We're now live!

I'm very excited to announce that our new website is now live! Designed by my daughter, CalanthaOrganics.com features all that our family intends for our company to have and feature: Purely real ingredients for the best skin care products for the most deserving people in the world: you. Hope you enjoy the site and as always, I welcome your feedback and appreciate your visit.

Part 5 | Your Basic Care Kit: Thyme, Lemon, and Clove Essential Oils

Welcome to Part 5 of the “Your Basic Care Kit” Series, a guide to Aromatherapy and some of the essential oils I incorporate into my soap recipes.


Today, I'll be discussing the essential oils of thyme, lemon, and clove.


Thyme: Its notable antiviral, antibiotic, antiseptic, and diuretic properties should be used with great care as overusing it can stimulate the thyroid gland and lymphatic system. (Like many good things, it must be used in moderation.)


Lemon: Make this the most important ingredient in your care kit! This antiseptic helps in treating insect bites and headaches; and is great at stimulating the digestive system. Lemon is a great disinfectant, too!


Clove: An antibacterial, antiseptic, and analgesic agent, clove is also good for preventing diseases and infections. It is also known to be a quick cure for toothaches and other digestive problems and muscular disorders.


I hope you enjoyed this series; I certainly liked writing it. I hope you can plenty of helpful information and thanks for visiting today! As always, I welcome all your comments.

Part 4 | Your Basic Care Kit: Geranium and Rosemary Essential Oils

Customers usually ask me, “What essential oils do you recommend?” And while I state that I’m in no way entitled to “recommend” anything, I still like to point out those oils I’ve researched to be the most commonly used and those aromatherapy practitioners rely on the most. Welcome to Part 4 of the “Your Basic Care Kit” Series, a guide to Aromatherapy and some of the essential oils I incorporate into my soap recipes.


Today, I'll be discussing Geranium and Rosemary essential oils.


Geranium: Most commonly used for bringing a radiant glow to the skin, geranium effectively treats menopausal problems, diabetes, blood disorders, throat infections, and even serves as a sedative. When we went to Seattle a couple years ago, we bought satchels full of lavender seedlings that we thought would be ideal for adding a great aroma to enclosed spaces, like cabinets and drawers. But then I began to put a few drops of lavender, valerian, and geranium essential oils on those satchels so we could put them underneath our pillows. These have been so great at helping us sleep more soundly.


Rosemary: A physical and mental stimulant, rosemary is also used in the treatment of muscular sprains, arthritis, rheumatism, depression, fatigue, memory loss, migraine, headaches, coughs, the flu, and even diabetes. And like the plant rosemary, the essential oil of rosemary is also great on food, like roasted chicken, homemade pizza sauce, and even homemade pizza sauce.


As always, I hope you learned great useful tips on aromatherapy and essential oils you can implement in your daily lives. Feel free to ask any questions, leave comments and thanks for stopping by.

Part 3 | Your Basic Care Kit: Chamomile and Eucalyptus Essential Oils

Customers usually ask me, “What essential oils do you recommend?” And while I state that I’m in no way entitled to “recommend” anything, I nevertheless like to point out those oils I’ve researched to be the most commonly used and those aromatherapy practitioners rely on the most. Welcome to Part 3 of the “Your Basic Care Kit” Series, a guide to Aromatherapy and some of the essential oils I incorporate into my soap recipes.


Today, I'll be discussing chamomile and eucalyptus essential oils.

CHAMOMILE is used in the treatment of burns, and has analgesic, diuretic, sedative, and calming properties. Its smell always reminds my grown daughter of her old baby shampoo that she loved when she was little.

EUCALYPTUS is an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibiotic, diuretic, analgesic, and deodorizing aid. It is also best known for its effectiveness at fighting coughs and colds. If you ever do visit our native Colombia, note the wonderful eucalyptus forest at the outskirts of Bogotá (the capital); they smell so exquisitely and almost seem to welcome everyone into that wonderful place.

Hope that gave you more information into the art of aromatherapy and stay tuned for more updates on other EOs. As always, thanks for stopping by and don’t hesitate in commenting or contacting me if you have questions.

Part 2 | Your Basic Care Kit: Lavender and Peppermint Essential Oils

Customers usually ask me, “What essential oils do you recommend?” And while I state that I’m in no way entitled to “recommend” anything, I nevertheless like to point out those oils I’ve researched to be the most commonly used and those aromatherapy practitioners rely on the most. Welcome to Part 2 of the “Your Basic Care Kit” Series, a guide to Aromatherapy and some of the essential oils I incorporate into my soap recipes.


Today, I’ll be featuring LAVENDER and PEPPERMINT Essential Oils (EOs):


Lavender is a natural antibiotic, antiseptic, antidepressant, sedative, and detoxifier. It promotes healing and prevents scarring, while also stimulating the immune system. My family swears by its ability to heal wounds and bumps in a matter of minutes–no harmful drugs (i.e. no side effects) necessary.


Peppermint is an excellent digestive, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic aid. It also helps the respiratory and circulation systems. It’s great at treating indigestion, flatulence, bad breath, the flu, headaches and migraines, skin irritation, toothaches, and fatigue. My wife recently experienced a near-fainting incident in the middle of a class and all it took for her to get back to normal and recover in no time was simply inhaling a vial of peppermint EO she had had prepared for another class presentation.


Hope that gave you more information into the art of aromatherapy and stay tuned for more updates on other EOs. As always, thanks for stopping by and don’t hesitate in commenting or contacting me if you have questions.

Part 1 | Your Basic Care Kit: Intro into the Art of Aromatherapy

Customers usually ask me, “What essential oils do you recommend?” And while I state that I’m in no way entitled to “recommend” anything, I nevertheless like to point out those oils I’ve researched to be the most commonly used and those aromatherapy practitioners rely on the most. Welcome to Part 1 of the “Your Basic Care Kit” Series, a guide to Aromatherapy and some of the essential oils I incorporate into my soap recipes.


Today, I’ll be giving you a brief Intro into what is known as Aromatherapy. And on subsequent “Your Basic Care Kit” Series posts, I’ll go over the most popular EOs.


What is Aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils (including EOs) and other natural ingredients (like cold-pressed vegetable oils, jojoba, herbs, clays, and muds) to promote/enhance our psychological and physical well-being.


How Long Has Aromatherapy Been Around? The foundations of Aromatherapy date back thousands of years: The Chinese may have been one of the first cultures to use aromatic plants for well-being; they would burn incense to help create harmony and balance. Later, the Egyptians used oils of cedarwood, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and myrrh to embalm the dead and for other spiritual, medicinal, fragrant and cosmetic use. The Greeks also recognized the medicinal and aromatic benefits of plants. For instance, Hippocrates (commonly called the “father of medicine”) practiced fumigations for both aromatic and medicinal benefit. Then during the 13th century, the pharmaceutical industry was born in the Roman Empire. And from then on, the industry has been flourishing into what it is today.


Aren’t EOs Just Like Perfumes? No: Perfume oils (AKA “fragrance oils,” or what collectively are referred to as “fragrance” on ingredient labels) are not the same as EOs. The former contain synthetic chemicals and do not provide the therapeutic benefits of essential oils. Also, EOs are extracted from trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, and flowers most commonly through steam distillation.


What’s the Most Basic Advantage of Using EOs Medicinally and Cosmetically? Simply put, it’s the fact that they enter and leave the body leaving NO toxins behind. EOs are gaining popularity and with good reason. Some of the products that incorporate them include body oils, lotions, hair rinses, and sprays. More over, individuals also benefit tremendously when they inhale the oil themselves (either by steam, directly from the bottle, or from a tissue).


Hope that gave you more information into the art of aromatherapy and stay tuned for more updates on other EOs. As always, thanks for stopping by and don’t hesitate in commenting or contacting me if you have questions. 

This is a good article by Britain’s Professional Beauty. In it, the author writes about market researcher Datamonitor’s latest study, which reveals that despite the near exponential growth of this industry, some consumers are still unsure of its products; they wonder whether the ingredients used by makers of natural personal-care products are truly efficacious. Most importantly, they disfavor the high prices that are very common in the industry.


So I must ask the following: Would you rather pay a low price for a toxin-full product with no quality? Or instead paying what a healthful product of very high quality is really worth?


Here’s the article: http://www.professionalbeauty.co.uk/international/belief-in-natural-ingredients-drives-natural-personal-care-products-market/5017941.article


What do you think?

Feed Healthy Skin From Within With These Beauty Foods

I agree with this site’s suggestions, though I’d also mention that it is very important to abstain from processed foods and any other chemical-full drugs. My family and I have realized that natural health is the best alternative to the damage our urban environments expose us to every day. And our modified diets (less beef, no artificial anything, no processed or canned anything, no refined anything, etc) have also helped our bodies tremendously.


http://www.parade.com/health/the-beauty-mark/2010/10/05-feed-healthy-skin-from-within.html

Funding a New Venture

Calantha Naturals will be a manufacturer and e-retailer of natural, ethically handmade, and vegetarian personal care products. The company will initially start selling sustainably made soaps at both a physical location in Park City, Utah, and online, while our actual factory will at first be located at our Salt Lake City home. But we still need to show consumers how our love for Calantha Naturals translates to wholesome products they will want. So what is a newborn company to do?

Simply put, this natural/organics industry is a HUGE one and we’re VERY excited.

Consider this:

• Retail sales of natural and organic hair care products grew by 70% during 2004-2008, from $982 million to almost $1.7 billion.

• Natural and organic color cosmetics had retail sales of $386 million in 2008.

• The skincare category was still dominant in 2008, accounting for 69% of retail dollars within the industry.

• Global retail sales of natural personal care products will continue their bullish run to nearly $40 billion in 2014.

But how do facts about your industry’s growth (like those above) come in handy when requesting funds to launch or expand your venture?

You have to let investors know that YOU know about both your potential AND your competitive arena. We know and love our competitors; without them, we’d be nowhere. But you also have to specify your company’s outlook and how it’ll impact your organization. Yes, this industry may earn $40B in the next four years, but any single co. clearly won’t be the ONLY one making all that, right? No, it’ll make only a portion of that (hopefully a sizable one!).

This is why you should not only know your potential and your competitors, but also your “ideal consumer” or target segment, who will lead you to your desired projected income. We know who our target market is (no, we won’t tell ya), but do you?

Let’s say you’d like to make and sell manly baby carriers for stay-at-home dads. So you do your research and learn the industry is expected to grow by $10B e/year (!) and you want some of that money. Now what? Well, be more specific. True, there may not be that many “manly” baby carriers out there, but they still exist.

So what now? Well, what will you have that all those other makers of manly baby carriers don’t? And be specific! See, investors want to see how you’ll take advantage of your industry’s projected growth in order to pay them back. Want to make carriers that feature a TON of pockets b/c you don’t want these men to have to take a whole diaper bag when just running a quick errand? Sounds good! And do they have these manly baby carriers in your hometown? No? Well, there’s a nice niche! So crank up that sewing machine and make a couple (or more!) to let a few potential customers try your product. (If no one tries it before you expand your co., you’ll expand a co. that makes stuff that people won’t know anything about. And if your product wasn’t that great to begin with, you wouldn’t have known b/c you didn’t let others try it and give you feedback! Know that NO amount of marketing can fix a crappy product.)

Wow, your local “quasi”-customers LOVE the added convenience these manly baby carriers gives them; they’re literally raving about them! And you hear they’re even trying to convince their ladies to start making more babies JUST to keep using them. BINGO! Don’t hesitate in telling THAT (though in more moderate terms) to investors.

So to summarize, show investors your product’s expected growth (even that in your area) and tell them specific attributes about your customers in order to make it so that your venture becomes one they WILL want to buy right then.

As always, thanks for your time. Have any Questions? Comments? You know the drill (i.e. simply leave a comment).