News From The Lab

We have some new things happening and some trusty old items that are returning so I am writing this quick post to let you know what's going on in the lab.  I am pleased to announce that we will be releasing some new decadent products beginning on Halloween.  Here are a few items that will be released and nicely priced:

• Dead Sea Salt Soak 
• Oatmeal, Sea Salt + Coconut Milk Soak
• Fizzy Milk Bath

Mama Bomb will also be returning to all of those who have been waiting for the weather to break, it finally has in Florida, and we are confident that shipping balms won't be a melty mess.  Yay for the cooler season... well, at least on this side of the planet.  ;)

There are a few products we've added to our Etsy shop that we've made available so go take a peek if you're interested in these things:  Our newest Drunken Pumpkin Goat Milk soap made with real pumpkin (3.5 - 4 oz bars).  We also have Wasabi green Crush On You in 5.5 oz. size, Sexy Butts small Sexy Laundry Day soaps, Fresh Linen Blue soaps at a discounted price.  Also, some items are on sale that have been discontinued or are imperfect.

That's the news for today.  More later......

xo  Joanna

Discontinuing Soaps and Updates

Hey all.


We have decided that we would like to offer a couple of new scents but need to weed out some oldies but goodies before we can.


We have the entire soap list here which lists all soaps, whether they are in stock or out and when curing ones may be due.  This list is available to you all the time if you look right under the PRODUCT BODY header on the left, you will see top links.  Home, then Soap Cure Dates.  There is also a soap picture on the right side bar that says, "What Soaps Are On The Curing Rack?"  Either of these links bring you to the same page.


As of today, we are discontinuing certain soaps:

• Thai Sticky Rice is a fave of ours and for a number of you, but it will be discontinued once the soaps that remain are sold (we have about 12 left as of today).  
• Tea Flower was discontinued. sold out.
• Blue Agave Nectar was a Limited Edition and once they are sold, we won't be returning it. (Etsy only).
• Mar Bar will be discontinued.  Fat Boy is a great replacement for Mar Bar, folks.
• Fresh Linen Everyday bars will be retired once the soaps that remain are sold.
• Pineapple Icee Everyday bars will be retired once the soaps that remain are sold.

We are considering dropping Ruby Rock Star from our entire line, but we may get some resistance.  If you love it and can't live without it, please email me.


Creme Fresh is BACK!  We apologize to all of you who have been waiting.  At the moment, we are offering it in Lemon Scone, Sexy Laundry Day and unscented - - for now.  New scents will be added soon.


Mama Bomb is coming back on November 1st and we are in the middle of preparing some awesome winter elixirs, so keep it here to find out more....


xo Joanna

boo!

Mama Bomb - POW!

I know I had the devastating news about discontinuing the whipped shea butter but I have good news on this fine morning....

We have begun to make Mama Bomb at the soap studio and it is wonderful. What? You didn't think I'd take a jar right off the top for my very own self? Pishaw! I put it on yesterday and this morning I am smoother than baby's skin.

Look at these butters:

Doesn't looking at it make you feel saved? Ahh, perhaps I look at it and start dreaming of being teeny tiny and climbing around the cocoa butter and then diving into the shea butter and then sliding right into the smoothitude of the macadamia nut butter. Oh heaven in a jar.

So whether you want to protect your skin this winter or you have a bun in the oven, Mama Bomb might help you rub out that tight, dry, itchy skin. Feel it nourish you. You know you want it.

(it's also good as a lip conditioner right before bed)

Catch it here

*

Lemon Bomb Is Green & For The Belly

We are in the current issue of Pregnancy & Newborn magazine :: The GREEN Issue!


Lemon Bomb for bellies (and super dry skin, too) ... When we get the magazine, we'll scan it for you all to see and post it up, but I couldn't keep it to myself. You know how I get with the press. Gitty is how I get!

xx Joanna

Unexpected Feedback Lately

Product Body gets feedback on products quite a bit, but in the last week, we have been getting some unusual feedback about some things our products have been up to. Who knew?

10/23/08 My sis has been using Mama Bomb on her baby son. He got "Fifth Disease" at a young age, and it turned his skin into something akin to a lizard, so we've been trying to remedy it with Mama Bomb. So far, it's worked better than anything else.
-Gena P., Studio City, CA



10/25/08 (Crush On You) Amazing product! I have spent soooooooooooo much money on Rx products, and over the counter products for the twins and never had the results I see now! The girls have so many skin and allergies it isn't even funny. I wish I would have ordered from you sooner.
-Kit D., Wellington, FL

10/28/08 - The crush on you, it's amazing! I used to have bumps on my arms from ingrown hairs and no more since I've been using it! Yay! ;o)
- Jessica P., Seattle, WA

It is always good to hear positive feedback, but it's particularly interesting to me when people tell us a new use for the products AND have it work wonders. Love that.

My Mother Tells A story That Is True And Makes Me Want To Bang My Head Against A Wall

Last week my dear daughter, Joanna, was at my house with the kids. I was showing her these new tools I bought at the hair salon store. One was a file that you use on your heels to scrape away dead and cracking skin, and the other was a heel renewing lotion that the salesperson said you apply at night and go to sleep with a pair of socks on. Joanna gave me a look that could freeze the Nile. "Mother, what do you think I sell. I sell lotions for dry skin, especially for the feet, such as Mama Bomb, Crush on You and the Ski Bomb thing (whatever it is called). These do the same thing, but much better."

I am having such a hard time understanding all the uses for Joanna's products. I am going to take a tutorial with her because I still am in the dark. I do promise I will get it one day. My granddaughter has gotten it. She will tell me which product to use for which problem. But I said to Joanna, "Your product does not say it is a heel healer." She rolled her eyes, turned and walked away muttering under her breath. Oh well.

Time For A Give-Away!

From now through Monday every comment on THIS post will be counted as an entry to win a Mama Bomb Coconut Milk Bath Soak and a Sexy Laundry Day Bath Bomb! You may enter as many times as you want, but you actually have to write something and it can't be a repeat/copy of a previous post. If we get past 100 posts, I'll throw in more. I will add a soap and a surprise gift.

Send your friends and GOOD LUCK!
I can only send the winning package to the US or to Canada due to the high costs of shipping. Sorry!

9 Best Coconut Skin Care Products - We Made The List!

About.com listed Mama Bomb Coconut Milk Bath Soak among the 9 Best Coconut Skin Care Products.  What an honor!  Listed among the very big hitters, we are the only indie company included in their head to toe top picks.  That feels good.

Dreamy Whipped Dream

Tangerine Whipped Dream- 100% Natural, Vegan 

I made some today and I felt like I was in the Chocolate Factory with Charlie.  The Dream was fluffy and light and cloud-like.  Yummy whipped mixture of shea + aloe + olive butter, coconut oil, tapioca starch and tangerine essential oil.  

Made for stretching and healing bellies.

Wish I had some when I was preggers!

All Natural Ranting (And Raving)

Photo courtesy of Product Body

The All Natural trend is a very frustrating topic for me. I own Product Body and created an all natural line of pregnant bath and body formulations with my own hands: Mama Bomb. When doing research on pregnancy products, I found that so many companies making the pregnancy skin care say "ALL NATURAL" on the front of the label but contain parabens and other toxins (look on the ingredient list in the back). How awful! I guess they are allowed to say that it is ALL NATURAL because all natural ingredients are in there. How awful to pull the wool over people's eyes, especially when they are carrying. If pregnant women want to use unnatural products it is their choice but to fool them into your product when they are specifically looking for a natural moisturizer? Shame on them! When I came out with Mama Bomb (a truly all natural body line for pregnant and new mothers) I was thanked by so many pregnant women customers of mine. A choice!!

I am not against the use of parabens. At 1% usage in some formulas, the effects are inconsequential... in fact, broad spectrum preservatives (many of which do contain parabens)
are effective against bacteria and mold that can otherwise be deadly to the
consumer! If a product has no water in it, and no water is introduced into it, there is no need for a chemical preservative. If I were to make a formula with water or aloe vera juice, a chemical preservative must be used to protect the consumer from exposure to bacteria or mold.

I am hoping that my Mama Bomb products will help convince people to educate
themselves about the pros and cons of preservatives and other chemicals.
While in some contexts (as I mentioned) preservatives are critically
important, it is wise to balance that fact with recent studies that have
found parabens can cause hormone disruption - no kidding. I ask you, does a
pregnant woman need to be any MORE hormonally disrupted? I think not!!

I am all for all natural, and I am also in favor of super fun products that aren't all natural. It is the choice of the consumer. WE make the choice for our own bodies and for our family. We should not be lied to or deceived to think we are using something we are not. That is plain trickery and I continue to get all fired up about it.

Warning About All Natural Labeling!

There are plenty of companies out there hoisting the “all natural” banner, but we urge you to pay close attention and to read the labels.

For example, fragrance oils are not natural, while essential oils are.  Also, an ingredient ending in “ben” (with the exception of Gentle Ben, though who would put that sweet bear in a body product is beyond us) is in all likelihood a paraben (ethylparaben, methylparaben etc.). The thing is, PARABENS ARE NOT NATURAL!  They have been shown to have hormone-disrupting effects (we think pregnancy does that effectively enough, thanks) as well as a few other nasty side effects that we don’t want you to have to worry about.

We know of one very prominent pregnancy product company that has the phrase “All Natural Ingredients” boldly written right on the front of their belly butter while the ingredient label lists no less than 3 chemicals including two different parabens and phenoxyethanol.  The latter is listed on the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) under toxicology with the following copy:

“Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. May cause reproductive defects. Severe eye and skin irritant.”  No, we aren’t kidding. You can read the data yourself right here:http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/PH/2-phenoxyethanol.html. And mind you, this is in a Belly Butter!

At first we scratched our heads over the “All Natural Ingredients” label and more than one person in our office got pretty pissed off over it.  So here’s what we think:  they don’t mean that ALL the ingredients are natural, but that SOME ingredients are “all natural”, as in “This product contains some all natural ingredients.”  Fabulous.  So does Mop N’ Glo, which might make your belly look really nice, but we don’t recommend rubbing it on.  Apparently there’s a fine line between lying and just misleading. Bet no one ever explained that to you in ethics class, did they?

Seriously though, we find this sort of misleading labeling disgusting.  Sadly it happens way more than you might think (we were shocked and angered ourselves).  In this case it’s particularly putrid as this company is urging you to rub something that is “harmful if absorbed through the skin” and “may cause reproductive defects” all over your pregnant belly.  Yuck.

Look – we aren’t saying that parabens or chemicals are inherently evil.  And really, we all ought to use whatever bath and body products we feel good about using.  But we all need to make informed choices. Misleading people that are trying to make smart and healthy decisions is disgusting.  Factor in the fact that the people they are misleading are pregnant women with growing bellies and it just gets worse.

So we URGE you to read labels.  Educate yourself about ingredients so that you can make smart choices that you can feel good about, both for yourself and your baby.

And remember this: every MAMA BOMB product is ALL NATURAL, and we mean EVERY INGREDIENT.  We also don’t use water or other fillers  - every ingredient has a purpose, so you aren’t paying for something who’s primary ingredient you can get from your tap.  Read our labels.  Look up the ingredients.  We promise that WE won’t ever lie to you, ever.

This is published on Mamabomb.com.