Adventures With The Sage

Just recently I had this very interesting study brought to my attention. As I had talked about chocolate on Monday, I thought you would find this very interesting.

“Researchers from the London University of the Arts and the European Dermatology London reported that the consumption of dark chocolate rich in flavanols can protect skin from UV light. This research was published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.

The study was lead by Stefanie Williams, MD, a dermatologist at the cosmetic science group, London University of the Arts, and the European Dermatology London.” (From Cosmetics & Toiletries Magazine)

I really like this idea. Now where can I find some chocolate with High Flavanol levels?

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Submissions are due by December 1st for posts during October and November.

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Today is Veteran’s Day in the United States. I would like to extend a salute from all of us here at The Sage to those who have served our country. To those that have served overseas or here at home, we are thankful for your dedicated service to the well being of the United States and her citizens. To those still serving, we are thankful for your choice to serve and may you come home safely. To every veteran who served our country honorably, whether you have served with the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Police, Firefighters, or Paramedics, whether you served during war or peacetime, you have our gratitude.

I know both family and friends that have served or are serving and as well as others who will never come home. I respect all of these courageous men and woman who have given me the opportunity to live in a country I am proud to call home.

Thank you to all veterans, whether you are past, present, or future, you are my heroes!

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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!

My name is Jennifer, a new soaper, loyal customer to thesage.com and frequent reader of this blog. When I read the entry “Updates, Guest writer, and the Swine Flu” I realized I was reading it out loud to my boyfriend as if I was talking about people I actually knew. I gasped out loud and everything!

I decided to answer the call to be a guest writer because as a frequent reader I wanted to give back and I think that a lot of you would relate, or at least be entertained for a few minutes about my adventures in soap making.

My soap making business came about in a very strange way. I was searching for guns that fired ping pong balls for my boys on a website that sells surplus goods and ran across an ad for a lot of tiny glass bottles. It reminded me of my college days when I really loved Patchouly. I had a small bottle of oil that I wore every day much to the horror of my roommate who hated it more than anything. One day, the bottle mysteriously disappeared. Reportedly “dropped by accident” and thrown away. I spared my roommate and didn’t replace it, but loved it nonetheless.

So, I see these little bottles and think, hey, I wonder if I could sell this oil myself. I have been a professional website designer for almost 18 years and one of my recent clients was really into aromatherapy and I saw that it could be something that I could easily make and market. So, I started researching essential oils and as you know along the way if you research such things you will find recipes for scrubs, lip balms, shampoo, soaps, lotions, perfumes, oils and on and on and on. I could have filled an entire store with everything that I wanted to make which brings me to the learning part of this story.

They say that when you start a business you make many mistakes and learn lots of things. I have only been at this for a couple of months, but learned some lessons that I can share with you.

First, you can’t just make whatever you want and market it. There are rules in place from the FDA that are beyond what most of us can realistically adhere to if we want to market anything like a balm that aids in the healing of psoriasis. Turns out, if you make that claim you are in fact making a “drug” and you can’t do that from your home kitchen. Want to make perfume? Want to use Everclear to do it? Do you have a liquor license? Because you are in fact selling alcohol and if they want, the bureau of Alcohol, tobacco and firearms can pay a visit and leave you not very happy. (I have since learned that you can of course get around that by using Cyclomethicone which is available on thesage.com), but my point is this… There are rules and regulations from the FDA about making this kind of stuff and it took me days to try to comprehend them. So Lesson 1 is this… You can’t just do whatever you want. Make sure that you do your research!

This is what reluctantly brought me to making soap, because there are no incomprehensible rules from the FDA about making and selling it. At first, I was afraid of it though. Gloves, goggles, masks, leave no skin uncovered, really? I’m going to take some caustic chemical and turn it into something that I expect people to use? Well, once I got over the fear and tried it I was hooked. A cook by nature and a wannabe chemist at heart, this really turned out to be a surprise dream come true. Anyway, now I have so much soap at my house if I never sold any of it I would never have to buy a bar for the rest of my life. My children would not have to buy a bar for the rest of their lives either! There were so many essential oils and fragrance oils and additives available and I wanted to try them all! Seeds, salts, clay, pumice, colors and other stuff. Holy cow! The possibilities are endless which brings me to another lesson learned. I bought so many things that I lost track of what I was going to use them for. I would buy an ingredient for a recipe that I found, but when I would pick up said ingredient 3 weeks later I had forgotten what it was for! Worse, I made soap and don’t have the recipe I used to recreate it! So, Lesson 2 is this… Keep really good notes. Print and save recipes. I now have a 3 ring binder with lots of notes and recipes.

Being a professional website designer, I of course have an online store to sell my goods. However, while waiting for my soaps to cure and making more and more soaps, scrubs and other things along the way I got busy doing other things and haven’t launched my website yet. I have 24 different kinds of soap to sell but no one can buy them because my website which is finished and ready to go doesn’t have any products listed on it. It will take me a few days to enter them all on my website and get the store going. Lesson 3, could be don’t wait until it is overwhelming to enter all of your products online. Lesson 3 Part 2, people can’t buy what they don’t know is for sale!!!

I have such a wide variety of soaps, and some I know I will not make again because they might not be good sellers. I don’t know what people will want restocked for future purchase and what I can let go. Some of the soaps that I made I only bought enough ingredient for one batch of soap, so if that soap is popular, I will end up having to order more product which seems ok, but this means that I will have to keep a lot of ingredients on hand and therefore tie up a lot of money in making my products. I also don’t want to have a lot of ingredients sitting around going unused and possibly spoiling. While I haven’t officially learned Lesson 4 yet, I think that it would be to not have such a variety where I need to keep so many ingredients on hand. To me, buying more of one thing that gets used up quickly makes much more sense.

I do have an exception to this lesson though… One thing that I really think is ok to buy lots of is essential oils, fragrance oils, flavor oils, additives and colors! One soap recipe can be made using the same ingredients, but made a completely different product using different oils, additives and colors. When I place an order at thesage.com, I always order several 1 ounce bottles of essential, fragrance or flavor oils. It is not expensive, many of them are around $3.00 and they go a long way. If you find one you don’t like, 3 bucks isn’t so much of an investment that you feel like you’ve lost too much. I have even found a few scents that I thought I wouldn’t like that have become my favorites! Also remember, just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean that someone else is not going to love it, and you are making it to sell to them, not to keep for yourself! Test fragrances out with your friends and family! Lesson 5, sometimes it is ok to buy “too much” of these things!!!

One thing that I lucked out on for sure is that I found thesage.com right away. I have placed orders with other companies, but have found this place to be the best. I get really good quality products that comes in really good packaging that I can recycle and reuse. I will not mention names, but some companies send everything in plastic bags, which you could say saves money on shipping, but not enough to make up for the fact that when it gets here, I have to find (or even buy) a container to store it in. I have received butters and other items in zip lock bags that really didn’t travel so well. I have received open or broken glass bottles from other places too due to my order not being packed in the box carefully. I have found thesage.com to be the best, fastest and most careful out of all of the places I have ordered from. Most of the time they are the most cost efficient too. And their customer service is outstanding. As a newbie I ask silly questions and get fast, patient answers from friendly people. Lesson 6 find a great supplier. I did!!

So, I could go on and on about with more lessons, but If I don’t get my products listed and start selling something I won’t be able to keep up my new found love!

Get well soon Andee. Congratulations to Mouein, and to all my fellow closet cooks and chemists have fun!!! And, be nice to Tina!

Jennifer

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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I always feel that notes are my best friend, no matter the project I am making. Today, I’m going to share the PDF that I designed for writing note about oils I test and my comments about the oils. The value of keeping such notes will save you in the long run when you are trying to create a new recipe and you can’t decide which oils to include. As some say, “The value of my notes. Priceless!”

Here is the PDF for you.

How do you test the oils? Place a few drops on the back of the hand and inner forearm. I test these two places because my hands can be rough and this allows me to test the oil on soft skin and on rough skin. If I am considering on using the oil in a lip balm or gloss, then I also test the oil on my lips. I make note of ALL the properties of the oil because one day, those notes will allow me to decide whether or not to include the oil in a new recipe.

Can’t think of properties? Let me help. Does the oil absorb into your skin quickly or slowly? Does the oil feel light, mid-weight, or heavy on your skin? Did the oil feel light and velvety or oily? Do I like the feel? Does it last on the skin? Does it have an odor or taste?

Record the date the oil was tested, because an oil that you enjoy in the winter, may not be as enjoyable in the summer.

Enjoy!

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Embedded Melt & Pour Soap Challenge! Submissions will be accepted through October 18th at blog@thesage.com. The submissions will be released October 19th through October 23rd. Each guest writer will receive a $25 gift certificate. I have already received one entry! Don’t miss out on your chance!

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!

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If you are familiar with Facebook, you can now become a fan of Majestic Mountain Sage! Now get updates, blog post notification, and more!

Click here for the link to our Facebook Fan Page.

Enjoy!

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Embedded Melt & Pour Soap Challenge! Submissions will be accepted through October 18th at blog@thesage.com. The submissions will be released October 19th through October 23rd. Each guest writer will receive a $25 gift certificate. I have already received one entry! Don’t miss out on your chance!

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!

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