Have you ever wondered how soapmakers infuse their products with all of the unique scents? Unfortunately, it's not always the way you think. Today on our show, expert soap maker Ashley Marie LeBaron, walks us through how to use natural botanicals such as essential oils, to create genuinely healthy soaps and how to spot fake fragrances in your products.

Ashley Marie Soaps makes natural handmade skincare using quality ingredients that are sustainable and eco friendly. Their goal is to make products that not only nourish the skin and help it stay young and beautiful but are also healthy for the body. Her products are available for purchase on her website at ashleymariesoap.com.

Hi! I’m Sarah!

You deserve to live a healthy, happy life my friend. I’m here to help you find tools and information that help. I’m cheering you on. xo

👇👇 Hit play to listen now 👇👇

Listen Everywhere

Listen for free right here, or on your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcast • Stitcher • Spotify • Google Play • iHeart or TuneIN

Dive deeper:

• Learn more about Ashely Marie Soap on her site HERE and get your 10% discount with coupon code SOAP10 at checkout.

• Find Ashley Marie on IG at @ashleymariesoap

• The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps by Susan Miller Cavitch

• What does 6+ years of experience, thousands of hours of research, and an obsession with essential oils result in? THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL OILS, that’s what. Originally just for my Insiders, this guide literally has it all. And now you, yes you, can get this amazing resource for just $79. Click the link to stop worrying and start learning.

• Got a recipe you want to share? Submit it to our DIY Dugout HERE

Soft Scrub

From: Kelly Morrison

Ingredients:

In a glass bowl add:

• 3 cups Baking Soda

• 3/4 cup of Thieves Household cleaner

• 1 tbsp of distilled white vinegar

• 30 drops Lemon essential oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the bowl. It will be the texture of a paste. Store in an airtight container or jar. Best if used within 3 months. 

Listen to all of The Essential Oil Revolution Podcast completely free on Apple Podcast • Stitcher • Spotify • Google Play • iHeart • TuneIN or Here on this website

Episode Transcript

This transcription is provided through Podscribe, an AI Technology, and is not 100% accurate.

You can help us improve this transcript! Contact team@revolutionoilspodcast.com and let us know you want to help. It’s very simple to do and we’d love to give you a shout-out for your help. Thank you!

1 (1s): Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. Babe Ruth,

2 (9s): Empowerment in Education. Two powerful elements that will help you break free of convention and transform your passion for wellness to a level beyond the status quo. The essential oil revolution where you're given the tools to superseded an ordinary, everyday lifestyle, inspiring speakers, DIY recipes, healthy living tips, and more. You'll discover it all here. So tune in and get ready for a wellness revolution.

1 (39s): Welcome to the Essential Oil Revolution. I'm your host Samantha Lee Wright. I've been using essential oils for about 10 years now, and I still find that they are the most powerful way to quickly transform my mood, solve a tricky DIY hack, or support my overall health. And that's why I love sharing about them with you here on the show. On today's interview, I talk with an expert soap maker and we dive into the details of how to make soap using natural botanicals such as essential oils. We'll pull the curtain back on what traditional soap makers use, the shortcuts they make and the damaging effects that that can have on your health.

1 (1m 26s): That's today on our show. But first, let's pull a recipe out of our DIY dugout. This recipe comes from Kelly Morrison in Boone, North Carolina, and it is for a soft scrub to make the soft scrub in a glass bowl at three cups baking soda, three quarters, cup thieves household cleaner, one tablespoon of distilled white vinegar and 30 drops lemon essential oil. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. It will be the texture of a paste store in an airtight container or jar. And this is best if used within three months.

1 (2m 5s): Thank you so much for your recipe, Kelly. This is super helpful. If you have your own recipe that you'd like to submit to our DIY dugout, email it to us at diy revolution oils podcast.com. Thank you to Liquid IV for their support of our show. So you might not know this about me, but I used to be a huge ultimate Frisbee player. I was the coach of the local team here and it was so much fun, but I have not played in about 10 years since my son was born. But recently I signed up again for our local Frisbee league and I'm so excited, but I'm very outta shape.

1 (2m 49s): And so you know that I'm gonna be having some liquid IV with me there on the field to fuel my play because Liquid IV hydrates me two times faster than just water alone. Plus it tastes delicious. My favorite thing about Liquid IV is not only does it help hydrate me faster than just water alone and taste delicious, but it also contains five essential vitamins, b3, B five, B six, b12, and vitamin C. It's got three times the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks. Liquid IV is also on a mission to change the world. To date, they've donated over 24 million servings globally.

1 (3m 31s): Grab your Liquid IV in bulk nationwide at Costco or get 15% off when you go to liquid iv.com and use Code Revolution checkout. That's 15% off anything you order when you shop Better Hydration today using promo code revolution liquid iv.com. Thank you to vague more for their support of our show. When you look in the mirror and you examine your hair, are you 100% happy with it? Well, in my case, I could say not usually.

1 (4m 12s): I'm always dealing with frizz or split ins or dry hair. That's why I am so excited to try Vaga more. They're this hair care product that I recently stumbled upon that has such an amazing approach to hair health. They go beyond just the aesthetics of your hair and really focus on the roots. For example, the Grow Revitalizing shampoo and conditioner kit. I am especially excited to try out to create visibly thicker hair and improve from the roots. You massage it into your scalp. Who doesn't love that for at least 60 seconds? And then follow up with the conditioner. It's as simple as that.

1 (4m 52s): With Vega Mo, you get healthy, beautiful looking hair without the use of harmful chemicals. All their products are cruelty-free and never contained parabens or hormones. With Vaga more, there's no risk when trying because they have a 90 day money back guarantee. But with 91% of customers saying they saw visibly thicker hair with Vega more in just three months, you won't want to run out, get the hair you have always wanted with Vaga more, go tove amore.com/revolution and use code revolution to save 20% on your first order. That's V E G A M O r.com/revolution code revolution to save 20% at vega.com/revolution.

1 (5m 46s): Well, I'm here with Ashley Marie Soaps who makes natural handmade skincare using quality ingredients that are sustainable and eco-friendly. Her goal is to make products that not only nourish the skin and help it stay young and beautiful, but are also healthy for the body. Her products are available for purchase on our website@ashleymariesoaps.com. Ashley, welcome to the show. How are you?

4 (6m 11s): Thank you. I'm doing great. Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here.

1 (6m 17s): I'm super happy that you're here too. I love talking about sip. I just bought some handmade soap today and like I just, I was, it was so hard to choose. There was all these choices, right, of all the smells and stuff and it's so fun to just sniff 'em and and try to choose the one you like. But anyway, I love what you're doing and glad that you're here. So you have some favorite books to aid you in your soap making, correct? Can you talk about those? Cause I'm sure there's a lot of people that are curious about, I get that question a lot actually. How do I make soap using essential oils? So let's point people, let's go ahead and point them to those resources.

4 (6m 54s): Okay. Yes, I, I love reading different books on so making, cuz there's always so much to learn when it comes to natural colors and different essential oil blends that work in soap and essential oil blends that don't work in soap. And I just like to always keep my, my memory refreshed because there's so many things to remember when it comes to soap making. There's so much science and so much chemistry that's going on. But one of my favorite books that helped me the most, it's called the So Maker's Handbook and the author, her name is Susan Covich or Cavage, I'm not sure how she pronounces that, but you can find it on Amazon.

4 (7m 40s): I read the whole book cover to cover and she has so many different chapters on using natural colors and she gives exact instructions on how to use those natural colors to get the color that you want and different hus. And so I just really loved her book. But she also has a troubleshooting chapter where you can see and test like if you have some, if something goes wrong with your soap, you can see, you can understand the, like what went wrong and it can help you make your a better batch next time.

4 (8m 20s): So I just love that book. It has a lot of recipes in it and she's just very thorough on how she explains different essential oil blends and different natural colors to use and different, different techniques to use in soap making. I just loved her book. That's

1 (8m 43s): That's

4 (8m 43s): Cool.

1 (8m 44s): Thank you. I never really thought about how they get the colors in there. I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of soap makers that just use artificial coloring and and things like that, but with essential oils, they don't, don't have much color to them except for, you know, blue tanzy or the cam, the German camo meal has a nice blue color to it. Did those add a significant level of blue if you're using those oils in? I've

4 (9m 11s): Actually never used those essential oils. So one thing that soap makers have to keep in in mind is cost. Like there's some essential oils that I would never use in my soap because they're way too expensive and it's just not worth it because once the, the soap goes through a sation process, like the chemical composition changes and it gets really hot, so it will essentially burn the scent out. So camomile is one of them. Yeah, I do use,

1 (9m 41s): Like you're saying, it'll burn the camomile sent away or all essential oils like no essential oil will, will,

4 (9m 47s): No, it will just burn like the very volatile essential oils. The have heat, like some, like some essential oils, they can't, they can't withstand or they, they won't pull through theon ation process when they get, when they mix in the soap because it gets too hot. And so it almost kind of like cooks the smell out, you know? Gotcha. So

1 (10m 11s): Which oils are those? Because then isn't that kind of a test when you're buying quote unquote natural soap? Like we're all aware of how you have to be really careful and it be aware of green watching and whatnot. So if you're, you know, in a store and you see like a bar of soap that says it's camile and it smells like camile, that sort of a red flag of like, probably it's not actually camile, it's some sort of synthetic thing that's gonna make its way through that. You said quantification process.

4 (10m 40s): So quantification is s a quantification, it's actually where the word soap comes from. So quantification, but it's just a process, it's a soap term that every soap maker should know if they're making soap. It's pretty much the process of when the oils turn into soap, like olive oil and coconut oil and all that. When you mix it with li or sodium hydroxide, it's the, the chemical process it's called so pontification. But yeah, there's a lot of people that claim their soap's natural, and when you smell it, there's very strong sense that, you know, do not like, there's no essential oil that could smell like that, like all the peachy, like strawberry, right?

4 (11m 20s): There's like tons of scents, tons that people claim are natural soaps and there's not really like any regulation on that. So it's kind of frustrating because I'm very strict with using only essential oils and because they're the best and they're so much better for your skin and so much better for just your body in general. And so, but yeah, like camel mile, even lavender, like lavender, that's why you have to get really creative in essential oil blends because there's certain essential oils that can be used as fixatives that help push the scent forward or make the scent stronger and stay strong in the soap. 4 (12m 4s): So many people struggle with using like lavender essential oil and soap because when the soap is done, like the pontification process is done, which takes about 24 hours, the scent is gone. It doesn't smell like anything. The, the property of the essential oil stays, like the, the properties that lavender provide to your skin still stay in the bar soap. But most people buy the soap because they love the smell and they want to have that experience.

1 (12m 30s): There's a lot of studies of people just don't, they don't feel clean unless it smells a certain way, right? So even if something is technically clean, if if it doesn't have a scent to it, then they just, they just feel dirty. They're like, ugh.

4 (12m 45s): Exactly. So, so I've learned to blend essential oils a certain way with fixatives, the scent of the essential oils tend to fade if you don't use different fixatives to help like push the scent forward. So like the scent of lavender in handmade soap is really delicate because a lot of people will use, you know, tons of lavender tons, like 10 ounces per pound of oil, which is a lot. Oh wow. Yeah. And, and it doesn't come through like, once it goes through this appification process then it's, it doesn't smell like anything. Our bodies or the body will still still benefit from the properties that lavender provides to the, or gives to the skin, but it doesn't, the scent isn't there.

4 (13m 35s): So I've learned to use different essential oil blends, which I've, I've done it with books. There's, I mean there's a book called the Essential Oil Handbook and I've kind of just re learned about different how essential oils their properties and what you can use as a fixative to help hold in that scent. So like cedarwood is a very good fixative essential oil to help hold in the scent. So I'll use a small percentage of cedarwood in my lavender blend with a few other essential oils that help kind of like, I don't know how else to say this, but push the scent of asen of lavender forward. So, so when you smell the soap, it's like, oh, it smells so good like lavender because those other essential oils are in the background, like holding it, you know?

4 (14m 24s): Yeah,

1 (14m 25s): That's interesting. Is there, is there something going on there chemically with the cedarwood or is it just as sort of balance of, of smell notes almost like when you're cooking, there's a balance of flavor, right? If you add like a little bit of salt, it's gonna push certain flavors forward or things like that.

4 (14m 43s): I'm pretty sure there's a chemical process going on that's helping or the explains why that happens. I mean, there's a, there's an explanation to why every, everything happens, but I don't really know how to explain that. But I, it, I definitely go by the notes, like high notes, middle notes, low notes, and I've come up with a few with essential oil blends that, and obviously with the help of lots of, of online resources and books and just trial and

1 (15m 10s): Error states too, I'm sure. Yeah,

4 (15m 12s): Yeah. Trial and error and just lots of testing and, but yeah, it's mostly I just go by the notes, like, and then yeah, but the chemical, like explanation of what's happening, i, I really don't know. I wouldn't know how to explain that. Yeah.

1 (15m 29s): So I'm curious, it sounds like using essential oils to scent your soaps is way more difficult and expensive than using, you know, cheapo fragrance that you could buy. So as a soap maker, what kind of keeps you motivated to stay with that choice?

4 (15m 49s): Well, I love natural products. I love the way they make my skin feel. I love what they do for my skin and I can see a difference. I get compliments all the time on my skin and, and just random people just be like, Oh my gosh, you have the most amazing skin. And I'm like, Huh, well you should try my products because I, I believe in them, I make them and I know exactly what's in them. And I've never been tempted to use fragrant soils just because the scents are so strong that they're overbearing and they're, they kind of feel like synthetic candy, you know, like, like when you eat candy, it's, some of the flavors are just so fake that you're just like, ugh.

4 (16m 29s): Like I'd way rather just eat dried mangoes instead of like Right. A fake mingle flavor. You know, I, I have a hard time with fragrance oils just because they're too strong and they hurt my nose. I just feel like, ugh, I like more like light subtle sense and, but not even the scent, I just, just the knowledge of what essential oils do to, to my skin and the benefits that they have, then I feel like I just stick with it. And they are expensive, but when you buy in bulk, you can actually get fairly decent prices on essential oils. And also my soaps are a luxury product. They're, they're definitely expensive, but they're worth it because I, in my opinion, they're worth it.

4 (17m 14s): And people that are into natural hand soap, they, they love what I do because they, they know how to, how to understand the differences between people that use fragrance oils and essential oils. And I just found my niche in this business where it's like, my soaps are expensive, but people that prioritize luxury skincare and natural skincare, then it's worth it to them. I mean, some people they'll pay five bucks a day for coffee and some people, I mean, I'm like, hey, a bar of soap lasts two to three weeks for 10 bucks. So it just, it's all about priorities. But yeah, that's what makes it worth it is the, the cost, I mean, I mean I make it worth it for myself, my work and my knowledge of so making and all of what I put into it.

4 (18m 0s): And then hopefully, I mean, I, I provide a, a quality product to my customers that they feel like it's worth the price, you know?

1 (18m 9s): Yeah. They appreciate that, you know, and there's a trust there as well of, okay, like Ashley's got my back, She's not gonna like hide any ingredients in here to cut cost. It's, I, I know what I'm getting. What are some of the other ingredients that you like to use in your soaps that have different benefits for the skin?

4 (18m 28s): I use, most of my recipes are made with virgin olive oil. I don't, I don't use any synthetic, or not synthetic, sorry, I don't use any processed or refined oils. And that's another reason why my soaps are expensive, because those oils are very pricey. But, but it is incredible the difference. I use virgin coconut oil and I'm telling you, every time I pump that oil into my bowls to make soap, I'm just like, this smell is incredible cuz it's real. It smells amazing. I've, I've actually tested refined coconut oil and it doesn't smell like anything and it's so fake.

4 (19m 9s): Like, it's almost like putting plastic on your skin. I use olive oil, Sorry, olive oil, coconut oil. And then I also use avocado oil. Castor oil and shea butter. Those are the five main oils I use in the soap. And then I use obviously different colors, like natural colors and then also essential oil blends. Sometimes, depending on the recipe, like I make a shaving bar that I use hemp oil and wheat, your oil and coco butter and stuff like that. So not all my recipes are the same, but most of them are contain the same amount of those five oils and then we just mix them with stuff.

4 (19m 49s): So,

1 (19m 50s): Yeah. Would it be practical for somebody who's like, Oh, I wanna use this high quality soap, I can't afford $10 a bar. All right, I'll just, I'll just make it myself at home, You know? And is there, is it practical to do that on such a small scale and try to just, do you know, this is my one bar soap that I'm gonna make at home and I'm gonna perfect this one bar and just make my own soap?

4 (20m 16s): I wouldn't think so because I, I wouldn't even know how they would hand, they would mix one bar of soap, like if they were gonna make their own soap. I would suggest making a small, a small loaf of soap that makes like five bars. Okay. Because when it's so small you have to use a hand beater, like a, a hand beater to mix those oils with a lie. And it, when it's that amount, it, it wouldn't even mix it like it's too little bit, you know? But yeah, I mean it, it, I wouldn't recommend it if they were, were just gonna go buy it. Cuz it, it's, it's expensive to start out like you have to buy all the ingredients and, and then you have to buy, The only equipment you'd need is just like goggles for protection, eye goggles and then and gloves and a hand beater and then bowls and stuff.

4 (21m 4s): But when you make that investment,

1 (21m 5s): When you make, if you were to make like a loaf, would you use like a, could you use a baking mixer or do you have to keep your kitchen supply separate?

4 (21m 15s): In the books I've read it does say keep your kitchen supply separate. I don't know, sometimes I have used like I'm desperate and I'll just run, grab like something in my kitchen and I'll just wash it really good. And I just take the risk. I mean it doesn't say what consequences will happen if you use your dishes that use in the, in the kitchen with lie. But anything I use is stainless steel, so I just wash it really, really, really good and then put it back in my kitchen. But I'm not saying I suggest that for people, it just, it does say in the books that if you use whatever dishes or whatever materials you use for making soap, do not use them in the kitchen. So I don't know what the consequences are. I have taken the risk and so far I'm still alive.

4 (21m 57s): So you're still

1 (21m 58s): Here.

4 (21m 59s): If someone wanted to make their own soap, it's very rewarding and it's very satisfying and they're awesome gifts to give. They're great Christmas gifts, they're amazing birthday gifts and just, they're awesome. It's an awesome hobby. So many people enjoy making soap just as a hobby. It's very rewarding. Yeah. Cost wise, if you're only gonna make soap one time and invest in all that, no, it's like, just go ahead and purchase the soap. But if it's something that you're gonna do every so often, I mean if you made one loaf of soap, depending on what mold you bought, like you could make five bars at a time or 10 and it could last you six months or five months and then make soap again. You know, So if you're willing to make the investment then, then obviously you need to be consistent or I would suggest obviously just to make it worth it to stay consistent and soap making and, and then just keep using it.

4 (22m 49s): But it's very, very fun. Yeah.

1 (22m 51s): Yeah. It sounds really fun, but it does seem a little daunting to get all of the, I guess the bulk supplies, you know, like the, like where do you buy lie and, Cause that's, that's sort of, you

4 (23m 1s): Can buy Lie on Amazon, right? Or hardware stores. It's, it does sound daunting. I remember my first batch of soap I made, I was so scared. It was the scariest thing because I was using light and there's all these precautions and oh, you know, if it gets in your eyes you could go blind and oh, it was so scary The first time I made a batch of soap, it was like I, my heart was just, I was so nervous, like I couldn't even, oh my gosh. But once I actually made it and I woke up the next day and I saw that it actually set up and it was hard and I was like, I made this like, it was so incredible. The feeling was amazing. So it does sound daunting at first it was very daunting for me. I was extremely nervous, but I just pushed forward and made it happen and it seriously was the best, best thing I ever did cuz I started a business out of it.

4 (23m 47s): So, yeah.

1 (23m 48s): That's so cool. That's so cool. Well, any tips for people that are, are having that curiosity and all right, this weekend, that's it. I'm making soap, I'm doing it, I'm ordering my stuff. You know, like you had mentioned some resources already, but do you ever, any, any tips for beginners?

4 (24m 8s): The a tip, I, I guess for me, I, I would've loved to, to receive some tips on, on when I first started, the tip I would've loved to receive was just don't be so scared. Like the, the books, every book like the, any book that says soap making for beginners or beginning handmade soap or anything like that, they're gonna have at least one chapter about lie. And it is very dangerous. It is, but driving a car is very dangerous too. So if you know how to drive a car and you are, you understand how to use it, then it's not dangerous. And so lie, if you understand how to use it and you just wear the proper gear, then you're gonna be just fine.

4 (24m 55s): I've had, now that I've been making soap for six years, like I've had tons of times where lie little, a little bit of lie will splash on my arms cuz I don't always have my arms protected, which I should. And I'm a bad example to people on social media cause I have so many follow followers that make soap and they follow me because they want to make soap like I do. And I feel like I'm a bad example to them sometimes, but I get libraries on my hands sometimes like, and it just like stings a little. And if you leave it there for, if you leave it when you start filling the sting, then some then it could, you know, make a big ha huge scab and things like that. But as soon as I feel it a little bit or if I feel it, then I'll just go wash it or rinse it with water and it just rinses off. The most important thing is your eyes.

4 (25m 37s): So if you just have goggles then you're gonna be just fine. Like even if it's splashed on you a little bit, it's not the end of the world. You can just go rinse your hand and or rinse your arm and it'll be fine. But for, for beginners, I do recommend wearing long sleeve shirt, wearing a long sleeve shirt and wearing gloves for sure. I always wear gloves, like there's never ever a time I make soap without gloves. But I don't always wear long sleeve shirts. But for beginners that are a little nervous about using lie, just don't be afraid like it's gonna be just fine. If it got on your hands a little bit, it'll be just fine. You just rinse it. The books really exaggerate like how much I think they have to, because you can go blind careful, like if it got on your eyes. Yeah. So

1 (26m 17s): Yeah. Wow. Well thank you. So I take it the core of your business is soap making, but do you make other products as well?

4 (26m 24s): Absolutely. I make a face serum and this serum is very special. It's made with a very special recipe. It has some of the best oils in the world for the skin that in every single oil, if you research it, I have the list of ingredients on the label. But if you research each one of those oils, it is incredible the benefit that they have on the skin. And the one thing that's special about my face serum is that it doesn't make your skin oily. So you know, all, it doesn't have any olive oil in it or coconut oil. It has oils like ar oil, ho hoba oil, sea buck, thorn, black cumin seed oil.

4 (27m 9s): And those oils are so incredible for the skin. But what's really beautiful about that face serum is that it doesn't make your face oily. So you can put makeup on after you use it. I put it on in the morning and in the night I also make bath bombs. We're gonna start making five different scents. Before I was only making 2 cents cuz I just didn't have time and, but I hired somebody to help me and we're gonna make five different scents for the holidays. I make lip BALs lotion, bars, body butter. I also make a beard oil. And yeah, those are the five products that I make, or six products that I make right now, aside from soap making.

4 (27m 49s): But I do wanna make sugar scrubs and I would love to make a liquid hand soap, but I just, there's kind of, it's a different process making liquid hand soap and I just haven't had a chance to re research it enough and study enough to make a recipe that would sell. So. But yeah, that's in the future.

1 (28m 7s): And what's your favorite per personal favorite scent blend of oils that you use in your products?

4 (28m 15s): I love citrus scents. My favorite is, I mean I love the smell of grapefruit, but I have a citrus blend that's in my sweet orange hibiscus bar. It's made with hibiscus tea, the water base. But I use a blend, it's called sweet orange hibiscus, but I use a few different citrus scents. So I use sweet orange, essential oil, lemon. And then I also add a little bit of grapefruit and tangerine. Oh my gosh, it smells so good. I love citrus sense. So because of that, I actually made a bath bomb that's a ci, that's citrus sced, and also a lip balm.

4 (28m 60s): And so I love them. It's very, I love the citrus sense

1 (29m 8s): Support for our show comes from story worth. So I lost my grandmother a few years ago. She was so precious to me and I miss her every day. One day my mom was ruffling through her desk into her old belongings and came across this story that my grandmother had written down in somewhat of a diary of the first day that she met my grandfather. And it was a story that I had never heard before and it was a fantastic story. I mean, they were both on dates with other people. They ended up ditching their dates getting way too drunk and barfing under the moonlight on the beach while my grandfather drunkenly swam out to try to touch the moon.

1 (29m 50s): I mean, great stuff. I'm so glad that I heard this story. I mean, it was cracking up the whole time I was reading it and just so grateful that I had it. That's what prompted me to sign myself up for story worth. Story Worth is an online service that helps you and your loved ones connect through sharing stories and memories and preserving them for years to come. It's so cool. Every week story worth emails you or your loved one, maybe you've signed up your loved one for this, which is a great idea. They email them thought-provoking questions of your choice from a vast pool of possible options. And each unique prompt asks questions that you've never thought of.

1 (30m 32s): Like what's one of your fondest childhood memories or what's the best advice you've ever received? I love the thought of maybe my great great grandchild someday reading this book and learning about who I was. Get to know your loved ones better and preserve those special moments forever with story worth. Right now for a limited time, you can save $10 on your first purchase when you go to storyworth.com/revolution. That's story worth S T O R W W O rt h.com/revolution to save $10 on your first purchase storyworth.com/revolution.

1 (31m 22s): Now a word from our sponsor, Better help. It wasn't too long ago that I felt really stuck in a rut when it came to my career, my business and how I balanced everything. Work life, parenting. It can be hard when you feel stuck to train your brain to stay in problem solving mode. But when you can take a step back and find your own solution, there's really no better feeling. A therapist can help you become a better problem solver, making it easier to accomplish your goals no matter how big or small. I've personally used better help, It helped me feel less stressed, more confident, and it helped me work past some anxiety and depression and just overall feel better emotionally.

1 (32m 10s): If you're thinking of giving therapy a try, better help is a great option. It's so convenient, it's accessible, it's affordable because it's entirely online so it's quicker to get matched with a therapist and it's such an easier experience than driving to an office and having that uncomfortable waiting room experience when you want to be a better problem solver. Therapy can get you there. Visit better help.com/revolution today to get 10% off your first month. That's better. H e l p.com/revolution.

1 (32m 59s): Well this has been so much fun. Like this is, I am not the DIY type necessarily, but now I'm like, oh man, that would be really fun to make a batch of soap. You should

4 (33m 8s): Try. It's very rewarding.

1 (33m 10s): Yeah, so thanks for getting me jazzed up about that. Before you go, we always love to ask our guests a couple closing questions. And the first is, what's one or two self-care practices that you try to do every day to stay healthy?

4 (33m 25s): I, so one self-care practice that I like to do is I drink lemon water in the morning. I've read a lot about what lemon water does for our bodies. So I have literally been drinking lemon water since I was like 15 years old, even all through college when I was so busy and my life was crazy, I, I woke up in the morning and I would drink a cup of lemon water or a glass of lemon water, just like an eight ounce glass and I just squeeze one lemon in it and I add a tiny, tiny bit of sea salt. The sea salt adds electrolytes to, or min and minerals to the water so it helps your body absorb it. But if you research what lemon, the benefits of lemon water, it's a mini liver flush.

4 (34m 8s): So after fasting for 12 hours, you know, or not 12, but however many hours, like when you're sleeping and everything, it's really, really healthy for our bodies to do a little flush and just flush out anything that's, that hasn't been digested or anything like that. So I love drinking lemon water in the morning. It's almost like I can't eat breakfast unless I've drink. I've drank it. I'm just, it's just part of my daily routine and I love it. I feel like it helps my body digest food better, it helps me stay hydrated and it just is a good start to the day because once I make one healthy choice, then it helps me to stay on track the rest of the day. Just keep making healthy choices.

4 (34m 49s): There's a lot of people that will contact me and they'll ask me like, Oh you know, I have eczema, I have acne, like what can I do? And I always tell them, you know, my soaks will probably help it and I'm not gonna tell you that they're gonna cure your skin condition. But health and and and skin, skin starts from within. Like you can't eat crazy foods and all kinds of pasteurized products and okay, some people are against what I just said. Okay, you can't eat a lot of product like sugar and just all these unhealthy foods and then expect to have beautiful, healthy, amazing, glowing skin. Like you have to take care of your body internally.

4 (35m 30s): So I always tell people that I'm very straightforward, like my soap will probably help it a little bit, but it's not gonna cure it because it comes from within. So you gotta take care of your, your mind, you gotta take care of your body and your spirit because all of that plays an effect on how, how our life, how healthy of a life we live and how our skin reacts to or how our skin is gonna look. So yeah, so yeah,

1 (35m 53s): Your skin is there, it's like a red flag, you know, it's there to tell you, Hey Zach, pay attention. You know, I'm trying to tell you something here. And a lot of times that is, Eat better please for me. Yes. Awesome. So Ashley, what's just one thing we should all ditch completely and replace with something healthier today?

4 (36m 12s): There's a couple things. One is air fresheners. Every time I walk into a home and there's air fresheners in there, I'm just like, oh my gosh, it smells so strong and it's so synthetic and fake. I'm like, how do people not like, isn't it common sense the this stuff is, or chemicals, I mean, what is a a, what is those or what are those sc what are they like, what are they made of? What are you? And I

1 (36m 38s): Don't know, people don't take one sniff and go, oh my gosh, like why would I wanna inhale that? But it's because they go nose blind, you know? And yeah, they just,

4 (36m 47s): And a lot of people they're unaware of. It's so, it's so natural to me when I smell something that's synthetic, it's so natural for me to be able to pick up on that scent and know that it's synthetic. Like I can tell the difference between an essential oil and a fragrance oil, like within seconds. Like it doesn't even, So yeah, those air fresheners, even in cars, like those air fresheners, especially

1 (37m 13s): In cars, yeah,

4 (37m 14s): They're loaded with chemicals and there's def there's a healthier alternative. There's a reason why so many people have cancer and are getting sick. I'm not saying that it causes cancer, that's not what I'm saying. But there is a toxic,

1 (37m 25s): That's definitely what certain scientific studies say.

4 (37m 28s): There's, there's toxic buildup when you're constantly inhaling and putting synthetic fragrances on your skin or using different air fresheners and things like that because it goes into your body and your body has to process that stuff. And so there is toxic buildup that happens when we're constantly exposed to those kind of sc. And so I would recommend just doing, I mean one thing I would love for people to just to toss out completely our air fresheners and get essential oil or fresheners or get a diffuser. And one more thing really quick is bath bombs that are made with synthetic fragrance oils and also those bright colors.

4 (38m 8s): One time I posted something and I try to be really careful on social media cuz a lot of people that follow me, they use, they use fragrance oils and I don't like to put any of those companies down that are making bath bombs and soaps with, you know, synthetic colors and micah's and things like that. I don't like to put them down because everyone has their own niche and you know, but I did say something about bath bombs, like our, or our skin is the largest organ in our body and it absorbs everything that we put on it. And when we're sitting in hot water in a tub and we're using bath bombs full of fragrance oils and synthetic colors that are bright pink and hot, orange and yellow, those, those ingredients are absorbed, especially by our, in our private areas, like our private area.

4 (38m 53s): It is like a direct link to the inside of our body. And it's, especially

1 (38m 58s): If you're in warm water too, it's like your pores

4 (39m 0s): Even more pours open up and warm water and it absorbs all of that. And it's just, it's just, you can find bath bombs that are made with essential oils and clays and they're beautiful. And I swear even just the, the feeling of them, like when you're sitting in a tub with a natural bath bomb and it's like you can feel the oils of the coconut oil, it's like a water softener. It's just incredible the difference. And so, and back to what I was saying, I posted something like that on, on my Instagram account and a and a girl messaged me, she's like, Thank you for making me aware of that. I never even thought about that. Like I've never even, I like ignorance can really be, can really be something that could be harmful to us.

4 (39m 44s): Yeah. Because when we, when we don't know,

1 (39m 45s): There's so under natural trust in companies, I think, like I see that in my own children. Like they'll walk through a store and just be like, Oh let's get that, let's get that, let's get that. And I'm, and they're just so naturally trusting because like in a child's mind of course, why would someone sell you something that could harm your body? Like that just doesn't compute in their minds, right? And we're kind of, we're, we're naturally trusting. Humans are naturally trusting. And so it does, it kind of stinks, but it does take sort of this breakdown of you kinda have to be this mistrustful person of when you're walking around the store and really look and question, okay, you know, why would this bath bomb cost a dollar and this bath bomb cost $6?

1 (40m 31s): Well it's probably cuz that $1 one is full of crap, right? And it's gonna be really harmful for your body in the long run. You know, like one time's not gonna kill you of course, but if you're going through life and not really being discerning about the products that you're bringing into your home, it does build up over time. And you have to sort of question, all right, what, what's this company's motivation? Are they trying to help me or are they just trying to make a buck? And unfortunately they're usually just trying to make a buck and keep their profit margins as big as possible, which means cheap ingredients that unfortunately our government is not really protecting us from.

1 (41m 14s): Cuz they allow these, the, the use of so many products, especially in America, you know, Europe, it's a little, it's a lot better. They have a lot more restrictions on chemicals and products that you can put into consumer goods. But not here in America. Nope.

4 (41m 30s): I know. It's actually really sad because so many people, they are very trusting and they, they just think, you know, oh, you know, if the FDA approves it then it must be healthy or it must be okay. And, and there really is a lot to say about ingredients. I, what I recommend is for people to actually research ingredients. Like if you can't pronounce it and you don't know what that is, then research it and, and research, you know, what are the benefits of it or what are the side effects of it? And once you start reading the side effects of it, like, oh my gosh, it wakes people up. There are so many chemicals that people use in, in soap and in skincare that make their, the chemicals are designed to make it last longer and to make it harder and to make it this and that and this and that.

4 (42m 13s): And in my, in my products, it's like I, I don't use not even one extra chemical to make it softer or to make it this, I mean even in some bar soaps, like they actually put a chemical in there to make it get gone faster. I don't know if you've ever used a bar soap that literally it's gone in like five washes. It's like this little thing right there. Like how did that get gone so fast? It has like these little tiny air bubbles in it minuscule like microscopic air bubbles that make it to where the soap gets gone faster. Cause they want you to buy more, but it only costs 50 cents, right? So, or they wanna use less product,

2 (42m 45s): Right? Yeah.

4 (42m 47s): So anyways, it's just that it's something I'm passionate about. Like I just, oh my gosh, I just wish people would be more aware and have discipline. It takes discipline to say no to things when they smell so amazing, they look so gorgeous. But it's like once you get into the natural realm, oh my gosh, there's so many beautiful bath bombs and beautiful bath products that are way better and they make you feel better. They, they make your skin feel better. And even internally, like smelling it and all that, I swear to you like a lot of those fragrance oils and stuff, they're draining. They drain your energy. They're so toxic for our bodies and it, it doesn't, it's not gonna kill you if you use it one or two times.

4 (43m 27s): But later on in life there's tons of issues that people have and you know, you can't make any claims and oh, this causes that you can't. But there's links to things, there's connections to stuff. And I just think that the more, you know, you don't have to be some crazy lunatic that doesn't, you know, I'm not a fanatic, like I still will wear makeup that's not a hundred percent natural. Like I try to find natural makeup, but some mascara's, oh my gosh, it's impossible to find a mascara that doesn't smear and put black underneath your eyes if it's natural. Cuz it's like, so I, I'm not a fanatic, but I do try to choose the best that I can and have the discipline to be like, this is my priority and I I'm gonna stick to what I know because, because I know like once you know, it's like, you know, forever, you know.

4 (44m 13s): And so just researching the ingredient lists and understanding what, where those pro ingredients come from and understanding even if it's a small, small little percentage of people that are affected by it and stuff like that. Like, I don't know. I'm very passionate about it, but

1 (44m 31s): Yeah. Yeah, no, I am, I am as well and I just encourage people, you know, just take baby steps, just tackle one thing at a time. Don't try to tackle the whole house and yeah, just do what you can. Every little bit can make a difference. And

4 (44m 44s): Yes. One thing I wanted to say about in connection to what you just said is, or to add to what you just said, is it, it gets overwhelming for people to think I have like a thousand dollars worth of bath products in my bathroom. Like how am I gonna go get rid of all that and start going natural? Well I heard someone one time say, you don't have to get rid of all that. Just as you go switching out, like let's say your shampoo gets gone now instead of replenishing that shampoo that got gone with that same shampoo loaded in chemicals, like find a nat a more natural one and just use those products. And as the time goes on, when you switch out or when you need to buy more, then just get, go the natural alternative.

4 (45m 24s): So you're just slowly just replacing all of those body products with more natural ingredients. So it's not, you don't feel so overwhelmed like, oh my gosh, everything's full of chemicals, I'm, you know, we might as well just all die. You know? Cause it can be overwhelming for sure.

1 (45m 42s): Exactly. Well said Ashley, this is such great advice and yeah, this is kind of what we're all about here on the show, so I hope it's helped empower some people to make those choices and take those baby steps and invest in some good soap for people that wanna be more part of your world. And I'm sure there's people that are gonna wanna check out your store. Where's the best place for them to go?

4 (46m 4s): So my, I have, you can order my soap on my website. It is Ashley Marie soap o p, it does not have s at the end, so it's ashley marie soap.com if you wanna watch how my products are made. I, I always make videos on Instagram. I do live videos, I post lots of just different the process of all the different products I make and people love watching it. So if you wanna see how it's made, then go to my Instagram account, it's Ashley Marie soap or at Ashley Marie Soap and yeah, if you are interested in purchasing my products, you can use a coupon code soap soap all Capital 10.

4 (46m 49s): So SOAP one zero, use that coupon code and you can get 10% off on my website and just give it a shot. It's worth it. My soaps last a long time. They're not designed to disintegrate, they're cured for six weeks, so they get really hard and they're long lasting bars. They're very big, they're over five ounces and you can cut 'em in half if you wanna switch out different SCS sooner and then go back to that other half later. But yeah, my, my, all the ingredients I use, I'm very, I'm very strict with what goes into my products and they're, they really are a hundred percent natural in every sense of the word.

4 (47m 29s): And there's no hidden ingredients and I just use quality ingredients and they're amazing. They definitely do benefit the skin and you will see a difference after using it just for a small period of time.

1 (47m 41s): Awesome. Well thank you so much for coming on here and sharing your journey, sharing your wisdom with us here on the Essential Oil Revolution. We appreciate you,

4 (47m 50s): You're so welcome. It was my privilege and I am so grateful that you gave me the opportunity. So thank you so much and I hope you have a lovely day.

1 (47m 59s): The Essential Oil Revolution is created by me, Samantha Lee. Right? Thank you so much for tuning in. If you're looking for show notes, resources, podcast, swag, or more, go to revolution oils podcast.com. We'll catch you here next week with a brand new episode of the Essential Oil Revolution. In the meantime, keep on learning, keep on discovering, and most importantly, keep on treating yourself well. You are worth it.

Listen on iTunes • Stitcher • Spotify • Google Play • iHeart or TuneIN • RSS Feed