On the Sarva web site, we note that we use only locally harvested Ohio honey in our soaps.  Further, honey is the only non-vegan product we use, so we choose our honey carefully!

I’ve been a fan of a company called Ohio Honey for years.  Many consider Ohio Honey to be the best honey in our region! Ohio Honey is what makes our Oats and Honey soap so special, and customers who try it quickly become addicted (though we don’t recommend eating our soap, of course).

September is National Honey Month, and I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the delightful Lucy Wellhausen of Ohio Honey.   Lucy kindly agreed to answer some questions for us regarding her fine honey, the ethics and process of harvesting the honey, her affection for her honeybees, and much more.  Read on!

Lucy Wellhausen

How did you get into beekeeping and making honey?

This was something we never dreamed would happen. My husband worked for a school system (incidentally, he just retired in July). I was a mortgage loan/escrow officer. A friend’s father asked if he could place hives on our property – which is adjacent to a very, very large field – where mostly goldenrod/wild-aster grows in autumn. Of course we said it was perfectly fine. For about 10 years, he would tend the hives and every year give us a jug of honey with a big thank you. We were very pleased with the situation. Along came 1997 and the man passed away. His family told us they were no longer interested in beekeeping….well, that was it. We learned in a hurry! We looked up some beekeepers (in 1997, it wasn’t easy to find them)… we drove around – “in the country” to find “honey for sale” signs and found help! We also got some in depth education from other beekeepers…and hands-on information, too!!!

How is honey made by the bees, and how is it then turned into the Ohio Honey we buy from you?

Honeybee scouts fly around to find out where and what is in bloom, then come back to the colony and tell them where the pollen/nectar source is…they tell them by doing what is called the “waggle-dance” – based on the location of the sun and the other bees are able to understand this dance and find the source, gather pollen and/or nectar and bring it back to the beehive by attaching the pollen to their legs via a sticky substance from a gland on their legs and carry it into the hive where it is then transferred to another honeybee – they process the honey with water and another substance in their body – and turn it into honey.

It is important to note here – that honeybees do not “poop” honey. Also, many people think that honey is made by regurgitating the substance…well, here’s where the plot thickens. Honeybees have their own digestive system. They eat, they poop. The honey is made in a different “stomach” – which is actually the honey-manufacturing-plant – like a little factory. I like people to know this fact, especially vegans and vegetarians, who may think that we are consuming something that the honeybee requires to live.

Is Ohio Honey organic?

We are not ‘certified’ organic…but we do try to be as organic as possible.

Can you talk a bit about the ethical treatment of bees, and how it affects them to harvest the honey?

I can only really respond to how we treat our own colonies. We are so careful with our “girls” – when working in the hives, we are careful to not step on them, crush them by accident, we even talk to our honeybees. There are large, commercial honey-packers, however, who may not be able to say that…for example when they truck honeybee colonies from – say, a southern State up to a Northern State, like Michigan, Maine, etc… in springtime to pollinate the blueberries in Michigan, for example. I feel so sad for those colonies because they don’t have a chance to live a “bees life”… they are transported on truck flat-beds from one location to another, not having any chance to establish their colony as Mother Nature intended. In fact, those honeybees are disoriented with the travel involved and don’t even get a chance to make much honey. Work, work, work – that’s it. Their main job is POLLINATING… no reward.

What kinds of sustainability and/or environmentally-friendly practices does Ohio Honey follow?

By not using products in our hives that would hurt our bees or people eating our honey. In fact, at the various farms where we have placed bee-colonies, the farmers use honeybee-safe products in their fields.

Sarva's Oats and Honey Soap, made with Ohio Honey. Click picture to visit product page.

Where can people purchase Ohio Honey?

We sell at various farmer’s markets in the spring/summer/fall. We have belonged to the North Union Farmer’s Markets for many years now…Shaker Square, Chagrin Falls, Cleveland State University… and are represented at Crocker Park via the Sirna Farm stand. There are a few other stores you can shop to buy our honey as well… The Cheese Shop at the West Side Market, Olive & Grape at Tower City, Sirna’s Farm (at Crocker AND at their farm in Auburn, Ohio), Bay Lobsters in Twinsburg, Buckeye Water and Coffee Company in Eastlake, Bauer Restaurant Supply in Mentor, Ohio, Natural Remi-Teas in Madison, Great Scott’s Bakery in Rocky River, and more… see our website at www.ohiohoney.com.

Anything else you’d like to add?

We are so happy to be beekeepers. It is an awesome experience to be out at the hives with the honeybees, harvesting, extracting and selling. We also harvest bee pollen and make propolis and propolis tincture available… all gifts of Nature! Even though our job is time-consuming (honeybees are like our babies) it is rewarding.

Felicity soap, © 2009 Sarva Soaps

We know you can spend less on commercial or handcrafted soaps.  (The truth is, you can also spend more.)  We also know that, for many people, it’s just soap!

Here at Sarva, we offer you mindfully, carefully developed soaps which are the culmination of years of knowledge, experience, and research. We bring our passion for natural, holistic living to everything we do. Sarva soaps are formulated and made by an artisan soapmaker who is formally trained in clinical aromatherapy and herbalism, and you benefit directly from that knowledge and experience.

Most soaps, even those which are labeled natural, are not 100% natural; often they include synthetic pigments or fragrances.  These drive manufacturing cost down and, unfortunately, are not good for us or our environment. Sarva uses no synthetic ingredients whatsoever.  We source out the finest all-natural raw materials—the best pure vegetable oils, luxuriously rich butters, beautiful natural colorants, divinely scented essential oils—so that you can treat yourself and your skin to a completely, truly natural and beautiful soap.

Sarva does not use cheap fillers in our soap such as soybean oil, an ingredient which does not contribute anything meaningful to a soap and, in fact, sometimes causes skin reactivity. Instead, we invest in the highest quality vegetable oils which bring you a far superior product: Better lather, better rinsing, and an overall more luxurious feel on the skin.

In short, we believe the cost of these high-caliber natural ingredients is well worth it.

And we give you more of this goodness with every bar! Compare the size of other artisanal soaps to Sarva’s generous 4.5- to 5-ounce bars.

The meticulous formulation and craftsmanship of our soaps has garnered Sarva much recognition and admiration.  We create “art soaps” for you to enjoy on every level.  We are passionate about our craft, and we want to share this passion with you.

Feed your spirit and treat your skin well. Allow us to bring you a small but luxurious indulgence which, at pennies a day, is a wonderfully economical investment in your sense of well-being.

Please consider the impact on our environment, and potentially your own well-being, when you choose synthetic products. Your favorite commercial soaps might not be true soaps… often they are synthetic, mass-manufactured, non-biodegradable detergent bars which cost far less to make, in both time and materials, than the handcrafted, luxurious creations you find at Sarva!

Thanks to D.V. in Illinois for their fabulous question, which we’ve chosen for another installment of “Get the Dirt!”   D.V. is entered into July’s drawing for a free bar of Sarva Soap!

The ingredients in your soaps seem to be great to use as a shampoo bar.   Are your soaps indeed hair friendly?

Many Sarva soaps are safe for use on the hair, though our soaps are not specifically formulated for this purpose.  Everyone’s hair is different, of course, and it’s best to know your hair type and how it responds to different cleansers.  We cannot promise any specific results, and, rather than making any cosmetic or functional claims on our soaps, our experience is that most people find a soap formulation that “fits” their skin, or, in this case, the hair.

Those who prefer to use bar soap to cleanse their hair do so for the same reasons they choose handcrafted soaps over commercial bars:  Handcrafted bar soaps are gentler and contain natural glycerin, a humectant that is often not present in commercial products.  Read more here. Shampoo bar aficionados also say that their hair has more bounce and feels healthier.

The hair and scalp will need an adjustment period if you’re switching to bar soap.  Some people notice a bit of a greasy or heavy feeling to the hair for a few days; this is something that usually abates.  Some like to rinse with a bit of vinegar (ideally a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water) after using a shampoo bar; this may help balance the scalp’s normal pH level.

From a personal standpoint, shampoo bars I’ve liked best, given my hair type, typically contain castor oil and/or shea butter.  All of our soaps contain castor oil, which gives a great lather, and both Miss Lily and Sweet Dreams (Spa series) contain a small amount of shea butter.  Shea butter contributes to a mild soap, though too much shea butter in a soap can actually be drying for some people!  A wonderful soap from Sarva’s collection to try for your hair would be Suds beer soap - it has abundant, fluffy lather, and beer is said to be great for the hair.

I would suggest not using Sarva’s Ocean Mist or Ritual (Spa series) as shampoo bars because they contain sea salt and might provide an unfavorable result.  These are great soaps for the skin, but our hair is simply made differently!  Also, Benigara (Spa series) as well as some Gallery series soaps contain clay, which could cause buildup or dryness, or may transfer their color.  Clay-containing commercial shampoos are marketed to people with oily and fine hair with the claim of lending extra body and absorbing excess oil, and those with such needs might do well to choose one of these specially formulated commercial shampoos.

There are some new soaps in the works, some of which would also be good choices should you choose to use them for this purpose.  New soaps are always posted here on the blog first!

As always, your own experience is your best guide, and my product suggestions do not constitute professional advice; I invite you to consult your favorite hair care professionals for the best information.

Federal regulations and shampoo:

The FDA’s goal is to protect consumers and make sure that none of us falls victim to a false cosmetic or drug claim.   Under their jurisdiction, a soap can be  considered “true soap” (simply intended to cleanse), a cosmetic (example: intended to moisturize or exfoliate), or a drug (example: repels insects or is aromatherapeutic).   Each designation carries its own set of regulations.  Sarva makes “true soap”, which the FDA mandates should be free of any cosmetic or drug claims.   “Shampoo” is considered a cosmetic claim, because it’s a product that is designed for a particular purpose:  cleansing the hair.   Soap, on the other hand, could be used to clean anything:  your car, your dishes, your skin, your hair…

While we’re aware that many soap companies market specific soaps as shampoo bars, Sarva places a high priority on strict FDA compliance, so we refrain from making any cosmetic- or drug-type  claims on our products, and this includes explicitly designating any of our soaps as shampoo bars.   I’ll speak more about these regulations in another blog post.

Hopefully the above provides good information for those of you who wish to use Sarva soaps to wash your hair!

Shop online at Sarva Natural Artisan Soaps.

Note:  Information given on Soap Leaves is not intended as medical, diagnostic, or curative treatment, and your results may vary.   Know your own skin, and if you’re working with a medical professional, follow their advice first.

Image courtesy Cleveland Food Co-Op

What:
Cleveland Food Co-Op Summer Social

When:
Saturday July 11, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Where:
Cleveland Food Co-Op, 11702 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland Heights, Ohio (near Severance Hall  - map of area)

Join us to celebrate the season with other community-based groups, a farmers market, local crafts and jewelry, kids’ corner, music, tasting demos, food, drink, and fun for all!

Personally speaking, I love the Food Co-Op and shop there regularly.  I support their mission of “food for people, not profit”, and they’ve been around since 1968.   Check out their Facebook page.

Sarva Soaps is excited to be a part of the Summer Social, and we’ll be offering our soaps at a special price just for the show!  Stop by and say hello!

Edit:   Looks like there’s a potential for thunderstorms in the forecast.  No worries - I’ve been told the event will be moved indoors in case of inclement weather.   So come see us, rain or shine!

Made in the 216, June 26-27, 2009 at Room Service in Cleveland

What:
“Made in the 216″ - a celebration of Cleveland creativity!

When:
Friday June 26 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday June 27 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Where:
Room Service boutique, 6505 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland  (web site)

Celebrate a dynamic assortment of designers, musicians, and culinary artists who have elected to stay and build their businesses in Cleveland!

Join us for a 2-day shopping event at Room Service and other locations in the Gordon Square arts district, with bands playing under the marquee of the Capitol Theater and a party to follow each night at Happy Dog!

Sarva Soaps is very proud to be among over 40 featured Cleveland artists, and we hope to see you there!  This year promises to be bigger than ever.

Get more details at the Room Service blog.  And here’s a map of the area.

Spread the word… the more, the merrier!

Summer Sun soap, © 2009 Sarva Soaps

Welcome to a new regular feature here at Soap Leaves, “Get the Dirt!”.  I’ll answer all soap-related questions… how to choose it, use it, care for it, and more!  Send me your question, and you’ll be entered in a monthly drawing for a free bar of Sarva soap, your choice!

Our first question is from Julie Cajigas, a talented freelance writer, designer, and marketing consultant in the Cleveland, Ohio area.  Her blog can be found at Inspired Freelancer.

I have oily skin and it seems like a lot of your soaps utilize olive oil or another oil as a major ingredient - will this make my skin more oily?

Good news:  With regular use of artisanal soap, your skin may actually begin to feel less oily!

Maybe you’ve tried a cleanser designed to control oily skin.  It worked great at first!  Your skin feels a little tight, definitely not oily… but only for about a half hour!  Then, out of nowhere, you become a human oil slick.  Yuck!

Can you relate?  Your skin has actually gone into a “rebound mode”, struggling to regain its balance, working to normalize its baseline surface moisture and pH level, tying up all its energy in recovery. And what does the body do when it’s recovering from harm? Inflammation, excess oil production, and so on.

Oil is the major ingredient in any true soap. You can’t make soap without oil, but there’s almost no oil in the finished product.   Soap is created through a naturally-occurring reaction between sodium hydroxide and oil.  This reaction transforms these ingredients into soap and leaves behind no sodium hydroxide, and, depending on the soap’s formulation, little to no oil.

Glycerin is created in artisanal soap as a byproduct of the above process.   Glycerin is a humectant, drawing ambient moisture to your skin.  Oily skin still needs moisture!  Most moisturizers use oils to help your skin feel soft.  Glycerin is not an oil and is non-comedogenic (will not clog your pores).   Commercial soaps are often stripped of their glycerin through chemical processes; glycerin is profitable and is used to make other products.  Artisanal soaps retain all of this glycerin, and are thus generally far less drying than most commercial soaps.

Most “beauty bars” are really chemical detergents, which are also not biodegradable or earth-friendly.  They may be drying to the skin or cause a “rebound” situation.   Other synthetic ingredients, including fragrances or pigments, may also cause your skin to react.

Sarva Soaps contain natural glycerin, are made with food-grade vegetable oils, and we are one of the few truly all-natural soap companies. We choose our base oils carefully, avoiding soybean oil, a cheap filler which can cause problems for many people, even in the trace amount left behind in a bar.  Sarva Soaps are free of ANY synthetics… no synthetic fragrances, no synthetic pigments… and many happy Sarva customers are people with sensitive or reactionary skin.  Read customer raves here.

Some Sarva soaps also contain clays which, especially in the summer, may draw just a little bit of excess oil from your skin without stripping it.  Check out Summer Sun, for example… a perfect soap for this time of year, a treat for the senses too… an earthy/citrus/floral blend with a sunny, summery terracotta swirl.

Shop online at Sarva Natural Artisan Soaps.

Note:  Information given on Soap Leaves is not intended as medical, diagnostic, or curative treatment, and your results may vary.   Know your own skin, and if you’re working with a medical professional, follow their advice first.

Water Lily, © 2006 Michelle Gilbert

Stages of Motherhood

4 Years of Age — My Mommy can do anything!
8 Years of Age — My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot.
12 Years of Age — My Mother doesn’t really know quite everything.
14 Years of Age — Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that, either…
16 Years of Age — Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 Years of Age — That old woman? She’s way out of date.
25 Years of Age — Well, she might know a little bit about it…
35 Years of Age — Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion.
45 Years of Age — Wonder what Mom would have thought about it.
65 Years of Age — Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

- Anonymous

Grace Soap, Mother's Day 2009

I’m back from a fun, successful day at the Orange Art Fair.  Thanks to all of you who came out and visited… the show was a great success, and it was great to see you!

Mother’s Day is this Sunday (yes, already!).   So I want to offer you a special discount while you shop for Mom (read on for the discount code, at the bottom of the post) and show you some brand new gift sets that were very well received at their debut today!

There is also a brand new soap just in time for Mother’s Day!  In the frenzy of preparing for this weekend, I never had a chance to get it photographed… but it will be on the site by early Monday afternoon, and it’s beautiful!

“Grace“, $6.95,  is made from the same base formulation as popular Purity, which is 95% grade A olive oil.  Grace has an exquisitely divine heady rose/geranium/rosewood scent, formulated to showcase the sustainably harvested rosewood essential oil I recently obtained.  It’s a creamy white soap topped with organic rosebuds.  Simply stunning.  Grace will, of course, be included in the sale, so if you’d like to purchase that soap, be sure to stop by the Sarva web site, in the Spa Series section, on Monday afternoon.   EDIT:  It’s now on the site, found here.

And now, the four new gift sets!  I’m so excited about these, and they ARE already on the Sarva web site in the Gifts and Sets section.  The Artisanal Soap Trios are eco-friendly luxury at its finest… a set of three soaps (you get to choose the soaps!) from either the Rustic, Gallery, or Spa Series (or a set of one soap from each Series), packaged in a gorgeous 100% postconsumer recycled box.  The finishing touch is the vegetable-dyed, biodegradable paper ribbon that is hand-tied onto the slide-open box.  Each soap is individually labeled with a beautiful, ornate paper label, which is also 100% postconsumer recycled paper!

I’ve worked so hard to bring you these gift sets in some special earth-friendly packaging (please recycle on your end!), and I finally sourced out everything I wanted!  I hope you, and your recipients, enjoy them!  Pricing ranges from $15.50 to $20.50.    Here’s a photo of the “Mixed Series” gift box:

Artisanal Soap Trio - Mixed Series

Of course, the other lovely gift sets are still available… check them all out here!

So, I’ve saved the best part for last!  When you shop today through midnight Wednesday, May 6, please enter MOMLOVE in the “discount coupon code” section at checkout to enjoy a 15% discount.    I’ll need to receive your order by Tuesday night at the absolute latest to “guaranteed” get it to Mom… I ship USPS Priority Mail… but I’m extending the sale for an extra day in case you’d like to still see if we can get your gift to her, or you, in time!

Happy shopping!

What:  Orange Art Fair
Where: Moreland Hills Elementary School (Google map)
When: Sunday May 3, 2009  10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Cost:  FREE!

Those of you in the Cleveland area, mark your calendars for next Sunday, May 3rd! The Orange School District hosts a fabulous art fair every year, not to be missed! Just in time for Mother’s Day gift giving (and Father’s Day too)!

Sarva Soaps will be there with about 20 varieties of soap and some great gift sets.  Some of these items are not yet on the Sarva web site, so if you go to the show, you get a sneak preview and first chance to buy!   I’ll be in booth #52.   Stop by and see me… and if you found about the Fair via my blog, do please let me know!   I love meeting my readers.

Here’s info from the Orange School District’s web site:

The 5th Annual Orange Art Fair will be held on Sunday, May 3, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Moreland Hills Elementary School on the Orange Schools Campus, located at 32000 Chagrin Blvd. in Pepper Pike between Lander Circle and SOM Center Road (Rt. 91). Admission is FREE!

The Fair will feature more than 70 artists from around Northeast Ohio selling beautiful hand-made art and jewelry. A great time to buy for Mother’s Day, Teacher, and Graduation gifts. Sponsored by Orange Elementary PTA, money raised directly benefits Orange Schools.

There will also be kids’ entertainment, a kids’ art sale, food and refreshments, and a raffle.

I look forward to seeing you next Sunday!

If you live in Cleveland and aren’t doing anything Wednesday night, April 22 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., come support a great cause and treat yourself as well!

Sarva Soaps, in cooperation with Dermatology Specialists of Beachwood and Willoughby, will be appearing at “Leading with Style 2009″ at the Galleria in downtown Cleveland tomorrow, April 22! Proceeds benefit the Cleveland Marshall College of Law Future Courtroom. Tickets are $50 ($35 for students), with prizes including a once in a lifetime trip to the Umbrian Countryside!

In 2008, the Ohio Women’s Bar Association launched a new fundraising platform, named “Leading with Style.” It challenged previous conceptions that women attorneys could not be taken seriously if they engaged in activities designed to attend to their appearance, health or wellbeing.  It was designed to remind attorneys to make health, wellness, and relaxation a priority in their long list of professional and family responsibilities.  In its first year, over 500 women and men raised $50,000.00 to fund scholarships for future generations of attorneys.

This year, the event promises to be even more broad and impactful.  It is our mission to create opportunity for our community by funding an educational and economic initiative at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

I am proud to be invited to appear and represent Sarva Soaps at this special event.  If you come, you will have the opportunity to enjoy libations, retail therapy, and special ways to pamper yourself… and, of course, you’ll get to meet me!

Details can be found at The Ohio Women’s Bar Association, or on this PDF document.  Hope to see you there!