The Beginning

I'm an optimist by nature.  I'm the youngest of 5 girls and every bit the clown, the free spirited, let everyone take care of me girl.  Somewhere along the line though I got a some kind of mojo with making my own lotions and such.

I think it all started with my husband, he got me to thinking about the world we live in, the food we eat (GMO's anyone) and that led me to thinking about the things I put on my body and such and before I knew it I was thinking about gardens, deoderant, shampoo, tinctures, chapstick, herbs, and everything in between, including soap!  So it has been a process of about two years in the making I think.  I used to buy lotion from a girl I knew from church, it was AWESOME and I was happy to let her make it and deal with the process.  But again, somewhere along the line that stopped and I started to yearn for that homemade lotion again.  I started looking for a recipe, and since I know NOTHING about chemistry and have absolutely no gift in that realm it became a bit of a comedy of errors.  I LOVE the process of learning a new craft and this was no exception.  I finally found a simple recipe (with no copyright I might add) and started trying it.  I had success on my first attempt and I was HOOKED...although, I admit the VERY first time I tried it I used the wrong kind of wax, wrongly assuming that bees wax and emulsifying wax were the same things! NOT!!!!  It was such a rush and I enjoyed it so much I kept making it and giving it away.

This past June I had an occasion to let others use my Lavender lotion and they wanted to buy some for themselves.  So, I started making it for family members.  I really had no idea I would start selling it to anyone, I just loved making it.  Each batch is so unique and responds so differently with the different ingredients I put into it.  I learned about what kinds of preservatives I could use with out jeopardizing the integrity of it being unofficially "organic" ~ I do use all organic ingredients but can't claim an organic label, and I started working on using some new and fun butters and scents.  I'm still working on learning how to combine different essential oils and how to blend them but so far to tell you the truth, my favorites are still the very first ones I made, Orange chocolate and just plain good old fashioned unscented.  I learned that coconut oil carries a natural SPF of 6-8 and that Neem oil smells awful to me and really woodsy to others.  I learned that you can't expect every batch to be perfect and you better darn sure write down your recipe because you WON'T remember it later.  I now keep a book.

So here I am, hoping to do something with this little fledgling business.  I want to sell at Farmers Markets (kinda scary) and I want to sell online (less scary).  I have loads of ideas and lots less time to carry them out. I am learning to be patient with myself and just tackle it one batch at a time, one bottle at a time.  Its such fun!!!  I have learned that I love to make not only lotion but my own shampoo, deodorant, chapstick/lip balm, lotion bars and a TON of other things.  I am building up my stock and am almost to the point of being able to make just about anything...Just about....

If you want to contact me to try my lotion or anything else, you can email me at lulubeansnaturals@gmail.com...