October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

To honor this important month of remembrance and awareness, Mama has created a couple special products to benefit the Dragon Dream Team of Akron, Ohio. Half all soap sales will go to the team. How did we come to choose them as our breast cancer charity of choice, you ask?

My Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in February of 2007. It was the most terrifying phone call of my life.



Early detection saved my Mom’s life, and the Dragon Dream Team, a group of kick-ass breast cancer survivors, lifted her spirits.

I've watched them compete in Ontario and Tennessee against other Dragon Boat teams around the country and was able to see first hand what an amazing organization it is.

The thing that moved me about all of the women is no one was there to talk about surviving what was probably the worst ordeal of their lifetime. They were there to compete and support and live.

When deciding how I wanted to contribute to this cause that is so dear to my family, I decided that because being a small business that relies so heavily on my community, that I wanted to give back on a community level. Even though I live in Atlanta and they’re in Ohio, these women are every bit a part of my community because of what they mean to my Mom.

The Dragon Dream Team soap is peppermint and rosemary, a scent combination that my Mom picked, and I think its uplifting qualities suit the team -- and its mission -- perfectly. Last year, we added a breast self exam oil called Boob Loob and this year we're debuting a hot flash cooling spray called Be Cool that will also benefit the team.  If you would like to support the team, click here to shop. 50% of each purchase of these 3 items goes directly to the team!

To learn more about the Dragon Dream Team of Ohio, click here.  Thanks so much for your support!

The Lotion Promotion!

If you've never tried our body lotions, this is a great time of year to start! From today through Saturday, March 9th, you can bag our amazing cure for winter skin for for 25% off! (discount applied automatically, no code necessary).

6 delectable scents!
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A little history: Before I started Mama in 2004, I patronized a little shop in LA that had a lotion blending bar. I was able to choose my lotion base and add the scents that I liked, and I wore this lotion every day for a few years as my moisturizer and my personal scent. The shop closed right around the time my business got going, so it was a great time to find a replacement. Unfortunately, creating a lotion from scratch takes time, so I was forced to try a lot of other lotions during the void. This ended up being a great way to really identify the important things that I wanted from a good lotion - smooth application, a good balance of butters, oils and water, a blend that was thick and moisturizing but didn't leave you feeling like you had an oil slick on your hands -- that was a BIG one for me!  And then once I started researching ingredients, I discovered how many lotions contained mostly synthetic ingredients, so the objective became to create the ideal lotion with natural ingredients. It took well over a year and a lot of mistakes to come up with the lotion we had in mind. Cut to almost 10 years later -- our lotions are still handcrafted in small batches and we haven't changed the recipe one bit!

Did You Know? In body care products, manufacturers must list ingredients in descending order -- so the list starts with the largest amount and ends with the smallest amount -- and the rule of thumb is that the first few ingredients almost always make up the majority of the formula. So if a product boasts green tea as an essential ingredient but it's toward the bottom on the list, you can be sure that there's not enough in the product to offer any real benefit.

No machines here!
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So why are our lotions so great?

First of all, we hit all the points on our lotions wish list.  Our body lotions have a thick, creamy consistency with just the right percentage of water so that they glide on smoothly but they're not at all watery. And they're uber-moisturizing, but the oils absorb quickly so you're not left with your hands sliding off your steering wheel.

Secondly, they're made by hand in small batches, which allows us to make sure the quality is consistent every time. And by our standards, handmade means you're getting a high quality product. I mean, who wants to work with second-rate materials if you're going to spend all that time creating something? Think of it as a home cooked meal vs a microwave dinner.

Thirdly, they have a shelf-life. Just as fresh food can't be kept forever, neither should a high-quality body product. We recommend using up our lotions within 9 months (zen is 6 months) of their made-on date, and we always ship within a month of making them, to ensure you get fresh product.

And last but not least, the first four ingredients of our lotions make up over 90% of the ingredients: water, olive oil, shea butter and mango butter. All of these are 100% natural and they're all skin loving ingredients. Olive oil is a wonderful moisturizer and shea and mango butters are super healing and soothing. So with the exception of a small amount (around 1%) of non-paraben synthetic preservative and a fatty alcohol compound*, the rest of our recipe is made of entirely natural ingredients - we even use 100% natural essential oils as our scents. (*This fatty alcohol compound is called emulsifying wax -- it's an essential ingredient in lotion making that ensures that the water and oil will bind together and will keep from separating during the shelf-life of the lotion.  Click here to read more about E-wax: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/emulsifying_wax.php )

Did You Know: to push a natural agenda that isn't exactly truthful, some body care companies will use a synthetic ingredient but call it "natural" because it was derived from a natural ingredient. But cocamidopropyl betaine, which is derived from coconut oil, is a synthetic ingredient that isn't even remotely the same (as far as your skin is concerned) as using 100% coconut oil. Ask questions and read up to become a savvy naturals consumer. 

Serving up lotion at our shop in Atlanta!
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And last but not least, the best thing about our body lotions is how many ways you can use them:

1. Massage onto dry cuticles. Do this regularly and you'll see quite a difference in the texture and strength of your nails!

2. Rub a small amount on your hands and use it to tame frizzy hair

3. Slather on warm skin right out of the shower for maximum moisturizing

4. On pregnant bellies to help soothe stretching skin and help minimize stretch marks (shea butter is great for this!)

5. On cracked and dry heels and hands (wear sleep socks or gloves overnight to really smooth and soften)

6. Soothe sunburned skin

7. Soften rough skin areas like knees and elbows

8. Some of you even use it on your face - even though we don't necessarily recommend it. (we love rebels!)

Have you found other uses for our lotion?  Please comment and let us know!!