That's right, everyone! It's that time again...

A 25% off sale to celebrate Spring! 

We are so pleased to announce that SANDE Handmade Natural is currently offering 25% off almost everything in celebration of SPRING. No need to enter any coupon code, discount will reflect during checkout.

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you may already know this: we're having a surprise sale at the site. From now until Tuesday, April 22 you can get 25% off almost EVERYTHING we make and sell on the site.

That's 25% off our all natural handmade soaps, our handmade body sugar scrubs, and our moisturizing body creams. Sorry, but soap decks, natural lip balms, raw African black soap,  healing salves, bath accessories, and gift set are excluded from the sale.

25% off is pretty much unheard of…so if you want to set the tone for spring and the summer with some great soaps and scrubs, hit the site now and stock up on our amazing handmade products.

Have You Ever Heard of Raw AFRICAN BLACK SOAP?

Most people have never heard of Raw African Black Soap before or the benefits of this amazing natural authentic soap...

African Black Soap also known as Anago Soap, Alata Simena,or Ose Dudu. Traditionally used to cleanse and treat all manner of skin problems, however, its effectiveness can vary depending on the type of soap and its place of origin. African Black Soap is made with different, often secret ingredients and processes in different areas. Some black soap is produced in America and Europe, where it often contains artificial ingredients. "Raw" African Black Soap is all natural, with no artificial compounds. SANDE Handmade Natural carries only premium authentic Raw African Black Soap that is handcrafted in Western Africa.  This rich soap is all-natural, soft in texture, Royal brown in colour and different than anything you have ever experienced. It is a natural source of vitamins A & E, iron and an all-natural cleanser. The thick luxurious lather nourishes your skin with its essential vitamins & oxygen. It helps relieve rashes, scalp irritations, oily skin, dry skin, acne, blemishes, eczema, and other skin problems. It gives your face a deep cleansing leaving it fresh, and healthier. 

Authentic Raw African Black Soap works well for all skin types from oily to dry. It can be used by any ethnicity and for men, women and children.

Strengthens Skin and Hair
Raw African Black Soap is generally made with plantain skins, a good source of Vitamins A and E as well as iron. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps your skin retains its health and moisture. Vitamin A keeps your skin young and fights wrinkles and spots. Iron may also strengthen your skin and hair.

Provides UV Protection
Raw African Black Soap is made with large amounts of shea butter. A study published in the "Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology" found that the caffeic acid in shea butter fights UV radiation. Using Raw African Black Soap may help protect your skin from sun damage.

Alleviates Acne
Raw African Black Soap has traditionally been used in Ghana and Nigeria to treat acne, oily skin and blemishes. This is a result of the potash that gives the soap its black color.

Reduces Skin Irritation
Raw African Black Soap is often used in shaving, to help fight eczema and psoriasis. The shea butter in the soap helps to moisturize and smooth skin, alleviating itching and other irritations.

How to Use Raw African Black Soap:  Use Raw African Black Soap for showering, bathing, washing your hands, hair and face. The secret is to use it 1-2 times a day with water as hot as you can tolerate, (optional) and a washcloth or loofah to scrub the area. Rinse, and apply your favorite natural body creams or a moisturizer. Store in a cool dry place. Raw African Black Soap is unique to other soaps in that it absorbs the oxygen around it to infuse it into your skin. Because of its highly absorptive nature the soap will become one with the water and disintegrate if left in or near your shower.

Ingredients: A secret blend of traditional ingredients including Plantain Skin, Palm Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Pods, Shea pods, Tropical Honey & Silk Bark.

Now, tell your Dermatologist goodbye! 

Difference Between Natural Soap and Commercial Soap

Ever wondered why your skin itches or felt itchy after your shower or bath? Before becoming conscious of what I used on my body…my skin would always itch or felt extremely dry after taking a shower with commercial soaps, but always dismiss it without giving it much thought. I constantly changed soaps and tried different brands thinking that would help with the itchiness and even apply lotions to help combat the dryness or itchy feeling. 

Well…not even the lotions helped! 

 

Instead it actually dried my skin out even more because of the wide range of chemical ingredients in commercial lotions and in majority of commercial brand soaps today. Majority of the so-called soaps that are sold commercially or in your local grocery stores are not even soaps but detergents, beauty bars, moisturizing bars or some other nonsense.  By law they cannot use the term "soap" (more on this in another post). Anyway...some of the chemical ingredients in these beauty bars are Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and its close relative Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)... these as well as other chemical compounds are commonly used in many beauty bars, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to "foam up".

Most commercial so-called soaps on the market today are really detergents and not soaps… these detergents have synthetic foaming agents such as SLS and/or SLES… added to form lots of lather when mixed with water…adding these chemicals eliminates the ability to moisturize your skin…because the glycerin has been removed during the process of making the soap itself.

 

Commercial soaps is made in vast quantities, using heat processing methods… this is the faster way to make soap. 

 

The glycerin in the soap is then isolated and removed as a by-product of the heat process, and sold separately as a highly expensive beauty product. When this happens, the result is soap…really a detergent! that is without any glycerin in it. Fillers and synthetic fragrances are then added to the soap to make it smell nice. Even though some commercial soap may contain essential oils…these are ruined and add no skin benefit, because of the chemicals that are added to make the scent stronger. 

The chemicals and synthetic ingredients that are added to the soap (detergent) often cause allergic reactions to the skin, ranging from mild itchiness to severe dermatitis, psoriasis or eczema in sensitive skin…some soaps have concentrations of up to 30% of SLS and SLES. According to The American College of Toxicology…concentrations as low as 0.5% could cause irritation…so a concentration of 30% is "highly irritating and dangerous".

So long term usage and constant exposure to these chemicals and detergent could sensitize your skin and destroy the natural protective layer of the skin, making your skin even more vulnerable to environmental stress.

 

Natural handmade soaps keep all the good stuff in…including glycerin and non-saponified oils to moisturize your skin naturally… they are made in smaller batches using the cold-process method, which retains the natural glycerin inside the soap itself.

 

There are also no other harsh chemicals or chemical preservatives added to create colors, smell and longevity. No parabens (linked to Breast cancer) or sodium lauryl sulfate (skin irritant) is added to natural handmade soaps.

 

When you use handmade soap made with natural essential oils and free from harmful chemicals, you will find that your skin texture will improve with regular use. The protective layer of your skin will be strengthened as it is nourished daily with essential oils. People who suffer from sensitive skin will find that their skin will be able to better endure environmental heat, cold and pollution. The natural essential oils would also strengthen and restore their immune system over time. 

So try a bar of SANDE Handmade Natural "soaps" and feel the difference compared to commercial brand soap detergent.

Here are a few of my handmade soaps…

 

 

Back to school: Healthy lunch box ideas (with links) - NaturalNews Article

As summer quickly comes to and end and the new school year will soon begin, I start to think of creative lunch box meals for my children. This would be the first year for my second daughter who is also a very picky eater....so I decide to research some creative and tasty but nutritious meals to pack. I came across this article below that gave me some ideas and thought I would share with the other moms out there.

By Julie Hurley
Posted Monday, August 19, 2013 at 05:18pm EDT
Keywords: lunch, lunch box, recipes, school, school kids

Summer is coming to an end, which means that parents like myself need to begin thinking of healthy and fast lunchbox ideas for their children. My poor daughter got burned out on her peanut butter and honey sandwiches last year so I’m taking to the Internet this year to get inspiration and ideas that won’t cause any more stress than necessary in the morning or a meltdown in the cafeteria. It goes without saying that all of these items should be GMO-free, organic and free range whenever possible.
Here is a round-up of lunch box ideas from the web:

• Homemade Dutch Apple Pie – Not necessarily lunch-box specific (the mom’s kids aren’t in school yet), this site has many recipes for common foods that are made from scratch (think gluten-free Oreos, graham crackers, ice cream). It’s a great resource!
• What The Girls Are Having – If you’ve been toying with the idea of a Bento Box this year, make sure to bookmark this blog. The creator is on day 419 of different Bento Box lunches for her girls.
• Healthy Ideas Place – This post is specifically about brainstorming and prepping school lunches to minimize the stress and potential anguish that can go with it.
• Childhood 101 – Do you have a picky eater who does not like sandwiches? You will love this post with links to dozens of sandwich-less recipes. Here’s a link to the original sandwich-less post with even more ideas.
• Inhabitots – Is your child a vegetarian? Here’s a link to seven vegetarian lunch box ideas.
• Organized Chaos Online – Claiming to be “easy peasy” here are 28 Bento Box lunch ideas, some requiring a little more time and effort than others.
• Completely Nourished – A compilation of recipes and meal ideas for additive-free lunches. This is definitely a resource to check out!

What do you pack your kids?
By Julie Hurley, Founder of Hurley Health and Wellness and Director of Public Relations for Principia Media

http://blogs.naturalnews.com/back-to-school-healthy-lunch-box-ideas-with-links/