Certified Organic Ingredients and Sustainability – What does this mean?

1 Comment

A large percentage of AVNS products use ingredients labeled as “Organic” and “Sustainable”, so what does this really means to us?  

Organic. This is a term thrown around a lot in today’s world, so how do we really know that something labeled as organic is really free from pesticides, hormones, chemicals or anything artificial?

Organic in it’s generic meaning is defined as something grown at a natural pace. The dictionary says organic is “relating to or derived from living matter”. So based on these definitions, anything grown, could be defined as organic in it’s generic term. But today, this is what we tend to view as “natural”, not necessarily organic.

When you see the term “organic” on a label, check to see if either the product, or the ingredients used are “certified organic”, then you know that the product, food or ingredient was produced with a set of farming and production practices defined and regulated, in great detail, by the USDA. Items grown from the earth must be certified by regulatory agencies that perform soil tests. Additionally, soil must have at least 3 years of no pesticide treatment before it can be certified to begin with. “Certified organic” guarantees no toxic synthetic pesticides, toxic synthetic herbicides, or chemical fertilizers are used in production, and no antibiotics or growth hormones are given to animals.

However, there are companies and farms that choose not to become certified, but still hold to, and many times exceed the regulations given by the USDA. I personally know some small local farms that do just this. I have gotten to know the farmers and am familiar with their practices, and know I’m getting fantastic products from them. Even though they are not certified.

At AVNS, even though we are not a certified organic company, we do use certified organic ingredients. Sometimes we choose to use a natural ingredient instead of one that is certified organic, but we try to weigh the cost/benefit ratio for our customers. We want to make the best possible products for a reasonable price.  On average, our products are made with about 80-90% certified organic ingredients. So you can rest assured that the products you receive are not only beneficial to your body, but are also competitively priced.

Sustainablility. Another word that can mean different things to different people. We use Certified Organic Sustainable Palm Oil in many of our soaps, and palm oil has come under a lot of scrutiny in the recent past. So how do we “vote” with our money? We purchase products and ingredients from companies that have verified their source of sustainable palm oil. AVNS supplier of organic palm oil is both certified by the Rainforest Alliance and the RSPO. This means for AVNS customers that they (and you from your purchase), are supporting the fight against deforestation and supporting the building of economic opportunities and better working conditions for rural people. Here’s a couple of links which will explain more about what this means in detail:

https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/articles/rainf…

https://rspo.org/about

As AVNS continues to grow and serve, we have at the heart of our mission to honor God, and then serve our customers with the best possible products that will nourish, heal and restore. All natural goodness from the top of our heads to the tip of our toes.

Until next time,

Marianne 🙂

Fabulous Friday & Glycolic Peel

5 Comments

Have you ever had one of “those” days? 

You know, one of those days where you have great plans for everything you’re going to get done, but by the end of the day, even though you’ve been busy, you’re not quite sure how you managed to NOT get anything on your list done.

Well that’s been my day, well, it’s actually been my last week. At least it feels like it. 

Truthfully, I have been busy. Busy with the business (AVNS), busy with family, busy with life in general. But I don’t think I’m any more busy than most people, it seems to be the world we live in. But I guess that doesn’t make it okay. I’m starting to realize that when we’re busy, we miss out on so many things. So busy is okay for periods of time, then we need to do life with our family and friends.

Now I’m laughing at myself, this is NOT what I was going to blog about, but hey, welcome to my life!!!

This blog is over due, sorry! 

I thought it would be fun to give you all a recipe to try at home. We will eventually do some youtube videos, but we’re not quite there yet. So here’s a recipe I use at home on myself as a peel. Yes a homemade glycolic face peel, and I love it!

First, what is Glycolic Acid and it’s benefits?

Glycolic acid is simply an Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) derived from cane sugar. It has many benefits, some of which are:

  • Removes blackheads
  • Purifies pores
  • Improves texture of skin
  • Gently exfoliates dead cells
  • Gets rid of acne scars
  • Brightens skin tone
  • Reduces hyperpigmentation

I’m sure there are more, but I was super excited when I saw how the texture of my skin improved after doing this only once. You may be tempted to try this every day, but don’t, that would be too harsh on your skin. Start with once a week and then eventually move up to twice a week if needed. 

The items you’ll need:

Sugar, brown or white. Lemon juice or Yogurt. Manuka honey (opt.). Small bowl and spoon.

Before we get started, here are some details about the ingredients and why:

I already talked about why we use the sugar, so I’ll move onto an ingredient we have listed as optional. Manuka honey. It is expensive, so that’s why I made it optional, but here are some of the benefits to consider:

It is a potent anti-inflammatory, so soothes inflamed skin while healing blemishes. It also helps balance the skin’s pH and contains amino acids which slough away dead skin cells, helping to keep pores clear. Another benefit I like is that Manuka honey has been shown to increase collagen cross-linking, promoting the structural growth of collagen in skin cells. And since amino acids are the building blacks of collagen, they also protect collagen. Healthy collagen means healthy, firm, youthful-looking skin. It is also a natural humectant, drawing moisture into the skin. This hydration helps to further enhance the skin’s elasticity and cell regeneration, as well as promote healing.

Lemon juice. We use this because it’s rich in vitamin C, plus it contains citric acid which helps with the effectiveness of the peel. But if you have sensitive skin, you may want to try plain yogurt instead. Yogurt contains lactic acid, it’s still effective with the peel, but more gentle on the skin.

The recipe:

1 T soft brown sugar

1 T lemon juice (or 1 T plain yogurt)

opt. 1 T Manuka honey (if you use the honey, reduce the lemon juice down to 1 tsp)

Small bowl and spoon

That’s it!

The process:

I use whatever sugar we have in the house, which is typically Muscavado. So I need to blend/grind my sugar down to a powder so it is more gentle on my face. But if you’re using a fine grain/soft sugar, you’ll be okay.

  • Put your sugar into a bowl and add the honey (if using), and lemon juice (or yogurt).
  • Mix together until they are well combined. 
  • Apply gently in circular motions to a clean and slightly damp face. Avoid eyes and mouth.
  • Let it sit for 3-5 minutes
  • Rinse thoroughly with warm water, pat dry and follow with a moisturizer.
  • Love your skin!!!

Let me know if you try it 🙂

Until next time,

Marianne

Our Story

2 Comments

When thinking about whether or not I should start a blog, it really came down to, will I be able to write about things that people want to read? Ummmmm….hard to say. Will you be interested? Or have I already lost you? 🙂 

As many of you know, we already send out a newsletter every week, well, we try to anyway. That newsletter usually contains information about our company, our products, promotions, links to helpful information and so on. This blog will also contain some of that, but it’ll go more in depth. More “how to’s”, more behind the scenes and into our lives type of information. 

So to start this, I’ll tell you a little about us. Who are we? That is, who is the family behind Apple Valley Natural Soap? 

Back in 2010, I became frustrated with my options for natural skin and body care products. Why does it cost SOOOO much to use healthy products with healthy ingredients? That was the question that started me on the journey of creating recipes and products that wouldn’t cost us an “arm and a leg” to use. First came lotions. You may ask, how do you create natural lotions without all the “junk” in there? Glad you asked! The answer is LOTS of research. I used the EWG site to check ingredients and find those that will work, but that would also not have nasty side effects. I also turned the skin of a fewfriends orange in color (wish I had photos!!!!) from the organic carrot oil – pretty funny actually 🙂 Don’t worry, it washed off eventually. 

Fast forward a few years. Shortly after I became a customer of Apple Valley Natural Soap (yep, I didn’t start this company), I started making soap. I was inspired. Again, lots of research and funny “mishaps” but the soap recipes I landed on were awesome. That sounds like boasting doesn’t it? Hard to say something that you do, or own is great without it sounding that way….

Anyway, I was approached by numerous friends saying that I should sell what I was making. I didn’t feel ready, but both my husband and I felt that God was leading us down this road, so we took a step forward and started selling on Etsy.

Fast forward to 2015. We were approached by the owner of AVNS with the possibility of purchasing the company. Neither my husband or myself felt it was the right time for us to do so, even though our companies were very similar, it’s a big step to take on and take over someone else’s dream. 

Fast forward again to 2017. We were approached again about possibly buying AVNS. This time was different. Our son had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in June, 2017 and we had started down a road of “alternative treatment” for him. Plus with all the other time and financial commitments in our lives, you may ask why we wanted to  embrace another business!?!  But buying AVNS seemed like an answer to prayer. Were we sure? Nope! But that’s where we stepped out in faith. We prayed for doors to open if we were supposed to do this, and for them to close if not. They flew open. Ummmm….so what do you do when doors open?  You walk through them. And we did. 

Owning Apple Valley Natural Soap for this short period of time has been a whirlwind and a blessing. I love being able to create what is good for our bodies, knowing that the ingredients aren’t harming, but nourishing and cleansing in a good way.  Some of our products can even help with detox, LOVE that! It pairs well with what we’d already been doing, we just got busier thanks to FABULOUS AVNS customers!!! 

So, this is only the beginning of our story.

What are some things you may see in the next few months? The use of more organics in the recipes, the reappearance of some past products that are loved by many, and the introduction of new products that will expand the Apple Valley Natural Soap line.  I love being creative with my products, and our customers get to benefit for all the “crazy” ideas whirling around in my head. Hopefully that’s a good thing!

Above all, our goal is to honor God. We also want to serve our customers with joy, continue to make the best products we can with the cleanest ingredients, and help those in need.  

Until next time.

Marianne