Phew! Sneaking in right under the wire today with my top three picks for AVNS products in 2021. Apple Valley Natural Soap prides itself on having a HUGE selection of products. I’ve been working my way through them for about two years now and have yet to try all of them! We love being able to offer something for everyone, from naturally moisturizing oils, to natural salves, deodorants, and muscle relaxing cream…and of course all of our fantastic soaps! While customers have agreed on our best smelling soaps, bars that work best for skin issues and conditions, and soap bars that are just plain lovable…today is all about me and what I think (it’s like an early gift to myself, heehee). You can read last year’s list here!

How Do You Pick AVNS Products?

There are a couple ways to pick out AVNs products based on what you’re looking for! There are three resources to help you find exactly what you need and they are as follows.

1. The AVNS website menu: we try to make our website menu as easy and as personable as possible. Many of our soaps are sorted by scent, our shampoos are sorted by hair care needs, and our skincare products are often branded with skin sensitivity levels in mind. This is the most basic starting point for helping you find what you’re looking for.
2. Reviews: I believe reviews are essential! Many of our customers know how to write a fantastic and detailed review and will let you know exactly what worked or didn’t work for them. Reviews are how I first made my AVNS product selections.
3. Our blog: I am constantly doing all the hard work for you. This is your number one spot to find in-depth info on our soaps and other products. I pull together skincare routines, do product features that go over ingredient benefits in detail, and compile reviews to make product recommendations based on what our customers love. If you need help, there’s probably a blog that covers it. And if there isn’t, just let me know in the comments!

My Top 3 Favorite AVNS Products For 2021

Wheat and Honey Almond Shampoo Bar

Description: A treasure trove of anti-oxidants from the wheat germ and sweet almond oils are packed in our Wheat and Honey Almond shampoo bar. Nutrient and mineral-rich raw, organic honey will add a lustrous shine to your hair and help keep your skin radiantly youthful and healthy. This shampoo bar is also enriched with unrefined cocoa butter and unrefined shea nut butter for a moisture-drenching, all-over treat. The scent is a sweetened summer honey touched with lemon, lavender, bitter almond, and ginger. Warm and dreamy!

Ingredients: saponified oils of organic coconut, organic shea nut butter, castor bean, organic sunflower, unrefined organic cocoa butter, organic jojoba, wheat germ, and sweet almond, raw organic honey, rosemary oil extract, and essential oils of lemon, Sweet Orange, Eucalyptus, fragrance.

What I love about this product

I’ll be honest people, it’s the smell. Oh my sweetness. The Wheat and Honey Almond Shampoo Bar smells AMAZING. I buy this bar just to sniff it. I’ve smelled a lot of Bath and Body Works candles in my day, but they can’t compare to this soap. I love that this bar isn’t cloying, it isn’t an overwhelming sugary sweet, but it isn’t subtle either. It honestly reminds me of a shortbread or almond biscuit. Very buttery and warm! I also love that it has so many moisturizing, nutrient rich ingredients including sunflower oil, sweet almond oil and honey! When you unpack this bar and take your first sniff you’ll close your eyes and let out a satisfied sigh. It’s that good I promise.

Custom Scented Jojoba Oil

Description: Looking for an all natural body lotion that will leave your skin luminous and softly scented? Our pure, organic jojoba is the most natural way to moisturize both skin and hair. The benefits of jojoba are numerous and unparalleled. Jojoba is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing and easily absorbed into the skin, leaving no oily residue, making it the perfect massage oil. It is used to maintain skin elasticity and leaves skin literally glowing. You can use jojoba to remove makeup, combat conditions like athlete’s foot, dandruff, eczema, skin bacteria and other skin infections. It improves hair quality and stimulates hair growth.

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Just a little goes a long way. Use it as an all over body moisturizer after a shower, or do what I do and use it in the shower after you’re done washing.  Simply pump the jojoba on your arms and legs, rub in, and you’re good to go! It’s my favorite, fast way to moisturize my skin. Jojoba also makes an incredible massage oil.

Our Organic Jojoba comes unscented, just pure Organic Virgin Jojoba oil, or lightly scented in our Relax blend (A BLEND THAT SMELLS DREAMY!) which has the addition of lavender, benzoin (smells like vanilla), mandarin, geranium, sweet marjoram, frankincense, palmarosa and ylang ylang essential oiis. The last three essential oils are not listed on our labels as the blend was revised after the labels were printed.

OR get your jojoba CUSTOM MADE in any of our soap scents for $19.95. Just select the Custom Jojoba option and let us know what you want in the Instructions to Seller portion of the check out page. If you’re looking for some scent ideas for your custom Jojoba, simply scan through our many soaps and let us know the name the soap which appeals to you and we’ll custom make your jojoba. If we are unable to fill a specific scent profile we will contact you.  (Please allow an additional 24 hours processing time for your custom jojoba.)

This smooth, silky, body-drenching goodness comes packaged in a 4 oz bottle with a convenient Yorker twist top for easy application.

What I love about this product

I love our jojoba oil for an easy light lotion or a couple drops in my hair for extra shine and protection. I feel like maybe I was late to the game…because I don’t know why you’d order plain jojoba oil when you can custom scent it. This has to be one of our best kept secrets and it isn’t even a secret! Your skin and hair can smell like whatever you want it to! I would recommend getting it scented like our Bella Rose Bar or our seasonal Black Licorice bar (two of my favorite products from last year…hmm, maybe we could even scent it like our vanilla latte lip balm?) I’d also love to get a jojoba oil custom scented like our deodorant…speaking of which…

Regular Natural Deodorant Creme

Moisturize and deodorize those pits with our all natural, aluminum-free deodorant cremes. Made with anti-bacterial, odor absorbing ingredients like organic virgin coconut oil, diatomaceous earth, aluminum free baking soda, arrowroot powder, and white kaolin clay, our natural deodorant creme is safe and effective.

Our unscented version fights hard with the anti-bacterial, odor absorbing base ingredients (perfect for sensitive skin), while our regular deodorant adds an extra level of protection with the antibacterial essential oils of tea tree, lavender, and lemon.

Do you have sensitive skin? Check out this article with product suggestions for those with sensitive skin! 

Made with safe, natural ingredients you can trust:

Organic virgin coconut oil, organic virgin jojoba, organic arrowroot powder, aluminum free baking soda, diatomaceous earth, white kaolin clay and unrefined beeswax.

Our ‘regular’ version also contains essential oils of lavender, organic tea tree, and lemon.

Directions: Using a dime-sized amount of deodorant, allow it to warm between fingers before gently applying to the underarm area until fully absorbed. Use as needed.

UPDATE: These deodorants are now have a new look! The same fantastic odor fighting ingredients are now packaged in Eco-Friendly glass containers. Also, some of the ‘Regular’ deodorants were accidentally filled to the top of the jar making them 2.7 ounces instead of 2 ounces. A little added bonus until the extra full jars are sold out.

What I love about this product

Transitioning to natural deodorant was the easiest skincare transition I’ve ever made in my entire life. All you really have to do is use it. Here are the top five things I would say about switching to natural deodorant creme.

1. Your armpits may not feel as “dry.”
   1. Don’t be alarmed! This is not an unpleasant sensation. It feels like you have a very lightweight lotion on your armpits. I hated when my previous deodorants would make my armpits kind of crusty and waxy.
2. You might want to wash your hands after applying.
   1. I massage a pea sized amount of deodorant into each armpit with my fingers so I always wash my hands after because I don’t like excess product on my hands in general. Yes it is an extra step in my morning routine, but honestly it never hurts to wash your hands, especially when you use non-drying natural soap!
3. Taking care of build-up is easy!
   1. This lightweight, breathable formula is perfect for sensitive skin, but if you feel like you are still experiencing clogged pores you can use this simple routine in the shower to help! Whenever you shower, just gently scrub your arm-pits with one of our exfoliating bars and follow with a spritz or two of acid rinse on each armpit. You can use our Herbal Hair Rinse, or Apple Cider Vinegar diluted with water! This will help remove any build-up on the skin since vinegar acts as a chemical exfoliant!
4. Both Regular and Unscented Cremes smell amazing!
   1. The Regular deodorant creme has essential oils and is a scent for everyone! It is very fresh and reminds me of a mojito!
   2. The unscented deodorant creme has a natural, gender-neutral coconut scent, my boyfriend and I both love it!
5. Long-lasting.
   1. One container could easily last six months and maybe up to a year!

I have never have body odor when I use this deodorant and my armpits stay clean even after a long, physically demanding work shift!

Let me know if you also love these products! Or which one you’re planning to try first!

Much Love,

Nora