Oatmeal, it’s not just for breakfast. Oatmeal Promise became part of my morning and evening beauty routine the last 2 days.

Upon receiving my foreue Oatmeal Promise (OP) vegan soap, I immediately smelled it. To me, a scent will either “put me off” or “put me on” toward the product. It smelled light and woody~very subtle. It’s a good start! Next, I looked at the color and felt the texture of the bar. Perhaps I’m more tactile than most people. I like holding my soap and feeling the bumps, lumps and smoothness. The bar wasn’t overly hard because it yielded to gentle pressure.

Neem? Unless you are from South or Southern Asia, this unfamiliar sounding name is a mystery. But there is no mystery in the power it has against mosquitos, skin inflammations and even gum disease…just to name a few.

Neem (Azadirachta indica) is an evergreen tree found all across India, Burma (Myanmar) and most of South Asia. Neem oil is most commonly used in medicinal and farming products. Now neem has crossed over to beauty products. There is no mistaking the bitter scent of neem. The triglycerides and large amounts of triterpenoid compounds is what gives neem it’s bitterness. It can best be described as a cross between peanut oil and garlic. Don’t let that deter you though from it’s wonderful benefits!

So you want to start making your own vegan homemade skin care products, how do you start?  Its not really that hard, just simply do your research on not only actual recipes, but the benefits of certain natural or organic plants. You cannot just take a salad and throw it in the blender and expect to make, let’s say, an exfoiliant scrub. Here are some tips and ideas to get you started in your kitchen beauty lab with homemade skin care products.

The day I was introduced to natural hair products helped me to become organic and aware.   A haircut became quite the educational eye opener.  As the aesthetician massaged my neck, she filled the room with healing soothing aromatherapy.  I relaxed and began to feel alive, energized, and at ease.

She and the salon owner talked to me while she cut my hair and educated me about the wonderful products.  I learned something upsetting, but it opened my eyes.  For years, I had followed my Mom’s strange ritual of applying baby oil to my face after washing it with a supposed skin-softening soap bar, and washing my hair with not natural hair care products.

We take at least 3 meals a day to feed our bodies with food that is wholesome, nourishing and lovingly prepared. Why shouldn’t we do the same with our skin, and feed our skin with the best skin food, more than once a day?

Be it myth, be it limitation on time, be it simple misconception. The largest organ in our body, our skin, has the awesome job of regulating body temperature, eliminating toxins, insulating against disease, etc. For all the good that it does, doesn’t it also deserve some the best skin food, several times a day?

5 Reasons Why You Should Put Lotion On Your Hands Throughout the Day

• Harsh chemicals found in commercial soap (aka work bathroom) strip away moisture, leaving hands dry and cracked. Natural, vegan herbal lotions for hands and oils can replenish the natural oils lost from skin and nails.
• Harsh chemicals in any commercial soap can irritate already broken skin (eg cuticles, hangnails, cuts, etc) Herbal lotions that contain tea tree or neem with sage or rosemary are naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial.

Even if you are not a vegan, you should at least think about using vegan skin and organic skincare products.

If you’ve ever read behind a bottle of lotion, chances are you’ve noticed a long list of chemicals that you may not be familiar with.  And many of these chemicals and synthetic products have harmful effects after years of use.  Some of these mainstream cosmetics may also cause skin irritation and even allergic reactions. Here are a few more reasons to make the switch organic skincare products that help you achieve vegan skin.

Each day as my pre-teen daughter looks into the mirror, she winces at the sight of the acne populating around the tip of her nose. It’s a passage of life, I tell her calmly and sincerely. She winces even more and curses the hormones erupting through her tender skin. As the memories of my teenage years flood to me, I knowingly smile that my daughter is armed with more knowledge and insight about how to better care for her skin than I at her age.

Who doesn’t deserve a spa day at home? You know, taking a day off , like a Saturday or even part of the day to indulge in manicures, massages, and facials. Unfortunately most of us do not have the time and money to splurge on a indulgent day at the spa, but who says you cannot bring the spa to you at home? Not only will you save money,  the best part is that it is quite easy to find (or even make) vegan skin care products to use for your spa day. Many natural homemade soaps and products contain young living essential oils and other natural ingredients that alleviate stress and improve your skin and even recipes, like those that teach you how to make essential oils lotions. Here is a checklist of what to stock in your natural at-home spa.

Olive oil. Strawberries. Sage. Lemon grass. Coconut oil. Mmmm….what taste bud doesn’t enjoy the tantalizing flavors? We can savor them in our mouths. And in our skin.

Yes, we can and are eating our soap. The epidermis (outer layer of skin) is the largest sensory organ of our body. It has the special task of communicating with our environment. It breathes, perspires, drinks and eats what we put on and in it.

Perhaps you heard stories that began with “in my day” or “when I was young” we made our own soap, clothes and food the old fashion way.  Well, life was not so modern or delightfully convenient, lightening fast or informative back then, you knew that your products had no harmful chemicals or preservatives, and that your ingredients came from nature, just like the ingredients that make up your own body.

The traditional cold pressed soap making process creates a highly effective and very efficient skin moisturizer called glycerin.  At foreue, we incorporate this process into all our soaps to produce a soft, mild soap that is both fabulously moisturizing and incredibly gentle.