What Makes This The Best Natural Body Wash For Summer?

Leave a comment

Limited Edition Summer Skin Saver

Whether you’re constantly in and out of the pool, hiking the trails of northern Minnesota, or working a summer job that keeps you outdoors from dawn to dusk, you’ll need to make sure you’re protecting your skin from the constant presence of sun, wind, and water this summer. In response to nature’s call of the wild, we created an amazing bar of natural soap designed to protect against dry, burnt skin. What makes this bar so unique? You’re about to find out!

Why Use a Natural Soap?

Around this time of year, you’ll probably start seeing a lot of big brand soaps hit the shelves that claim they are, “extra moisturizing” or are “made with argan oil for extra hydration.” But if you were to flip over that bottle and take a look at the entire list of ingredients you’d see that argan oil is only one ingredient in a long list of chemical ingredients you can’t even pronounce. Putting one drop of argan oil in a five ounce bottle is not the same as a 2 ounce bottle of pure, organic argan oil. Unlike mass produced soaps which are made with filler ingredients, Natural soaps are made with natural ingredients which oftentimes have additional benefits and run a lower risk of irritating sensitive skin. We work hard to make sure every ingredient we use in a product is contributing some sort of benefit.

Ingredients in Summer Skin Saver Bar

Saponified Oils of Organic Coconut

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Coconut oil is a gentle and effective cleanser due to its fatty acid content. The best part is its ability to moisturize hair and skin and the thick lather it creates! Check out our Coconut Bars for pure coco-nutty BLISS!

Organic Sustainable Palm

This base ingredient is crucial to the soap making process, it gives you a nice hard bar and will enhance lather when mixed with coconut oil. Rated a 1 on EWG’s Skin Deep, this ingredient has little to no risks of causing cancer or containing any kind of toxicity, 

Organic Sunflower

Sunflower oil is FANTASTIC because it is a 0 on the comedogenic scale, which means it won’t clog pores. This oil can be used to moisturize any skin type…and that isn’t all it will do!

According to an article on Healthline, sunflower oil contains antioxidant vitamin E, so applying it topically to skin will allow your skin to benefit from vitamin E (think anti-aging properties, protection from sun-damage…all that awesome stuff). Sunflower oil also contains linoleic acid, an important component of helping the skin retain moisture as well as acting as an anti-inflammatory aid.

Unrefined Organic Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is high in fatty acids, which means it locks moisture into your skin and helps improve elasticity. 

Mango Butter

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Mango butter functions similarly to cocoa butter, but also has an abundance of vitamin E and C which help protect your skin from sun-damage.

Lanolin

A powerful, natural wax secreted by animals with wool coats. Lanolin protects the most sensitive skin from the natural elements. Read more about the uses of lanolin HERE!

Castor Bean

Castor bean is a skin soother, it is both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial and can be used on sensitive skin.

White Kaolin Clay

White Kaolin Clay is the gentlest of all cosmetic clays and works to draw impurities out of your skin without completely drying skin out. Read about all the different types of cosmetic clays we use in our products!

Essential Oils of Bergamot 

Adding a floral and spicy note, this essential oil has wonderful antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Essential Oils of May Chang

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Contributing a light, sweet refreshing scent, this essential oil is used for leaving skin smooth and soft.

Essential Oils of  Lime

Fresh  and tart, this essential oil has antiviral and disinfecting properties

Essential Oils of Tangerine, Orange and Clementine

Bright and citrusy, these essential oils have antifungal properties that also work against skin and scalp problems such as dryness and dandruff!

What Do You Love Most About Our Summer Skin Saver Bar?

Our Summer Skin Saver Bar is extremely popular and sells out fast so make sure you stock up now!

Nora

Much Love,

Can You Use Natural Body Soap Bars On Your Hair?

3 Comments

Ladies and Gentlemen, the blog we’ve all been waiting for…

Okay, maybe just the blog I’ve been waiting for. 

Can you use your favorite AVNS Body Soap Bars on your hair?

This idea first occurred to me because my favorite AVNS Bar is the Black Licorice Hand Foot and Body Bar and I spent a lot of time wishing with all my might that it could’ve been a hand, foot, body, and hair bar. Then I realized nothing was stopping me from using it as a shampoo bar, and thus the inspiration for this blog was born.

AVNS is unique because All of our bars are made with natural ingredients, so there is nothing in our body bars that would harm or damage hair (please do not try washing your hair with name brand body soaps!). That being said, our shampoo bars are designed for cleaning and enhancing hair, while our body soap bars are designed to cleanse skin, moisturize skin, and act as a lather for shaving. 

Disclaimer!

I spent the entire past week testing out all my favorite body bars for this blog, but as I was writing out my findings I realized that I dove into this “ex-hair-iment” a little too enthusiastically. People. I was so blinded by the excitement of using my favorite body bars on my hair that I threw all logic out the window. See, I know exactly which shampoo bars are my favorite, which means I have access to the ingredient list on each of those bars. Had I been thinking like a sane person and not a soap-happy lunatic, I would’ve found body bars with similar ingredients as the ones in my favorite shampoo bars to give myself the best chances of finding a body bar that worked super well on my hair. OBVIOUSLY this means I have another, more scientifically backed blog to write. But for now, please enjoy the results of using some body bars on my unsuspecting hairs.

My Hair

My hair is medium density, medium porosity and has a varying curl pattern. I have chunks of hair that are all completely straight, and some chunks that are tight spirals…AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN! With each bar I tried, I give a recommendation for the hair type I think the bar could work best for because just because the bar didn’t work on my hair, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work great for someone else!

Black Licorice Bar

Ingredients: saponified oils of organic coconut, organic sustainable palm, organic olive, organic sunflower, unrefined organic shea nut butter, castor bean, non-gmo licorice root, organic black walnut hull powder, rosemary oil extract, and star anise essential oil.

My prediction: This bar is so moisturizing, that this fall we actually put a note under the description that the labels for this bar might have some oil spots. Knowing this, I imagine this bar might leave my hair a little heavy and straight.

The Process: This bar lathered nicely in my hair and smelled amazing, I was excited to give my scalp a bonus cleanse with the black walnut hull powder, which is known for its use to treat skin diseases. I sprayed my hair down thoroughly with my ACV rinse and then carefully brushed through it to detangle before rinsing. I finished by diffusing my hair on no heat until it was 80% dry.

The Results: I was surprised by the amount of curl I still had! I think someone with higher porosity hair could try this bar with better results because their hair will soak in all the oils better than mine can!

Wildflower Coconut Bar

Coconut oil for hair is widely renowned as a versatile hair product that nourishes, protects, and moisturizes hair. Tons of brands sell shampoos and conditioners with coconut as an ingredient. But what about just a soap made purely from coconut?

after being brushed out

My Prediction: I thought trying out a coconut bar would be helpful because once you’ve tried one, you’ve really tried the whole collection. My hair likes to be a dissenter and, as a rule, hates coconut. My hair despises coconut. Loathes coconut. I tried to put coconut oil in my hair once like I’ve seen tons of other curly girls do and it turned into a greasy mess that I had no option but to shamefully wear out of the house that night. I know there’s a good chance this could be a huge no-go, but I can’t resist trying because I love this bar so so so much for shaving.

The Process: This Bar LATHERS LIKE HEAVEN IN MY HAIR. I got in a quick and luxurious shave with the bar, rinsed the suds out and then sprayed not once, but twice with my ACV rinse…honestly I may have over-rinsed. I then brushed through to detangle, rinsed, scrunched, plopped for about 20 minutes, and air dried.

The Results: My hair told me it didn’t like coconut, I probably should’ve listened. My hair honestly just seemed kind of confused, that is the best way I can think to say it. There were some nice curls, but also random frizz. My hair was pretty shiny, and it did feel nice and strong. I actually felt comfortable brushing my hair out once it dried because it felt protected (I usually never do this) I noticed that my hair has great texture for if I wanted to do any styling (like braids or buns). I think someone with straight medium dense hair  or hair that loves coconut should try this bar and tell me if it works for you.

Winter Skin Saver Bar

This bar is currently not in season, but if you’re interested in trying a bar with the legendary lanolin on your hair you should check out our Summer Skin Saver Bar!

It is called the Winter Skin Saver Bar, but could it be used on hair? According to an article written for Naturally Curly, Lanolin is a powerful humectant, which could potentially be helpful if used on extremely dry or curly hair. However, because it is so powerful, there is a big chance that using lanolin oil or this bar on your hair would result in an overly waxy finish, making your hair appear stringy or greasy. I did not find any reviews of this bar that mentioned using it as a hair product. 

So guess what.

I decided to go ahead and try it myself.

I used the Winter Skin Saver Bar as shampoo and followed with an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse (I would say this is a must if you plan on using this bar in your hair)

You can see my results on the right! My hair was about halfway dry. Because I have curly hair, I usually dry with a cotton t-shirt and add gel to minimize frizz, however, I wanted to see how the Winter Skin Saver bar interacted with my hair on its most natural level, so for this test I did not use any additional styling products or hacks. As you can see, I do have a bit of “fluffiness” within the curls, but my hair is soft and shiny and my ringlets were not weighed down. I would not use this bar for every wash, but it seems promising as a deep condition for dry hair. 

Epic Fail? Or Epic Learning Experience? You Decide.

I feel like I learned so much about my hair this week, washing with body bars gave my hair a chance to breath from curl creams and gels. I’m already planning a line up for my next body bar trial, what about you???

Much Love,

Nora

5 Things You Should Know Before Using A Natural Soap or Shampoo Bar

3 Comments

Have you been considering transitioning from liquid shampoo and conditioner to natural shampoo bars? 

Masala Chai Shampoo Bar

Natural shampoo bars are an amazing option for natural hair care for a multitude of reasons. Some of the benefits of using a natural bar shampoo include cutting down on waste, fortifying hair with natural ingredients instead of breaking it down with artificial chemicals and fragrances, and simplifying your hair care routine. One biodegradable shampoo bar filled with natural conditioning and restorative oils will last just as long, if not longer, than a plastic bottle of shampoo, and depending on what shampoo you are used to buying, may be quite a bit cheaper. I know it probably sounds too good to be true, you’re wondering what the catch is. No catch. However, as many natural soap lovers will tell you, it is true that there is a learning curve as you transition to your first natural shampoo bar. But never fear, this blog is full of tons of info and links to resources that go in-depth about everything you need to know about switching to natural hair care. For those of you who are already wise to the ways of natural shampoo, don’t think I forgot about you! This article will also include some pro-tips that will up your natural shampoo and soap game!

The importance of knowing what goes into your natural soap

Apple Valley Natural Soap is carefully hand-crafted in small batches using the cold process method of soap making. Resulting in a gently cleansing bar full of natural glycerin (a compound that attracts moisture into the hair). We use only high quality botanical oils and butters as well as all natural herbs, milks, juices, essential oils and spices to scent and color our soaps. These ingredients not only impart sensational fragrances and beautiful, rustic colors, but also add their own exceptional nourishing qualities. 

The importance of soft water for shampoo bars

Photo by Maria Orlova on Pexels.com

Who knew the quality of your water had such a make or break impact on your natural shampoo experience? In short, using hard water with a cold processed natural shampoo bar will not work. Why? The minerals in hard water coat the shaft and rub against the scales that make up the hair shaft, causing them to stand up instead of forming a flat, protective layer. When used in conjunction with a natural shampoo bar, the shampoo molecules get stuck in the open gaps and get glued to the film on minerals coating the hair shaft. This makes hair dull and unmanageable. For more information on how to combat the effects of hard water on hair check out our blog. If you have hard water you can read all about solutions to hard water in this article!

The importance of using a hair rinse

A hair rinse is an essential part of a natural hair care routine because it keeps hair clean and shiny. Our Herbal Hair Rinse is made with apple cider vinegar and a collection of hair-nourishing herbs. Our Citric Acid Hair Rinses were made for those who don’t care for a vinegar smell and come in four crazy good scents, we’ve added aloe vera for additional soothing and conditioning of the scalp! To read in depth about why you need a rinse go here!

PRO-TIP: I detangle/ comb out my hair while I’m still in the shower and sometimes I have trouble detangling after using a shampoo bar. For an easier detangle, spritz your hair with your rinse after rinsing out your shampoo. The ACV will give your hair slip and make it easy to comb through.

PRO-TIP: Vinegar is an awesome natural cleaner. When my bathroom counter gets dirty and needs a quick clean I will spray it down with a few squirts of my hair rinse and then wipe it down in a rag I’ve doused with warm water. It lifts toothpaste blobs, concealer smears, and any other sticky spots just like that! 

 

Don’t give up if your first shampoo isn’t perfect!

If your first shampoo bar experience does not go exactly as planned, you aren’t alone. The first time I used a shampoo bar my hair dried almost completely straight (photo evidence below). Was it shiny and thick? Yes. But I’m a curly girl and I like my curls! Hard water had been the culprit in that situation, but not using a hair rinse, using too many other products, and using the wrong bar can all be causes of a not-so-great hair day. When you switch to using a natural shampoo, you may find you no longer need all those additional products. I typically use a shampoo, conditioner, cream, leave-in and gel when I style my hair, but when I use a natural shampoo bar all I need is an ACV rinse and a couple drops of miracle working Argan Oil. Each of our bars is designed with its own unique ingredient recipe, so it may be a matter of finding the bar that works best for you. Some great starting bars are our Bella Rose Shampoo Bar, Pink Lemonade Shampoo Bar, and Man 2.0 Bar.

Using Shampoo Bar with Hard Water
Using Shampoo Bar with Soft Water

Letting your soap bar dry properly!

It seems like a minor issue, but when you’ve got a half melted soap bar welded to your tub or counter I guarantee you probably won’t be smiling or laughing. Letting your bar dry out between uses is so important to the lifespan and appearance of your bar! A soap mat is the easiest solution to this problem. 

PRO-TIP: Some of our most amazing bars utilize super cool ingredients that are darker in color such as skin-remedying black walnut hull powder or purifying activated charcoal. While using these bars in the shower is an extremely pleasant experience…the dark layer of soap scum they leave behind in the tub is less pleasant…but it doesn’t have to be if you use one of two very simple DIY cleaning solutions! Lathering a Luffa with one of our citrus or salt bars makes scrubbing away soap scum a breeze, or you can scrub away the scum with a simple baking soda paste of baking soda and water! I love that these two solutions are natural and don’t require heavy duty chemical cleaners!

Which bar will you try first?

Comment below with the bar you want to try, or let people know which bar you love the most! Follow our blog for weekly posts on haircare, skincare, diys and more!

Much Love,

Nora

Eco-Friendly Mother’s Day Gift Guide and Giveaway!

2 Comments

Eco-Friendly Mother’s Day Gift Guide

We all know the perfect Mother’s Day gift is a beautiful bar of artisan soap paired with a sugary body scrub, lip balm, or custom scented jojoba oil, but did you know our soap bars also pair beautifully with other eco-friendly products? It’s true, which is why I hunted down some amazing little companies that strive to make products exist in harmony with the earth we love so you’ll have all the options when it comes to finding the perfect gift for your mom, aunt, grandma, cousin, sister, or just plain wonderful woman in your life this year!

1) Natural Coconut Bowls Paired with an AVNS Coconut Bar

This zero waste, eco-friendly gift is as vegan as our coconut bars! Fill one of these bowls with a bunch of half-sized coconut bars for an adorable presentation! Check out Jungle Culture’s website with all their amazing products here!

Photo credit for coconut bowls: jungleculture

Product Information

“Our coconut shell boho bowls are sourced directly from rural farms which allows us to work closely with local communities in order to create interesting and unique designs. We go direct to the farmers and each sale helps to support local industry in the region.

Jungle Culture is a proud member of the 1% for the Planet global organisation & movement. We pledge 1% of our sales to the preservation & restoration of the natural environment. We donate to domestic & international grassroots & environmental groups which helps make a difference in their local communities.”

-Jungleculture

2) Wildflower Seed Bombs paired with a Wildflowers Coconut Bar

Okay, I know I already talked about coconut bars, but this pairing is just too perfect! Every time you wash your hands you’ll be reminded of the flowery explosion about to burst in your backyard!

photo credit for wildflower bombs: Makersofhyssoplane

Product Information

“Embedded with prolific self-seeding annual and perennial wildflower seeds grown on our solar-powered Virginia farm, including coreopsis, baby’s breath, larkspur, poppy, wallflower, daisy, cornflower, zinnia, black-eyed Susan – these seed bombs gives both humans and pollinators plenty to be excited about.

Our zero waste, small batch paper is handmade with a process that is respectful to water resources, using 100% post-consumer material as a base. No chemicals are used, ever.

Plant in a sunny spot. Push the seed bomb gently into lose, moist soil, leaving the top uncovered. Water well, especially during germination which can take 10-30 days.”

–MakersOfHyssopLane

3) Simply Organic Bamboo Bedding paired with a Bamboo Shampoo Bar

The amazing woman in your life will feel even more amazing as she climbs into a soft set of bamboo sheets after taking a shower and lathering up with our fresh and peppery Bamboo Shampoo Bar. No plastic allowed!

Photo credit for bamboo sheets: Simply Organic Bamboo

Product Information

“Simply Organic Bamboo is proud to provide bedding crafted from organically grown 100% bamboo viscose. All of our products are designed and manufactured responsibly by expert craftspeople.

We can change the world one small step at a time by making responsible decisions. That’s why every day we consciously choose to reduce our ecological footprint and protect the health of our customers because we believe it’s the right thing to do. Sustainability is at the core of how we operate – from sourcing eco-friendly & renewable materials, minimizing waste, recycling, and partnering with like minded suppliers who refuse to use harmful chemicals.

We respect our planet and its environment and only want the best for our family, friends and customers.  The earth is our home and we share the air, water, and sunshine with everyone.  Organic bamboo grows naturally and provides a beautiful fiber for our products unlike any other.  It helps us sleep and rejuvenate in the way nature intended…without toxic chemicals or their byproducts.  When we spend a third of our life in bed we want that time to be as healthy as possible.  Our Simply Organic Bamboo bedding gives us maximum comfort and the restful sense of knowing that we start each new day in good health and respect for our global home.”

–Simply Organic Bamboo

4) Organic Mixed Citrus Box paired with a Mixed Citrus Soap Set!

Is your mother a citrus lover? Get her a box of delicious organic citrus fruits that are seasonal and sensational! Pair it with a set of four citrus half-sized bars that will provide her with lasting citrus joy long after she’s peeled her last orange! Pick from our citrus soaps here!

Photo credit for citrus in a box: Frog Hollow Farm

Product Information

“Enjoy a mix of seasonal, certified organic citrus. Boxes are packed with 2-3 different varieties of  what’s currently available and may include juicy delicious navel oranges, blood oranges, Meyer lemons, mandarins, tangerines or Minneola. We partner with other local, organic producers to bring you a fresh, rejuvenating mix of the best citrus.”

–Frog Hollow Farm

Happy Mother’s Day!

I hope you’ve been inspired by these unique and personal gift ideas!

Much Love,

Nora