Adventures With The Sage

The Lotion Bar Tubes are back in stock!!!!!!!!  Oh, I can’t believe it!!!!  It seemed like we would have to wait forever.

Andee will be back on the blog tomorrow.  I am so excited!  She has missed us, and worked a half day yesterday, and will work a half day today.  She feels so much better.  Yippee!!

OK, here is my cheesy joke of the day.  Why did the kitty eat cheese?  So she could wait by the mouse hole with baited breath.

Tomorrow is Friday and Andee will be back.  WHEW!

Tina

PS:  All groaning comments are welcome!

We have 4 new molds in the catalog, including two loaf style molds. We also have two new scents, one is Monkey Farts Fragrance Oil, and the other is Rosewood Essential Oil. See http://www.thesage.com/catalog/new.html for all the new items.

Yesterday we got our first real snow in the valley. It was wonderful! Each year I look forward to making snow angels and it appears as though this winter will a promising season!

Swine Flu Note (again): we have had two staff members get this flu, one in March and one in September. Since we have had friends in the area and away that have also had this flu we thought we would mention a helpful hint in the event you also contract this virus. Severe cases seem to cause such turmoil with the body that hair and nails stop growing for just a blink. This can cause the hair to break off/appear to fall out and the nails to grow with a disease caused dent. While the hair will grow back and the nails will grow out, it can be alarming for the post-illness ego to think that the body is falling apart again. If you, or a loved one, gets this flu it might be beneficial to take a multi-vitamin during and after the illness. This may help prevent or decrease the likelihood of these problems. As with all supplements, please talk to your doctor. We don’t want any supplements to interfere with medical treatments.

OK, here is my joke. I am sure it is such a groaner that Laffy taffy doesn’t even want it.

If an astronaut dips his bare toe into a pie, will the pie eaters get mistle toe (missle toe)? I told you it was a groaner!  I’m hoping Andee will get better soon because she can see I am subjecting our readers to such silly jokes!

Happy Wednesday!

Tina

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I’m Tina and I’m the guest writer for the blog today. Andee is at home recovering from the Swine Flu which turned into pneumonia.

I have a few updates for you that we are dealing with here at TheSage.com, they are:

1) the Swine Flu has caused a rush on hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial soaps. These products use pumps, primarily high out-put pumps. This has caused the manufacturers to be delayed in production. What does this mean to you? If you want white or black pumps to be consistent in your line of products, AND you do not have a stock pile of the pumps, it will probably be January before you get them. We are currently out of white and black pumps. We are looking at some overstock pumps in colors. At this time we do not have a solution to this problem, at least one that can be cured before time has its way.

2) Swine flu notes from those that have had it: It isn’t as easy to catch as the media says it is. Keeping your hands away from your face and washing with good soap (I wonder where we could get that?!) reduces the possibility of catching this virus. The virus can’t survive on hard surfaces for long periods of time. Keeping door knobs clean, washing hands, avoid touching the face, and never allow someone to sneeze on you are major strides in prevention of this disease spreading. Pay attention to your health as well. When you feel less than 100% make a mental note. Tamiflu can be taken to stop the flu from taking over your body but it MUST be taken in the first 48 hours of symptoms. Andee’s sister had a severe case of the swine flu, but Andee’s symptoms were lessened because she got the Tamiflu early in the cycle. If you do get the flu, plan on someone taking care of you. This season’s flu viruses make getting up for a drink of water too taxing on the body. This is why people are easily dehydrated and need hospital care. Your caretaker should be checking for fever at least every 4 hours. It is best to take notes through this time. If you do need hospital care the notes can accompany you to the hospital and be very helpful. We found that Gatorade’s G2, a drink with electrolytes, was very helpful. We mixed drinks (not that kind!!) and took temperatures at least every 4 hours. When you start to feel better, stay at home! It takes at least another week to get back on your feet. Don’t push going back to work or to school. If you go back too soon plan on getting laid up with bronchitis or pneumonia instead of getting better. A week going stir crazy, watching movies you have already seen 100 times is MUCH better than coughing up your lungs. Lungs are required organs for living.

3) We expect Andee back next week. She is breathing much better, but she is still getting breathing treatments and talking little. Too much effort spent telling stories zaps all of the available energy. We know you miss her, we do too. If you want my opinion, I think Andee would rather be at work and doing her blog.

4) While we are preparing orders to go out the door, I will probably be absent from Andee’s blog. I can do one or the other well, but trying to both is not in my current skill set. If you would like to be a guest writer please let us know. There is a link on our site to contact us. Send your comments to the Customer Support address and not to the blog. Andee’s email takes all the blog comments and no one is monitoring her address. http://www.thesage.com/about/contact.html is where you can go to send your blog entries. I’ll send major goodies to all who help during this time.

5) Shipping. Halloween is coming and we have no shipping disruptions for this holiday, but in November we have several. http://www.thesage.com/class.php3 will list all of the holiday events you should be aware of while making your orders. Please don’t forget that the Friday after Thanksgiving is only for UPS Next Day Air (sent on Wednesday) and Second Day Air (sent on Tuesday) deliveries. We feel really bad when an order is placed on Wednesday evening that requests Next Day Air delivery. This results in an order being delivered on Tuesday, December 1st. Check the schedule link and tell us in the comments of your order what is happening. We’ll do what we can to make you look good.

6) Lunch. I may not need to mention this but I’m going to try anyway. Yesterday I took lunch later than I normally do, for reasons of some staff being out with the flu and I was taking phone calls during our normal company lunch. When I finally got to my lunch a customer called with some questions and she refused to email in to have her questions answered. The lovely Kandie, our order desk guru, asked me to take the call because the caller was upset. I left my lunch and came to the phone. I answered the question that was the crisis which was explained to Kandie and then the customer wanted more info. I explained the percentage of Vitamin E to use and asked the caller to double check my answer with our online catalog. This obviously was not the answer she wanted and I tried to explain I was getting sick from not eating. The more I explained the more angry she became. My blood sugar was dropping fast and I was shaking like a leaf. Please don’t take our request to eat lunch as rude behavior, or that we don’t care about our customers. We do care. We want to be there to answer your questions and answer them correctly. So, if you call the office please accept my apology in advance. I’ll try not to let my lunch time get away from me again. Thanks for letting me explain why our phones may be closed during our lunch time.

7) Share a cup of tea with me. If you are placing an order, just write in the comments field that you want to share a cup of tea with our staff. I’ll have my favorite tea bags in the shipping department so they can add one to your order. If you like iced tea more than hot tea, tell us. If you like green tea more than you like black tea, tell us that too. If you have the flu, tell us, we’ll send a G2 packet instead. I think this flu/holiday/lunch post needs to be wrapped up by sharing a cup of tea. I’ll provide the tea if you provide the water and the cup. We’ll toast through cyber space and share a moment of companionship.

Best wishes,

Tina

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Rebatching.  This is sometimes a dirty word.  What is it and why do people do it?

Rebatching is sometimes confused with milling, or French milling. Rebatching is when a batch of soap is melted and additional items are added or a failed batch is reworked. Rebatching is done to make small, custom batches of soap from a large initial batch. The resulting bar of soap has a shorter shelf life than a properly prepared, handmade batch of soap. Rebatching is also a soap that is more likely to be cosmetically challenged (ugly).

Milling is when excess lye, fat and glycerin are removed from the soap and the resulting soap is shredded into flakes, pressed through a series of rollers and then molded. Milling makes a hard bar of soap that can last a long time. It is also not as skin friendly as a properly prepared, handmade batch of soap. Milled soaps are generally beautifully molded bars. These soaps are also more likely to be brittle.

Rebatching, when done to save a batch, is the only time MMS recommends doing this labor intensive work. Our favorite method of rebatching is the oven method. While still time consuming, the oven method is not a constant attention process.

To rebatch, using the oven method we use, shred or grate all of the soap and put it in an oven proof, lye resistant container (glass or stainless steel please!). Set the oven to 200 degrees F. Pour a bit of boiling water over the soap gratings and mash with a potato masher. I allow 1/2 hour for each pound of fat in the original batch. I mash and stir each 1/2 hour until the mixture appears fully melted and smooth in consistency. The mixture will probably be thick but it shouldn’t have major chunks. Small bits are OK to leave, but do expect color differences in the final bar of soap if you leave any small bits unmelted.

Add boiling water anytime you get a mixture that is too thick or dry. Do not add a lot of boiling water, just a little. If too much boiling water is added, then the soap will expand and probably float. Very wet soap is a problem because as it dries the sides will become concave.

To avoid the work of rebatching, try making each batch correctly the first time. The idea of making a very large batch of soap, then intentionally rebatching 1 lb at a time, seems to be wasteful of life’s precious minutes. No bar of soap that has been rebatched is an improvement over a properly made batch of handmade soap. Rebatching is for prevention of ingredient loss. It is a “waste not, want not” activity.

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I just got a request from Pat about making summer time sugar scrubs. She wanted to find a substitution for the oil in an oil and sugar scrub that wouldn’t leave her shower floor so slippery.

If we remove the oil and add something like aloe juice, the potential for microbial growth is increased. This is reason for concern because a preservative is now a required use. So, our recommendation is to use a lighter oil like coconut oil fractions (as opposed to olive oil) or clear jojoba oil. These lighter oils don’t leave the skin feeling so heavy.

So now we still need to do something about the shower floor. I purchased a bath mat for my shower that looks like river rock pebbles. The one I chose is clear. I purchased it from Bed Bath & Beyond. Click here to see a blue version.

Clear items are so hard to photograph. Click this link in case you want to see the clear version.

This style of bath mat is a drain through version. This is not a drain over the sides style mat which I find can be slippery if an oily product is used. I find this mat to be easy to care for, it gets a bath in the washing machine once a month. It gets a weekly spray off cleaning with Clorox Clean Up. It dries in no time, thanks in part to the dry Utah climate. I’ve had no discoloring of the mat and I haven’t had a bad fall either.

It was a bad fall that got the mat in the first place. It would sound logical that an oil/sugar scrub was what made the floor slippery and therefore was the root cause of my fall. It wasn’t. I just happened to be shaving my legs and found that the shelf provided as a foot rest was not properly attached. Falling with a razor in hand is very scary indeed. My head hit the shampoo dispenser, it broke. I got a nice goose egg on my head and a small cut. I had a slight nick from the razor and bruises from head to toe. My shower was also sporting these new mats by that afternoon.

So, bathe carefully. Check the shelf. Get a bath mat. And above all, enjoy the shower.

Best!

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SPF is an acronym for Sun Protection Factor. This is a number value given to indicate the level of protection the skin will receive from the sun. UV, or ultraviolet, light can cause skin cancer. There are clothing and body care products that can be used to protect from damaging ultraviolet rays. So, what about adding something which gives a known SPF to our lotions and lip balms? It sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? The problem arises when we consider 3 little letters and one word. These are OTC drug. This means an over-the-counter drug, one that does not need a prescription.

The law is clear that drugs must be made is specialized facilities which have passed regulatory hurdles. Why would our government require such hoopla for a sunscreen? The answer is simple – because sun damage can cause cancer. When you buy a product that makes a specific claim, such as having an SPF, you want to know that claim is truthful and the claim can be substantiated. Unsubstantiated claims hurt people, our economy and our communitites. Think of all the get rich quick schemes you have read over the years. Would you like the same results from unsubstantiated SPF claims? Absolutely not. We can choose not to respond to false claims for easy money, but we can’t avoid the sun. We do need to go outside for a number of activities. We also need Vitamin D, and just a few minutes in the sun each day helps our bodies make Vitamin D.

This brings me to the point of this blog. Please don’t try to make sunscreen products in your kitchen. If you don’t have the approval to make such a drug from our federal government, then don’t make it. Use products that have substantiated claims. Use products you know are made in drug manufacturing facilities. And don’t give me the arguement that you are only making sunscreen products for your friends and family. You should care MORE about your friends and family and only give them the best products available. Don’t cut corners when it comes to cancer prevention.

If using sunscreens that are chemical in nature is a concern for you, then change to sunscreens that are physical in nature. In other words, forgo the sunscreen that is a lotion or spray and wear clothing that has an SPF treatment.

If you find a lotion or lip balm base that has a chemical additive, then you turn around and add color or scent, or just fill your own bottles, then you are now the manufacturer of an OTC. Do not buy such bases. The companies that sell these SPF ingredients, and or bases, are encouraging all cosmetics to be regulated like drugs are regulated. Do yourself a favor, and all other small cosmetic and soap makers a favor, don’t mess around with the ingredients that get classified as drugs.

And by the way, use a good sunscreen.

Best wishes,

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