…about Stevia
Herbs and herbal medicine have been popular now for many years. Yet there is so much misinformation about them that it makes me cringe. Before blogs were a thing, I did a newsletter which I sent to my customers to keep them informed particularly about what was new in herbal medicine.
I gleaned my information from many places, including herbal publications, but particularly from places like Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard Medical School. The reason I used information from those medical institutions was because I wanted to let people know that there were bonafide studies on herbs and there were real medical benefits proven through research.
Often now, when I read something startling that involves herbs and health, I wish I was still doing that newsletter so I could get the information to my customers and straighten out the misconceptions and rumors.
Last week I just came upon a frightening report that involves the “dangers” of stevia and monk fruit, two sweeteners folks often use instead of refined sugar. But as is so often the case, it turns out there is no danger in using either stevia or monk fruit as a sweetener. The problem comes with the refining of the plants into a product. The particular report I read involves an additive, erythritol.
According to a CNN report, erythritol is an artificial sweetener synthesized from corn which is used to add bulk to stevia and monk fruit and to sweeten low-carb keto products. It is linked to heart attack and stroke, a study found and apparently doubles the risk of blood clotting.
So this takes me back to my staunch, never flip-flopping, platform that while plants are safe and healthy, once they become a product, that often is no longer the case.
Stevia, for example, can be helpful with managing blood sugar levels without adding carbohydrates or calories. It may help lower blood pressure by dilating blood vessels. It has an anticancer compound. It is high in antioxidants and can lower cholesterol levels. And it has a very nice taste.
All of this, even the taste, is true only if you are using the plant, which you can easily grow at home. You can use the leaves fresh, and only one or two is necessary in a pot of tea. But you could drink a pot of nothing but stevia tea and that would be OK.
If you aren’t a gardener, or just don’t like the idea of keeping a plant alive, you can buy dried stevia leaves at a health food store or online. Is using the fresh or dried leaves as convenient as using a product made to look and act like sugar? No. But it also won’t kill you.
So consider this my rant for today. Use the plant. Whatever it is. As often as possible.
And by the way, that goes for skin care products too. Who wants a skin cream that is filled with questionable chemicals and ingredients that has only a smidgeon of the beneficial plant mixed in? Why not just use the plant itself?
I think that’s a good idea, don’t you?
Sondra
sondrancs@gmail.com
Atlantic Beach - Memories Since 1949
You may have seen that Larry Jr. and his family recently had the opportunity to take a few days off. They went to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, the place where our family has made so many memories since 1949 (that’s not a typo; I really am talking about 75 years ago). How we found it is a story unto itself. I was just three and a half, so I only know this from having heard it many times throughout my life. My parents had lived in the DC area for a very short time and my mother’s sister had come over from England to visit. Mother was six months pregnant with my sister. My dad had a vacation coming, so they discussed a trip to show my aunt Joan a little more of the USA. My father suggested the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Camping. My mother envisioned her camping days as a Girl Guide in England where she was the only girl sitting on the smoky side of the outdoor fire trying to avoid being eaten up by mosquitoes. She suggested the beach instead. She and her sister had many fond memories of going to the beach with their parents when they were growing up in England.
My father learned that the beach everybody seemed to go to was Nags Head. So they packed up their new, 1949 Ford and headed south. However, there was no room at the inn, so to speak. It turned out there was a large convention going on in Nags Head, and there were no hotel rooms to be had. My father, determined to find a beach to take his wife and sister-in-law to, kept driving south. In those days motels and hotels were few and far between. Also, you had to be careful about where you stayed. Many miles later they found themselves in Atlantic Beach. It was a quiet, uncrowded place, a fisherman’s paradise. The road they were on dead-ended in the parking lot of the Atlantic Beach Hotel, which sat right on the beach. There was no air conditioning in that hotel. The screens on the window were bowed and weathered by the salt air and the water from the faucets was brackish. Still, it was a beautiful place. Very few people, an extremely relaxed atmosphere, and rooms that looked right out over the ocean. The sand was soft and easy to walk on. No rocks or broken shells, even as far as you could walk out into the ocean. The water was warm and the waves gentle.
Nearly every August after that, unless we went back to England to visit my mother’s mum and dad, we spent our vacations on Atlantic Beach. When my English grandparents came over in the early 1960s, my parents of course took them there. My grandfather announced, “First time in me life I’ve been warm!”
Though having a farm made vacationing difficult, Larry and I took our kids to Atlantic Beach when we could get away. And our children have continued the tradition, taking their own children there, walking in the footsteps of their great grandparents, Bob and Cynthia Baker. The trek to Atlantic Beach is a family tradition that has continued for three-quarters of a century.
I’ll always remember my days at Atlantic Beach with much fondness. So many good memories. And some not so good — sunburn being at the top of that list! I remember one summer when I was about fourteen, my chest not only got burned, but it itched very badly. Someone told me it was sun poisoning. Looking back, I know if I had had Big Jim’s available to me then it would have stopped burning and itching quickly, and it would have helped the area heal. In the two decades, Big Jim’s has been on our shelves, it’s been my go-to for burns, itching, scrapes, bug bites, and other maladies.
Though it’s been many years since I was back at “my” beach, if I were to go again, I’d pack the following (tap/click item and it will take you to the product page).
Big Jim’s (to help relieve and heal sunburn, stop itching of bites from beach flies and fleas)
Comfort Cream (to use as after-sun care on my face and to keep my arms and legs moisturized since being at the beach can really dry out your skin.
Antiwrinkle oil (this is a product I made especially for after-sun care. One creative customer uses it on his bald head! Use it after being out in the sun.)
Quick Fix (this is great for soothing your lips after a day on the water, or at the beach)
Therapy Bar (because motel/hotel soap bars are very drying, I have to have my own soap when I travel. For the beach, I’d probably take White Lavender, Tamanu & Tea Tree, or the Skin Comfort Bar.
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It’s been fun reminiscing about my long years of beach memories. I’d love to hear your vacation memories. If you have something to share, please feel free to email me at…. sehbjohnson@gmail.com.
Is there a Fungus “Amung us”?
There are two men I regret not having the opportunity to sit down and chat with. One of them is Elvis Presley. The other is James Duke. Unfortunately, both are gone now.
Chances are you’ve heard of Elvis. I hope, as my customers and friends, you’ve read something by Dr. James Duke. If not, you’ve missed an opportunity to acquire a wealth of down-to-earth knowledge about plants, herbs, medicine, and our bodies. All that is so important to me!
Ever since I began my quest to help people with skin issues, I’ve been plagued by the reality that so often, what we see on the skin is the result of something that is happening internally. There are much greater minds than mine who have studied this, and therefore there is much written about it. And many medications have been developed.
But it’s pretty clear that medicines don’t always solve the problem, and some of them are downright dangerous.
Fungal issues are perhaps among the most frustrating maladies. Yes, they show up on our nails, or as jock itch, ringworm, athlete’s foot and the like. But while they appear on our skin, they are actually also roaming around in our bodies. (If that makes you squirm, I’m sorry.)
Studies show that using more than one antifungal plant is the most effective way to kill fungal infections, because they work in harmony. The complex combinations of compounds in plants have evolved through the ages to protect plants against fungi and other diseases and pests. If they did not have this ability, they would not survive.
That’s why we use plants as medicine!
When I created my anti-fungal products, I wanted to use plants that would not only kill the fungus that was visible on the skin but would also soak in to help fight the infection in the bloodstream. But a topical medication, even though it does soak in, isn’t strong enough to handle that fight alone.
Those of you who have used my Anti-fungal Oil know that it comes with a soup recipe This soup was derived from one Dr. James Duke created to help deal with yeast infections. Because many of the same herbs also kill fungi, I suggest that anyone who struggles with any kind of fungal or yeast issue consider making this soup part of a daily routine in your effort to fight off those little beasties.
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Anti-Fungal Soup Recipe:
Your new daily routine!
To 4 Cups water add 2 chopped onions, 4-6 (or more) cloves garlic, 1/2 to 1 TBS each* dried leaves sage and thyme, ground turmeric and 1 tsp. ground cloves. Cook until onions are tender. Keep soup refrigerated (up to a week) or frozen in individual daily (8-ounce) containers.
*You may need to start with smaller portions of herbs until you get used to the flavor. Add salt to taste. Adding acidophilus yogurt to each dose is helpful.
Wildfires, Smoke, and Our Lungs
Scene overlooking the front of Sondra’s home in Virginia during the Canadian wildfires.
“Wildfires burning in Canada continue to create poor air quality conditions in the U.S. as the smoke makes its way south.” ABC NEWS June 7, 2023
My long-time friend Mary White picked me up the day after the above ABC news report, for our weekly Thursday outing. This is something we started doing more than a dozen years ago after we both retired. (We had worked together in the same two ministries since the late 1980s!)
We've prioritized this weekly adventure, braving bitter cold, sizzling heat, snow, thunderstorms, and one time, an unexpected hail storm! We even managed to do it through COVID, driving separately, eating a bagged lunch in our own cars parked side by side near the Shenandoah River or in a layby on a mountain road. In short, not much had canceled our Thursday get-together. But Canada's wildfires threatened to!
Mary's daughter, a nurse who sometimes joins us, was concerned. She sent me a text before they came out asking about the "aqi" (air quality index) in my area. I looked out my window and saw the sun hovering over Skyline Drive, trying to pierce the dense, smoky haze. It reminded me of how it can look when the mountain is on fire.
Since the air quality in my area was “acceptable,” we kept our date. But I have to say that low-lying areas were pretty smoky.
Most of the US has been affected by these recent Canadian wildfires. And that means many people, are suffering, especially those with lung conditions. A quick look at social media told me people are worried. But though this has brought attention to our air quality, most of us know that the air we breathe, inside and out, can be full of toxins.
And though this Canadian issue is unusual, wildfires happen frequently in many parts of the country. The times of year when wildfires are more likely are spring (February to April) and fall (October to November.) Therefore there aren’t many days when our lungs aren’t exposed to some pretty toxic stuff.
This serves as a great reminder that we not only breathe in toxins daily, but we absorb quite a lot through our skin. So is there anything we can do to protect ourselves?
There certainly is!
As you know, my type of herbalism is simple: use the plants. Drink them as a tea and/or use them as skin products, because when we inhale toxins, they get into our bloodstream and that also can affect our skin.
To not only protect, but heal, from wildfire, or any other types of toxins, perhaps the best “instant” remedy is to make tea! Tea is a versatile healer. It can be tasty to drink, as well as soothing to the skin (yes, the same tea you drink can be used as a skin wash). My personal favorite lung-healing, protecting, herbs are horehound and hyssop. They helped my hay-allergic husband, Larry, nearly 50 years ago when I first began my herbal quest and I’ve believed in them ever since. But through the years, I’ve learned about so many other herbs and their uses.
If you’re being affected by the recent Canadian wildfire issue, try these herbs alone or combined: horehound, hyssop, lemon balm, lemon verbena, marshmallow, mullein, and plantain. Combinations to use as an expectorant and lung-soother: a half cup each of dried, crumbled horehound and hyssop leaves, and a quarter cup each lemon balm and lemon verbena leaves. Combinations to use for respiratory challenges such as dry cough, laryngitis, and bronchitis, and to relieve swelling and irritation: ½ cup dried, crumbled lemon verbena, 1 TBS marshmallow root, ½ cup dried, crumbled mullein, ¼ cup dried, crumbled plantain. To make the tea, place the herbs in a pre-heated quart jar. Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over the herbs. Stir well, and then cover with a saucer (not with a screw-band lid). Let steep for 30 minutes. Strain (squeeze the herbs well), press, and drink. (If using mullein, use a coffee filter to be sure you strain out all the fine hairs.) Drink the entire quart over a period of a day.
To further protect yourself from toxins and heal damaged skin, bathe with soaps that contain the following herbs: Aloe vera, Calendula, Chamomile, Comfrey, Lavender, Rosemary, Tea Tree, and Green tea. You will recognize those as plants in many of Nature’s Common Scents products. For more than twenty years, our focus has been on healing and protecting the skin.
To help keep your skin from absorbing the toxins, especially when you are under smoky conditions as we are currently experiencing: Skin Revival (use all over the body daily after washing with a skin-protecting herbal soap) and Sinus Aid (apply to the inside of the nose whenever you are going to be outdoors).
If you have questions about making and using herbal teas or where you can find the plants in your area, please contact me. Or come to the shop. Let’s make tea together!
How This Work Began – Tales of the Garden
You can listen to this article by clicking the “play” button below!
With a nod to a Famous Christian Author
Catherine Marshall is no longer a household name, but if you were around in the mid-to-late 20th Century, hers might have been as well known to you as Jackie Kennedy. So said a Washington, DC magazine writer back then. Indeed, Catherine wrote over forty books, including a novel based on the life of her mother that became a well-loved television series starring Kellie Martin: Christy.
By the time I went to work for Catherine in 1979, she had written numerous books, perhaps the most well-known, A Man Called Peter, the story of her beloved husband. Peter Marshall, a Scot who came to the United States after a life-or-death call from the Lord, ultimately became U.S. Senate Chaplain. There was also a movie of that name, starring Richard Todd and Jean Peters.
Catherine was a quiet woman and she definitely preferred her privacy. Thrust into fame, she took refuge on her parent’s farm in Lincoln, Virginia. Evergreen Farm is a well-known location to her readers and was just a few miles away from the farm my husband Larry and I lived on.
What might not be as well-known about Catherine is her love of her plants. While she had, and could afford, as much household and garden help as was needed, it was not unusual to see her by herself tending and watering the garden near the house. Seeing that softened my heart toward the stoic, private woman.
My work for her began as editor for her newly-formed prayer ministry called Breakthrough (dedicated to intercessory prayer). I was hired by her then-husband, Len LeSourd, former founding editor of Guideposts magazine. The first article in the Breakthrough newsletter was written by Catherine and was called “How This Work Began.” Catherine, who had chronic lung issues after having suffered with tuberculosis years before, died in 1983. But the ministry, housed in a former schoolhouse, continued under the guidance of Len LeSourd and a star-studded editorial board made up then rock stars in the Christian publishing world, like Jamie Buckingham and John and Tib Sherrill, and other well-known and highly popular Christian authors. I remained (humbly) editor of the newsletter. I loved the work and I loved the ministry.
One afternoon finding myself with extra time, I was on my knees pulling weeds and in general trying to make the front garden of the old building presentable. As I groveled in the dirt, Len LeSourd came out and stood watching me.
“Sondra,” he said. “I think Breakthrough needs an executive director. And I think you’re the person to do that job.”
Now you quite probably wonder what this has to do with Nature’s Common Scents. And indeed, it might seem like quite a leap from Breakthrough to my herbal products business. But as I thought about boss Larry Jr’s request that I write about how my products came to be, I was digging around in the soil and checking on the new herbs I had planted. In my mind, I remembered that day so long ago when my love for the plants God has given us involved me with some of the most exciting people I ever met.
From a job I loved dearly for seventeen years (until a year after Len himself passed away) to the job I have now, no matter what other office work was involved, I always managed to find myself working with plants.
Most of you know how Nature’s Common Scents came to be, and most of you know that Big Jim’s Cream came about because of my desire to help “cure” psoriasis. While I soon learned that a cure was not on the horizon, I learned something very important: that in cases of many “skin things” making the skin and therefore the person look and feel better is extremely important.
Big Jim’s, Comfort Cream, Rosewood Massage Oil, Skin Revival, Anti-wrinkle Oil, Antifungal Oil, Acne Wash, Skin Comfort Bar, and all the other creams, plant oil combinations, spritzers and soaps, were created because someone I know was in some way suffering. Usually, my products address a skin problem, but not always, for example Sinus Aid and Rosewood Massage Oil. But on the other hand, both of those help skin tremendously. Sinus Aid, a favorite and much-used product in our household, is good for and helps heal the skin inside noses, and Rosewood Massage Oil (used even more often than Sinus Aid by me), moisturizes skin beautifully while doing its appointed work of calming restless legs and leg cramps.
So how has each product been developed? Well, my Christian roots are deep, as you might have ascertained by the beginning of this article. So I believe the Lord places the idea or need in my heart. I believe He leads me as I research plants that can help and recipes of how to best combine them.
And while there are many reasons Nature’s Common Scents’ products are different from other, so-called “natural” products, mine go out the door not only with love and concern for the person who purchases them, but with a healthy dose of prayer.
I may have “come to the garden alone” but when I’m there, all of you who purchase my products are there with me!
Sending love and happy spring gardening,
Sondra.
Pain & Panacea
Pain comes to us in many ways. It can be topical, internal, or emotional. Sometimes it is all three. It is a subject Larry Jr. and I have discussed a lot recently because when we were at the Highland County Maple Festival last month, we sold out of Pain Away! Sad for those who were unable to purchase it that day, but also sad for us, because we lost sales.
But my son, who has for the past three years, brought a new perspective and excitement to Nature’s Common Scents, had a different perspective. “Mom,” he said. “We have so many products that help with pain. Sometimes they get overlooked when Pain Away is on the shelf.”
At the time, I could only focus on the fact that we had disappointed some of our customers. After all, I consider Pain Away to be perhaps the strongest site-specific topical pain reliever on the market today. I didn’t dismiss what he said, but I didn’t fully get it, either.
When we got home and I was checking to see how things were in the greenhouse, one of the large thorns on my ungrateful Lemon tree scratched me pretty well. Big Jim’s Cream solved the problem immediately, stopping the “owie” and healing the bloody hole on my arm, not to mention killing the bacteria. I found myself replaying Larry’s comment in my head. “That was pain,” my brain told me. “And I didn’t reach for Pain Away.”
So I called my son to say I understood what he was saying about our products for pain, and he launched into more “teaching for mom.”
“Often overlooked is Medicated Massage Oil, which not only helps with pain, but it relieves stress and muscle aches, and those suffering with fibromyalgia can massage it all over their bodies if needed, which you can’t do with Pain Away,” he said. “And look how often you and Autumn rely upon Rosewood Massage Oil, for leg cramps, restless legs and just plain to help you sleep!”
I agreed.
Larry went on: “Also there’s Skin Calm. It’s so easy to apply and has everything in it to help with dry, itchy skin, and when you spray it on, it also lifts your spirits. And don’t forget Lavender Spritzer for headaches, and it’s very calming both emotionally and physically, and even calms down rowdy dogs!”
By now I was fully engaged in thinking of the ingredients in all our products and how many of them relieve one form or another of pain. Toe fungus, for example, actually hurts. Our Anti-fungal oil makes short work of the pain while it’s killing the fungus. The same is true for Napoleon’s Soap.
The word that came to mind as I reviewed our product list was “panacea.” I discovered the word Panacea comes from Panakeia, the Greek goddess of universal healing. She was believed to have a potion that would cure any sickness.
I have always believed that God provides us with a plant for every illness or condition, and it’s up to us to discover which plant does what. In medicine’s humble beginnings, mankind looked to plants for healing, and even modern medicine has screened approximately 70,000 species for their potential as medicines. Even so, big pharmacy companies have moved far away from using the plants themselves.
Nature’s Common Scents hasn’t!
Here’s a list and short description of products we make that can be a panacea for your pain, itching, fungal issues, sleeplessness, or mild depression, all of which to one degree or another cause us helpless human beings to suffer!
If you see a product you haven’t tried, we hope you will. After all, thorny, itchy, bity bug season is upon us! Need I mention poison ivy, poison oak, mosquitoes, horseflies, gnats …
Acne Clear & Clean
Antifungal Oil
Rose Geranium Spray (NEW!)
Big Jim’s Cream
Comfort Cream
Calendula Ointment
Deep Muscle Massage Bar
Gum Powder
Lavender Spritzer
Lemonbalm balm
Napoleon’s Soap
Pain Away
Rosewood Massage Oil
Sinus Aid
Skin Calm
Skin Revival Oil
Highland County Maple Festival — Again!
Sondra Johnson, Founder of Nature’s Common Scents, at the 2022 Highland County Maple Festival.
March is nearly here, and for those of us who garden, it is the beginning of a very busy, but delightful, season. Here in Virginia, it is time to plan what we’ll grow and start seeds (indoors). I’ve been around now a very long time, yet I still take great joy in seeing the first bulbs break ground, the tiny seedlings pushing through the peat pots in the greenhouse, or hearing the sound of the peeper frogs at the pond.
Nature’s Common Scents booth, March 2022. Sondra setting up.
March also is the time of something that has been a constant my life for nearly the past twenty years: the Highland County Maple Festival in Monterey, Virginia. I was doing my first ever craft show way back in 2002, when a friend mentioned it to me in an off-hand comment. “You should set up your booth there,” he said. “They really get a good crowd.” I was new to festivals and craft shows. A complete novice! But nothing is too daunting for my intrepid husband. So without having a clue of what was about to happen or the work that would be involved, we loaded our little green van with products, shelves, tables, signs, clothes (for the overnight stay) and anything else we thought we might need. It was quite a wonderful experience, and one I would repeat year after year, until COVID closed the show for two years around the time I was deciding to retire.
But with the help of the younger Johnsons, when the Maple Festival was up and running again, so was Nature’s Common Scents! This year’s Maple Festival takes place March 12, 13, 18 and 19. For those who attend, it is like a mini-vacation. There is so much to do in and around the county, and so many talented, diverse crafters fill the two school gyms, the streets and other buildings nearby. This unique festival has been held since 1958! In 1999, the Library of Congress designated The Highland County Maple Festival and “Local Legacy.” And in 2014, the then-governor of Virginia signed a bill into law designating it the “official maple festival of Virginia.”
These next few weeks, until after the show is over, will be extremely busy for us. Preparing enough products for the show takes a lot of time (remember we do everything in small batches by hand, and we don’t outsource anything). Also we may run out of products, especially right after the first weekend of the Maple Festival. In that case, if we don’t have something you order, we will make it as quickly as possible.
Despite the work and admittedly some aggravation getting ready, the Highland County Maple Festival is really special to me. It is near and dear to my heart, as I have met folks there who have not only become customers, but have become lifelong friends! So many of you have inspired me with your confidence in my products, and amazed me with some of the creative ways you have learned to use them! It is because of my loyal customers that my desire to create products made from plants became a reality. Your confidence in my products is humbling. You are the reason, each and every spring, I once again start digging in the dirt, preparing places to plant those healing herbs that we turn into products or ingredients for products.
I hope you’ll come watch some of the manufacturing process, or just stop by for a cup of your favorite herbal tea!
Sondra.
I’ve just been outside…
In Sondra’s greenhouse
I’ve just been outside. It’s nearly 11 a.m. and the temperature is hovering below 30 degrees. The greenhouse thermometer says it’s 53 inside. That’s good for two reasons: one, because I have to water the plants in there, and two, because the plants I overwinter in the greenhouse don’t like cold Virginia weather.
Living in the greenhouse are my Bay, Citrus and Olive trees. About thirty years ago I did a study on how many plants are mentioned in the Bible. Depending upon the version, there are about sixty! More surprising to me, though, was that these were commonly known plants and most could be grown right on my Virginia farm! So I began collecting them.
Some, like almond trees and grapes, could be planted in the ground. I enjoyed my Bible garden!
When we moved from the farm in Loudoun County to nearby Warren County, the plants I brought with me were in pots, because they couldn’t winter outdoors.
Over the years these old friends and I have grown older together. It strikes me how much a part of my life they have been. And it’s humbling to realize they have depended upon me to look after them!
I didn’t start using plants for skin care products until a couple of years after we moved from the farm. Once I did, I had another revelation: most of the ingredients I use in my products are mentioned in Scripture!
That so amazed me that I put together a booklet about that (The Little Book of Plants in Scripture, available on the Website), because I wanted folks to realize that God has given us these plants for food and medicine, both physical and emotional, including medicine for our skin! (Genesis 1:29, 2 Kings 20:7, Psalm 45:8).
My plants still amaze me. My two Bay trees are now much taller than I am. (Psalm 37:35). They are too tall for the greenhouse so they winter on an enclosed porch. The Calamondin orange is the closest citrus plant to the Citron mentioned in Scripture that I found I could grow in a container. It has been with me longer than any of the others; over 35 years.
So as you are peruse our Website and learn about our products and how they help skin issues, I hope you will be reminded that it wasn’t a scientist who discovered the healing use of plants. It was every person who has read the Bible and realized God intended them to use plants that grew right outside their door!
Happy New Year!
Sondra.
In the Mind of a Child
My mother, Cynthia Baker, made excellent chocolate chip cookies. I can still see myself, a very long time ago as a three-year-old, hoping for a taste as I sat on a tall red stool in the kitchen, watching her vigorously beat the butter, eggs, and sugar by hand.
Once a year, at Christmas, Mother made sugar cookies. Rather than drop cookies, that required rolling out the dough. Once it was just the right thickness, she placed her bright red and green plastic cookie cutters tightly together on it with the precision of a jigsaw puzzle pattern. I tried but never managed to do it quite to her standards.
As the years went by, she didn't make cookies very often, and by the time I had children, I was the proud owner of those colorful plastic trees, stars, bells, angels, and reindeer cookie cutters.
I confess to seldom using them, though I make that original chocolate chip cookie recipe with granddaughter Baker Grace a couple of times a month. Like her great-grandmother Cynthia, she’s become quite a cookie maker!
But Baker has had ideas of making something else. After all, she's been living above the soapmaking shop for nearly three years now, and it is not surprising she's been contemplating her own soap recipe. I believe it was nearly a year ago when she first mentioned it. She said she wanted to make pine soap; something that was like the evergreen trees in our woods. She wanted it to smell like those trees. She wanted to call it Christmas Tree Soap.
In preparation for making her imagined creation, several weeks ago we clipped and gathered evergreen needles which we infused in olive oil so that the goodness of those trees would be imparted into her soap. Then at last it was time to bring her idea to fruition! We strained the oil, combined it with other skin-healing ingredients like avocado, coconut, and castor oil, and cooked our soap until it was just right.
In preparation for making her imagined creation, several weeks ago we clipped and gathered evergreen needles which we infused in olive oil so that the goodness of those trees would be imparted into her soap. Then at last it was time to bring her idea to fruition! We strained the oil, combined it with other skin-healing ingredients like avocado, coconut, and castor oil, and cooked our soap until it was just right.
While it was cooking, she said she wanted her soap bars to look like Christmas trees, and I realized I had exactly what she needed to make the design: the green plastic Christmas tree cookie cutter that my mother had used throughout my childhood! It was perfect, as if it had been waiting for the day it would graduate from cookies to soap!
Christmas Tree Soap is not only luxurious in lather and feel, it is antiseptic, has excellent cleaning ability, as well as great skin-healing properties. And the aroma! It reminds me of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"!
Baker’s creation has turned out to be not just a bar of soap, but a work of art. Dreamed up by a child who is surrounded by evergreen trees!
Fortunate is the home this holiday season that gets to display Christmas Tree Soap: the sweet artistic creation that began in the mind of a child!
With a Nudge Toward Fall
Summer is coming to a close. I can tell that not by the weather, which is still the usual for Virginia: hot and humid. No, I can tell summer is winding down by looking at my tomato plants. They’re getting a little tired-looking now. I’ll be sad to see them go.
But I’m excited about the upcoming Fall schedule at the shop! We have quite a few activities lined up between now and Christmas, including workshops and two Open Houses!
Some of you are already scheduled to come to make soap. There is still time to sign up! Choose a date that suits you and a friend or two, or join a workshop already scheduled.
Those of you who have done this before know that homemade herbal soap, designed and created personally by you, makes a unique and very welcome gift.
When you attend a workshop, we can help you create a one-of-a-kind “designer” soap in a variety of colors and scents that suit you perfectly. Pine, Fir, Bay, Juniper, Orange, Cinnamon and Clove, Peppermint, and even vanilla remind us of beautiful Fall and Winter days. And you can decorate with herbs if you so desire.
The great colors shown in these photos are achieved entirely with plants. And that’s the whole point of making soap the way we at Nature’s Common Scents make it — nothing but plants! After all, the purpose of a good soap is to not only clean skin, but to heal and/or keep it healthy!
Soapmaking really is such fun! It can almost be addicting! Watching melted oils, herbs and other natural ingredients spin around in the mixer as they turn into something you have dreamed up yourself is pretty exciting!
As I was preparing mentally for the upcoming workshops, I was thinking how much fun it would be if one or two of this year’s participants wanted to make soap with the ever-popular scent of Pumpkin Spice! The orange color can be achieved with skin-conditioning and anti-oxidant turmeric. Add to that the appealing scent of cloves, cinnamon, and/or perhaps vanilla oils. Yum! And since the soap can be “played with” a little after it cools (sort of like soft clay), you might even shape your soap to look like little pumpkins or pumpkin pies!
At our upcoming Fall and Christmas Open House events, there will be some familiar soaps we make only for this time of year that have become customer favorites, so if you can’t make your own with us, you can find what you want right here at our shop, or our website.
But I’m kind of getting ahead of things. It’s not even Fall yet! So let’s enjoy the gardens and what they have to offer today, while we plan for the fun-filled days ahead.
See you very soon, I hope! Sondra.
2022 Fall Open House
Our 2022 Fall Open House will be on October 1st from 10 AM - 6:30 PM
We'll have lots of handcrafted plant-based herbal products:
• Soaps, balms, creams & oils
• Seasonal Products
• Refreshments
Sample of product selection at:
The address is 640 Simons Way, Front Royal, VA 22630
Email for written directions: sondrancs@gmail.com
or call (540) 671-5253
Facebook Event link here
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
We at Nature’s Common Scents use the rich, red oil that results from the dainty yellow flowers of St. John’s Wort in some of our skin healing recipes. As with other plants we grow and use in our products, we are very pleased to be able to give our customers the benefits from not only wonderful plants, but plants we grow ourselves. Truthfully that isn’t possible with all herbs we use because of the quantities needed, but with St. John’s Wort and a few others, what ends up in your product has been harvested by our own hands!
The plant’s common name, St. John’s Wort is named for the Apostle John because it blooms around the time of the birthday of the saint, author of the Book of Revelation. If you want to grow it, be sure to use the botanical name when ordering it.
This morning I was harvesting the beautiful, dainty bright yellow flowers. The bees were joining me and I was careful to let them gather the pollen off each blossom before I took it. Harvesting the flowers requires patience, as you have to grasp the flimsy flower stalk and hold it so that when you pinch off the flower you don’t pull off the buds around it.
One of the unusual aspects of St. John’s Wort flowers is their ability to stain your fingers and fingernails red! The red color comes from an oil that is in the glands of the petals. If you’ve ever worked with blueberries, you might have found your fingers and nails similarly stained. And you’ll know that it’s pretty hard to remove.
The leaves of the plant also have oil glands, and when you hold the leaf to the light, they look like very tiny transparent dots.
St. John’s Wort has been used since the time of Ancient Greece and Rome to heal wounds, sores, burns, bruises, sprains, inflammation and nerve pain. This is why we use it for skin issues. It was also used to help insomnia, epilepsy and “madness.” Around the Middle Ages, it was used as treatment for heart issues, jaundice, urinary problems, dysentery, bleeding, hysteria, and depression.
But we focus on topical healing, confident this historical plant with the bright, dainty flowers has the ability to help your skin improve.
How we make the oil:
The flowers need to be wilted, but not completely dry. I put each day’s harvest on a clean paper towel for the day. The pictures below show them fresh, then slightly wilted.
At that point I put them into the jar of olive oil. If you are fortunate enough to get lots of flowers all at once, fill the jar loosely and then cover the flowers with oil. Place the jar in a sunny window and shake it daily for several weeks. In two to three weeks you will see the yellow oil turn red.
Soap Memories
From Sondra -
When I first realized I was going to have to make soap if I wanted a product that didn’t have ingredients that could worsen or irritate certain skin conditions, I looked up the subject. It’s not as if it was something I had given much thought to previously. In fact, I have no memory of shopping for any particular brand of soap at all!
My husband grew up in a different time and place. Back then in the early 1940s, in his little town (Coats, North Carolina), people still made their own soap. At least his grandmother did. Many times he has described to us how, as a little boy, he gathered sticks for the outdoor fire on soapmaking day. His grandfather would place the large pot on it and he’d watch his grandmother stir for what seemed like hours. When she had finished, his grandfather would lift the pot off the fire and carry it into the wash house to cool. There it sat, full of soap which hardened into one big lump. When his grandmother wanted to wash clothes, she hacked out a chunk of whatever size she needed.
The earliest soapmaking factory was discovered well over 4,000 years ago. The ingredients inscribed on the containers they put their soap mixture into was simply oil and ashes, which is basically what soap (real soap) is made of today. Larry’s grandmother would probably have been able to purchase commercially produced lye, but her grandparents would have had to make their own, a process done with wood ashes and water for the thousands of years.
I suppose, like most folks who grew up in the 1950s, the brands I remember were Palmolive, Dove and Ivory. As I wrote the name “Palmolive” just now, I suddenly wondered if possibly that was derived from “palm” and “olive” oils and I was right! Here’s what I found: In 1898 the B.J. Johnson Soap Company (no relation to us!) introduced Palmolive soap, a formula created using palm and olive oil!
Apparently not much has changed in soapmaking! At least not in quality soapmaking.
There have been considerable changes, though, in industrial soapmaking through the years. For one thing, the fats used now aren’t real plant fats for the most part, and the natural glycerin that would be created as the plant fats cook is now created by one or other chemical to substitute for the emollient and healing attributes of the natural glycerin.
Soap companies have gone to great lengths to try to make their soaps feel good while using ingredients that are all chemical. Dove soap, for example, now is made from stearic acid, lauric acid, sodium stearate, sodium isethionate, tetrasodium EDTA, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium palmitate, sodium tallowate, water, titanium dioxide and sodium cocoate.
Not one natural plant or plant oil.
And yes, all soap, even commercial soap, is made with lye (tetrasodium). Lye is a reagent, so that the end product does not contain any lye (if the process is done correctly).
Until I began making soap I never thought about ingredients just so long as it smelled good and got the dirt off. No soap of the 1950s seemed to be able to remove the dirt from the feet of my friend Susie, who spent half her life barefoot! She could only clean her feet with a scrub brush and, of all things, toothpaste! We laughed about that as 8 year olds.
Soap has always been important in history. Old Brown Windsor soap was popular with Queen Victoria, Napoleon as well as Lewis and Clark. Chances are this soap was popular because it’s ingredients had real herbs and spices that would fight bacterial and fungal issues. We make a similar version of that soap today and call it “Napoleons.”
Unlike Napoleon, I never had a favorite soap. At least not until I began making my own.
Hmmm. Come to think of it, I still don’t have a favorite soap! My favorite often is the one that’s just been made! Think I’ll wander down to the shop and see what’s cooking!
What’s Good About Plantain Soap?
Plantago major — common plantain
Not to be confused with “cooking” bananas commonly called Plantain which is a major food staple in West and Central Africa, the Caribbean islands, Central America, and northern South America, the Plantain we use in our soap is a common lawn and garden weed, Plantago major. We wilt the leaves from our own gardens and infuse them directly into extra virgin olive oil. This process, called a heat extraction, is a bit like making tea and in the same way, the tea leaches out of the bag into the water, all the goodness of the Plantain ends up in the oil. Plantago major, also called broadleaf plantain, contains a variety of healing phytochemicals among them allantoin, ursolic acid, and flavonoids.
What are those?
If you look at ingredients in cosmetics and skin-care products at your pharmacy you will see on the list of many of them “allantoin.” Why would cosmetic companies want to add that to their products? Because allantoin has special powers! It is moisturizing, hydrating, and an exfoliant, skin-calming, wound-healing, and anti-aging. It also promotes rapid cell proliferation (healing). However, in most cases the allantoin you see on those ingredients lists would be a chemical derivation of what appears naturally in Plantain.
Another valuable phytochemical that occurs naturally in Plantain is ursolic acid. This is the goodness found also in peels of fruits (like apples) as well as in herbs like rosemary and thyme. And then there are flavonoids, which are anti-inflammatory, and protect cells from oxidative damage.
And did I mention that you can eat Plantain leaves? When the leaves are young, they can be eaten fresh, and when they get older they can be cooked in stews and soups. A tea made with the leaves is said to improve digestion, heartburn, and ulcers. Hopefully, you will never need it for this, but the leaves themselves can help neutralize the venom from snake bites.
But we use it in soap because making products to heal skin is what we do. The benefits of Plantain to the skin are tremendous, and that’s so important. After all, the skin is the largest organ of our bodies! In addition to soothing and moisturizing, our Plantain Soap is also helpful in alleviating itching, rashes, cuts, and scarring, and it treats acne.
It might become your favorite bathing bar.
- Sondra
Doggie Paws
I was six years old when my father came home from a political campaign trip in Indiana with this little puppy on the floor of the back seat. Nothing could have made me happier! It’s probably not possible to know whether or not a child is a true animal lover when she is only six years old, but I certainly had instincts with my beloved companion that many of my friends did not have.
Over the years I’ve been blessed to have very many pets, from the unusual — snakes, hamsters and wild birds (not at the same time!) — to the more usual dogs and cats. And on the farm, we had cows, ponies, goats, one sheep and two bulls. In fact, it was my studying about veterinary care for our cattle that piqued my interest in plants. I read in an animal husbandry book that there were plants that sometimes grew wild in fields that were toxic to cattle. Among them was Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) which could cause a cow to spontaneously abort her calf.
I learned that back in 1976. Since then you could say I have spent my life learning about plants, the good and the bad, and what’s helpful for animals.
Doggie Balm, Bulldog Therapy Shampoo and Bulldog Therapy Bar came out of those studies. I call them “bulldog” because for many years we had English bulldogs and they often had difficult skin problems. But I have used those products on all breeds of dogs, and so have many of you. Gentle, safe, and exceptionally helpful, they might be the most understated of NCS products.
If you’re wondering about my dog Tip, he lived to be 14 years old. I still miss him!
Nature's Common Scents' plant-based pet products: Doggie Balm, Bulldog Therapy Shampoo, and Bulldog Therapy Bar.
“I’ve just tested positive for COVID.”
“I’ve just tested positive for COVID.”
No, I don’t have it. But that’s probably the most feared thing we can hear a friend or family member say, particularly if we’ve just been visiting with them. Of course, COVID isn’t the only virus floating around out there. There are millions. And this is in addition to bacteria and other potentially harmful disease-causing agents. In 2013, Stephen Morse, Professor of Epidemiology at the Columbia University Medical Center and Director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Certificate Program, estimated that there were about one million viruses that affect vertebrates.
Forget the possible danger from aliens from another planet. Viruses are real, and floating down from the sky every day by the millions.
So why aren’t we all dead or at least very sick most of the time?
Natural immunity.
We know that viruses enter our bodies through our noses, mouths, and eyes. Our T-cells and other killer cells work together to destroy them, and each type of cell plays a specific role in hunting down and eliminating harmful micro-organisms. We walking targets can help avoid these sometimes deadly invaders by doing simple things like washing our hands and faces, rinsing our mouths, and swabbing our noses.
Nature’s Common Scents products are a natural way to strengthen and assist the immune system
Sinus Aid is a product I created to help myself withstand the headaches I get with the change in the barometric pressure. But I have learned that by swabbing my nose with it I am also killing some germs and protecting myself from breathing in the millions of viruses floating around me. Further, it can help keep pollen from climbing up the nose and making me sneeze in springtime.
Gum Powder is another example of a product Nature’s Common Scents offers that can help us avoid viruses. Brushing daily with it as well as rinsing the mouth with a teaspoon in a cup of warm water can kill germs. If I have a sore throat I up the amount to a tablespoon per cup of warm water and gargle with it.
And this may surprise you: Acne Clear & Clean Face Wash which I initially created to help with acne, is excellent at killing germs because it keeps germs off the face (and therefore away from the oral cavities), but also it can be used as a hand sanitizer. I have kept a small bottle of it in the car and rubbed it on my hands when coming out of stores or public restrooms. It does not have to be washed off because it absorbs nicely and is good for skin, unlike the alcohol hand sanitizers which are very hard on skin.
Other NCS products we have that help kill viruses and bacteria include Lemon Balm Balm (the Lemon balm plant is particularly effective against the herpes virus), Lavender Spritzer, and the Lavender Headache Oil as well as our new NCS Hand Soap and our Anti-Itch Spritzer.
So if I had any advice on avoiding COVID, which I think will be around in one form or another for the foreseeable future, it would be to have on hand a good virus-protective kit which would include Sinus Aid, Gum Powder, Acne Clear & Clean, and our Hand Soap. And remember that dry, cracked skin also invites invaders. All our soaps and creams have that covered too!
Stay well. And come visit us at the shop as weather permits!
-Sondra.
More About Sinus Aid
Sinus Aid. I really rely upon it. It came about quite a few years ago, as I was suffering from yet another migraine-type sinus issue. I pondered how I could "apply" the plants and herbs I knew could help to my aching head and neck. It occurred to me how quickly much of what we apply to our skin ends up in our bloodstream, and that the inside of our nose has skin just waiting to transfer healing herbs to the painful areas.
I have used Sinus Aid almost every day at least once since then!
But why am I thinking it could be called "Nose Skin Aid"? Because of my recent hospital stay where for a few hours I had one of those thin plastic oxygen tubes placed in the end of my nose. Once home, I began to get small sores inside my nostrils. At first, I guessed it was the dry winter air. Then I knew it was more than that when the sores enlarged during the night and began to hurt. I feared I was getting a staph infection. Immediately I turned to Sinus Aid. The soreness stopped after the first soothing cotton swabbing. I could feel the healing oils taming the discomfort and making my nose a hostile environment for germs. Very quickly the sores diminished and were all but gone within days.
A great benefit of using Sinus Aid in and around nose skin is how, no matter how sore it is, the soreness goes away so quickly and mostly gently (the mint oils may give tender skin a moment of "warm" feeling).
Yes, noses have skin too! Keep some "Nose Skin Aid" on hand this winter. You and your nose will be glad you do!
-Sondra
2021 Christmas Open House
Our 2021 Christmas Open House will be on December 17th & 18th from 10 am - 6 pm. Visit our Facebook Event page for more details!
One of the very best things for me about having started Nature’s Common Scents is the many friends I have made because of it. I’m always so excited to have the opportunity to meet you in person. Since we don’t do as many shows now, the Christmas Open House provides one way to continue seeing you in person and I so look forward to that.
You probably need no reminder that winter weather is harsh and can exacerbate skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, or cause uncomfortable itching, dry lips, and cracked cuticles! When you come to the Open House, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to try any of our products on your skin to see how they feel and smell. Often you’ll see immediate results.
I love talking about our products and the herbs in them. If you have any questions about your skin, what products might be good for it, how they work, or even growing your own herbs (yes, many can be grown indoors), please feel free to ask when you are here and email your questions if you can’t be here!
-Sondra
2021 Fall Open House
We'll have lots of handcrafted plant-based herbal products:
• Soaps, balms, creams & oils
• Grab bags
• Herbal refreshments
• New seasonal products
Sample of product selection at:
www.naturescommonscents.club
The address is 640 Simons Way, Front Royal, VA 22630
Email for written directions: sondrancs@embarqmail.com
or call 540.635.7073
Top Sellers of 2021
Since we are about halfway through 2021 we thought it might be a great time to share our top-selling items from both the .club and .com sites on the year so far!
3. Tamanu & Tea Tree Shampoo & Body Bar
5. Lavender & Cocoa Butter Bar
8. Rose Hips & Petals Therapy Bar
