image courtesy Photobucket.com

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived,  reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the  figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

- Sam Levenson

Audrey Hepburn favored these words so much so that people often believe she wrote them!  I encountered them on the pages of Sagescript Institute, a site well worth checking out for natural products crafted with intelligence.  Cindy Jones, Ph.D. is an author, educator, formulator, and biochemist.  Her blog is required reading for anyone who wants real, factual information about their skincare products.  Cindy’s writing, and that of many other experts, can also be found at Personal Care Truth, a wonderfully informative site working tirelessly to dispel the fear mongering we’re exposed to about our cosmetics. I was very honored to recently have one of my own articles featured there as well.  I’m among very good company.

Thanks for reading, and have a fabulous weekend!

OK, so it isn’t exactly high art.

My grandmother created the painting you see in the photo.  No, she wasn’t a painter.  And that’s precisely the point.  She did it anyway.  Because she had always wanted to.  This was my grandmother’s spirit, though: She was the most feisty, direct person I’ve ever known; not always liked, not always popular.  But she was real.  And she followed her inner spirit.  There’s an arresting integrity there.  If she wanted to do something, she just did it.  Belly dancing? Sure. Trip to Rome? No problem. She read Tarot cards at one point; hey, why not?  She even gave up everything (career, fancy townhome, friends, hometown) to help raise me.

Her painting hangs in the Sarva workshop as a permanent reminder to just “do it anyway” – a reminder that there is a time to engage your spirit, completely and without concern for the outcome.  To savor the process without being driven by a specific desired result.  Or hampered by some niggling insecurity.

I have a lot in common with my grandmother in many ways. And April, and now May, have proven to be tremendously challenging for me personally.  I’ve come to a place where I’m rethinking and evaluating the value and integrity of everything I do… perhaps overthinking would be a better word.  You see, I’m quite the perfectionist and I find it very easy to lose sight of things. Sometimes I have to force myself to simply be.   An ironic statement, yes?

At times like this, I go look at my grandmother’s painting.

(Free spirit though she was, I suspect she’d be less than thrilled that I published it for the whole world to see.  And boy would I hear about it.)

But I’m sharing it with you in case you need a reminder too.  So tell me… I’d love to read your comments:  What’s on your daydream list?  What are you afraid of?  What if you just “did it anyway”?

The Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild, in conjunction with Clean the World, has called soapmakers to action in the Haitian relief efforts.  Clean the World accepts soap donations, melts them down and turn them into new soap, and distributes this rebatched soap to people in need.

While we at Sarva focus on creating beautiful, artistic soaps for you, we believe soap is a basic necessity.  Scientists have recently confirmed  that overuse of antibiotics is causing dangerous pathogens to mutate — and actually thrive — and become drug-resistant.  Soap attacks problems at the source:  Sanitation is the best, most basic way to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses. Bar soap, including handcrafted soap, is indeed antibacterial, even without potentially harmful antibacterial chemicals added… and what’s more, regular bar soap doesn’t kill the beneficial bacteria that live on our skin.

Sarva usually donates soap to a local homeless shelter, but in these circumstances, we have chosen to divert the majority of our routine donation to Clean the World.  Sarva has donated 40 pounds of soap to the cause.

Right now, soap is greatly needed in Haiti. It will directly help prevent the spread of disease and, thus, further loss of life and devastation.  Clean the World already has stores of soap ready to go to Haiti, and needs your financial support to make this happen.

This is a unique, practical, and directly implementable way to get help where it’s needed right now.  Please consider donating to Clean the World so they can continue their invaluable work.

Thank you so much.

Yesterday’s blog post stimulated a great deal of interesting conversation and feedback, as well as even more thought on my end.   I never regret thinking and questioning deeply. I hope that when I ruffle feathers – mine included – the movement created is ultimately a good thing.

It seems there are a few concurrent issues here:

• Green versus natural (e.g., don’t use essential oils distilled from endangered or threatened species; please see Cropwatch for more information)
  
• Safe usage of essential oils on the skin – independent of any trade organization’s mandates
  
• Regulation and recommendations and the politics therein
• The negative perception of fragrance oils by proponents of natural products (I share this perception!)
  

I speak sometimes about architecture because I live with a LEED-certified (green) architect, and I am fortunate to know other professionals in the industry as well.  I’m no expert in that field, but I hear discussion of a green concept called E-cubed:  Economy, ethics, and environment.   The dilemma is how to make balanced choices which satisfy all three.  I think most of the issues above fit into these categories.

And these categories are endless quagmires.  Is it more ethical to pay workers a low wage to harvest for essential oil distillation, is it more ethical to forbid clearing land (and risking deforestation) for a plantation, or is it more ethical to use a mindfully-created synthetic to satisfy our craving for, say, a sandalwood scent (sandalwood is endangered)?  Further, which is worse for our skin:  Too much cinnamon essential oil, which can lead to acute cross-sensitization and allergy (many aromatherapists would recommend not using it at all in a leave-on product such as a lotion), or a synthetic fragrance which is purported to carry a carcinogenic risk?  OK, what about phthalate-free fragrances, which have eliminated the carcinogen?  Perhaps you see how fuzzy this can get.

I have always been dead-set against synthetic fragrance.  I still am.  But as I learn more, I am coming to understand that they are not all created equally.  I also used to be against fragrance that is natural in source only (example:  you can obtain an almond-like scent by isolating and altering the naturally-occurring aromachemical cinnamaldehyde, which is present in cinnamon bark essential oil). So you arrive at a new class of fragrances.  Are they natural?

Bergamot essential oil, altered to be free of a chemical called bergaptene, is used by aromatherapists as a skin-safe product, allaying risk of photosensitization.  Now, IFRA ruffles a LOT of feathers, and some essential oil producers feel they have gone too far with their attempts at regulation.  Still, I have also learned that some essential oils which are banned by IFRA can be made skin-safe through a similar fractionation process, harvesting out the risky aromachemicals.   Are these still natural?

It is also true that some essential oils are not pure, especially when purchased in bulk.  So are they really natural?

There are indeed very harmful fragrance oils.  Please make sure, when you purchase products that are not naturally scented, you select phthalate-free fragrance.  If the package doesn’t say, ASK.  Phthalates are petroleum derivatives that are not good for our environment or our bodies (it is a reported carcinogen).  Even portions of these fragrance oils are created from naturally-occurring aromachemicals at times.   I would never use these, but you know what I’m going to ask…

I’m not a chemist, and I have thus far solely used essential oils in Sarva’s products.  I am still in the learning phase about these issues as they apply to fragrance–creating new materials that are natural in source–and I’m also currently wondering whether they can help us get around some the troubles as viewed from an E-cubed perspective:  (a) safe skin usage;  (b) environmental depletion; and (c) economic impact for those who harvest and distill plant matter.

In short: Are we seeing the evolution of a product made from natural aromachemicals, a new class of fragrances that addresses all of these issues?  I believe we are.

I don’t have the answers.  I still believe in nature; I still believe in essential oils.  When it comes down to it, I’m talking about 3-4% of a product formulation.  But that 3-4% carries a lot of weight in my book.    And it seems to me that we as humans are learning how to work in harmony with nature.  I think we should give this concept a chance.  And that is where I will be focusing my research.

Thanks so much for exploring this topic with me.

Holden Arboretum, Ohio. © Michelle Gilbert.

Hello everyone!  As I mentioned in my last post, there are a few changes in the works here at Sarva.   I’m going to take a few minutes and fill you in.  This is a long post, so please bear with me.  There is very important information here for anyone who is a proponent of natural products, and at the very end I want your direct feedback!

If you shop regularly, you’ve noticed that a great many soaps are sold out.  We had a wildly successful holiday 2009 season, and many varieties were completely sold out.  Thank you!   We’re currently restocking many of those varieties, some with changes, and we’re introducing some new varieties.

Rustic series soaps will share a new base formula, free of palm kernel oil.  Palm and palm kernel oil harvesting is believed to contribute to tropical deforestation and displacement of orangutans from their natural habitat.  Sarva has “adopted” and directly pays for the rehabilitation of one such orangutan, Kesi.  I continue to investigate this issue because, of course, some people do disagree.

Holiday soaps will be retired until next year, and a few other soaps are retiring:  Cinnamon Sunshine, Rosamaya, Satori, and possibly more.   For some, it is simply time to move on.  For others, there is something far larger happening in the world of fragrance (natural and synthetic), and it is something that you as a consumer should know about:  Regulation.

The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) is an organization that sets forth guidelines for safe usage of natural and synthetic fragrance materials.  They evaluate the environmental as well as the personal (skin safety) impact of these materials.  Their usage recommendations for natural fragrance (including essential oils) has become more and more strict.  What these data mean is that there are essential oils that I should no longer use to make soap for you.

While IFRA’s regulations are indeed research-based, there are many in the natural perfume industry who feel that they are entirely too harsh, and these people are actively protesting.  I remain carefully informed on this matter, and I am one of few soapmakers who has formal aromatherapy training.  I have my own opinions about this (I agree with many of them, and many I do not), but the fact remains that, whether I like it and whether I agree or not, I should not use the materials they are banning.

And in 2010, even more strict regulations are coming, further restricting what I can offer you.  And it will continue to become more limiting.  I expect to lose at least 25% of my product line this year as a result.

In an interview with my good friend Robert Stockham, I discussed the dilemma of which is truly more sustainable and environmentally friendly:  Using essential oils which can deplete our natural resources (and some of which, no matter what anyone tells you, are simply not skin-safe), or using synthetic fragrance oils which have the potential to affect our groundwater, soil, etc.  I am also acutely aware of the sensitivities some people have to fragrance oils.  Keep a secret?  I share these sensitivities myself.  I know how you feel.

I want to be completely clear:  I am a strong proponent of all things natural.  You might not find a stronger proponent!

There are already endangered natural fragrance materials:  Sandalwood is one, rosewood is but another.  (I use rosewood leaf in my formulations, which is a somewhat more sustainable alternative).   This is a very real concern.

So, you see, we have to use our resources intelligently.  Being a proponent of all things natural might involve a paradigm shift:  One may need to support decisions that sustain our environment, not deplete it.

I’ve meditated on this for several months, wondering if my potential solution is akin to selling out.  But I believe the intelligent choice is to look at true sustainability, expanding one’s mind beyond the “natural is always best” stance.  I see a middle way arising.  There is a growing movement around sustainable cosmetics, and I will continue to educate myself and you.  Consider: Sustainable architecture (ask any LEED-certified professional) is rarely restricted to solely natural materials; it is recognized that this too would deplete our resources (understanding, of course, we aren’t smearing building adhesives on our skin!).  We learn more every day about how to create safe and sustainable materials.  My opinion is that we need a LEED-like process for our industry.

So I have a proposal for you, and here’s where I want your feedback! I am considering introducing a limited range of what I’ll call “Nearly Naturals”.

• I will carefully choose fragrances which are superior quality, phthalate-free (phthalates are a petroleum-based additive in some fragrances) and as sustainable as possible, and appropriate to the spirit of Sarva. Not all fragrance oils are created equal!  Some are derivatives of natural substances.
• All will be clearly marked on packaging and on the web site.
• The Nearly Naturals soaps will be 95-97% natural, whereas our present soaps are 100% natural.
• I may more closely investigate the use of oxides to pigment some of these soaps.
• The main focus of Sarva will always be the 100% natural products you have come to love… the Nearly Naturals are simply a supplement.  You can then choose for yourself which side of the environmental fence you wish to stand on, and you can shop based on your principles, not mine.

Your feedback is the sole determining factor. Please share with me how you feel about this matter in the comments below. I want to create soaps that you love to use and feel good about using, and I want to feel good about making them.

Edit: To clarify, I am NOT ceasing production of essential oil soaps, nor is my hand being forced to do so.  They will always comprise the bulk of the product line, if not the whole product line.  I am asking if you do – or don’t – want increased choice in the form of any available sustainable fragrance oils.  As time passes and we learn more about natural as well as synthetic fragrance (or a hybrid thereof), we learn more about the impact our use of them has on our bodies and the environment.  And our available choices shift.  What do YOU want?

Thank you!

Leaves on Bridge, Shaker Lakes, Cleveland Ohio. ©2009 Michelle Gilbert.

Declaration of Freedom

Whatever may seem to bind or limit you,
Declare yourself free from it now.
There is nothing in the outer world,
No person, no condition, no circumstance
That can take away the freedom
Which is yours in spirit.
Instead of wishing that you were free
To live your life differently,
Accept the truth that right now
You are free.
Free to change your thinking,
Free to change your outlook on life,
Free to be all that you long to be…

- Swami Satyananda Saraswati

I wanted to share the above with you (I’ve abridged it slightly).  This inspired and affected me deeply when I received it in my inbox today (thank you North American Gurukul). Here we are on the crest of not only a new year, but also a new decade.   As we both reflect back on 2009 and look forward to 2010, let’s also remember and enjoy the opportunity, power, and beauty of right now.  After all, “right now” creates both our future and, ultimately, our past.

The coming year will bring some changes to the Sarva product line as well as what I’ll be writing about here, and I’ll fill you in soon.  But… let’s stick to right now!  I simply want to wish you a happy and safe New Year celebration as well as peace, happiness, and prosperity in 2010.

Happy New Year!

Winter is the time for comfort, for
good food and warmth, for the touch
of a friendly hand and for a talk beside
the fire:  it is the time for home.

Edith Sitwell

Thank you for your patronage!  We’re taking a little break starting today, December 24, and we’ll be back on Monday December 28.  Any orders placed during our break will be processed on Monday the 28th.

Wishing you peace, joy, and love – and plenty of these to share – at this season and always.

Michelle Gilbert
Sarva Natural Artisan Soaps