Recipe: Olive Lip Balm

You will need:

2.5 oz Olive Butter
1 oz Olive Oil, Refined 'A' Grade
0.50 oz Beeswax Pastilles
0.25 oz Candellila Wax
1 cc/1 ml Cola Flavor Fragrance Oil (use one of our handy mini-scoops!)
0.15 cc Stevia Powder, White (use one of our handy mini-scoops!)
Radiant Mocha Mica (optional)

Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, melt olive butter & beeswax until liquified. Remove from heat.

Phase 2: Pour liquified butter & wax into a sterile glass or stainless steel utensil and add olive oil & flavor fragrance. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Phase 3: Add stevia powder & optional mica & combine thoroughly before filling your containers. Allow to cool completely before capping.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

New Stock: Olive Butter

Olive Butter is cold pressed from selected fruits and has excellent emollient and antioxidant properties making it a natural moisturizer.

For those who have found they have a sensitivity to shea butter, olive butter is a good substitute as it exhibits many of the same characteristics.

Due to its creamy texture, this butter makes a wonderful massage butter. Olive butter is off white in color. It adds moisturizing attributes to creams, lotions and bar soaps and may be used in cosmetics, toiletries, soaps, massage oils & balms, hair care and sun care preparations.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Recipe: Olive Salt Scrub

You will need:

1 part Olive Massage Butter (see recipe here)
2 parts Dead Sea Salt - Fine Grain

This is a super-simple scrub recipe that is perfect for manicures and pedicures!

Combine salt (or fine grain sugar if you prefer) with massage butter and mix thoroughly.

Package as desired.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Recipe: Olive Massage Butter

You will need:

6 oz Olive Butter
2 oz Shea Olein (Liquid Shea Butter)
2.5 ml (1/5 tsp) Lavender Sage Fragrance Oil

Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, heat olive butter & shea olein until liquified and remove from heat.

Phase 2: Transfer liquid oils to a glass mixing utensil and add fragrance.

Phase 3: Using a hand mixer with a whisk attachment (equipment you have reserved strictly for formulating and not food use), begin to whisk liquid until lightly whipped. This may take some time to achieve and you may find it helpful to pop the container into the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.

Phase 4: When thoroughly combined, package in an airtight container.

To Use: Dispense a small portion of butter into the palm of your hands and rub together vigorously
to warm the butter before massage application.

Other Uses: Hand & Nail Treatment, Foot Balm, Solid Bath Oil

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Olive Butter is Back!

We are very pleased to announce the return of Olive Butter to our selection of natural vegetable butters!

We have been out of stock on this item for quite a while, however, supply chain issues appear to be resolved and barring any issues with the olive harvest, it should remain a regular stock item.

Olive Butter - 1 lb

Olive Butter - 8 lb

Celebrate Earth Day 2009!

Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

For more information on how to make every day Earth Day, visit the Earth Day Network. Earth Day Network was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Deciphering The Differences In Shea Butter

With a plethora of different varieties of shea butter to choose from, it may be difficult to decide which shea is right for your formulation. We hope the following definitions help to make it easier to choose!

Shea Butter, Unrefined (Virgin) - Dark gray or khaki in color, this shea butter is in its most pure state. Bits of organic matter may occasionally be found in this shea butter and will appear as stringy floaters. These can be eliminated by filtering the liquified shea butter through a coffee filter. Although the organic matter does not affect the quality of the shea butter, it can be unsightly in formulation. This shea butter has a strong natural odor which may be difficult to mask with fragrance. It is best used straight, on its own with minimal processing and/or additives.

Shea Butter, Unrefined (Ivory) - Ivory or beige in color, this shea butter is also in a pure, unrefined state. The color variation is due to the location the shea nuts are harvested from. Little to no organic matter will be noticeable in this shea butter. Although it has a light, natural scent it is not as strong as the virgin shea butter and can still prove tricky to mask with fragrance. It can be used as is and will accept complimentary fragrances beautifully. Works well in formulation where its natural scent can be minimized by complimentary ingredients.

Shea Butter, Refined (White) - has been processed via filtration through a natural combination of diatomaceous earth & activated charcoal to remove the natural scent and color. This shea butter is white or ivory in color with little or no scent. It proves easy to formulate with and takes fragrance beautifully. This butter has a somewhat waxy consistency. Can be used in all formulation and accepts scent readily. It's light scent and lack of odor make it an all-purpose butter.

Shea Olein (Liquid Shea Butter) - Shea Oil (Shea Olein) is also referred to as liquid shea butter. Shea Olein is obtained by the process of fractionating the natural shea butter to separate the olein (liquid) and the stearin (solid). Shea Olein is thus the liquid part of the shea butter. Shea Olein is odor free with a light color, making it useful in formulation where the liquid fraction of Shea Butter is preferred for a thinner end product. Useful as a replacement for shea butter in formulation. It's liquid state makes it an excellent substitute in thinner products like lotions where stiffness/thickness is not warranted.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Recipe: Deeply Hydrating Facial Serum

You will need:

1 oz Shea Olein (Liquid Shea Butter)
1 oz Rose Hip Oil (Virgin) - Cold Pressed
2 oz Olive Squalane
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) Japanese Green Tea Extract

Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, melt shea olein until liquid. (In warmer weather, you may opt to omit this step as the shea olein will remain liquid at warmer ambient temperatures). Remove from heat set aside.

Phase 2: In a separate glass or stainless steel container, combine rose hip oil, squalane & green tea extract until combined.

Phase 3: Combine the melted shea olein with the blend from Phase 2 and combine thoroughly to incorporate all ingredients. Package as desired.

To use: Pump a small amount of serum into clean hands. Rub palms together to warm mixture slightly and apply to skin in an upward motion from decollete to hairline.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Recipe: Deep-Conditioning Hair Treatment

You will need:

4 oz Shea Olein (Liquid Shea Butter)
2 oz Jojoba Oil, Clear - Organic
2 oz Avocado Oil
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) Shampure type Essential Oil Blend

Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, melt shea olein until liquid. (In warmer weather, you may opt to omit this step as the shea olein will remain liquid at warmer ambient temperatures). Remove from heat set aside.

Phase 2: Add liquid shea olein to remaining vegetable oils and blend thoroughly to combine. Add essential oil and mix thoroughly before packaging.

To use: Apply treatment to roots of hair and scalp and work through to the ends. Wrap hair in a warm towel and allow to sit for 30 mins to overnight. Shampoo hair thoroughly and rinse well with warm water. You may need to shampoo twice to remove the oil. Do not follow with conditioner. Dry and style as usual. Repeat as often as needed to restore moisture to dry, damaged hair.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Recipe: Shea Sugar Scrub

It's almost bikini season and that means time to treat those dry, flaky trouble spots before you have to bare your beach-baby body. Sugar scrubs are ideal for taming dry winter skin or even as a pre-epilating treatment. The addition of calendula oil in this formula helps tame post-epilating troublespots too!

You will need:

4 oz Shea Olein (Liquid Shea Butter)
2 oz Calendula Oil, Infusion (Organic)
6 oz Organic Cane Sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) Pomegranate Pucker Flavor Fragrance Oil
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) Phenonip (Preservative)

Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, melt shea olein until liquified and remove from heat. (In warmer summer months, you may omit this step as the olein will be liquid at warmer ambient temperatures).

Phase 2: Add Calendula Infusion to the melted shea olein and mix well to combine. Pour liquid oils over the organic cane sugar and stir well to combine. Add preservative and then fragrance oil, blending thoroughly for each ingredient.

Phase 3: Spoon into your choice of containers/packaging.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Are You Looking For A Green Career?

Despite the recession, Green Careers are thriving! If you or someone you know is looking to get into a Green Career, now is a great time to find the opportunity you seek!

Check out Great Green Careers, Jobs For A Greener World online! I think this concept is really awesome for those who want to make a difference, but aren't sure where to start or how to find employers in green fields.

All job seeker services on this revolutionary new website are free! You can post your resume and get in front of green employers now. Set up job alerts to have updates about job openings mailed directly to your inbox. Track and save your job applications and much more.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Offices Closed Friday April 10th

For your convenience, orders can be placed online 24/7/365 or faxed to 330-467-2166. All phone calls will be returned when we reopen on Monday. Urgent correspondence should be made to email as we can better serve your requests in this manner.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Recipe: Shea Bath Oil

You will need:

4 oz Shea Olein (Liquid Shea Butter)
2 oz Almond Oil, Sweet
2 oz Polysorbate 20
5 ml (1 tsp) Fragrance or Essential Oil (We used Tea Leaf & Jasmine Fragrance Oil)

Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, melt Shea Olein until liquid (in warmer months, when Olein is more liquid, you may omit this step). Set aside.

Phase 2: Combine Shea Olein & Almond Oil with Polysorbate 20 until blended. If you do not mind cleaning oil out of your tub, you may omit this step. However, Polysorbate 20 acts as an emulsifier to help combine oil and water. By using this additive, you will reduce the amount of cleanup and create a more drain-friendly end product.

Phase 3: Add fragrance or essential oil last and blend thoroughly to combine before packaging.

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Watch Us On FOX 8!

Thank you to all who came out to see us at the Cleveland Women's Expo this weekend!

Our partner company has been filmed for "That's Life" with Robin Swoboda on FOX 8! The spot has aired once already last month (many thanks to all of you who saw us on "That's Life" and visited us at the Expo) and will air again this morning. Look for our products under the ObN Skincare brand on Robin's show!

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

ZelioNoto.com Spring Fashion Show!

In case you didn't make it to the NOTO: Akron Spring Fashion Show on Saturday, here's a video for your viewing pleasure!

We had a great time at the event and want to thank Lauren Ward and her staff for their hospitality! You will be able to pick up our fine products under the NOTO label in a beautiful custom summer scent at NOTO on Maiden Lane in Akron (right behind Crave in the Mocha Maiden building)!

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

Recipe: Therapeutic Massage Butter

You will need:

4 oz Shea Butter, Unrefined - Ivory
4 oz Shea Olein (Liquid Shea Butter)
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) CERMT Aromatherapy Blend

Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, gently melt the shea butter & shea olein until liquified. Remove from heat.

Phase 2: Using a stand mixer or immersion blender, begin mixing the liquified ingredients from phase 1. This may take some time, so you may want to allow the ingredients to cool until they form a slight skin, especially if using an immersion blender (or you may burn out your motor).

Phase 3: When butters & oils begin to whip slightly, turn off mixer and add essential oil or fragrance oil. Continue to mix until completely incorporated. Package in an airtight container.

FYI: The addition of the shea olein will provide for a much softer finished consistency which will have a much lower melting point. You will notice the finished butter will melt upon touch and yield exceptional slip, which makes it excellent as a massage product!

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com

We're Not Fooling: "Green" Cleaning is Easy!

Growing up on a farm, my mother kept a copy of Fannie Farmers 1918 edition Cookbook on hand and never ceased to refer to it for even the most mundane household details. I had forgotten the book existed until my father mentioned it some years ago and I searched out a copy of it for him for Christmas.

Fanny Farmer was a woman of practicality and frugality who seemed to have a never ending encyclopedia of recipes, cooking tips & household cleaning tips that anyone could utilize with ingredients they had on hand.

The following household cleanser recipe reminds me of the types of recipes that Fanny Farmer would have recommended for household tidying-up! This is what I use in my own home!

Earth Friendly Eco-Cleanser

0.5 oz (15 ml) Borax Powder
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Organic Castile Soap
32 oz Hot Water
1 tsp (5 ml) Essential Oil (We like Grapefruit Essential Oil)
Bottle with Sprayer Top

Combine Borax powder with hot water and stir to dissolve borax thoroughly. Add Organic Castile Soap and optional Essential oil and stir again to combine. Transfer to a spray bottle for surface cleaning jobs. Spray directly on a surface and allow to sit for several minutes before wiping clean. We also use straight out of the bucket for larger jobs!

Tip: If you plan to clean woodwork, omit the essential oil to prevent discoloration to wooden or pressboard surfaces. You should always test new cleaning agents in an inconspicuous area for colorfastness and other reactions before using!

Allison B. Kontur
www.BathBodySupply.com