This Butter is GOOD for You!!!

I gotta admit that shea butter is my most favorite vegan ingredient. I use shea butter in every product I make. I could go into a long song and dance about the specifics, scientific components and blah, blah, blah but you can do that on your own. I googled key words *shea butter* before I started to write this piece and came up with 2,660,000 results. A good place to start is with Wikipedia. This will give you a basic info like how it is made, where it comes from, etc, a good place to start your research if you want specifics. I have to keep things simple so here is what I know to be true about shea butter. It makes everything for your skin better!!

I was first introduced to unrefined shea butter when I started making soap. For me, it was an interesting looking creamy, sticky, gloopy concoction that melted quickly in my hands and although a bit greasy when first applied, within a short period of time would absorb quickly leaving my skin soft, silky and *smooth to the touch*. I loved it so much that I would use whatever was left on my hands after measuring the spoonful or cupful and rub on my elbows, knees and cuticles. My friends could always tell when I had been working in the studio because of the look of my skin. Another great discovery I had in this process was that for some reason when I used shea, my fingernails would grow faster and stronger.

I have tried all forms of shea butter-unrefined, refined, golden, natural, grey…some so unrefined it came with hulls! Oh, by the way, I did tell you that it is made from a nut. No, well it is! So imagine peanut butter and you get the picture. Good African unrefined shea which I have learned to LOVE does have a sensual nutty aroma that I like just plain! I use it in my soaps, lotions, body butters, salves, lip balms and when I have it in bulk, scooped straight into any jar or container. Slather it all over before bed and wake up with skin like new!! Works great as a hair dressing and conditioner too! You can whip it or mix it with essential oils for an aromatherapy blend to die for. Try something new, natural and fresh from the bounty of our earth mother…Shea, the better butter!! <*)

In the Beginning......

What am I doing here…and Why am I in this handbasket?

Welcome to my midlife adventure… I suppose some might say it is a mid life crisis!! I fondly like to describe it as a hobby gone awry!! Almost twelve years ago in a quest to discover my inner child, I embarked on a creative journey that began with a box of crayons, acrylic paints, colored chalk and a large pad of art paper. The images that came forth were both primitive and beautiful and I look at them often remembering the excitement of their birth. Inspiration brought forth a renewed interest in macramé. As a child of the sixties, it was a delight to dig into the large box of hemp cording ordered over the internet…weaving my creative spirit into oblivion reminiscing those summers in the mountains of the Blue Ridge and the indiscretions of youth. I tired quickly of the macramé chokers and anklets and pushed forward toward beading, silver and crystal wraps. The stones spoke to me as we worked and re-minded me of my connection to my Earth Mother. Too much time in the corporate world can make one numb to the beauty and splendor of the natural world. Then there were dream catchers and medicine bags and rattles and other native art..another story in and of itself to be told later....

And then……spirit sent unto me a sister, a teacher with beautiful handcrafted soaps, lotions, salves and teas and my soul came alive with the aroma’s of the essential oils, the creamy butters and the herbs and flowers used in their creations. She gave me one of the most meaningful gifts I have ever received, the gift of her craft and Earthsong was born. Ten years later I am a confirmed essential oil’a-holic and my craft is my Zen. This blog, as I have dreamed it, will educate, enlighten and explore aromatherapy and natural skin care. Perhaps it will help you find your inner child and awaken the creative spirit in you!! Come back often as I share my journey Njoy!!! <*)