soapmaking changes + spring musing........

happy spring everyone + we had such a long winter, with lots of fabulous wintertime activities. however its nice to welcome the sunshine and daylight back.  there has been so much loveliness going on at simply josephine, i wanted to share.  the soap scene is changing, i no longer want to be a part of palm oil consumption.  have you heard about that? if not i suggest you read this article on palm oil. palm oil does in fact make an incredibly luscious bar that lathers well, but it must go.  i have found a local source for buffalo tallow, and that is what i am replacing it with.  the buffalo on this ranch have a lot of room to roam, and they are well taken care of, plus its shopping local (5 miles away). i did also purchase some beef tallow off of etsy, i like it too. anyway its taken some getting use to, but i'm getting the hang of tallow soapmaking.

carrot cinnamon beef tallow bars, so in love with these bars. very gentle perfect for washing your face.

these bars are now available at simplyjosephine.com and my etsy shop  i have also been infusing conifer loveliness to combine with poppy seeds for a pine poppy seed buffalo tallow soap

essential oils are also something i want to move away from.  there really isn't any comparison to plant infused oils, obtaining all the plant medicine through solar infusion. they are so gentle, and that is what i am about lately.  i know many will disagree but to me essential oils are not what they are all cracked up to be, in fact the can be very dangerous. so i have been wildcrafting medicine, and infusing everything in olive oil.  the inspiration i feel is incredible, i can't wait for dandelions + roses + lilacs + st johns wort + yarrow + comfrey + lemon balm.  its been winter so i've been all about the conifers

all of my infused oils have gone through at least one lunar cycle, maybe even two or three. before they are stained off, and made into soap or salve. subalpine fir is my favorite.

tree saps and resins also make it into the infusion. speaking of resin, its been a wonderful time picking cottonwood buds.  balm of gilead.

i really like to let this oil infuse a long time.  pure goodness it is, here is a past blogpost about my cottonwood bud salve. i also have really been into the dandelion roots, as i've been working in the garden.  you must eat your weeds, its so wonderful.  its true, the more wild food you eat the more wild thoughts you have.  sounds good to me.

i've been making dandelion root vinegars, here is a past post about that tonics.  along with cooking and eating the roots. drying the roots, and infusing them in red wine.......delicious.

i'm very excited about the changing of the seasons, as we move into spring i look forward to it with all my heart. miss josephine herself and i have been planting away, in our happy little shed.  

thank you so much for taking the time to read this and connect.  hopefully i have inspired you to get in touch with your local weeds. herbal medicine is peoples medicine. happy happy spring....namaste