Tip Tuesday: VANILLA SCENTED SKIN CARE PRODUCTS CALM YOUR SWEET TOOTH

Yes, you read that right. Vanilla scented skin care products calm your sweet tooth!

I use different spices or spice-type essential oils in my SLATHER products, so I am always interested in the effect spices have on the human body. 

I came across an article a bit ago that touches on the health benefits of four super spices: Black Pepper, Ginger, Cinnamon, Vanilla. You can find all of these "super spices" but Black Pepper in my products. Spicy & sweet combos are my fave though, so Pepper may be making an appearance in the future. ;-) 


The first few health benefits were for spices added to food. However, the health benefit for Vanilla was based on the aroma alone. The scent of Vanilla helps you cut your intake of sweets by HALF [1]. This can be by burning Vanilla scented candles or by wearing Vanilla scented perfumes & skincare products.



For two SLATHER products to help you indulge in a sweet scent without the extra pounds, try:

SLATHER LEMON VANILLA BEAN SCRUB








SLATHER NATURAL BODY in OATMEAL COOKIE





[1] "Spice Up Your Life". Eating Well. Dec 2013:18. Print.

Tip Tuesday: HOW to APPLY EYE CREAM for MAXIMUM BENEFIT

Hello all!

I get a lot of questions about how to apply eye cream. I keep my package directions simple as to not confuse, but I thought I could go into more detail and the the science behind the madness here. So, welcome to the madness. :-) Now you are trapped.

SLATHER EYE (Natural Cream) is light, silky, effective, & affordable, so if you haven't tried it yet....what are you waiting for? It is my most popular product and my personal fave. Also recently featured in the Beauty Geek's blog, check it out: http://the-beauty-geek.blogspot.com/2014/06/slatherlotions-first-fully-personalized_20.html

SLATHER EYE for purchase at http://slatherlotions.com/shop/slather-eye

How to apply eye cream for maximum benefit:

Always apply cream to cleansed face, under your make-up. This allows the cream to get down into the pores and top layers of your skin to provide a barrier against the elements and give you a base protective layer before applying make-up. That way, even with make-up on the cream is working on your skin.

Your body temperature elevates slightly while sleeping, allowing treatment creams to seep in more easily and active ingredients to do their thing. Therefore, if you apply eye cream only once per day, do it at night for the most benefit. Generally, I moisturize my face both morning and night and apply eye cream at night before bed. If I have tired eyes in the morning or didn't get enough sleep, I apply eye cream in the morning too.

To apply, squeeze a pea-sized amount onto one pinky or ring finger tip (these are the least used fingers, so they are softer and apply less pressure to the eye area). Lightly rub together with the same finger of the opposite hand. Next, lightly dab small amounts under the eyes, starting below the inner corners out through the temples. You may also apply on top eyelid crease and brow bone. Continue dabbing very lightly until product is dispersed and sinks into skin. Why dabbing versus rubbing? The skin around the eyes is super thin, so it is more easily stretched when rubbed. Over-stretching skin can lead to wrinkles because it causes puckers in the skin, preventing the skin fibers from laying flat. So try not to rub as much as possible.

That's it!

Tip Tuesday! LESS is really MORE

Avoid over using skincare & anti-aging products to help your skin glow (and thank you)! Here are some tips:

Look for multi-use skincare products to avoid buying tons of products and confusing your skin. Stick to a small arsenal of a few products that really work and pass on the rest. SLATHER FACE & HAND, SLATHER EYE, a SLATHER SCRUB & a good, natural cleanser is really all you need.

Drink lots of water! I know everybody says that, but it is so easy to do and lots of people don't. 

Wash your face regularly and pat dry. Avoid scrubbing with towels or washcloths. A couple splashes of water is better than washing with a cleanser if you don't have makeup on. Over-using cleansers can strip your skin of natural oils, dry your skin, and irritate the eyes. 

Avoid rubbing around the eyes. Do allergies give you watery or itchy eyes? Try rinsing your face or put a wet towel or baby wipe over face for a few minutes to calm skin. Even wetting the skin under your eyes helps. This also is beneficial if your eyes get tired from staring at computer screens or book pages...it helps increase micro-circulation in the under eye area. It seriously works, try it!

Use a natural, high quality moisturizer for face and hands (SLATHER FACE & HAND of course) daily. Apply by patting onto cleansed skin, versus rubbing. Helps prevent skin damage, adds vitamins & antioxidants, improves skin texture, and helps skin stay healthy! Apply once a day, or both day and night. 

Use an eye cream (SLATHER EYE of course) to wake up and de-puff tired eyes. Also helps prevent wrinkles, soften fine lines, and diminish dark circles. Have laugh, squint, smile, and other mystery lines? You don't need another product for those. Eye cream works great for those too! Apply once a day, or both day and night.

Exfoliate with a sugar scrub at least once a week. You can exfoliate as often as every other day if you like. Exfoliating helps soften, deep clean and minimize pores, remove spent skin, increase circulation, and tone and tighten skin. There is a collection of SLATHER SCRUBs to choose from: SLATHER SAND SCRUB {Dry Exfoliant Mask for Face}, SLATHER LEMON VANILLA BEAN SCRUB {Exfoliant for Face & Body} (Brand new! I know, yummy! Will be up online this week), and SLATHER PEPPERMINT ICE SCRUB {Exfoliant for Face & Body}. All SLATHER SCRUBs have either natural plant oils and/or powders and extracts to nourish skin with tons of vitamins and antioxidants. They also have sea salt to add trace minerals and help detoxify skin. Plus, they smell scrumptious! Try one...you won't be sorry.

Follow these tips for healthy skin that can't help but glow!


SLATHER products mentioned in the post for purchase at http://slatherlotions.com/shop
and https://www.etsy.com/shop/slatherlotions

{Handmade} New SLATHERlotions Product! SPICED ORANGE TEA SCRUB

SLATHER SPICED ORANGE TEA SCRUB

Uses the powerful detox and antioxidant properties of tea for your skin! Brown sugar, Organic Cane Sugar,  and Honey exfoliate and smooth, for touchably soft skin. Safflower Oil & Orange Peel add extra moisture and doses of vitamins A, C & E. Warming spices help increase circulation and give this scrub a heavenly spiced orange scent. Great hand, cuticle, and dry body area scrub, or added to bath water for a detoxifying and skin smoothing soak!

{Handmade} New SLATHERlotions Product! PEPPERMINT ICE SCRUB

SLATHER PEPPERMINT ICE SCRUB

If you love peppermint as much as I do, you will l-o-v-e this scrub! Jojoba Oil mimics your natural skin oils, allowing it to soak in and deeply moisturize skin. It's packed with minerals & antioxidants from Cranberry Seed Oil, Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and Vitamin E. Fine Organic Cane Sugar is light as snow--keeping this scrub powerful, but gentle. Great as a lip/face scrub, body scrub, or added to bath water for a nourishing and skin softening soak!

{Handmade} INFUSED BOTANICAL WATERS

I absolutely love my SLATHER SPA line... please check the lovelies out online slatherlotions.com if you haven't already! Right now SLATHER SPA comes in Lemon Green Tea & Lavender, but more are in the works. I love these lotions because they...



   1) Are one of my mad-scientist creations.
   2) Come in pretty blue bottles with pretty plants on the label.
   3) Have Coconut Oil & Avocado Oil & lots of Shea Butter.
   4) Scent is from pure essential oils.
   5) Are blended using infused botanical waters as a base.

Infused botanical water as a lotion base is very nourishing to the skin because you get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients from the plant you have infused in each drop of lotion. Plus, it gives the lotions a slight natural, plant derived color besides white.

My first step is making the infused botanical waters...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HOW TO MAKE INFUSED BOTANICAL WATER~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Materials:

Plant you would like to make infused water with (used lavender & hibiscus flowers)
Filtered Water
Large Glass Beaker or Measuring Cup
Fine-mesh Strainer
Water Bath (Metal high-sided pan filled with a few inches of water)
Hot Plate or Burner

Procedure:

It's just like making tea...

 

 

     

Wash plants or buy sterilized. Add to water in glass measuring cup. Heat using water bath until just simmering. Allow plant color & nutrients to infuse into water for 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat, strain out plant bits and cool water. You have just made infused botanical water!

Discussion:

Infused botanical waters are great for more than lotion base. You can use them after cleansing your face as a tonic. They can be added to bath water for a calming & cleaning soak. If made really concentrated, they can also be used as a natural perfume.
     Let me know if you think of other uses!


Lavender Flower Water is the base for SLATHER SPA in Lavender.
Green Tea Water is the base for SLATHER SPA in Lemon Green Tea.
I haven't found the perfect essential oil to pair with Hibiscus Flower Water yet for a new SLATHER SPA...I'd like to do a Vanilla or Honey for something ultra feminine.
      What do you think is a good pairing for Hibiscus?

I think Chamomile and/or Calendula will be my next infused water experiments!

Hello all and welcome! Nice to "meet" you. My name is Chelsea and I am the Founder & Chemist/Mixologist behind SLATHERlotions. How did I get to where I am today?

Well...

I have always loved science and nature, which inspired me to pursue a degree in Plant Biology. During college, I tended a vaccine research greenhouse—which made me appreciate the beauty of plants and how powerful they can be. I have also had a love for cooking for as long as I can remember...naturally, this led me to enjoy my Chemistry classes and “cooking” in a lab setting as well. 

After college, I worked as a R&D Chemist at Gold Canyon Candles, formulating candles and was introduced to the world the fragrance and personal care. Then, I continued my journey as a R&D Chemist at Australian Gold, this time developing tanning lotions and skincare formulas for products sold at salons, as well as celebrity private labels for both salons and stores. I learned so much about personal care ingredients, fragrance, packaging and marketing....but I yearned to have my involvement in the whole product from an idea to reality, not predominately formulation and testing.

So,  when my company relocated  1700 miles away & I didn’t want to make the move....it dawned on me that I should start my own company and combine my love of plants, chemistry, product development, and making from the heart....and so, SLATHERlotions was born. These are my passions and I am excited to share them with you!

In a sea of products that are available at stores/online with catchy packages, crazy claims, and crazy prices to match…. how can you know what’s best for you? After swimming through store aisles myself, scanning countless labels trying to find skincare products that will work for me, I realized there is no personalization available to the average person and the needs of their skin.

I love how fun and a treat people look at skincare products as, and I wanted high quality and effective skincare products to be affordable luxury that everyone can't help but love. SLATHERlotions products are formulated with specific skin types and the needs of skin in mind…using my knowledge about skin structure, anti-aging, smoothing fine lines, and the nutrients your skin needs to look its best and turn back the clock. Ingredients that are natural, beneficial, and easy to pronounce. Products can be customized to your specific skin needs and allergies. No need to continue scanning hundreds of labels in the store beauty aisles hoping to find personal care products that will work for you.

This blog will combine the two types of cooking as I post about all the lovely things I mix at home in my lab (and by lab I am referring to our office that I use as a mini lab) & kitchen. Things don't always turn out perfectly...I have burned muffins, splattered lotion on myself, the walls & ceiling, and more over just the past week alone. But that is all part of the process and part of life. Just remember, keep on mixing and...

CHEM IS TRY!