If you live in a cold climate knowing how to get relief from winter dry skin is essential to making winter bearable.  If you spend a lot of time outdoors in the elements, the following tips should help you make this winter more bearable for your skin.  By making a few easy changes to your skin care routine, you can make winter dry skin history.  You do not have to suffer from winter dry skin any more.Look for properties in your soap and skin products that protect and sooth, like extra virgin oils. Olive, oat, aloe and sweet almond are fine examples.  Gentle exfoliants like organic oatmeal and other soft organic botanicals will help remove rough flaky skin, leaving you smooth and soft.  If your skin is ultra sensitive, try to avoid scents.

What You Want To Avoid

Remember to read labels for your skin care products.  Look for anything you cannot pronounce.  If you have to look up the ingredient it is a red flag! The best way to get relief from winter dry skin is prevention.  Avoid products that contain artificial fragrance, alcohol and detergents.  They tend to dry and irritate.  Also, avoid parabens and other preservatives found in most commercial soap and cosmetics.

What To Use

Try eliminating one potential irritant at a time to find the culprit.  For example, you might try changing to unscented (or scent-free) soaps and laundry detergent.  Next, maybe eliminating any detergent (dish washing liquid, laundry) and substituting detergent-free cleaners.  For extra moisture, try using a very light layer of massage oil made with any of the above mentioned oils.  They can be used alone or in combination.  Stay hydrated by drinking extra water and avoid caffeine which can dehydrate.  Use a humidifier in your home, especially in your bedroom.  And, keep telling yourself – don’t worry, spring is just around the corner!

Are Parabens Really Bad?

Why Organic?
We get asked if we think a product has to be organic to be good.  When we got into the soap business, we decided as a company to use organic ingredients.  In our opinion, organic ingredients align with our mission of producing high quality products that are good for the environment and good for the consumer.  As we traveled down the entrepreneur path, we realized there is a demand for handmade soap made with organic oils.  We were overwhelmed (and surprised) by the popularity of our handmade organic unscented soaps.  People are looking to make their personal environment as pure, clean and natural as possible. Detergent free soap isn’t enough. Now scent-free non-toxic products are in demand.

So, as long as you keep wanting them, we will keep making them.  We don’t just make castile soap, we make castile soap better!

But, apparently along with folks looking for organic alternatives, there is a scent-free movement as well.  I read recently a church is offering a “scent-free” sitting area for members that are sensitive to scents.  When my husband shops at our local mall, he has to hold his nose when he walks by the candle store.  The aroma is just too much for him.  Even though I’ve used scent free laundry detergent for many years, I didn’t make the connection that unscented soap would be so popular.  The scent-free movement has spoken!

Eugenia from Albuquerque, New Mexico wrote – “I love this soap, I use it for everything. I’m allergic to coconut and this is a perfect product for me. I make my own laundry detergent, dishwasher soap and dish soap, I use this in all those things. It’s perfect for me. Thank you for making a pure soap that MCS people can use.”

Eugenia, we are thrilled you love our product.  We are happy to create something that improves life for you.  We take special care in keeping and preparing our unscented soaps separate from our scented varieties.  We are open to suggestions to expand the unscented line.  Currently we offer bars with organic oats.  Do you have anything you might like that would add a benefit without adding a scent?  Aloe?  Seaweed?  Let us know!

Ivory soap is full of hot air.  Really.  That’s why it floats!  Now, air is gentle,  but does it moisturize your skin?  Do you feel pampered or irritated?

There is a reason the “green movement” is sweeping the country, from grass roots Farmer’s Markets to large scale industries, you are not alone if you are concerned about toxins in your environment.  Arsenic in apple juice?  Where does that come from.

Start reading labels for everything you put on, in and around you.  If you can’t pronounce an ingredient on your product label, chances are it won’t benefit you to expose yourself to it.  Know the difference between terms.  For example “fragrance” usually means an artificial perfume while “essential oil” is the natural essence of the plant.  Sometimes you have to look under the hood, even for simple things like shampoo, soap and dishwashing liquid.  Do you want your shampoo and body soap to contain detergent or artificial moisturizers?  Probably not.  If you want to reduce or eliminate toxins in your personal environment, look for pure, natural ingredients.  You know what they say – “garbage in, garbage out”.