Ok folks, we need a little help naming our new little one. So, to give you some motivation to help us out we’re giving away (2) $25 gift cards to SALUS  just for sending us your name ideas!

What we are looking for: Boy names. Not too common (John, Michael, Matthew…) and not too “out there”. Something a little different and unique is great!

HOW TO WIN: Just leave us as many name ideas as you can think of and we’ll enter you in for one of our two $25 gift cards to SALUS! That’s it!

ALSO when you refer your friends to this contest we’ll enter you in twice for the drawing!! Just have them leave a comment that you refered them (Twitter usernames are the best way). Its that easy!

Start sending in your suggestions NOW and let others know about our contest as we need to name our little guy SOON!

Contest ends January 9, 2009. Winners will be announced shortly after by a random drawing of all entries.

Thank you for your help and Good Luck!

I recently sampled soap nuts. They are nuts or berries that naturally contain saponin – a soapy cleansing agent. Many people use them as a natural laundry detergent. So, when I got my hands on a laundry size load of soap nuts (4-5 nuts) I tried them out on my children’s clothing for the “real” test!

Soap Nuts

First, I have to mention, soap nuts if they truly work are a more economical, and definitely more environmentally sound way of cleaning laundry. It only takes a small handful of these nuts to clean your laundry, PLUS you can reuse them up to 5 times before discarding the nuts in your compost pile. You can’t get much more environmentally friendly than that!

You can also boil the nuts in water to extract the saponin and make a multi-purpose liquid soap for use as shampoo, hand soap, dish soap, or to clean fruits and veggies.

Sounds like a dream come true? Well, like I said, I put the soap nuts to the “real” test by testing out a load of children’s laundry… and here are the results. To wash your clothes with soap nuts, you first put 4-5 nuts in a muslin bag and is best used with warm water. Included in the laundry were some towels, white pants (with dirt on the knees), underware, t-shirts and pants, and 1 reuseable pull up diaper.

The clothes came out smelling fresh. You can add a few drops of essential oil (or fragrance oil) to the soap nuts to lightly scent your laundry. I just put them in unscented and the laundry smelled just fine. Even the reuseable pull up diaper smelled OK. Clean: Most of the clothes and all of the towels came out looking and smelling clean. Only 2 shirts and the white pants still had stains but I can’t say for certain if the stains were old or new.

I’m still a little skeptical about the cleansing power of the soap nuts. After all, if you put clothes in the washing machine with no soap (or soap nuts) at all, you will still get clean-appearing clothes from just the washing action alone. However, I do think it’s definitely worth a second shot and worth having a stash on hand for mildly soiled clothes. I’ve read where others have added a little bleach to the washing machine to get their whites extra white; and added vinegar to get out tough smells. And, if it helps to keep harmful chemicals out of my household, I am a fan!!

All for all, I give the soap nuts a thumbs up… with the exception that I’ll still keep some stain remover around for the tough stains that children always seem to come up with!

Carolyn G.

You are the winner in our $50 Gift Card Giveaway for the 24 Days of Christmas Savings!

Congratulations! You will be sent an email with confirmation.

Everyone who left a comment, thank you for playing! Look in your email inbox for a special offer!

Each day this month from Dec 1 – 24 we will post a new special, good for that day only! Check our website each day to see what great deal we have in store for you!

To kick off our promotion we are having a contest to win a $50 Gift Card, good for online or in-store purchases! Today through December 9th (until midnight MST) post a comment on your favorite SALUS products or what you would like to buy from SALUS if you win the $50 gift card.

Here’s the details:

1. Browse our website SALUS, find your favorite products then come back to this blog entry to post your comments about which products you love or would love to try.
2. For an extra entry, follow me @Salus on Twitter (www.twitter.com/salus). Be sure to post a comment that you are following me for your extra entry to count.
3. Tweet about our Christmas Promotion on Twitter with a link to our website, and use hashtag #salus in your tweet. Be sure to post a comment on our blog to let me know you spread the word for another entry. Look here for an example: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23salus. Each tweet earns you an extra entry for the gift card – limited to 10 entries via this method each day.
4. Join the group SALUS on Facebook, and leave a comment in the group about what you would like to buy at SALUS if you won the gift card. 
5. If you are new to SALUS and are not on our e-newsletter yet, sign up at SALUS or send me an email at elissa@shopsalus.com for a bonus entry!

That’s 5 ways to win folks!! Good luck!

Everyone,

We have had such a great time this year, and as a big thank you we are celebrating our second Christmas here at SALUS with 24 Days of Christmas Savings and presents for YOU! Each day we have great offers, deals and giveaways. See a sneak peak of these deals below! These are NOT in order!! Each day will be a new special, good for that day only, so check our website often.

Come on down to SALUS in Manitou Springs, or shop with us online this month. Have fun while scoring some great deals on your favorite premium bath and body care products!

• Free BAR of SOAP with $15 purchase
• Free ground shipping on ALL internet orders PLUS 50% off Cheerful essential oil!
• 20% off accessories (brushes, sponges, lava rocks…)
• Free bath bomb with ANY purchase PLUS 50% off Cheerful essential oil!
• Win a $50 store gift card
• 10% off pre-made baskets
• 25% off anything Christmas related, product set tbd
• 20% off all candles
• 15% off candles & 10% off reed diffusers & 10% off fragrance oils
• 20 Free Muscle Relief Gel (MRG). Receive a free MRG for putting your Video about MRG up on YouTube
• Buy 2 get 1 FREE SALUS SOAPS
• 15% off lotions and creams
• 50% off remaining clearance
• (20) $15 SALUS gift cards. Receive a $15 SALUS gift card for putting your Video about your favorite SALUS products up on YouTube. Limit one per person
• Free MRG with $25 purchase PLUS Free BAR of SOAP for purchases over $100
• 50% off Cheerful essential oil! Beat those holiday blues
• 15% off two items of your choice
• Free MRG with $25 purchase
• Free bar of soap with ANY purchase over $10
• Win a $50 store gift card
• Free MRG with $25 purchase PLUS Free bar of soap with ANY additional purchase over $25 (total of $50)
• 20% off liquid soaps
• Free Bath Bomb with ANY purchase
• 10% off sea salts PLUS Free lava rock with $15 purchase

Remember, these are NOT in order!! You will have to check our website each day to view that day’s special! 

Enjoy these special savings PLUS more in-store deals as our gift to YOU this Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas, and THANK YOU for being our customer!
~ Elissa Klaver
SALUS 

 

Starting in November, I will begin teaching basic soapmaking classes. I’ll have two classes to choose from: 1) basic cold-process soap making (like our Organic Artisan Soaps) and 2) Fun with Melt and Pour soap.

In our cold process class you will learn to make soap using organic vegetable oils, essential oils, botanicals, lye and water.  This is a basic class, affordable for all, to learn the process of making soap. Included in the cost of the class, you will get to pick out two of our Organic Artisan Soaps, take home detailed instructions, and equipment and ingredient lists. You will also have the opportunity to purchase our organic oils, essential oils, botanicals, lye, molds, and more at true wholesale prices. 

We will be offering more advanced soapmaking classes as well as one-on-one consulting starting in January 2009.

In our Fun with Melt & Pour soaps class you will learn the basics in melt and pour soapmaking: coloring, scenting, making “chunk” soap, and soap painting. This class is perfect for making personalized Christmas gifts this year! You will make 3-4 soaps in this class, receive detailed instructions, equipment and ingredient lists. You will also have the opportunity to purchase our natural melt and pour base*, essential oils, botanicals, molds, and more at true wholesale prices. 
 
*Our melt and pour soap does NOT contain sulfates, propylene glycol, alcohol, detergents, or other harmful chemicals.

The class schedule will be posted by November 1st! Check the classes page for details and sign up.

Being a mom, entreprenuer, business owner, and inventor I have the opportunity to meet lots of great people doing the things they love and living their dream. It’s inspirational and motivating to meet like-minded folks. I use each experience to learn more about that person, their business, invention, or dream to discover how I can be more successful in my own endeavors.

Though I find myself constantly busy wearing my multitude of hats, I am happier than ever before in my life, and the direction we are moving. Once upon a time, not too long ago, my husband was an uber-corporate project manager, who knew his stuff, and knew it well. The problem? He was WAY too smart and motivated to live out his life working for a big company and meeting their bottom lines.

That is when we decided to make the big step towards living our life for ourselves. After several years of developing our business idea and strategy, my husband quit his job to make this business a reality. Sure it was scary. We just had our second baby and we knew if we failed things wouldn’t be pretty. But, we also knew, if we didn’t TRY, it would loom over our heads our entire life. It’s a risk we had to take.

2 years ago to the day, we took this step, this risk, this chance, to live our lives for ourselves. We’ve had our ups, downs and bumps along the way, and I’m sure there will be more. But, would I do it all over again if I had the chance? You better believe it! In fact, I wish we had done it sooner.

If you are reading this post you are likely familiar with our main business SALUS, but did you know we are also working on several other businesses including Muscle Relief Gel, Elissa Leigh purses (in progress), and are entering inventor’s shows for our patent-pending invention?

I am hoping this post will give inspiration and motivation to others not sure if they should take a chance and go after their own dreams. Remember, you may fail. Lord knows we failed at previous business ideas. But, what if you don’t? What if a failed attempt only leads you to a successful one?

Here’s some links and resources you may find helpful:

StartUp Story Radio

DaVinci Institute

Integrated Alliances

Drink a little. Save a little. What better way to make soap than with your favorite wine? Last night I made two batches of wine soap and can’t wait to try it out! It will be available for purchase at http://www.shopsalus.com in about two weeks!

We’ve been churning out our SALUS Organic Artisan Soaps like crazy here at our studio. Starting tomorrow we will have Lemongrass & Poppy Seed, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, Patchouli, and Cheerful scented Organic soaps. Coming soon: Wine Soap, Creme Brulee & Cinnamon, Peppermint & Tea Tree, and so many more! Send us your suggestions! If we pick your soap, we’ll send you a FREE bar!

Moisture Fizz is the name of my new bath bombs! They fizz up very well and leave your skin feeling so silky soft. Here’s a rundown of current and coming soon scents.

Current Scents:

• Lavender
• Lilac
• Peach
• Love in the Tub (tropical)
• Oatmeal, Milk & Honey
• Exotic Grapefruit
• Eucalyptus Spearmint
• Sandalwood
• Rose Petals
• Sweet Orange
• China Rain

 

Coming Soon:

• Patchouli
• Cheerful – a citrus blend of Essential Oils
• Green Tea
• Jasmine
• Bergamot
• Kid’s Surprise Fizz
• Lover’s Surprise Fizz
• …. and oh so many more!

Suggestions Welcome!

Until recently I had been purchasing bath fizzies from another company, but I wasn’t all that impressed. I wasn’t impressed with their prices, their ingredients, and the way it felt in the tub. I had been trying to make my own for the last year off and on, but none of the recipes I found online worked. I even considered buying a $600 “bath bomb maker” just to get it right but stumbled across a company that showed me how to make the perfect moisturizing bath fizzy, and tailor it to be my own recipe. My bath fizzies not only fizz, they are very moisturizing (and without having to clean out the tub)! And, I sell them at a reasonable price for wholesale and retail (in pretty much any scent imaginable!). They aren’t up on the website yet, as I am building our inventory as we speak! Hooray for bath time luxuries!