Shea Sassy - Holistic Rose Soap

With all these nasty Covid viruses hovering, we’ve been told endlessly to wash our hands. Which is why the simple soap has now become our new best friend at The Amazing Blog. it’s always been our preferred way to cleanse as we like natural soaps that are kind to both hands and face. So, the newly launched artisan soap brand Shea Sassy piqued our interest.

Based in the picturesque Esk Valley, Shea Sassy was founded by Emily Hodgson – who wanted to create natural soap products that would be both good for skin and the environment. The company provides a wide range of handmade artisan soaps with natural fragrances. Every soap bar is lovingly made in her studio using only the finest natural ingredients.  Shea Sassy focuses on producing cruelty-free, eco-friendly products in plastic-free sustainable packaging. They are also cold-pressed, handmade, vegan and HSCG (Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild) certified. All soaps contain the key ingredient of unrefined shea butter, which is known for its healing and restorative properties. 

They kindly send us this Holistic Rose Soap, a handmade soap that comes in a simple white cardboard sleeve, it's creamy in colour and embellished with small dried rosebuds. It has a soothing and subtle rose scent, and is made with a combination of parma rosa, rose geranium and ylang ylang essential oils. The soap is made using a cold-pressing method, which takes up to 6 weeks for full saponification. Shea Sassy uses sodium cocoate, naturally derived from coconut oil and known primarily for its cleansing abilities. There is also sodium palmate, extracted from palm oil and working as an emulsifying agent which works wonders eliminating germs and dirt. There are also extracts from olive oil, shea butter, avocado and castor oil that are all blended together to help leave the skin clean, soft and deeply hydrated. The rose element here includes rosa damascene flowers and rose geranium oil which help to fight bacteria and reduce anxiety and stress.  We used this soap not only as a gentle face wash for the morning, but also for hand-washing during the day. It has the perfect balance to cleanses and hydrates the skin (and we couldn’t get enough of it). To get your individual Holistic Rose Soap bar here for only £7.00, and you can also purchase it as part of a set (which includes an Egyptian cotton flannel and mahogany soap dish) here for £20.00.

Soapology - Hair Conditioner Bar

With the world as it is, we’re all now looking for more sustainable ways of living, and a question we keep being asked is: Where do we start? A good starting point is to find environmentally friendly personal products, such as skin and hair care. Today at The Amazing Blog we want to introduce you to greener alternatives for your hair care with a Hair Conditioner Bar by Soapology.

Based in Nottingham, Emma Grosse started her company Soapology in 2011, after making natural body scrubs and skincare for friends and family; as they told her that these products were much better than the options found in-store! This was the turning point when Grosse decided to produce commercially and said: “Any product we buy in liquid form such as a shower gel, shampoo or conditioner can be made in a solid version and is much more eco friendly as we are stripping the need for a watertight container which is usually a plastic bottle. Our solid Hair Conditioner Bar is great because it’s plastic-free and therefore zero waste. It’s also great for travelling.” The brand has concentrated on the production of handcrafted artisan soaps and spent months doing research and trial tests to perfect the products. Grosse’s love for the craft prompted her to open up the Soapology Studio in 2014, holding group soap-making workshops as well as one-on-one sessions. Soapology is committed to combatting homelessness and has partnered with Framework. For every ten items purchased, they donate one bar of soap to this charity which supports vulnerable and homeless people in the Nottinghamshire area. 

The Hair Conditioner Bar in 2020 has swept the board with awards, a silver for the Best Ethical Hair Product and the Best Zero Waste Product in the Global Green Beauty Awards, plus a gold at the Green Parent Natural Awards. So, we couldn’t wait to try it! We think that this should be your first step in getting rid of those plastic conditioner bottles in your bathroom. It is housed in an aluminum tin, which can be reused once the bar is finished. We recommend using this after shampooing, where you squeezing out the hair, and rub the conditioner bar directly starting at the ends and working up, letting it absorb into the hair strands, then rinsing out after a minute or more. Between uses, they suggest leaving the Conditioner Bar to dry, which can be done in their tin. We love that it contains four key natural ingredients which are cocoa butter, coconut oil, jojoba oil and castor oil. It also has a fresh scent that comes from pure essential oils of grapefruit, lime and rosemary. Here the cocoa butter (bean pods pictured above) adds moisture, volume and strength, it helps to repair damaged hair. The coconut oil helps fight against dandruff and provides moisture, shine, and softness. The jojoba oil is rich in vitamins such as vitamins B, D and E, all of which help to nourish the hair. Finally, the castor oil hydrates the scalp increases blood flow and thus stimulates new hair growth. Combining these ingredients gives the hair a deep condition and helps de-tangle (a must for us). We have fallen in love with this Conditioner Bar with its simple ingredients, high performance and zero-waste green credentials. It’s another one of our #amazingfinds. It is good value and lasted for us approximately 6-8 washes (with very long curly hair). You can purchase the 50g Hair Conditioner Bar here for only £8.