Natural liquid soap handcrafted with natural butters and oils is thinner than the commercially produced liquid soaps and shower gels mainly because the commercial soaps are made with synthetic detergents and chemical thickeners. Natural handcrafted liquid soaps are still as bubbly but you won’t get that thick gel-like consistency that can sometimes be hard to thin in your hands even under running water. In effect, you are actually rinsing a lot of that gel down the drain before it has a chance to turn into suds, so the natural soaps do last longer.
What is African Black Soap?
African Black Soap - 100% natural
We are very excited to introduce our new, 100% authentic African Black Soap, imported from Western Africa. This is the only soap in the world that does not use lye, but lathers more than any other soap, without having to use sodium laurel sulphate. This is 100% natural – no fragrance, no preservatives and unscented. (We also carry this soap with the added Tea Tree Oil & Eucalyptus oil here.
Uses & Benefits: This soap can be used on your face, body & hair. It is a deep cleanser & leaves your skin feeling healthy. Some of the benefits of African Black Soap are:
| • | helps to relieve acne & oily skin |
| • | gets rid of existing blemishes |
| • | softens rough skin |
| • | relieves rashes |
| • | helps with scalp irritation |
| • | works great as a makeup remover |
| • | use in the shower to remove body odor |
| • | helps in the shower to remove body odor |
| • | helps with eczema |
| • | helps with razor bumps |
Original Process: The soap comes from dried plantain, which is a natural source of Vitamin A & Vitamin E, banana peel & leaves, cocoa pods, shea tree bark & dried palm tree leaves. A plantain is a type of banana that grows in warm temperatures where there is less of a chance for strong winds. The skin is dried under the African sun, then burned in a vat or kettle into ashes. Water is added and filtered; then shea butter, coconut oil, palm kernel oil & cocoa butter are all added to the water to create the soap. Herbs and age-old formulations make the difference in the outcome of the soap. The soap is then hand-stirred by the local women for at least a day and then set out to cure for two weeks.
Color & smell: Real African Black Soap is soft and can very from light brown to dark brown in color. Be aware of African Black Soap that is very hard or completely dyed black; that is a sign that the soap is fake. Ours is a beautiful, earthy brown color and has an earthy odor.
What process is done here? The soap arrives in chunks and crumbs (by nature, this soap is crumbly). We break it down into smaller pieces, slowly remelt it, and add the beneficial ingredients such as argan oil, sweet almond oil & other beneficial oils, and then we remold it.
Storage: Store unused Black Soap in a cool, dry area, leaving it wrapped inside of a ziplock bag or saran wrap. This is because natural black soap is full of glycerin which absorbs moisture in the air. It can also soften too much when left out in the open air. Once you use the soap, try not to leave it sitting in water in the tub. Be sure that there is no water sitting in your soap dish.
More information: African Black Soap is also commonly called Ose Dudu – “Ose (meaning “soap”), and “Dudu” (meaning “black”). This comes from the Yoruba or Anago languages of Nigeria, Togo & Benin. Other names for African Black Soap are Alata Samina or Anago Samina among the Ghanaians.
Myth or truth? Is rice powder good or bad for your skin?
Hey guys.
We wanted to debunk a few myths that have been going around about rice powder, one of the best additives to mineral makeup today. There is some misleading information going around that rice powder in mineral makeup supports acne bacterial growth. Most websites are writing articles providing scientific evidence and information that these claims are absolutely false.
Acne is caused by ingredients that block the pores & is also caused by a natural occurring, harmless bacteria found in our pores, called propionibacterium acnes. The sebum accumulation is what causes acne; this is your acne’s food source, not the rice powder in your mineral makeup. Bacteria requires many factors in order to grow. Rice powder is dry in nature, so it does not have a shelf life since bacteria cannot be sustained in a dry environment. Since your mineral makeup is stored closed and dry, it would take very extreme circumstances to acquire mold or bacteria. It would take someone actually dumping a puddle of water into your mineral makeup jar and letting it sit like a pile of mud for a few hours in your bathroom, for any chance of bacteria to occur. If it were true that ANY moisture added to rice powder caused bacterial growth, then every mineral makeup ingredient would be a suspect.
Rice powder used in mineral foundations and powders is cosmetic grade, which mean it is modified, sterilized & the moisture is removed to prevent bacteria or mold growth. The rice powder in your makeup jar is not raw food starch.
Rice powder is non-irritating and gives your foundation and setting powders that silky smooth feeling that many other ingredients cannot offer. It helps to soothe and calm acne and inflammation, and for these reasons, rice powder is a much-desired ingredient in the mineral makeup world!
We found our favorite Warm Vanilla Sugar
A few years ago, before we started hand making our own body creams, my sister and I happened upon this absolutely incredible smelling body cream – turns out, it was a dupe to the Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar. We have searched for this dupe and haven’t been able to find it … until now. We ordered this fragrance oil last week and as soon as I smelled it I knew it was the one we’d been looking for.
We will be adding it to our body creams & body splashes as well. Eleanor is also hard at work trying to make an all natural liquid hand soap and we will offer this in the Warm Vanilla Sugar scent too.
We’ve joined the blog world …
We are always receiving customer questions about topics, skin care, makeup application, and started thinking that maybe it was easier to put all of these topics onto a blog to make it easier to navigate the different topics. So …. here we go!
Email us your favorite questions, topics and we will do our best to add them to the weekly issues!
Benefits of argan oil – what is the hype about?
Argan oil comes from the nut of the argan tree.
We have been getting many requests to sell Argan oil, so we did some research. There are always trends of new beauty products that pop up year after year so we wanted to make sure that this one was not just hype. Scientific research has proven that this oil does live up to the hype and we now understand why people call it “Liquid Gold.”
Argan oil is an all natural product, which means it works on all skin types, even sensitive skin. It is made from the nuts of the argan tree, which grows naturally near the Atlas mountains of Morocco. For centuries, Berber women from the Atlas have known and treasured Argan oil because of its moisturizing and regenerating properties.
It is rich in essential, unsaturated fatty acids like Oleic and Linoleic, Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E & retinoids (retinoids originate from Vitamin A, which is a famous skin cure for acne).
Some people want to specifically purchase unrefined Argan Oil because they want it in it’s rawest form. We purchase our argan oil refined, bleached & deodorized to remove impurities and odors. The raw form of argan oil has a lingering, nutty odor that many find unappealing, & also has sediment in the oil, which is why we sell the refined form. There are no added ingredients in our argan oil. This expeller pressed Argan Oil has been refined, bleached (with clay), and deodorized. No chemicals are used in refining.
Benefits of Argan oil for your skin
| • | rich in essential, unsaturated fatty acids like Oleic and Linoleic, Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E & retinoids (retinoids originate from Vitamin A, which is a famous skin cure for acne) |
| • | richer than Olive oil in Linoleic (Omega 6) and Tocopherol, both of which help avoid early aging and the loss of skin elasticity |
| • | amount of Vitamin E in argan oil is almost double than that in olive oil. |
| • | softens skin by working as a moisturizer – absorbs quickly, giving a dewy glow |
| • | helps to stop the root cause of acne, which is overpopulation of sebum, by reducing the body’s production of sebum |
| • | unclogs pores by helping rid the skin of excess oils |
| • | reduces fine lines |
| • | lessens the appearance of scars from acne |
| • | removes chapped, rough dry patches |
| • | helps with stretch marks in pregnant women |
| • | can be used under mineral makeup for a smoother base |
| • | helps with sunburn |
| • | helps with psoriasis |
| • | can even be used on baby skin |
Benefits of Argan oil for your hair
| • | works as a hair conditioner – makes hair shiny and smooth |
| • | helps repair damaged hair follicles |
| • | moisturizes the hair & scalp |
| • | helps with frizzy hair |
| • | reduces hair loss by strengthening your hair |
| • | helpful to those who use damaging chemical treatments on your hair |
| • | helps split ends & eliminates dandruff |
| • | works great as a deep treatment when applying warm argan oil on your head and then wrap with a hot towel |
Benefits of Argan oil for your nails
| • | when applied to the nails, argan oil moisturizes & strengthens brittle nails |
| • | mix argan oil with lemon juice in a bowl and soak your fingers for 15 minutes to condition your nails |
Benefits of Argan oil for your body
| • | apply to your body to soften and tone skin |
| • | can relieve muscle aches because of the high amount of anti-inflammatory agents, which is what makes this a wonderful massage oil |
All argan oil today is produced by a women’s cooperative that shares the profits among the women of rural Morocco. This gives the women a steady income, health care and education. It provides the income for 3 million people in the southern part of the kingdom.
Understanding foundation undertones
- How do I know my skintone and which undertone color foundation is for me?
The “silver or gold” trick … Hold up a silver necklace next to your skin, and then a gold one. Which complements your skin better? If you look better in silver jewelry you have a cool skin tone, and if you look better in gold then you have a warm skin tone.
Look at the veins in your arm. If your veins appear greenish, that could indicate a yellow undertone, which means that your tone is warm. Veins that appear to be bluish, indicate blue undertone, which means your tone is cool. If you are unsure which color your veins are, sometimes it is easier to compare yours with someone elses. It really makes the color stand out.
You have cool undertones if … you have pale or fair, rosy skin, skin with a dark-red cast, or tend to flush easily. If you are very fair, burn easily, and your skin has pink or porcelain undertones instead of peach, you have “cool”undertones. Celebrities with cool undertones: Scarlett Johansson, Meg Ryan, Courtney Cox, Cameron Diaz.
You have warm undertones if …you have a yellow or golden undertone and you tan easily. You look more peach than pink. Warm undertones are the most common. Celebrities with warm undertones ... Mila Kunis, Lindsey Lohan, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce.
You probably have olive skin if you have green and gold undertones; olive skin has a warm undertone. Celebrities with warm olive undertones … Eva Mendez, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Alba
You have a neutral undertone if …you have either a mix of cool and warm undertones or no distinguishable undertones at all. Celebrities with a neutral undertone: Sandra Bullock, Megan Fox, Cindy Crawford.
Clean your makeup brushes!
- Do you keep breaking out when you normally have clear skin, and you don’t understand why? Your face feels irritated, and itchy – but nothing in your daily routine has changed, so what is it?
- Have you checked your makeup brushes lately? Makeup brushes can be a breeding ground for dirt and bacteria. Make sure you clean them often. I just use baby shampoo but you can use any gentle cleanser! Just put a small amount of the soapy solution with some warm water in a bowl, and swish the hairs around the bowl. I do this a couple of times until the water runs clear. Rinse thoroughly and air dry with handles slightly above the bristles. You do not want water to run down inside the ferrules of the brush as this may loosen the hairs.
Clear Skin Regimen & Getting Rid of Acne
Full disclosure here 
This post was started because we sell many skin care products on our online store at LureBeauty.com. This blog is in response to many customers asking us to write a post about which products work best for getting rid of acne & keeping your skin clear, so this post is about a skin routine that Jeanne & Jennifer started to keep their skin clear. Keep in mind, these are products from our website; we only introduced these products to our website BECAUSE these were tried by us years BEFORE we decided to carry the product.
If you break out more in the first few weeks, this is a good thing, and it means your skin is purging the impurities that are below the surface and clearing out all of the bad “stuff.”
A word of advice … make sure you drink a lot of water, and some people have said that eating soy products makes them break out, so try to avoid soy if you think that is the problem. We also noticed that taking our daily vitamins has helped as well. (Jennifer noticed that once she started taking prenatal vitamins, her skin seemed much clearer.
Morning & Evening:
Step 1 – Cleanse …. Start by using the Camphor Souffle deep pore cleanser. This cleanser softens the water and gets deep down into your pores to get out the gunk and sebum. Follow this with the Acne Active cleansing gel. This cleansing gel helps to exfoliate the dead cells thanks to Alpha and Beta Hydroxy acids, and natural enzymes. We also added tea tree oil & eucalyptus oil (these oils kill acne bacteria and reduce the symptoms of acne). Glycolic acid helps to accelerate the removal of dead, dull skin, increase collagen, and reduce the appearance of fine lines, sun damage and hyper pigmentation. Salicylic acid is oil soluble and will dig deep into clogged pores to clear them out. Both acids will help to clear up blackheads in oily/acne prone skin. This cleanser will also prepare your skin for at home acid peels.
Step 5 – Tone … Our Glycolic/Salicylic Eucalyptus Astringent Toner is a very effective facial astringent toner recommended only for oily and blemished skin. Its balancing pH helps to fight bacteria, to reduce oil secretion, and to dry up blemishes. The high content of Alpha-Hydroxy Acids (15%) effectively accelerate the exfoliation of the skin’s dead cells, diminish superficial sun damage and reduce the appearance of fine lines. We apply this using gauze pads, which also help to exfoliate while applying the toner.
Step 6 – Exfoliate ... We highly recommend Dr. Pickart’s LacSal Serum/Cream to exfoliate. LacSal Serum/Creams are designed to exfoliate skin while still being a mild “leave-on” product. The cream is great for people with normal or dry skin. LacSal Cream is designed to exfoliate skin but reduce skin irritation by adding skin lipids to the exfoliated area and calm irritation with the antioxidants. The serum is great for those with oily-to-combination skin or acne-prone skin, because the serum contains an oil-free formulation.
Step 7 – Wait a few minutes until you feel your face has dried and then use a few pumps of emu oil (one of the absolute best moisturizers because it penetrates all layers of your skin) all over your face. (We love to use Super CP Serum along with the emu oil). Super CP Serum is a Skin Remodeling Copper-Peptide (SRCP), and in every comparative clinical study, has been proven superior to Retin-A(R), Vitamin C creams, and Kinerase(R) in terms of wrinkle reduction, reducing skin blotchiness, improving skin firmness, and the development of new collagen. CP Serum (Copper Peptide Serum) is a water-based lipid free copper peptide product that helps skin remodeling while enhancing the skin’s protective barrier and anti-oxidant defenses.
Step 8 – Dab a few drops of the blemish control gel on your face if you have any breakouts. Always apply this AFTER the emu oil, not before (emu oil penetrates all layers of the skin and you don’t want this product to be pushed too far into the skin or it could be irritating).
Caution: Salicylic acid should not be used if you are pregnant. It is in the aspirin family and should never be used during pregnancy. While the topical form of salicylic acid has not been tested on pregnant women, many health care professionals recommend steering clear of using any ointment containing the chemical. This is especially true of facial and body peels. The more solution rubbed onto the skin, and absorbed into the bloodstream, the more risk there is. It’s estimated that a body peel containing salicylic acid is the equivalent of taking one aspirin.
