NEW PRODUCT: Facial Soap Biscuits

Our facial “biscuits” are a fun, new shape that fit comfortably between your finger tips, so you can apply directly to your face in a soft, circular motion. And because they are a bit smaller than the full-size, rectangular facial bars, they are also a bit cheaper. Try one for $6… or if you’re not sure which soap will best suit your skin type, try one of each for just $15. They come in three varieties (be sure to pick from drop-down menu below):

 

Nourishing (for dry to normal skin)

this ultra-rich soap is made with rosehip seed, evening primrose and apricot kernel oils plus cocoa butter and goat milk to hydrate dry skin

 

Clarifying (for normal to oily skin)

this soap is not only packed with natural acne-fighters witch hazel, tea tree and petigrain, but also has aloe vera, jojoba and goat milk to heal old scars

 

Calming (for sensitive skin)

our purest recipe with all the benefits of goat milk but none of the essential oils, exfoliants, or natural colorants that can irritate super-sensitive skin

 

* See individual product listings for complete ingredients lists*

Net Wt. 2.0 oz. each

 

RESOURCES: Who We Use to Print Our Labels

We blessed with many compliments on our packaging and often asked about who does the design and printing of our labels.  We have worked with many companies over the last few years and learned that you have to use the right tool in your tool box for the right job.  Here’s who we personally use and who we’d gladly recommend to others:

OnlineLabels.com – for template stickers that we print on in-house; they have a range of paper types including 100% recycled white (which we use for our bath salts and market goat milk soaps) and kraft brown, which we use for our Whipped Body Butters (shown below).

LightningLabels.com - for off-site digital printing on standard or custom die lines in a variety of waterproof materials, which are perfect for products you’ll use in the bathroom, like our goat milk facial creme.

Raw Goat Milk Now Available at Lassen’s Natural Foods

My Mom called me this afternoon and exclaimed “Lauren, I have great news!!!”.  ”What? What?” I asked, thinking maybe she had won the lottery based on how ecstatic her voice was.  ”Lassen’s is selling raw goat milk!  Can you believe it?”

Ok, this was not as exciting as winning the lottery, but comes pretty darn close.  Up until now, it was nearly impossible to find raw goat milk in California.  Sharon Palmer of Santa Paula used to supply raw milk to Rawesome in Venice, CA, but since the August 2011 FDA raid, this is no longer an option.   People ask us all the time if we sell our raw goat milk, but we do not.

Luckily, now there is a supply: Claravale Farm raw goat milk is available at Lassen’s in Thousand Oaks (2857 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362; (805) 495-2609) … and perhaps at more of their locations (please comment if you find it elsewhere).  The milk is a bit pricey at $7.29/quart, but since it’s practically liquid gold it’s well worth it.

Let’s all raise our glasses to Lassen’s and Claravale Farm!

More coming soon on the benefits of drinking raw goat milk and the “What’s all the fuss about (raw) milk?” event I recently attended hosted by the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Can’t Decide What Goat Milk Soap To Try? Let Us Help!

Did you see us on Good Morning America and want to try our products for yourself? It can be difficult to decide which scent of our hand-made goat milk soap to get so we thought we would give you a few pointers to help you make the right selection!

Do you like to garden?

Try our Herb Garden Goat Milk Soap! It can be used as a hand soap and is tough on grime but soft on your senses. Poppy seeds & cornmeal exfoliate. Comfrey root relieves irritation. Hemp seed oil soothes dry, overworked skin. Rosemary, basil & fennel bring the garden into your home.

Is your face in need of some TLC?

Try our Clear Complexion Goat Milk Facial Soap. This soap is designed for acne prone skin. The bottom layer  helps prevent new blemishes from forming, while the top layer helps to heal current scars.

Still can’t decide?

Try all 6 of our most popular soaps! The 6-Pack of Essential Goat Milk Soaps includes one each of our essential goat milk soaps: Original, Sweet Nothings, Lavender Oatmeal, Spearmint, Wise Sage and Lemongrass.

Want more than just soaps?

If you want to try more goat milk skincare products than just our soaps try our Starter Kit. The Starter Kit is a great way to sample our line and includes Original goat milk soap, a Sweet Nothings goat milk facial creme, an Original lip balm and one Sweet Nothings bath salt sachet.

Guru Goat Shares “Secrets of Longevity” from Dr. Maoshing Ni

Dr. Maoshing Ni shares his secrets in his book, ”Secrets of Longevity- Hundreds of Ways to Live to be 100.” Guru Goat started reading this book and wanted to share some of his secrets that she found most pertinent to natural health and skin care:

Secret #2: Gone With the Wind

” Common colds and flus can turn into serious respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, which claims many lives among the elderly. Eastern medicine sees colds and flus as “wind” disorders… Western medicine calls them adaptogens, which increase the body’s defense mechanisms and help the immune system work better in times of stress. They can be found separately in health food stores or in a formula called Jade Screen in Chinese pharmacies. In addition, wash your hands frequently with soap and water and inhale vapors from eucalyptus, oregano, and lavender tea, which are antibacterial, antiviral, and decongesting.” (page 129)

When washing your hands, try using one of our soaps made with these specific essential oils: eucalyptus, oregano and lavender.  Not only will these soaps keep your hands clean, soft and moisturized, but the pure essential oils in each of them will also have a light aromatherapeutic effect. 

Lavender Pine Chamomile goat milk soap: with lavender and eucalyptus essential oils, as well as pine, spruce needle and chamomile

Santa Rosa Valley goat milk soap: with lavender and eucalyptus essential oils, as well as orange, grapefruit and rose geranium

Lemongrass goat milk soaps: with lavender and eucalyptus essential oils, as well as lemongrass, tea tree and peppermint

Lavender Oatmeal goat milk soap: with lavender essential oil, as well as rosweood, rose geranium, and grapefruit

Note: We do not have any soaps made with oregano essential oil because the scent is quite pungent and not really pleasant for body care in our opinion.  Inhaling the vapors from this oil is still very effective.

Secret #1: Keep Cool on the Outside…

” Experiencing extremes of temperature can endanger one’s health and even one’s life. To strengthen the body and make it more resistant to environmental temperature changes, I recommend taking cold showers. This constricts the blood vessels at the surface and extremities of your body, driving tremendous blood flow into the internal organs to increase oxygenation and transport waste away from these vital body parts. If you are not used to the practice, however, acclimate yourself gradually. Begin by scrubbing your body with cold towels. After a few days, run your shower or bathwater at a slightly cooler temperature than you are used to, and use less hot water each week until you can switch to a completely cold shower.” ( page 246)

Of course, we recommend taking your cold shower with our one of the goat milk soaps mentioned above.

Book Information: ” Secrets of Longevity- Hundreds of Ways to Live to be 100.” by Dr. Maoshing Ni. Published by Chronicle Books.

Meet Our New Gang Of Gabbing Goats

We have seven new goats who will be gabbing it up on our blog (AKA cutesy names for our different blog columns)

To get to know them better, we asked each of them, “Which Chivas soap best describes you?”

• Gourmet Goat: She is our in-house chef. She is fascinated with creating and trying new recipes with goat milk – from homemade cheese to raw milk shakes. “The best soap that describes me would have to be Herb Garden goat milk soap. When I am not in the kitchen, I’m in my garden picking fresh herbs for my next recipe.  This soap uses some of my favorite herbs – basil, rosemary & fennel.”

• Gifting Goat: Consider her your personal shopper. She will offer you gift advice for your family and friends for all occasions.  (And you might find a little something for yourself too!) “If you’re giving a gift, your best bet is the Starter Kit which let’s someone new to Chivas try a little of everything – a goat milk soap, facial creme, lip balm and bath salt! ”

• Green Goat: He is focused on making the world a better place. He will update you on green living tips, ways to give back in your community and how to reduce your carbon footprint. “All the soaps are eco-friendly but if I had to pick a favorite, I’d say the Lemongrass goat milk soap. I love the outdoors and the tea tree and citronella essential oils in this soap naturally deter insects to keep me bug- free!”

• Gossip Goat: She loves to talk… and talk… and talk. She will update you on the latest Chivas news from the farm, newest trends and any other goat gossip. “Since I’m always out talking with everyone, I have to look my best. I rely on the Clear Complexion goat milk facial soap to keep my skin blemish free and red carpet ready.”

• Granny Goat: Every family has their matriarch and Granny Goat is ours! She will provide that motherly advice and wisdom we all need in our lives.  “My favorite soap is Orange Spice goat milk soap. It is so rich with the cocoa butter and it smells so wonderful. It always reminds me of Thanksgiving and spending time with my family.”

• GTD Goat: He is obsessed with GTD – “getting things done” – and wants to share everything he’s read up about or tried himself to get more organized, productive and efficient.  “I’m a minimalist so I like that all Chivas soaps are three-in-one; they’re good for body, hands and face.  For example, the Lavender Oatmeal goat milk soap has oatmeal (which is a gentle exfoliant for the face), lavender essential oil (which is a natural anti-septic for the hands) and fair trade shea butter (which keeps your body silky smooth).”

• Guru Goat: She is our natural skin care guru.  She knows everything about natural ingredients, DIY skin care recipes and beauty tips.  “So many people ask me for advice about how to treat their sensitive skin and I always recommend the Fragrance Free goat milk soap because it is the most gentle and nourishing.”

Bought too much in bulk? Here’s how to share in style!

Do you have the tendency of going to a website to buy 1 or 2 items and then end up with an on-line shopping cart that is overflowing?  Well I do!  (But I also have a solution…)  Last week I visited www.MountainRoseHerbs.com to buy comfrey root powder for our Herb Garden goat milk soap, witch hazel for our Clear Complexion goat milk soap, and a few new ingredients to test like vanilla bean powder, hazelnut extract and chlorella powder.

But then I remembered that Mountain Rose Herbs (which specializes in organic, fair trade, and sustainable herbs, spices and teas) also sells bulk Maca Root & Lecithin powders which I like to use in my morning goat milk-based shakes.  So “click, click” those got added to my cart.  Soon followed by…

• vanilla bean (because I had just gone to Cafe Flourish where I had an amazing vegan shake made with coconut water, dates, and vanilla beans)
• kelp and dulse powder (because a friend and I had recently taken  a cooking class, which focused on macrobiotic & vegan Japanese recipes, many of which include kelp, dulse and other seaweeds)
• psyllium husk (because a friend told me it would help my brother’s irritable bowel syndrome)
• club moss, also known as Lycopodium clavatum  (because someone at Whole Foods told me it would help my Dad’s high cholesterol)
• hibiscus flowers (because I had tried citrus rose tea and loved it)
• cacao nib powder (just because it can be hard to find in powder form at a reasonable price)

… see at least I had really good reasons!  HAH!  Well, needless to say it felt like Christmas when the shipment arrived! And not just because I was receiving but also because I would be giving.  I had a plan to divvy up a number of the bulk items into smaller jars and bags to share with friends.   Here’s how I did it…

1. Grab your supplies: Mason canning jars (so cheap and easy to find at your local supermarket), labeler (a nerdy must in my book), and any other cutesy decorations like cards, stamps and ribbons. You can find resealable bags, for example, from www.PaperMart.com and specialty jars from www.uline.com.

2. Separate each bulk item into smaller jars or bags (depending on the size of the product and/or how much you like the person)

Above is the lecithin powder in a small Mason jar.  This one I’m actually taking home to my apartment for myself and leaving the big bag at my parent’s home (my Mom loves when I make her shakes with it!)

Above is the Vanilla Bean Powder that I poured into three little bags, which I’m just sending in an envelope with a note to my friends Amy and Tracy who shared that yummy shake with me at Cafe Flourish made with Vanilla Bean.   Now they can try their own re-creation at home.

3.  Decorate the jar or bag per your energy level: Hand-write on cap with Sharpie if you’re in a rush, print a label if you’re feeling organized, or stamp a tag and tie on with a ribbon if you’re feeling super-Martha!

4. Print up the product descriptions for each item and put in a gift bag for your friends and family.

Ta Dah!  You get a good deal on bulk items and you get to show your friends you care with a small gift.  Everyone is happy   In fact, the Chivas Skin Care team was particularly happy this evening when I tried my hand at a new smoothie recipe made with many of the ingredients above.

From the start, we’ve been paraben-free

At Chivas Skin Care, we never use parabens in our products.  But what are parabens anyway and why should you care?

Used as preservatives, parabens are a class of chemicals that appear on ingredient labels as Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben and Propylparaben, among others. The next time you’re in the drugstore, take a look at the labels on sunscreen, skin care, hair care, and cosmetics, and you’ll notice that many contain parabens.

Although still used in thousands of personal care products, studies suggest that parabens disrupt the endocrine system, affecting fertility and hormone levels.  Another study, published in the 2004 Journal of Applied Toxicology, found parabens in 18 of 20 samples of breast tumors.

Though the full effects of parabens are still unknown, we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks to your health.  Adhering to the precautionary principle, every one of our products is proudly paraben-free.

Curious to learn more?  We suggest reading up!  To start, you can check out The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, an excellent resource for learning more about what’s really in the products you use.  Our co-founder Lauren discusses other dangers of commercial skin care here.

Want to learn how Donna handmakes her soap?

Want to learn more about the process of making our goat milk soap?  Check out this podcast, produced by the team at Lime.  The video includes interviews with Chivas Skin Care co-founders Donna and Lauren Johanson, plus a tour of our farm and factory.

Your Questions Answered: Lip Balm 101

When I found myself ‘addicted’ to my many brands of medicated lip balm, I realized I needed an intervention. And so my mom and I formulated Chivas Vegan Lip Balm using high-quality ingredients, quite different from many of the ‘other’ lip balms on the market. The result? I’ve officially kicked my must-reapply habit. And so can you!

What makes our lip balms different? And what exactly is a Vegan lip balm? And what are some of those ingredients in the ‘other’ lip balms anyway? You asked; we answer.

Q: I often see lanolin as an ingredient in lip balm. What is it? Why doesn’t Chivas use it?

A: Lanolin is a greasy yellow substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool bearing animals, usually sheep. Different forms of lanolin can be found in shoe polish, printing ink, and hairspray.

For some people, using cosmetic products that contain impure lanolin can result in an allergic reaction.

That certainly doesn’t sound too appealing to us! Unlike many others on the market, our lip balm is proudly lanolin-free.

Q: What does it mean when you say your lip balm is vegan?

A: A vegan product is a product that does not contain any kind of animal product. That said, you won’t find animal products like lanolin and beeswax in our lip balm. Instead of beeswax we use plant-derived candelilla wax, which serves as the hardening agent in the balm. We also add coconut oil and Shea Butter, which at room temperature are hard oils. This combination keeps our lip balm firm yet smooth.

Q: What other ingredients are unique to Chivas’ lip balm?

A: The other oils contained in our lip balm are not often found in lip balms. Why? Because they are of such high quality.

These high quality oils set our Chivas Original Vegan Lip Balm ahead of the rest:

• Jojoba Oil: Made from the seed of the jojoba plant, and is an exceptional moisturizer.
• Rosehip Oil: Has a high vitamin-C content and is often found in anti-aging products. The fatty acids in rosehip oil are good at regenerating the skin and smoothing out wrinkles.
• Vitamin E: Nourishes the skin and leaves it soft.
• Neem Oil: A vegetable oil made from the fruits and seeds of Neem trees. Also said to be very therapeutic.

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