There is nothing quite so inviting as the look of old fashioned handmade soap. I have long been making cold process homemade soaps. When you make your own soap, you know exactly what is going into it and, therefore, can avoid harsh irritants and include only the finest of ingredients.
Many beauty products like soaps , contain artificial colors , paraben , and others chemical substances and absorbing through our skin that we would never dream of putting in our mouth!
We add herbs, spices and flower petals to our recipes to create texture, color and enhance scent.
Adding dried flowers or herbs to your natural soap recipe can transform an ordinary bar into a botanical gem. Decorating the tops of soap with dried flowers is very popular, and dried flowers such as lavender , chamomile, and rose petals will keep their colour if sprinkled on the tops of soap.
The use of soap as a cleaning agent probably reaches back to the beginning of civilization. Written references to soap were found on Sumerian clay tablets in Mesopotamia dated around 2500 BC; inscriptions on the clay cylinders say that fats were boiled with ashes. It has been suggested that the soap, made by boiling fat with ashes, was being made in Babylon as early as 2800 BC and surely they used it for washing garments.
Pliny the Elder mentions that soap was being produced from tallow and beech ashes by the Phoenicians in 600 BC. It was used widely throughout the Roman Empire: the excavation of Pompeii, covered by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, indicated the presence of a full- fledged soapmaking establishment. A physician, Priscianus (385 AD) reported the use of soap as a shampoo, and mentions, as Galen did, its use for washing the body and made also the first mention of the trade of “saponarius”, or soap- boiler. Galen moreover recommended soap for both medicinal and cleansing purposes.
The word itself came from Roman myth: many burnt offerings of animals were made to the Goddess Athena and the other Gods on the mountain Sapo (or Sappo). Women cleaning clothes downstream, in the river Tiber, found that there was a special quality to the water there that made their cleaning chores easier.
The fats from the sacrificed animals were washed through the ashes of the fires, making a crude soap: they said that it was a gift from the Goddess of arts and crafts. An alternative suggestion for the derivation of the name is that the Romans learned the art of soapmaking from the Celts, who called it “saipo”. In fact the latin word “sapo” is cognate with the word “sebum”, tallow.
In soap, herbs add color and texture. Many soap-makers also believe that the medicinal value of herbs can come through in soaps made with them. As with other natural substances, not all herbs are beneficial to humans, there are in fact poisonous herbs that should always be avoided, there are some other herbs that, while not toxic, are dermal irritants and should not be used on the skin: make sure to do your research and be responsible and informed when deciding what to use in your soaps!
Use only herbs and flowers that are clean and free of insecticides and chemicals. Spray residues on plant material can irritate your skin. I prefer to use plants that I have grown myself; when this is not possible, purchase herbs (organically grown) from a natural food store or buy them fresh from the market and dry them yourself.
Lavender season is ended Now! Provence sadly isn’t a year-round affair. The best time to see the plants in bloom is from the last week of June to the beginning of August. Natural Handcrafted Soap Company use original lavender oils from the season ..
August make up the popular summer months of Provence, nature, local ingredients, no animal testing and 100% Pure French lavender essential oils quality . But if you are trying to surprise your French friend give this gift of Provence Lavender – Jasmine – Floral – Soap
August on Provence French the fields smells and scent as Lavender. This natural French Lavender and Dead Sea Mud Soap with Rose Clay is a delightfully fresh and harmonious scent for everyone.
What is the longest blooming lavender?
A: Two of the longest blooming kinds of lavender are Lavandula angustifolia ‘Irene Doyle’ and the hybrid L. ‘Goodwin Creek Grey. ‘ The best way to have lavender blooming all summer is to plant several different kinds that bloom sequentially.Aug 29, 2007
Lavender blooms in Provence from June through August, but when is the best time to see it? Peak bloom usually occurs in early July, but consider going in June – the flowers will be well on their way, and you’ll be more likely to beat the tourist season (as well as the French flocking to the South for summer holidays).Jun 2, 2020
What is the best time to see the lavender fields in Provence?
When is lavender season in Provence? Provence’s fields start to bloom in June – by the end of the month, most of the region’s lavender will be flowering. The fields peak in early to mid-July. The higher the altitude of the field, the later the flowers will bloom.Jul 10, 2019
Sunday, ten in the morning. We took the A51 motorway towards the Alps.
The thermometer marked 29 degrees. Along the road are followed by the Durance and the Mediterranean climate influenced by the mountain, responsible for very hot summer and dry, in one of the sites in France more prone to storms at the end of August.
We achieved our objective of an hour later Valensole, an ancient city on a hill where you can see at the top, a stone church, its façade and the thirteenth century. But interest in this location long before the start of his 570m altidude on the plateau surrounding the city. Among the Southern Alps and the low-Provence, the plateau is a transition zone between the two regions, and has its strength in tourism, handicraft and agriculture, specifically the cultivation of lavender and lavandin, hybrid plant – created to the union and lavender doaspic.
Larger and more resistant to heat and drought, lavandin is widely used for cleaning and hygiene because of the presence of camphor. 60% of national production comes from here, the plateau of Valensole. 98% of these fields are colored purple lavandin. Lavender, much more demanding in relation to climate flore only in higher places and fresh, which represents only 2% of the territory, so their scent more floral, sweet, subtle, with soothing properties, is far more expensive . Here I pause.
Regardless of market value or other essential oil, see this landscape in a postcard is one thing, quite another to see it in person. Queues asplantas made with round balls as large purple gain ground on both sides of the road in some stretches to lose sight of. Here and there the purple is punctuated by the golden wheat and green almond and olive trees, but they are the stars, are by lavenders that tourists stop cars in the shoulders for a moment that awakens the best in every sense. From the pictures you can have an idea what I’m talking about, but it’s a shame you can not smell the scent, the sound of bees, “vuvuzelas” sites, and much less experience the taste of honey with lavender.
I let you go for a few seconds, before inviting him to come into one of the many stores throughout the four corners of the valley. Inside, a film is shown to tour groups (starting at 15). Twelve minutes to explore the details of the planting done between November and February, the harvest takes place between 10 July and 10 August – since 1970, machines have replaced sickles – and distillation. 40minutes during the plant is “cooked” in the steam and the result is the oil condensate, which before being used still needs to be separated from the floral water that accompanies it. Are required to produce 50kg of lavandin 1L essential oil of lavender and twice for the same amount of oil. I noted some products and their prices to give you an idea of ??the final cost of the product: