Its aromatherapy effects are known to uplift moods, improve mental clarity and awareness, sharpen senses, increase physical strength and energy; treat colds and flu, depression and nervous exhaustion.

Grapefruit oil (citrus paradisii) is expressed from the peel of the citrus.  The major component of grapefruit oil, limonene, is responsible for the citrus odor.  It blends well with other citrus oils, cardamom, coriander, cypress, geranium, lavender, neroli, palmarosa and rosemary. 

Do you need to cleanse the air in your home of office?  Combine distilled water with a few drops of grapefruit oil for an instant air freshener.  Try some in your lip balms for a refreshing new twist, or in your soap which will be great for oily skin and in facial toners again for oily skin.   

We have included a formulation to try which has been especially developed for OBN by our Ask the Expert Christina using this essential oil.  

Macadamia Nut & Grapefruit Essential
Oil Body Glow

˝ cup mineral salt
˝ cup fine sea salt
8 oz. macadamia nut oil
10-12 drops of grapefruit essential oil 

Directions:  Mix all oils together first until blended then add the dry salts and mix thoroughly.  You can store this in a glass mason jar and spoon out as needed. 

In the shower, apply to the body in circular motions with your hand or body puff.  You may feel a tingle on the skin from the salts.  This is great for rough elbows, knees and heels.  Be sure to rinse completely before shaving legs and beware if you scrape or nick yourself – it may burn.  Your skin will feel smooth and the aroma of the macadamia nut oil mixed with the grapefruit is wonderful! 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Grapefruit essential oil is phototoxic and should not be used directly before sun exposure.

OBN ANNOUNCES PERMANENT PRICE REDUCTION ON THEIR ESSENTIAL OILS!

One of our primary concerns along with providing you with consistent high quality material is that we offer you the best customer service in the business.  In illustration of our ongoing commitment to our customer’s complete satisfaction, we are very happy to announce our new lower pricing on our 100% natural organic essential oils.  Our unique position in this business as a manufacturer has allowed us to pass on significant savings without compromising quality.  The sale prices that have been advertised will now be the new lower prices. 

Another Word About Butters
Butter was definitely the product for winter to relieve those dry, chapped hands and many of you purchased a lot of it and in all varieties.  We had many customers fall in love with our newest butters – grapeseed and hempseed – and tell me they are using these butters in new formulations along with their oil counterparts.  Thank you for your feedback!  

A brand new butter for OBN is our Cocoa Butter Extra Refined.  This butter is white in color with no cocoa scent at all.  Perfect for any formulation where you need your specific scent or fragrance to come through.  Very hard in texture – just as our other cocoa butters – this item is available in 1 lb., 5 lb., 15 lb. and 55 lb. sizes.  Use this product in the same application you would use our Natural Cocoa Butter or Deodorized Cocoa Butter.  Remember the natural cocoa butter retains the wonderful chocolate scent and the deodorized has a slight chocolate scent.

OBN – YOUR PARTNER IN SUCCESS!
Over the course of the last four years we have had the opportunity to follow the growth of many of our customers who are now enjoying great success in the cosmetic industry.  It has been our pleasure to be a part of that success in being able to provide them with the high quality natural oils, butters, waxes and essential oils necessary for their product.  We wanted to share some of these stories with you perhaps for inspiration or as a learning experience. 

Our first Partner in Success story is Ida Friedman Kasdan, one of our local customers who owns Chagrin Valley Soap and Craft.  Ida has been making soaps for five years and is currently operating a very successful web based company selling her products (primarily soap and shampoo bars) globally.   

Ida first became interested in soapmaking as a hobby to keep herself busy while her husband, Howard, was working in his woodshop  She spent years researching the subject from the chemistry side and then from the creative side.  Since her profession at the time was a science teacher for middle school students, the chemical side of soapmaking was very intriguing to Ida.  Taking that knowledge and combining it with her research and her natural creative side, she began to experiment with basic formulas.   

The more soap she made the more she needed test subjects for her products and that’s how friends and family became involved.  After many freebies her test subjects encouraged her to begin selling her wares and thus the creation of Chagrin Valley Soap and Crafts.  A few short months after her first “real” sale, she became involved with a local consignment shop where she gained more exposure.   

After taking a short course in Front Page, she decided to create a web site purely for informational purposes.  When a customer sent her an email expressing interest in ordering, the retail web site was born.  A few years ago, Ida took a leave of absence to decide if soapmaking could be a full time profession.  It was during that year that her business really exploded and she decided to retire from teaching.  Recently, she was approached by a large natural food chain to carry her products.  What is the secret to her success?   We’ll try to find out . . .  

OBN:  Ida, what drew you to make your own soap?

Ida:  My first vocation was a nurse, then a science teacher and now I am a soap maker.  I have always been interested in a more natural holistic approach to life and had been making natural cleaning products for my home for years.  While attending craft fairs I noticed some handcrafted soaps and became intrigued and said “I can do that!”. 

OBN:  How many years of research did you conduct before making a bar of soap? 

Ida:  I spent a year reading books and perusing the internet researching soap making, herbs and essential oils before I made my first batch of soap.  My first batch of soap was Goat Milk Oatmeal and Honey.  Our skin never felt better!  No more bottles of lotion to alleviate itchy, dry skin especially in the Cleveland winters.  I was hooked!  I am constantly researching and learning new information – a perpetual student.  The soaps I made when I began soap making were good but the soaps I make today are fabulous! 

As I became more comfortable with the soap I began reading about all of the nasty ingredients in shampoo.  Commercial shampoos found in grocery store aisles are actually made from various detergents, synthetic materials, processed chemicals, cleanser and stabilizers that are harsh on your hair and scalp and strip it of its natural protective oils and moisture.  After months of research, I began making all natural shampoo bars. 

OBN:  How many varieties did you start with and how many do you have today? 

Ida:  I initially made very small batches and after a few months I had made about five different soaps.  Now I have over 30 soap varieties and 13 shampoo bars.  Each made with its own unique recipe using all natural ingredients.   

OBN:  How do you develop your formulas? 

Ida:  Many soap makers approach soap making as a craft but I see the science.  I studied the science behind the process of saponification.  Learning the characteristics of the fatty acids that make up individual fats and oils, I can create formulas for my soaps and shampoos with specific qualities in mind.  Each oils I chosen for the special characteristic it gives to the soap.  Individual soaps are uniquely crafted with the addition of special oils and butters like sweet almond oil, avocado oil, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, shea butter and many others.  Some soap contains other natural ingredients like cucumbers, avocados, carrots, oranges, herbs, flower petals, spices or grains.  My goal was and still is to always use the highest quality ingredients.  Oils by Nature makes that part easy. 

OBN:  What do contribute your success to? 

Ida:  Staying true to my mission:  making a quality, truly all natural product at a fair price while providing personal customer service.  It seems to be working because now I have customers in 49 states (all but North Dakota!) and 33 countries from China to Chile. 

OBN:  What suggestions would you have someone just starting or someone who wants to make this a full time job? 

Ida:  If you are just starting – do your homework.  There is no substitute for knowledge.  Learn the basics.  Developing a business takes time and patience.  Be ready to work very hard and spend long hours – like 14 hours a day.  Be passionate about your products.  Making soap is physical work – lifting and pouring heavy containers of oils, pouring large pots of soap, wrestling with molds, and constant cleaning.  You need to be a chemist, gourmet chef, herbalist, accountant, shipping clerk, materials expert, purchasing agent, website developer and a customer relations consultant.  But when your customers compliment your product and keep coming back, it’s all worth it! 

If you have a story you wish to share with us or know of another success story, please contact us at info@oilsbynature.com.

OBN UPCOMING APPEARANCES:

April 21, 2007:
For those of you in Ohio (or close by) you can visit us at the Ohio/Kentucky Gathering scheduled for April 21 at the St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Grove City, Ohio.  Come and see our demonstration using our new butters (which we will have available for purchase).  You can also pre-order and save on your shipping.  Contact us via email at info@oilsbynature.com for further instructions.

June 2^nd and 3^rd, 2007:
Join us at The Creativity Bee™ - an annual convention for artisans of soap, candles, toiletries. and herbal products.  During this two-day event, attendees will have the opportunity to discover new ingredients and techniques, attend mini workshops, hear dynamic guest speakers, and network with their peers.  The event is sponsored and hosted by Create the Dream!™ Magazine, the highly regarded, leading market publication for artisans of soap and sundries, candles and home fragrance, and herbal products.  Other featured speakers include Jeanne Rose, Barbara Brabec, and James Dillehay, just to name a few.  Visit the convention website for information, or to register to attend.