Current blog update

New note about comments: I love getting comments, especially from people who just want to say hi or who have questions about ecological issues, aromatherapy, natural skin care, or any of the other topics on this blog. But as this blog has become more popular, more and more spammers have been posting in the comments section. Comments have been moderated for a while (so are only posted if I give them permission to be posted) and though I have stated previously that anything that even looks like spam will not be posted I still get a lot of spam. I am very sorry to do this but because of the number of spammers and companies who have posted links in the comments ANY comment with links in it will also no longer be posted. And any post that is an ad won't be posted either (I was previously spending literally hours sorting through the comments with links). I feel kind of bad because I know I'll inadvertently delete some real comments, but that can't be helped. I will also be going through and removing most old comments with links in it. Comments also used to be open to everyone to post: they are now only open to registered users.

I am currently trying to answer comments as quickly as possible but if you need an answer immediately, it is better to email me. If you have a company or organization you'd like to tell me about (since I don't allow links to websites in the comments anymore), if you are not a registered user and have comments/questions, or if you have questions on environmental issues or crafting, please e-mail me at solarkatsecoblog@yahoo.com. Thank you :)

Also A LOT of the old entries are not in the links section yet. If you can't find what you need either read the archives by month, do a search in the search engine box at the top of the blog, or you may ask me a question through the comments or email. :)

What's new:


October 30, 2008New comments. Liana asked about preservatives under the 'yet more preservatives' entry, and Katrin asked about cleaning wood with essential oils on the 'make your own aromatherapy spray' entry. Thanks for posting. There were a lot :( of comments with links in them (most of them spam, others because they could be spam) so they were deleted.

October 22, 2008New post on Premium Steap tea. Also new comments answered. Thanks to shell and Linnie Winnie who posted under my most recent crafting notes. Shell asked about hydrosols and LW about my new store. Thanks! Please note that I don't allow comments that sound like ads/spam or that have links in them.

October 11, 2008 Comments are all done. Also new post on my crafting notes and potential products I will be offering in my future business (opening soon!).

October 2, 2008Finally got around to doing comments, didn't blog so much in september (I think I only had one entry! :( ) since I have been super busy. So I did most of the comments that were backlogged except for a couple posted in the last few days, will get to them tomorrow or this weekend. A friendly reminder: I have never allowed ads from companies or posts from company reps in the comment sections. And because of many companies spamming the comments, I no longer allow comments with ANY links either. Comments are moderated and any spam or posts with links will not be posted/are immediately deleted.

List of comments answered, thanks to all who posted! And sorry for the delay in answering! Please email me if you want a faster response; I usually check email more often than the comments. Linne winnie who posted under shampoo and conditioner recs part 2 and 3 who asked about SLS and KOH in soaps. Natalie under bar soap mania (hi Natalie! Hope you got my email and thanks!) who asked about large bar soaps. Laurel williams under shampoo and conditioner recs part 3 who commented about non-shampoo menthods. Tlmiracle who asked many great soap making questions under the make your own herbal soap entry. Shannonccbarry who had hypoglycemia questions under the good hypoglycemia and vegatarian cookbook recs.



October 1, 2008New post about the second article in my Eco Living series on anb Mall's website. The second article is on autumn and winter skin care. I am very behind on comments this month, sorry if I haven't gotten to yours yet :(






Edited: Sept, 7, 2006. I just agreed a couple days ago to be a moderator for the Garden of Wisdom forum, which is one of the Delphi forums I post in. I will be posting on that forum the most (out of all the forums I visit), so if you have a question post there for me (I am Snowcat27), e-mail me through my Delphi profile, or leave a comment here on this blog. I will answer questions asap; though please give me a couple days to respond! Thanks to Markey (GOW owner), Jen/Camellia Rose, Whitney, and everyone else on the GOW forum!

Cheers!
Li

Premium Steap (Tea company in Philadlphia)

During a previous trip to Philly my sister, Ed, and I stopped at this little tea shop called Premium Steap. They had some unusual combinations so I got a couple packages of flavored rooibos (even though my tea stash is too large and I didn't really need anymore tea). I am so glad that I did because they are some of the most delicious tea blends I've ever had!

Rooibos is probably my favorite tea. My favorite plain (nothing added) red and green rooibos teas are from a popular organic herb vendor, (Mountain Rose Herbs), whose herbs are superior quality. But most flavored rooibos teas I've tried in the past were good but not as good as plain rooibos in my opinion (not even the flavored rooibos blends from Adagio teas which I think are good to very good but not extraordinary).

But the ones from Premium Steap I have to say are the best flavored rooibos teas I have tried (and I usually get some kind of rooibos when I visit all the little tea shops in Philly or restaurants and shops in New York City). I tried their 'heaven' rooibos which tastes minty and chocolately, and also their chai rooibos which I have to say is one of the best chai blends I've had (rooibos OR decaff black tea chai).

So if you live or plan to visit Philly, and love tea, be sure to stop by this tea shop. And if you don't, check out their website for some very fine tea :)

Li's Crafting Notes 10-11-08

I've been very busy this year trying to finish my thesis (which will be done very soon and then it needs be approved by my committee and lastly I have to defend it), and over the last year and a half or so (has it really been that long? Time has really flown by!) I have been choosing old or formulating new recipes for my future business. Though I've been crafting for over eight years now, it is hard deciding what to offer, especially since I keep coming up with ideas all the time ;P . I plan to start out with only a few products, since many of the ingredients I am using are on the more expensive side like organic rose absolute and essential oil, organic jasmine absolute, organic helichrysum essential oil (these essential oils and absolutes are very pricey even at the wholesale level--when you buy these essential oils by the ounce like most hand crafters and small companies do--they are only a little less expensive than retail prices), red raspberry seed oil, organic non-deodorized cocoa butter (this smells so yummy, so chocolatey), east shea butter (one of my favorite ingredients), etc. I prefer getting organic and/or fair trade ingredients whenever possible, so I am going to be very happy :) but very broke :( by the time I open.


I hope to finally open my business sometime this fall (it keeps getting delayed but it'll be soon, promise!) but there is so much administration and general business stuff to do before that, that I have been working on slowly (in between working on my final thesis). So no set date yet. Keep reading this blog for updates! :)

List of things I've been working for a long while for my business (and a preliminary list of the types of products I am planning to offer):

Oil based serums: I have been working on both very complex blends and very simple blends for over a year and a half. I've used simple blends for many years but sometime in the last couple of years I have been experimenting with really complex blends, focusing even more on the properties of ingredients in relation to skin type and conditions. I really love the complex blends, my skin has never looked better (and it was pretty good to begin with ;P).

Toners I have been crafting and testing many new different formulations during this year and a half, and experimenting with so many new hydrosols (I've tried over 30 hydrosols so far). I used to use only very simple toners but my skin really loves my new blends, so I am finding it hard to choose favorites: too many fantastic combinations! :) I definitely will have a rose based one since rose toners are my favorite, and great to use during the drier autumn/winter months!

Mineral Makeup I have many shimmer and frost shades done (I have been crafting shimmer and frost shades ever since I started crafting mineral makeup about three or so years ago and have so far developed over forty colors, though I will only be offering a few colors at first). But I am still working on matte shades so will only have shimmer, frost, and semi-matte ones initially. I won't be offering foundations since I need to work on formulations for them, and not sure if I even want to focus on them or not (I believe in making the skin look better, rather than covering it up; I don't wear makeup most days though when I do I love wearing a wide range of different colors and finishes). I've crafted a great lip gloss base and I have made a few colors for the lip gloss but they are all very sheer but still figuring out packaging for my glosses (I am trying to keep packaging as eco-friendly as possible).


Cleansers I've been tweaking my old and developing some new recipes for cleansing oils and liquid cleansers. The cleansing oil I crafted a while back is one of the only ones I've ever used that doesn't break me out; since it cleanses without feeling too greasy. The liquid cleansers are soap based and clean without overdying; I've added a lot of extra oils/butters and herbs to them so they are super gentle.

Perfumes: I've made two lovely jasmine perfumes that I totally love (made with different species of jasmine) but may or may not offer them initially (since I am already way over budget). I will be offering a rose perfume though, and maybe a few other surprise blends :) I got a lovely ounce of organic Turkish rose absolute a few months ago from AV-AT at a very good price. The absolute is very intense and floral and very lovely. Butch (the owner of AV-AT) was very kind and sent also sent me a ton of samples of his other essential oils and absolutes, including a couple ones I previously hadn't tried yet, so now I must get my hands on an ounce or two and craft some blends with them! I am also getting his organic rose essential oil (distilled), since though I use absolutes in perfumes, I don't really use them in skin care (except for jasmine). His rose essential oils and absolutes really are the best I've tried, and they are organic too :)

Lip balm and body butters: I am totally done with the lip salve (which also doubles as a body salve) and some of the butters (scent combinations are made up but deciding which ones to offer), but I am still crafting a couple other butters. The lip salve contains awesome ingredients like organic arnica. I love this herb but this is one plant that I would never buy the wild crafted one (most of it is wild crafted), only the organic grown one--even if it is currently $72 a pound from my herb vendor--since it is vulnerable, threatened, or endangered in many places in the wild, and not all wild crafted herbs are ethically wild harvested.

Eco Living: Autumn and winter skin care (Green Living)

I have just posted my second Eco Living article for the ANB (all natural beauty) Mall. September's article is on all natural and natural autumn and winter skin care. Skin tends to get dehydrated and dry during the colder seasons, so most people need to switch their skin care. I have also included a recipe for a delcious smelling banana chocolate mask that leaves the skin soft and hydrated!

In August's article, I discussed what Eco living was and also included a few simple green living tips


October's article will be on eco living on a budget. I will probably post it on anb mall's site in a few weeks.

Hope everyone is enjoying my Eco Living articles so far!

Also be sure to check many of the excellent companies on anb mall's site. My friend Jen, owner of Camellia Rose, recently joined the list of natural stores there.

All Natural and Natural Based Shampoo and Conditioner Recs: Part 3 (Natural Hair Care)

And here is part 3! I think I've covered all of the natural brands I've tried over the last eight years, hopefully I didn't miss one! :) If I try other lines I will post about them too in the future.

Alaffia should have been my first entry in part 1 but I forgot to include them since just started using their products a couple months ago!

Alaffia is a new brand that is from Agbanga Karite: a fair-trade shea butter company. This company works directly with African communities to attain many of their ingredients. Their shampoo is a combination of real African black soap and a mild synthetic detergent. Their conditioners are very rich in shea. I think both the shampoo and conditioner I tried are awesome, but I prefer not using them together! I like using Alaffia's super rich conditioner with my shampoo bars (from other companies see parts 1 and 2) and Alaffia's shampoo with conditioners from other companies. Other people will probably prefer using them together (I've only tried one of the shampoos and conditioners so far so don't know if I prefer mixing all of their products with other brands, or just like mixing up just the specific two I tried). I love how soft my hair is after I use the conditioner, but the formulation is so heavy in shea that the conditioner separated a little (shea butter is really thick so in conditioners, creams, and lotions, it usually mixed with liquid oils but they didn't do that, they only used the butter). Though the texture was a little thick and it had separated slightly, their conditioner is one of the best conditioners I've used in a long time. The shampoo I tried is less drying than other detergent based ones since it also has soap in it but I still can't use it every day but I've found I can use it more often than many other brands: though most other people will be able to use it regularly (daily or every other day) with no problems. It's better to lather the shampoo in your hands before applying it to the hair because of its texture. I think most of their products are vegetarian, and some are vegan (some formulas contain honey). I really love their scent combinations (they use essential oils); their products smell yummy!

Terressentials is a completely 100% natural and organic skin care line. They make a 'shampoo mud' made with clay (I know that sounds like a strange concept but some cultures have traditionally used clays to cleanse their hair). I have not used their shampoo mud yet (I make my own) but I have seen it plugged in articles and I have used some of their other products and they are excellent. They are definitely one of the purest lines out there and one of the most natural lines I have reviewed in all three hair care blog posts. I am sure all of their 'Pure Earth Hair Washes' are vegan, and all of their products are vegetarian (some contain beeswax). They are USDA NOP certified organic.


Real Purity is a brand that is sold online (through their own website and a few other vendors) and in a couple of stores. Their shampoo and conditioners are simple, basic formulations that are good for frequent use. Their products are all natural (a 'super natural' line, one of the purest/most natural). I like the light conditioning of their conditioner.


Vermont soap works is one of the biggest online natural soap vendors. I really like this soap company. They make very nice basic soap. They also make a shampoo bar but I didn't like it very much when I tried it a few years ago but others may like them better than I did (my hair is super picky). But I highly, highly recommend both their bar and liquid soaps. They also sell things like cleansers for yoga mats and pet shampoo (please do not use essential oils on Kitty). They are one of the few skin care companies that are USDA NOP certified organic. Their soaps are inexpensive, simple basic combinations: good every day bars.

Another company that has some (but not all) of their products certified by the USDA is Aubrey Organics. I forgot to mention that in part 1.

Note: Because of the natural preservatives in the lines above they have a much shorter shelf life than something preserved with synthetic preservatives (months as opposed to years) so be sure to use up quickly and not over buy.

All Natural and Natural Based Shampoo and Conditioner Recs: Part 2 (Natural Hair Care)

And here is part 2! Part 3 will be posted in a few days.

Please note: since most (but not all) of these brands are only preserved with mixes of alcohol (an extremely effective natural preservative if used in the correct concentration), herbal extracts (which contain alcohol) and essential oils (anti-bacterial ability depends on the plant, and will only preserve against certain bacteria and fungi), the shelf life of most of these products is much shorter than products preserved with synthetic preservatives: only a few months. A couple of these brands use synthetic/naturally derived preservatives (meaning that some people call these preservatives 'natural' because they are derived from a natural substance, but I personally consider them synthetic since they are not completely natural since they are altered. However they are relatively benign so I use products with them) so shelf life for those products is at least a year. I don't recommend storing most natural products in the bathroom since that reduces shelf life (the only products that you can leave in your bathroom are soaps and small amounts of soap based liquid cleansers, small amounts of shampoos, and powdered mineral makeup made only with minerals and pigments).

Giovanni makes some nice shampoos and conditioners. I like their products but don't love them. They are available online and in stores. Their products range from nearly all natural to natural based (depends on the formula). Their shampoos and conditioners contain a nice assortment of herbs that are good for the hair. Light conditioning, very basic products for frequent use. Inexpensive.

Heart of Iowa Soapworks. I've plugged this company on my blog before. For a few years they were my favorite shampoo bars (though now Chagrin Valley is, see part 1). Before I tried Karla's (the owner) shampoo bars I hated shampoo bars because other brands left my hair feeling dry and greasy. Karla's shampoo bars clean well without over stripping. I like her aloe fresh shampoo bar the best. Her facial bars are also very nice (a few years ago her shea special bar was one of the few soaps I could use on my face that didn't dry out my skin--though thankfully I now have found several other companies I can use on my face now). The shea special bar is awesome, rich in shea and smells very yummy! She makes 100% natural and nearly all natural (some have fragrance oils) soaps. Most are vegetarian or vegan but there are a couple that are not vegetarian. They are available online, through a few different vendors that I have posted about previously before. The link above is to her own site.

Kiss My Face Organics. I don't care for their regular line (which is not natural enough for me ;P and contains ingredients I don't recommend using though I admit their regular line is much better than many conventional lines) but their organic line is all natural or nearly all natural or natural based (depends on the product). I haven't used their shampoo in years so I don't really remember what it's like, but I have used their conditioner lately. Nice, light conditioning, which is better for oily hair because of the herbs used in the product. Basic care. In stores or online. Inexpensive.

Miessence is a very nice nearly all natural organic cosmetic company from Australia. Most of their products are all natural and organic, except for their shampoos (which use an extremely mild sugar based naturally derived synthetic detergent) and conditioners (depends on how you personally define certain emulsifiers). Miessence is one of the purest lines out there. Very gentle and lots of herbs that beneficial the hair. I like both their shampoos and conditioners (but of course can't use either very often since their shampoo is detergent based and their conditioner has apple cider vinegar in it. Most people love sugar based detergents since they are so mild, and also the majority of people who have tried apple cider vinegar in rinses or conditioners love it, but as I mentioned my hair and facial skin are very picky!) Very nice formulations.

Paul Penders. I love Paul Pender's products. They are originally a European company but I think are ship out of Asia now (but shipping is NOT expensive even though it is international; but they have currently have a minimal order of $50). Definitely also one of the purest lines out there. They do a lot of environmental work too. They use a very complex blend of amazing and beneficial herbs in most of their formulas: over 20 different herbs. Most of their product line is all natural or nearly all natural. Their shampoos and conditioners are natural (except for of course the detergent and the emulsifiers depending on your own definition of natural). I haven't used them in a couple years but I remember I really loved their conditioner: for a while it was my favorite conditioner. However they reformulated many of their products within the last few years and I have not tried them since (sadly they have started to add apple cider vinegar to most of their conditioners which works for nearly everyone, but not me! But they still have at least one without). I remember I really liked their shampoos, which I found I could use more often than most other brands even though it's detergent based because I think it's because herbs are their first ingredient and they don't add a lot of detergents to their shampoos: in fact they now have a medium and also a low suds formula. Time for me to try them again! :)

Samara Botane is a well respected essential oil company with an ecological conscious. They have a lovely natural (and very inexpensive) herbal conditioner. They also have a shampoo base ( but I have not used it since I don't formulate with detergents but I may try it in the future). Their conditioner is one of my favorites. Their product is somewhere between nearly all natural or natural (depending on definition of the emulsifiers). This is what I am currently using. Excellent formulation, contains herbs that actually do something for your hair :) I have to mention I love their essential oils: extremely high quality and very fragrant.

New all natural beauty website and environmental articles: anb Mall and Eco Living articles (Environmental Products and Information on Green Living)

I am pleased to announce the opening of my friend Sharon's (owner of all natural beauty website, SharAmbrosia, anb forum, and anb Portal) newest all natural beauty related website called the anb Mall! Not sure where to get truly natural beauty products (or products from small businesses, and many women and family owned businesses)? This is the place to look! Links to many fantastic truly natural brands including several I haven't tried yet (I guess this means I have to try them now, LOL! :) ). This is as natural as it gets!

It is a double pleasure to let everyone know about her newest project because I am the anb Mall's Eco Living writer! :) I am so honored that Sharon has asked me to write eco living related articles for her site and I hope that everyone finds all of my environmental friendly tips helpful! In this month's issue (click here) I have defined what eco living is and provided a few very simple green tips. So once a month check out the Eco Living section for even more awesome tips on green living! And be sure to check out all of the other great sections of the anb Mall for cool deals, articles, and all natural beauty related news!