person's mood or health, and research is still ongoing to evaluate the effectiveness of aromatherapy as an alternative therapy.

So why do we use essential oils in our products? Well, we think it's better to use natural essences on the skin rather than synthetics. But great care has to be taken when developing skincare products, since even these "natural" plant oils can irritate sensitive skin if they are used in the wrong concentration. That's why we use controlled percentages in our products so customers can enjoy the soothing benefits of these lovely fragrances, safe in the knowledge that they are well within the limits that are laid down within the EU's Cosmetic's Directive which governs the sale of all cosmetic products manufactured in Europe. Despite these concerns, we believe that natural essences are more harmonious for the skin, than many of the cheaper synthetic alternatives that are available.

We hope you found this little article interesting and the next time you say "what a lovely smell", you can now appreciate that you're admiring a natural fragrance that's captured the essence of many plants species.

Orang 2 palm-free goat's milk soap

2009-05-20T16:53:00.008+01:00

This is a quick note to mention that Orang 2, our new palm-free orangutan friendly soap, is now ready for sale!

A couple of weeks ago we told you about how the very first batch of Orang 2 soap had been donated to Borneo Orangutan Survival UK. We're very pleased to say that it seems to be selling well at the BOS UK events.

Our own batch of this brand new soap has completed it's curing period, so it has been added to the charity page of The Natural Soapworks website. So if you'd like to one of the first to try out this lovely sweet but citrussy natural goat's milk soap, please visit: http://www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk/CharitySkincare.aspx and £1 from the sale of each Orang 2 bar will be donated to BOS UK!

Gok at the Red House Glass Cone

2009-05-15T11:56:00.007+01:00

Did any eagle eyed viewers spot the location for this week's Gok's Fashion fix?

Yes it was none other than the Red House Glass Cone in Stourbridge! We were all treated to some TV excitement in March when Gok and his crew came to see Mandy Moore from Wordsley, and our famous local landmark was used as the back drop for filming.

You will have seen the washing line set up by the canal, and Gok and Mandy arrived on a barge for the filming. It was a pretty poor day weatherwise, but luckily the showers held off for long enough to film Mandy's reaction as she arrived, and Gok advising her on her fashion choices. Gok was really lovely and supportive all day, helping Mandy to get over the shock of seeing all of her clothes on display for all to see.

Well done Mandy, you looked fabulous at the end of the programme so hopefully you'll pop in to see us all and show off your new wardrobe!

For anyone that missed Tuesday's show, you'll have to check out the repeat programmes of Gok's Fashion Fix on Channel 4 or watch the episode on-line.

NEW! Natroma Gentle Facial Exfoliators

2009-05-11T23:23:00.008+01:00

This week we're introducing a new product into the Natroma range - our lovely gentle facial exfoliators! So we thought it might be useful to add a few lines about why exfoliation is so good for the skin.

So why should we exfoliate?

Exfoliating is a skin treatment where the upper layers of dead skin cells are sloughed off by using a mechanical method (such as a brush, loofah, or scrub product) or chemically (such as enzyme/AHA fruit peel/chemical peel mask). We would advocate the mechanical method since some chemical products have been shown to damage the skin if used incorrectly.

The average person generates a new layer of skin every two to four weeks in a continuous cycle which moves old (keratinized) dead cells to the surface so they can be shed. Exfoliation works by sloughing off the uppermost layer of these dead cells to reveal the fresher, younger and more translucent cells which are underneath. If the older cells are not removed they can clog the sebaceous pores, leading to spots or blackheads and a generally poor complexion. Also as we age, skin cell turnover slows down, so facial exfoliation encourages a faster cell turnover so the skin looks plumper and fresher. As an added bonus, exfoliation prepares the skin to absorb and react more effectively to moisturizers or lotions which are applied afterwards.

How to exfoliate and how often

You can exfoliate any part of the skin but you need to treat facial skin with special care, using gentle products which are free from gritty abrasives (such as nut shells). The best thing is to choose an exfoliating product which is the least irritating to your skin and apply it to dampened skin using a circular motion. We’d suggest that you should exfoliate once or twice each week. For oily and less sensitive skin it’s fine to use an exfoliator every other day, but sensitive skin types will probably find that once or twice each week is more than enough.

Our new Gentle Exfoliators

Our gentle exfoliators have been carefully formulated with lots of skin-kind natural ingredients to soothe delicate facial skin. It's never a good idea to apply harsh or abrasive products to the face since these can irritate the skin making it sore and uncomfortable. Therefore our exoliator creams really are gentle, and contain tiny jojoba beads. These are perfect spheres, and they can be safely massaged very lightly across the skin to exfoliate without any nasty after-effects.

We're also chosen our ingredients very carefully - gentle jojoba, papaya seed, evening primrose and comfrey oils are teamed up with D-Panthenol, Sea Buckthorn and Echium botanical extracts. This is a lightly textured cream, which can be rinsed off with water. We'd recommend using one of our muslin cloths to completely remove all of the tiny jojoba beads, followed by a spritz of hydrolat toner and the application of some moisturiser to finish off your mini facial treatment. There are two varieties to choose from: rose or orange blossom (neroli), so further details can be found at: http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d5-exfoliators-rhassoul-clay-masks/

To celebrate this new product launch, until the end of May we're offering a 5% discount off Natroma website orders. Quote: SPRING at the checkout to receive your discount!

Why your cleanser needs a muslin cloth

2009-05-04T23:15:00.007+01:00

We've noticed that muslin cloths are a bit of a mystery to some visitors to the studio. At first this came as a bit of shock since we've been using them for years, and think they should be an essential part of any skincare regime.

So why are they so good? It's because they are great for removing facial cleansers and masks, since they gently exfoliate the skin at the same time. The trick is to apply the cream cleanser or mask product and gently massage across the skin. Then rinse the muslin cloth in hand-hot water, and wring it out so it feels warm and damp when applied to the skin. The cloth will feel really soft, so there's no danger of scratching or irritating the skin - and you will feel cleaner and refreshed after each use since they lightly stimulate the skin.

The nice thing about muslin cloths is that they can easily be laundered and re-used, so they're good for the environment. We'd suggest that you should have at least a couple of muslin cloths, so whilst one is being used the other is in the wash. Ours have a nice weave so they dry quickly and unlike a traditional flannel, they won't be a breeding ground for bacteria. We also took a while sourcing our cloths for Natroma and have them specially made for us by a small English community company, so it's also nice to know that we're supporting training and job creation too.

So the next time you buy a cleanser, why not try a muslin cloth? We're sure that you'll love the way your skin feels, and they'll become an essential part of your daily skincare regime! As a special encouragement to try out muslin cloths during May 2009, we'll send you a FREE muslin cloth when you purchase a full size 100ml Natroma Cleanser. This offer will apply to studio and website orders received before 31 May 2009.

Our first palm-free soap is donated to BOS!

2009-04-29T19:54:00.008+01:00

We're delighted to announce that we've finally cracked it! We've successfully re-formulated our luxurious goat's milk soap so it's now palm-free. You cannot imagine how excited we are about this, since it's taken over 12 months of testing to finally achieve the perfect formulation.

As you know, we're perfectionists when it comes to soap so we had a pretty long list of demands from this new soap...and we love the result! It's still a hard bar, still has a luxurious creamy lather, still looks beautiful, still smells gorgeous, and it's still packed with natural ingredients and goat's milk so it still feels like our soap!! (draws breath) BUT most importantly it lacks palm oil in it's formulation! Can you tell that we're over the moon with this soap?

It seemed only right that Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) UK should receive the first palm-free batch, since they have been our inspiration for removing palm oil from our soaps. Therefore we've donated the first 50 bars to BOS UK, and created a brand new ‘Orang 2’ palm-free goat’s milk soap to celebrate this important landmark for The Natural Soapworks. Just look at that lovely pile of soap.....

'Orang 2' is a lovely sweet but citrussy bar, containing a blend of citrus and ho leaf essential oils. Ho leaf has lovely floral but woody notes, but is the ecological substitute for rosewood. 'Orang 2' also features a pretty swirled pattern of natural clay, and as usual each bar is decorated with our hairy string and a BOS label. Every penny raised from the sale of this first batch will go to BOS UK, so Grainne and the team will be selling these bars at forthcoming BOS UK events. We'd just ask that anyone who gets the chance to buy one of these bars - please give generously, so as much money as possible can be raised for this wonderful charity.

Our own batch of 'Orang 2' is still maturing, and will be available in the studio and on our websites in a couple of weeks. As before, we guarantee that £1 from the sale of each bar will be sent to BOS UK in support of Lone, and everyone in the Nyaru Menteng team. For a while we'll still be using up the last of our supplies of organic sustainable palm oil, but then soap production will be switched over to this very 'orangutan friendly' new formulation. Our BOS soap page is: http://www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk/CharitySkincare.aspx

Meet the new neighbours!

2009-04-27T22:21:00.013+01:00

We thought you might like to see our new neighbours -aren't they cute!

These lovely little ducklings arrived 2 weeks ago and we've had some trouble taking their picture, since they move around so fast. Finally at last we managed to catch them all in one place, so hopefully you can see that there are 10 little ones following their Mum.

They are growing at an amazing speed and have doubled in size since they arrived. So if you pop down to the Red House Glass Cone, try to find the time to stop by the canal. They can be regularly seen outside our studio, and you'll know they're around since they make a surprising amount of noise for such little ones! We'll try to keep you updated on their progress.

BOS Update - The Final Stage of Rehabilitation

2009-04-24T23:45:00.006+01:00

Today we heard from BOS UK, giving us an update on the orangutans who are living on the Islands. We thought you'd like to hear how they are getting on:

Four orangutans from Nyaru Menteng - Borneo Orangutan Survival’s rescue and rehabilitation centre - have just started the final phase of their rehabilitation - relocation to a nearby island, Hampapak Matei. They’re only one step away now from release back into the wild, but it’ll be another 18 months to 2 years before they’re able to enjoy complete freedom. Life on Hampapak Matei will, however, be quite an experience for these for orangutans. They’ll be living in a state of near-freedom, in their natural habitat, with the ability to explore their new terrain at will, forage for food if they wish, and generally learn to acclimatise to life outside the confines of Nyaru Menteng and Forest School, where they’ve led a sheltered existence for something approaching 8 years.

Bobo, Marwan, Tim and Dani were victims of the illegal pet trade on Java, where they had been kept as pets in an urban environment. They were confiscated by government authorities between 7 and 8 years ago, and sent to Nyaru Menteng to be cared for and nurtured by Lone Droscher-Neilsen and her staff. There they were given the chance to learn how to be wild again, climbing trees and playing with the other orangutans in Forest School. One can only imagine what joy they must have felt at being able to move freely again, and to breathe the clean forest air. During their years at Nyaru Menteng, Bobo, Marwan, Tim and Dani developed all the skills which they’ll need to survive in the rainforest - learning how to build a nest, which fruits and leaves are edible, how to collect insects and how to avoid danger.

Progressing from one class to the next, they became more and more independent of their human charges, and developed the social skills necessary to interact with other orangutans. Now, on Hampapak Matei, the four orangutans will have an opportunity to put into practice what they’ve learned at Nyaru Menteng. They’ll be out in the forest night and day, and meet the other orangutans who are sharing the 20 ha island with them. They’ll have as little contact with humans as possible, although food will be provided daily, and they’ll be monitored to make sure that they come to no harm and that they’re adjusting to their new lifestyle.

Hampapak Matei is one of five orangutan islands belonging to Nyaru Menteng which, in total, cover an area of 245 ha. There are 87 orangutans living on these islands, in preparation for their final release. Nyaru Menteng is presently working on acquiring other islands to be able to accommodate not only those orangutans who are ready for pre-release, but those who can’t be released into the wild, due to either disease or disability.

If you would like to help, please visit BOS UK: http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/
or make a donation:
BOS continually needs to find funding to cover the costs of leasing these islands, as well as surveying future sites for the safe release of the wild rescued orangutans.

Introducing...Natroma Bathing!

2009-04-23T19:00:00.011+01:00

We're delighted to introduce a new range to Natroma, with the addition of our new bathing collection! With Natroma Bathing we've splurged on the most luxurious natural skincare ingredients to create a really indulgent range of goat's milk soaps and bathing products.

The goat's milk soap contains a decadent blend of organic botanical oils and Fair Trade butters, enriched with real goat's milk. We've then added the gorgeously scented Monoi de Tahiti, to create a top of the range soap with a lather that feels even more moisturising and creamy. We've co-ordinated these soaps to our Natroma skincare fragrances, so we've been able to use many of the very expensive essential oils that you do not usually see in handmade soaps. The initial fragrance choice is Chamomile, Rose and Orange Blossom. Each bar is handwrapped in a pure muslin cloth and decorated with a stylish organza ribbon, and we'd suggest that these natural wrappings are re-cycled as facial cloths so there's no waste. More of these luxurious soaps will follow during 2009, so watch this space!

We're also very pleased to introduce our Fizzing Bath Melt range. These are lovely little bathing beauties which really do look good enough to eat! We wouldn't recommend it though, since our new cup-cake range is designed to gently fizz in the bath and release lots of Fair Trade Cocoa and Shea butters into the bath water. They feature some lovely new blends of essential oils, and are naturally coloured with petals and other natural ingredients. Available on their own, or in a pretty ribbon decorated ballotin box, these are already proving to be very popular with our Studio customers. More fragrances will be released during the year, since these make lovely small gifts and are sure to be popular at Christmas.

Please visit: http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d24-natroma-bathing/ for more information.

Natural Soapworks Favourites

2009-04-20T12:19:00.003+01:00

We've noticed that quite a few of our customers are ordering from the Natural Soapworks and Natroma websites at the same time. This is great, since we can combine postage and despatch everything in the same parcel. But it's not so convenient for the customer since you end up placing two orders instead of one.

So we're very pleased to introduce Natural Soapworks Favourites to the Natroma website: http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d20-natural-soapworks-favourites/

This is a new section on the site, which will feature some of our most popular soaps, lip balms and bathing items so these can be purchased at the same time as Natroma natural skincare items. We hope you enjoy this added convenience and as a special introductory offer, until 30th April 2009 quote: SOAPWORKS at the checkout to claim a 5% discount off your order!

Jojoba - simmondsia chinensis

2009-04-16T12:33:00.007+01:00

In the second article about our natural skincare ingredients, today we’re looking at Jojoba oil (pronounced ho-ho-ba).

Jojoba is a botanical extract from the seed of the jojoba tree (simmondsia chinenis), and these are pressed to release a pure golden oil-like substance. You see, Jojoba isn’t actually an oil, it’s a natural wax ester and this makes it a very interesting skincare ingredient. The significance is that because it’s a wax ester, it's very similar to the sebum in our skin. This is a very important quality since it means that jojoba works in harmony with our skin, and can even “trick” the skin into slowing down sebum production resulting in greater balance and less shine for oily skin types.

Ours is a lovely organic, cold-pressed oil that is a bright golden colour. We love jojoba since it suits all skin types, doesn’t feel greasy when applied to the skin and spreads and is absorbed easily. It is said to be non-comedogenic (this means it won’t block the skin’s pores and cause acne). It's a lovely ingredient providing lasting hydration, and that's why it appears in many of our moisturizing products. Jojoba is also very stable so it has a very long shelf life, so won’t become rancid or lose anti-oxidants easily. This is another star quality since it means that we can use it in our products safe in the knowledge that they will have a good shelf life.

So as you can see jojoba is a valuable addition to any skincare product, and is included in many of our Natroma skincare products.

What's so special about goat’s milk soap?

2009-04-14T19:34:00.006+01:00

It’s a question we’re asked most weeks! We can guarantee that anyone who asks, has never tried a goat’s milk soap before. We’ll try to explain why we think goat’s milk soap is special…

Goat’s milk soap is more difficult to make than a typical handmade bar, since the milk affects the saponification process. We use real goat’s milk (not powdered) since it contains proteins, amino acids and Vitamin A to nourish and soften the skin. You may read some articles which claim that natural goat’s milk soap has the same pH as the skin. We’d disagree with this claim, since soap is a naturally alkaline substance, so it’s doubtful if a natural soap could become slightly acidic without the addition of chemicals.

Our formulation has come about after years of perfecting our soap recipe. The brief was to create a hard, long-lasting bar with a rich, creamy lather whilst being highly moisturizing and skin-kind too. Okay, we admit that we’re perfectionists so that’s why it’s taken a few years to create our recipe!

It’s no accident that our soap contains many botanical oils and butters (such as olive, coconut, shea and cocoa) and these had to be carefully balanced to produce the rich texture and foaming qualities we were looking for. We also use a cold-process saponification manufacturing process and use traditional handmade wooden moulds. Each new soap is matured for 4-8 weeks so it hardens and becomes mild before it is presented for sale. So the next time you try a new natural soap remember that each recipe will be different, since the skilled soap maker crafts their recipe to produce particular results.

So what can you expect from a Natural Soapworks goat’s milk soap? The first thing people always do, is give the bar a sniff! Fragranced with pure essential oils, each soap variety has its own special character, and this adds to the pleasure of using the soap each day. We also love pretty soaps, so we use natural clays and spices to add colour and we often swirl them through the soap so each bar has unique patterns. The goat’s milk gives a unique, creamy lather that’s so rich that it can be used for shaving or as a natural body wash. The soap suits delicate skin conditions, and people who visit our little shop are often invited to try washing their hands before making a purchase. Most people are impressed by the conditioning feel of the lather, and everyone comments on how soft their skin feels after just one wash. So we’d sum up our goat’s milk soaps as being pretty and fragrant, but very functional and full of top quality ingredients.

Tempted to give it a try? Visit out Goat’s Milk Soap page if you’d like more details:

http://www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk/GoatSoaps.aspx

Hydrolats, Hydrosols, Flower Waters

2009-04-05T23:30:00.014+01:00

This is the first in a series of articles covering our cosmetic ingredients. This week, we're focussing upon hydrolats (sometimes called hydrosols or flower waters).

Hydrolats are a by-product from the production of essential oils from botanical materials, via a steam distillation process. During distillation the essential oil is separated from the water or condensed steam. This pure water is collected and contains the water soluble parts of the plant. Many hydrolats have a light aroma and are mild and cooling, making them ideal to use as ingredients in cosmetic products or as natural skin toners or compresses. The most well-known one is traditional rose water, but there are a great many hydrolats available. They each have their own charicteristics, but all are soothing, refreshing and help to balance the skin.

We have carefully selected a small range of organic hydrolats (from a Soil Association accredited producer) and they smell gorgeous! It took us a while to find these lovely floral waters, since a great many have added preservatives and are not produced organically. You'll find them in all of our Natroma cream products, and they alone provide the subtle aroma in our Facial Cleansers and Rhassoul Clay Masks.

Our Chamomile variety has a very subtle fragrance so is perfect for sensitive skin. Rose has a rich, sweet note and is great on all skin-types. Orange Blossom comes from the distillation of neroli essential oil, and has a light, sophisticated note (and is definitely our favorite!) After finding such a lovely product we thought they deserved special packaging, so we chose some elegant violet glass bottles. This special heavy glass looks almost black and protects them from daylight so they do not need any added preservative. These bottles have a fabulous spray attachment which produces the finest of mists - so you can spray them directly onto the face. Our tip is to keep a bottle in the fridge during hot weather, and use it to spritz the neck when you're feeling too warm. This also works wonderfully, for anyone suffering from hot flushes.

We love organic hydrolats, and would definitely recommend using them as a natural alternative to commercial toner products. They leave the skin feeling soft and hydrated and are an essential part of our skincare range. More information can be found on the Natroma website: http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d2-hydrolat-skin-toners/

Soap making classes are fun!

2009-03-28T22:27:00.012Z

At times when you make soap commercially it can feel like it’s all work and no play. Part of this is because soap is a cosmetic product, so here in the UK it’s governed by the EU Cosmetics Directive. Every soap has to be cosmetically safety tested and commercial batches have to consistently use this approved formulation. There’s also a mountain of admin to track ingredients and batch references before the soap can even be presented for sale.

So today was fun! We ran one of our all day soap making courses and met up with 4 lovely “beginners”, to pass on our pearls of wisdom about how to make cold process soap. We love these days since it gives us a chance to share our passion for handmade soap and natural skincare ingredients. Today’s group asked some fantastic questions, and the class over-ran because we were covering so much ground. But it was lovely to have the chance to play again, and it’s resulted in some lovely new soap fragrances. To everyone who attended – it was a real pleasure to meet you all and we hope you had an enjoyable day!

There are now two places left on our April soap making class (Saturday 25th April), and then we’re fully booked. So if you fancy learning a new skill, visit our soap making page http://www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk/Classes.aspx for more details.

After this, our last soap making class of the year will be held at The Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Saturday 27th June. To join this larger class, you’ll need to enrol at the Gardens’ Reception during normal opening hours or enrol over the telephone on 0121 454 1860.

We had a famous visitor this week

2009-03-25T18:53:00.002Z

What an amazing week so far! On Monday, The Red House Glass Cone was the location for some filming of a very well known TV show.

We were all very excited that a certain celebrity would be visiting the site, but imagine our surprise when he actually came in to our studio! He decided to pop in for a quick chat, after smelling the gorgeous aroma from our essential oils which wafted across the courtyard.

We were thrilled that he called in to see us and even posed for a piccie. So if you want to know who it was, remember to ask us at the weekend and we'll tell you more!

Blowing Red Noses in aid of Comic Relief

2009-03-15T21:25:00.000Z

What a weekend it's been!

Comic Relief was definitely the focus at 'The Red Nose Glass Cone' this weekend, with a fantastic combined effort from studio tenants and staff all working together to raise as much money as we could in aid of Comic Relief.

As everyone who visited will know, we created a special Red Nose Day bath bomb and soap. We hope you enjoy using them - we've certainly used ours for a nice relaxing bathe this evening! Thank you to everyone who supported us by making a purchase, which has added to a final combined amount of over £1000 collected over the weekend at the Cone (we'll post the final amount, once the count has been completed).

But special thanks has to go to Charlotte Hughes-Martin, our resident glass artist, who you will have seen on the BBC's Midlands Today (and heard on the BBC's Radio WM). Charlotte blew over 200 glass red noses (she's in the piccie), supported by Caroline Scully, and had people travelling to see her from across the Midlands. Good one Charlotte! Sadly she had some very sore hands by the end of weekend, so we rustled up a soothing butter balm which should hopefully help them a little.

BOS UK and Orangutan Diary

2009-03-05T19:45:00.005Z

It seems only right that our first post should be about Borneo Orangutan Survival UK. We've proudly supported this wonderful charity since the begining of 2008, when The Natural Soapworks took the decision to only use organic palm oil from a sustainable source in Columbia to make our soaps.

So what's the problem with palm oil and the significance of it being from a sustainable source, you may wonder? Well soapmakers use palm oil because it adds hardness to a bar of soap, and it's used as a botanical alternative to tallow (rendered animal fats, which we certainly wouldn't use). But the problem with palm oil sourced from the Far East, is that it tends to be grown on palm plantations which have been planted after the rain forest has been cut down and burnt. This is causing catastrophic damage to the environment, and as the forests are destroyed it means that the local animals die too.

You'll find palm oil in all manner of products on our supermarket shelves (e.g. crisps, cakes, chocolate, biscuits, cosmetics, detergents, soaps etc), and there's even more problems on the horizon due to the interest in bio fuels. Unless action is taken soon, more and more habitat will be destroyed and ultimately this could lead to the extinction of many animal species.

When we discovered that even in a small way we were contributing to such destruction, we decided to act quickly to find some palm oil that is grown in a responsible and sustainable way, that doesn't endanger the environment. Organic sustainable palm oil is more expensive but we think it’s the right thing to include in our soaps. This is because one of the worst things that we discovered about palm oil, was the impact it's having on the orangutan populations in Sumatra and Borneo. There's a serious risk that one of our closest cousins will be wiped out within 10 years.

We were so concerned about this, that we contacted Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS UK) and they confirmed that our soap is "orangutan friendly". This very worthwhile charity works to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned orangutans in Borneo, whose mother's are killed as the rainforest is cleared. BOS's work, led by Lone Droscher Nielsen, is featured in the Orangutan Diary screened by the BBC in 2007, and now back for a second series on BBC2. We wanted to help this fabulous charity so we have adopted 2 orphaned orangutans, and fund raise to support BOS by attending events and selling our ‘Orang’ soap. We guarantee that £1.00 from the sale of each bar of 'Orang' goes straight to BOS UK. http://www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk/CharitySkincare.aspx

So how we all help? It's all about the purchasing power of the consumer, and we'd encourage everyone to try to find products that have sustainably sourced palm ingredients within them. To find out more about helping to save the orangutan visit the BOS UK website: http//www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/index.php

Welcome to the Natroma Blog

2009-03-05T14:32:00.001Z

Well we've finally caught up with technology, and have started our blog. We've called it the Natroma blog, but it will also cover all things Natural Soapworks too.

We'll be using this to give updates on products, ingredients, events, our charity work and probably a little general musing too. We hope you pop back to see us, once we've added some more information.