Welcome to My New Blog

Hello everyone and welcome to my first blog post! This is one of those things I’ve been thinking about for some time now, starting a blog. It’s spring here in Maine (according to the calendar) but too early yet to get out in my gardens as the dirt is literally still frozen. So, I’ll use my time to write some educational posts. But first, let me introduce myself.

My name is Jennifer Rowland, and I hail from the beautiful State of Maine. I live here on the coast in the same small town in which I grew up; population 1227, unless someone’s cat had kittens last night. We have a general store, a library, an elementary school, a couple of churches, and no traffic lights.

I’m often asked how I started my journey into the soap making world. Friends that I grew up with will tell you I preferred a carrot over a candy bar even as a kid, so I guess I’ve always been a bit of a health nut. After a career in the travel industry, I decided to go back to college where I earned a degree in nutrition. I knew that what we ate was important, but just as important is what we put on our bodies. Our skin is our largest organ, and it absorbs everything we put on it – especially in a hot shower. After reading labels of some of my favorite toiletry products (and not being able to pronounce most of them) I decided it was time to do some research.

Have you ever read the label on commercially made soap? What the heck is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Tetrasodium EDTA anyhow? After my research I knew I had to replace my old favorite soap bars with something a little healthier.

So, in 2005 I made my first batch of soap. It was nothing fancy, no colorings or additives, just five simple ingredients with lavender essential oil. It wasn’t long before I made another batch, and then another, and another…I was hooked.

At this time, my husband and I were members of the local farmers market where we sold herbs, vegetables, and baked goods. I started taking my excess soap to sell and it was a hit.

Sadly, in 2008 tragedy struck our happy home when my husband was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. As a Vietnam veteran who served two tours, he was exposed to Agent Orange on several occasions. The U.S. Government now admits that this defoliant is the cause of 15 different diseases which afflict our veterans. He was given three years to live.

I am happy to announce though, with a healthy lifestyle, a positive attitude, and possibly even his stubborn character, my husband is still alive and kicking. As the years progressed, I added more items such as body lotions, lip balms, aluminum free deodorants, and bath bombs; all of which are made from scratch. A couple of years ago I became a certified aromatherapist and added a line of aromatherapy products to my product catalog. I want to share my knowledge and have my customers be healthy too.

In future posts I will go into more detail about the soap making process and the ingredients I use. I want these posts to be helpful and educational to the consumer, so if you have any specific question or topic, you’d like to read about please send me a message. In the meantime, find us on Facebook and give us a like, and visit our website at www.earthlysudsco.com.