It’s hard to believe it’s going to be Father’s Day in only a week and a half. It feels like it was Mother’s Day just last weekend, so we at Castle Baths certainly can understand if you’re behind on your efforts to find a father’s day gift. “What should I get, and where?” you may be wondering as you shop around frantically. “Power tools?” “Clothes?” Aren’t those what everybody gets their dad for Father’s Day?
If you’ve been looking for a unique and unconventional Father’s Day gift, have you considered a spa gift basket from Castle Baths? You probably haven’t, and, like a lot of people, consider spa gift baskets to be firmly in the realm of feminine gifts, but you may be surprised to learn that Castle Baths attracts a fair number of male customers too!
Spa products and spa gift baskets for men are a growing trend in the natural bath and body industry, as more and more men come to realize the value of a good moisturizing and skin care routine. To meet this growing demand, Castle Baths has singled out numerous products likely to appeal to men, and particularly so, to dads. You can view them all on our gifts for dad page. (Be sure to check out our Bay Rum Soap, which has been very popular among men who remember it as the scent of classic downtown barber shops.)
We’re also offering two special deals available until Father’s Day (June 16.) Our Dead Sea Anti-Aging Spa Gift Basket is on sale at 30% off our regular price, and we’re offering FREE guest-size bars of our Dead Sea Salt Soap with all purchases over $25.
We at Castle Baths wish you a very happy Father’s Day, and encourage you to treat dad to something special this year.
Next Monday marks the 43rd Earth Day since its creation as a national holiday on April 22, 1970, and we at Castle Baths are very excited to do our part in contributing to the cause of environmental sustainability by continuing to offer spa-quality natural bath and body products!
The concept of Earth Day, as you may or may not be aware, was created by former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson in September 1969 and came to fruition less than one year later. Nelson , inspired by the anti-war campus activism of the day, intended Earth Day to be a grass-roots anti-pollution activism movement. He believed the best solution to generating awareness and concern over the depletion of our planet’s natural resources was for ordinary citizens to teach others about environmental issues and how each person could contribute to environmental sustainability in his or her own unique way.
If you’ve been looking for a unique way in which you can show your concern for the environment this Earth Day – something more than just throwing plastic bottles and aluminum cans into your recycling bin, we have a few suggestions for you:
Educate yourself and your friends and family about the issue of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and learn why Castle Baths has had to discontinue using Canola Oil and Soy-based ingredients in order to ensure the safety and eco-friendliness of our products.
Check the ingredients in your body lotion and other cosmetics against the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database, and find out what you’re really rubbing into your skin. Then go throw half of them away once you’ve recovered from your shock.
Switch out one or more of your synthetic bath and spa products for one of our natural equivalents and experience the difference in your skin’s softness, as well as your overall health and mood. Even something as simple as using natural soap instead of commercial bar soap will make a difference!
If you have a blog or website related to environmental sustainability issues, you may also wish to consider becoming an affiliate of Castle Baths, and sharing the health and environmental benefits of our natural spa products with your readers.
Of course, you can try any or all of the staple Earth Day activities too if you wish. Plant a tree, make crafts out of recycled household materials, or simply spend time outdoors enjoying nature – but if you do, be sure to bring along some shea butter to help protect your skin while outside! Happy Earth Day!
Fill out the form below to enter! There’s no cost, and you could win a FREE box of our new Valentine’s Day Rose Bouquet Soaps!
What do you get when you combine a dozen roses, chocolate, and luxurious natural soaps and spa products? The answer is: Castle Baths’ new Valentine’s Day Rose Bouquet Soap. This Castle Baths specialty gift item gives you 12 rose-shaped natural soaps scented in your choice of dark chocolate or a musky vanilla with a hint of white chocolate. The product went live on Castle Baths’ website on Monday, January 14, 2013.
As its title suggests, the product was developed as a Valentine’s Day gift idea for women – one that could serve as an alternative to the cliche box of chocolates or dozen real roses.
“The idea was to give men who were uncertain what to get their sweethearts for Valentine’s Day or who wanted to give a gift that was different from what everybody gives a unique alternative,” said Castle Baths owner and product developer Laura Thomas. “A bouquet of real roses might be a romantic gift, but it’s something almost everybody does around Valentine’s Day. But you won’t find these chocolate soap roses anywhere else. Plus, 12 bars of soap are a lot more useful than 12 cut roses when you consider your gift choices from a practical standpoint.”
Unlike some of Castle Baths other gift items targeted towards Valentine’s Day, such as their Love Spa Gift Basket, which is available for purchase year-round, this particular gift item will only be available until February 14. Afterwards, it will be taken off Castle Baths’ website, not to be seen again until one month before Valentine’s Day 2014.
To promote the new, intentionally short-lived gift item, Castle Baths is hosting a social media giveaway. Those interested in receiving their Valentine’s Day Rose Soap Bouquet for free are encouraged to take the social media actions listed on Castle Baths’ giveaway page in order to increase their chances of being a winner. After signing up using the form below, the only required action is that all participants comment on this blog post. NO SPAM! – Comments deemed to be spam will be deleted and result in ineligibility to win the current contest.
Not sure what to comment about? Here’s a start: Do you think your significant other would prefer our Valentine’s Roses in their dark chocolate or vanilla musk scents? Be sure to check back with us next week for more Castle Baths news and tips and especially so once Valentine’s Day is over – as we will be announcing the winner within two weeks after February 14!
Chocolate – it’s the one thing that almost every diet will tell you to avoid if you want to achieve a thin, youthful figure, and often with good reason. After all, no one is denying that the chocolate bars you see in the checkout aisles at the grocery store are high in calories and high in sugar. However, numerous scientific studies have shown chocolate to have beneficial properties as well, especially where skin care is concerned.
But before you go rubbing Hershey kisses all over your face, be sure you know all the facts about chocolate’s skin care uses. For instance, rubbing Hershey kisses or other milk chocolate products into your skin isn’t likely to give you any of chocolate’s skin care benefits. Where skin care is concerned, the darker the chocolate, the better.
Part of what makes dark chocolate a great skin care ingredient is the fact that it is naturally caffeinated. Caffeine, in addition to the well-known energy boost it produces, helps skin retain a youthful appearance by making your skin feel tighter and firmer. Chocolate skin care products that also contain coffee, such as Tre’Yours Coffee Cocoa Body Scrub, are even better, as you will get even more caffeine for your money.
Chocolate can also be an excellent moisturizer. Products made with cocoa butter are great for keeping skin soft and smooth, especially during the winter when cold temperatures cause skin to dry out more quickly. The more cocoa butter your product contains, the more hydrated your skin will feel. For the ultimate chocolate moisturizing experience, try pure Cocoa Body Butter from Castle Baths’ Exotic Earth line. It contains 100% pure natural cocoa butter, and nothing else.
If you prefer a more routine method of absorbing the many skin care benefits of chocolate, consider using a handmade bar of natural soap made with cocoa butter every time you shower or wash your hands. Natural cocoa soaps come in many shapes and sizes, such as the Chocolate Rose Gift Soap and Chocolate Cake Slice Soap. These soaps have the added advantage of doubling as decorative items for your bathroom or kitchen.
So the next time you’re craving chocolate. Go ahead! Indulge yourself, without the calories when you use chocolate skin care products. And be sure to check back with us next week for more spa and skin care tips.
When looking for ways to detoxify skin or perhaps hide some of those annoying cellulite deposits around the legs, few people would likely turn to their coffee maker for a solution. But perhaps they should. Far from simply being the primary ingredient in the energy-boosting beverage we all know and love (most of us, anyway), coffee possesses numerous skin care and anti-aging benefits to include:
Great for sensitive skin – In addition to helping you stay awake during the late hours of the night, the natural caffeine found in coffee has been shown to be very soothing to the skin. This makes it an excellent skin care ingredient to use in soaps designed to be gentle on sunburned skin, winter-reddened skin, or other skin sensitivities. Bathing with natural soaps and other bath products that contain coffee can also provide an alternate means of experiencing coffee’s well-known energizing sensations. Since skin is naturally porous, it can absorb coffee via your bath water the same as if you had taken a sip of brewed coffee from a mug. So, try a coffee bar soap with your next bath.
Antioxidants – Coffee is a great natural source of these age-fighting nutrients. Try using a coffee body scrub the next time you need to exfoliate or deep-cleanse, and let coffee’s natural antioxidants cleanse your pores and the deep layers of your skin of any lingering dead skin cells and environmental pollutants. If your feet are feeling a little rough, you may also be interested in trying a Coffee Bon Bon Soap Cookie to massage and exfoliate your heels and ankles.
Masking of Cellulite – Coffee-based skin care products such as Castle Baths’ Cellu Coffee Bar act as a mild astringent, and temporarily firm up the skin around the arms and legs so that cellulite deposits are hidden. It won’t make your cellulite go away forever, but it will help make it less noticeable for a few hours.
Skin care products do not necessarily have to contain actual coffee grounds in order to give you the benefits of coffee (although the ones that do give great scrubbing action.) Many coffee-based skin care products contain the essential oil of coffee, coffee butter, or the coffeeberry®.
For more Castle Baths updates and skin care information, be sure to check back with us next week. In the meantime, go and enjoy a soak with some coffee bath products.
Autumn can be one of the most aromatic times of year. Fall flowers are in full bloom. The air develops a cool, crisp freshness. Nuts and berries form on trees, and the aromas of freshly-baked cakes, cookies, and pies permeate the kitchens of almost every house on the street. But would you ever suspect those same aromas emanating from somebody’s bathroom? Here are five seasonal soaps to bring spice and sensation to any bathroom, exclusively from Castle Baths.
Sandalwood Vanilla Natural Soap: This handmade bar of natural soap combines the woodsy aroma of Sandalwood with the sweet scent of Vanilla for a scent that is sure to delight both men and women. This bar of soap is also rich in antioxidants to help give you youthful-looking skin.
Cinnamon Almond Natural Soap: This zesty handmade bar of natural soap combines two classic scents of Autumn for a spicy, fresh-out-of-the-oven scent in your bath or shower. Aromatherapy studies have also shown the scent of Cinnamon to be mentally stimulating.
Dead Sea Mud “Bon Bon” Soap Cookies: These single-use, bath-bomb-like soap cookies will fizzle upon contact with water for a gentle massaging and exfoliating bathing experience. They also are handcrafted to resemble eyes, making them a great decoration or gift idea for Halloween.
Frankincense Myrrh Natural Soap: this festive, handmade bar of natural soap has a warm, spicy aroma that is perfect for holidays.
Ginger Clove and Cinnamon Holiday Pie Natural Soap: this handmade bar of natural soap not only captures the aroma of a freshly-baked holiday pie, it actually looks like one too! It is patterned and decorated in the shape of a pie slice, making it the perfect holiday decoration for any bathroom. It is also a fully-functional bar of natural soap, so you can use it in your bath or shower.
Autumn, while aromatic, can also be quite cold some days, so do yourself a favor and warm up with a long soak in the tub and one of these fall-scented natural soaps. Also, be sure to check back next week for more information on natural bath and beauty products.
Are you tired of all your soaps coming in a standard rectangle that can easily slip out of your hand during a bath or shower? If so, you may be interested to know that Castle Baths has begun transitioning its Classic line natural soaps to unique, decorative flower molds. We currently have three patterned soaps available for purchase. They are the Bathsheba Rose Soap, the Prayer Sunflower Soap, and the Passion Daisy Soap.
Each of these new soap forms is designed to fit comfortably in your hand, and hopefully will reduce the likelihood of slips while in use.
Eventually, Castle Baths will transition its four remaining Classic scents, Sweet Communion, Sweet Dreams, Restoration, and Jubilee, to decorative shapes as well, though the shape each will take is not definitive yet.
Though the shape of our soaps is in transition, our scents are and always shall remain the same. Our Bathsheba Rose Soap is still made with the essential oil of Rosewood and pure rose absolute. Likewise, our Prayer and Passion patterned soaps still contain their original scents.
The Bathsheba aromatherapy blend is designed to inspire a romantic mood. Prayer is intended to help people reach a meditative, reflective state of mind, and Passion is said to have an aphrodisiac effect on mood, bringing out feelings of confidence and sexuality.
Questions or comments may be posted in the comment section below, or you can contact Castle Baths directly by e-mailing castlebaths@gmail.com.
Handcrafted, natural soap, while possessing numerous benefits over the standard, mass-produced commercial bars you see in stores, is not a new trend. In fact, natural soap predates its commercial competition by hundreds of years. Before the days of mass-market retailers, people made soap entirely from natural ingredients in the comfort of their homes, using nothing more than a few cooking utensils. So how did they do it?
The short answer is: lye, fats, and oils. These are the three principal ingredients in the traditional, historic soap making process. Lye is the common name for the chemical Sodium Hydroxide. Sodium Hydroxide is an extremely alkaline solid substance that, when added to water, liquefies and becomes very hot (its temperature can reach up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.) Sodium Hydroxide used to be a common household chemical and was readily available in stores throughout the early 20th century. These days, obtaining 100% pure lye can be difficult, as few vendors sell it. The chemical reaction that occurred when the solid lye was added to water was the first step in the traditional soap making process your grandparents may have used.
Once the lye had been liquefied, it would be left to cool down while your grandparents turned their attention to the fats and oils. Typically beef fat, called tallow, or port fat, called lard, would be used. If tallow was used, the resulting soap would have a brown color. If lard, white, and if oils, off-white or yellow. In order to have 100% vegan soap, Castle Baths uses vegetable oils in lieu of animal fat. These fats or oils would have to be heated on the stove or over a fire to melt them into a liquid form. Once the fats or oils had reached a liquid state and the lye had cooled to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit, your grandmother or grandfather would pour the liquid lye solution into the pot containing the liquefied fats or oils and watch the resulting chemical reaction.
The chemical reaction that occurs once these two solutions are combined is referred to as saponification, the process of becoming soap. A byproduct of this process is natural glycerin, which is what gives natural soap its moisturizing abilities. The soap solution would be stirred and beaten until it began to solidify, at which point it would be poured into a mold or cut into one or more bars. After cutting or pouring the soap solution into its final shape, your grandparents would likely have stored for about four weeks while the remaining water evaporated and the lye returned to its inert state.
These handmade bars of soap were used for everything in the olden days – from hand-washing to dishwashing to scrubbing stains out of laundry. If you’re thinking about trying to produce your own natural soap, be advised that the information provided here regarding the historic soap making process is not a complete step-by-step guide, and there are important safety precautions you should research before attempting to make your own soap. There are also other methods for producing handmade soap you may wish to try. Be sure to check back next week, as we will undoubtedly have more bath and beauty information to share.
You’ve been to the beauty products section of the store, you know that there are dozens of choices for your skin care. Most of these have harsh chemicals that can actually reduce your skin’s beauty and elasticity, making you look older, rather than younger. We use only natural ingredients to detoxify your skin, lock in moisture, and rejuvenate your face and body in the process.
Why pay almost $15.00 for each of these soaps, when you can save on all 3 with the Tre’Yours Natural Soap Trio?
Natural Spa Soap- Beauty in a Box!
Enjoy three of our Spa favorites in one box! Tre’Yours Natural Spa Soaps for beautiful skin!
Daily Renewal Face & Body Bar is for dry, damaged, and mature skin; it is low lather and has extra moisturizing properties.
Mango Butter for repair and reconditioning of the face
Certified Organic Shea Butter reduces blemishes and scars while moisturizing
Certified Organic Hemp Seed Oil and Hemp Seed Butter are natural emollients and rich in Vitamin E
Essential oil of Rose nourishes and hydrates the skin while balancing pH
This Face Soap Bar can be used to cleanse your face, and moisturize it all in one step! Our Face Soap is 80% Moisturizing Oils from Cream. Dry, damaged, and aging skin that has been the result of exposure to extreme temperatures and UV radiation can be repaired with daily use. Click here to learn more!
Dead Sea Black Mineral Mud Facial Bar – with EO of Ginger
Dead Sea Black Mineral Mud Facial Bar- with EO of Ginger is great for daily use for oily and sensitive skin- It’s also wonderful for once a week dry, damaged, aged skin that could benefit from the minerals of the Dead Sea. Please only wash face weekly with this bar if you have aged, damaged, and or dry skin.
The Perfect Face Bar! Our NATURAL Dead Sea Mud Soap Contains:
Lasts the average buyer a full year
Formulated to detox, de-grease and feed skin for youthful glowing results.
Largest percentage of actual Dead Sea Mud you’ll probably ever find in a mud bar!
Removes even the toughest oil based cream make-ups (even clown make-up) in one application.
Pink Grapefruit: Astringent for oily skin and hair.
Ginger: Reduces inflammation and increases circulation
Bergamot: Relaxing and refreshing, uplifting, and reduces tension.
Clove: Antibacterial and anti fungal to give your face a true clean
Detoxifies pores for deep cleansing and helps acne prone skin!
Helps even out the complexion for oily skin, acne sensitive and/or redness
Even though this bar is made to detox pores from oil and is wonderful for acne, it’s made with just the right percent of Certified Organic Macadamia Nut Oil to soften and mositurize even the driest skin to include cracked skin! Click here to learn more!
Cellu Body Bar – with Coffee for circulation
Cellu Body Bar – with Coffee for circulation is an all time favorite natural soap bar of both men and woman- made with cocoa butter and coffee butter- to really help skin and senses.
Enhance the appearance of your legs
Helps with the appearance of cellulite, reduces swelling and increases circulation, especially in the legs.
Delicately scrubs away dirt and environmental pollutants
Rich in Coffee Butter, Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter, and Hemp Butter
Contains fresh ground Java Coffee Bean for a natural exfoliation
Castle Baths is a different kind of retailer than other spa and bath product shops. We not only apply our Christian tenets to the products themselves, but also in our customer service approach. We feel that God is in all we do, and so we do what we can to be as gentle to the earth, our bodies, our customers, and our community, in a spirit of service.
All Natural Products
Our products are created with all natural, organic ingredients in order to eliminate one source of man-made chemicals that pollute the earth and our bodies on a daily basis. Our entire spa bath line are:
Natural, pure
Made to order, as fresh as possible
Vegan (except 3 goats milk soap bars)
Handmade (no machines or factories)
Shipped daily for shelf life
Never tested on animals
Created with Certified Organic and Wild Crafted Ingredients
Made with you in mind
Castle Baths offers a full line of Beauty Products, top spa products and therapeutic bath products, along with one of a kind spa gift baskets and designer natural pet products. We offer Pampering Beauty and lots of Hope to our customers!
Helping People through Service
Effective January 1, 2011: We wish to give back some of our profits to our charitable causes.
We feel that the bank doesn’t need to hold money that people in need could use! This has brought us to the decision of donating to those in need.
Castle Baths Charities:
We receive lots (I mean LOTS) of request for charitable donations and giveaways….we really have to have them budgeted before we can help- if you have a charity of importance let us know and we can add it to our list to be reviewed.
Castle Baths gives back a bare minimum of 10% of our time, talents and tithe. Our staff is also given a full day each quarter Paid to offer their support within the community. For example: Racheal walks and donates her time to speak with neighbors and groups to collect donations for the troops each month, while Castle Baths pays for the postage and supplies needed to ship the items to the Soldiers. Here’s a note from one of our Support Our Troops groups:-)
Animal Rescue – Animals need love, shelter and food- not a death sentence!
Save the Bay -Chesapeake Bay Foundation – this is where we live. We hope you’ll care enough to help a cause where you live. We help clean the bay up annually with this one.
Support Our Troops -Donated Items welcomed to send to our troops overseas- We ship monthly to our solider’s. Email Racheal Brennan for how you can help or call us 757-813-7891
MS Society – Owner, Laura Thomas was diagnosed with MS in January of 2009, what was once a walk to help has now become a part of Laura’s Life- literally:-) Go here to support! MS WALK RACHEAL for mom and others.
You have a choice in Bath and Spa Products
We know that you have a choice in where you buy your bath and spa products – we want to provide you with a guilt free, charitable option that you can be proud of and tell your friends about. Help us to make a difference by donating to a charity while you get your all natural, bath, spa, and beauty products from us!
Spa products and spa gift baskets for men are a growing trend in the natural bath and body industry, as more and more men come to realize the value of a good moisturizing and skin care routine. To meet this growing demand, Castle Baths has singled out numerous products likely to appeal to men, and particularly so, to dads. You can view them all on our gifts for dad page. (Be sure to check out our Bay Rum Soap, which has been very popular among men who remember it as the scent of classic downtown barber shops.)
We’re also offering two special deals available until Father’s Day (June 16.) Our Dead Sea Anti-Aging Spa Gift Basket is on sale at 30% off our regular price, and we’re offering FREE guest-size bars of our Dead Sea Salt Soap with all purchases over $25.
