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!!

3rd Annual Mama's Handmade Holiday Marketplace this Saturday from 11 to 5!

This Saturday, December 10th, Mama is opening up her doors to some of her favorite crafty friends for a fabulous Handmade Holiday Market! Lots of gifts to choose from, such as handcrafted jewelry and accessories, handmade belt buckles, beautiful baby goods, hand-blended teas, hip housewares, treats for your hounds, and of course, lots of bath and body products! Join us from 11 to 5 and shop some of Atlanta's best designers and artists - just in time to finish up your holiday shopping!


When: Saturday, December 10th from 11 to 5
Where: Mama Bath + Body • 743D East College Ave • Decatur, GA 30030 (behind the Cookie Studio)
What: 3rd Annual Mama's Handmade Holiday Marketplace
Find us: loveyourmama.com or call 404.377.7800

Who:
Cameoko Jewelry - http://cameoko.carbonmade.com/
Christina Kober - http://www.christinakoberdesigns.com
Jessica Swift - http://www.jessicagonachaswift.com
June Shin - http://www.juneshin.com
Just Add Honey - http://www.justaddhoney.net
Mama Bath + Body - http://www.loveyourmama.com
Orangeberry Baby - http://www.orangeberrybaby.com/
Princess and Butch - http://www.princessandbutch.com
Taj Ma Hound - http://www.tajmahound.com

Click here for more information: http://loveyourmama.com/mhhm2011.html

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

To honor this important month of remembrance and awareness, Mama
has created a special soap to benefit the Dragon Dream Team of Akron, Ohio. 50% of 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 watched them compete in Ontario a couple of years ago against other breast cancer survivor 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 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. If you would like to support the team, click here to buy a bar of the Dragon Dream team soap. 50% of each bar goes directly to the team.



To learn more about the Dragon Dream Team of Ohio, click here.

Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics

I have started probably 50 blog posts on this topic, intending to do a series on why natural products are better for you, and how to tell the difference with all of the false marketing out there. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time for writing these days. A friend sent this to me, which pretty much says it all:
http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/

The Beehive - Grand opening party tonight!

Mama's home away from home has moved to fabulous new digs and the store is officially opening tonight! The Beehive (formerly Beehive Co-op) is under new ownership and just moved to the Edgewood Shopping Center in Little 5 Points. Don't miss the grand opening party tonight from 6 to 10!

Valentine's Day at Mama!

The Mama Shop is all about love right now.



Loving the felted roses (stage right) that were formerly wool sweaters - made by my friend and former studio mate Felted Heart. We have some other great gifts for your sweetie too at a variety of price points.



Loving our V-day themed soaps: Chocolate Bar and My Flower. Both are 100% natural, so it was a challenge coming up with a chocolate scent. The combo of cocoa butter and cocoa powder won. Chocolate Bar smells like a brownie and My Flower is rose geranium essential oil. It's a really lovely rose scent - no Granny perfume here.



Also loving my flowering Quince branches. A much needed little bit of spring. I have a hookup, so let me know if you want some of your very own!

We were a little late with our Valentine's Day offerings this year, so I'm not going to have time to photograph and get them up on the website. If you're interested in ordering any of the chocolate or rose scents, shoot me an email: mama@loveyourmama.com or call the shop: 404.377.7800. Still plenty of time to ship before the big day!

The Story of Mama

I've been putting myself "out there" more and more over the last year and have consequently been fielding lots of questions relating to the origin of my company. I've had this company in some form or another for over 8 years now, so Mama has a long and varied history with many components that make up the whole. I get a lot of questions about how I started, which I think is great. Authenticity is a big buzzword these days, so I suppose it's only natural that people would want to know how I got started in the business making natural products. I am an authentic person, and it's hard to stand out in the midst of so much unauthentic marketing, so I really try to give them the goods.



I always thought that the seed for Mama was sown on a fateful late night sitting in the Los Angeles airport, waiting to board a red eye to Atlanta to produce a music video that was giving me hives. I was on a career path that had made me miserable. I looked around at a lot of happy people (this was in early 2001, when travel used to be a happy occasion) and wondered what they did in life. And then I thought "body products make me happy. Maybe I could make them." And thus began the long journey that landed where I am today. I thought that was the beginning of my story. But then I remembered another layer.



This other layer is not quite as romantic as the "I hated my life so I made a new one" story. Yes, that is part of my story, and it's a common thread that keeps popping up in the bios of many an entrepreneur, because it's a concept appeals to a whole lot of people these days. But if I really think about it, another part of Mama's story happened prior to my airport epiphany and involves a failed attempt at multi-level marketing. It was not my first. There have been many failed efforts in general and my first (of two) multi-level marketing attempts was in college, when I decided that I should sell knives. I think I maybe sold a set to my parents and grandparents - didn't even cover the cost of my demo set. But I can still cut a penny with scissors.



So the next time around, I was a freelancer in the film industry in Los Angeles. I was admittedly not a master networker, and there were only so many jobs available to a larger work pool, so I didn't feel like I had much control over my career. I was a hard worker and I was tired of not having enough opportunities (read: money.) So I was always keeping an ear to the ground for other ways to line my wallet. A friend and film ex-pat came to me with an "exciting new opportunity" which shortly revealed itself to be a multi-level company that sold "natural" cleaning and body products. (I say "natural" because I'm not really sure that they actually were.) It's funny, because I had recently completed work on a film that had an entire part of the script dedicated to poking fun at multi-level product companies. To top this off, at the time I was working for the writer of said script. (he was lovely, but not a proponent of multi-level marketing). I knew that this type of selling hadn't worked for me in the past, and that most of my friends would probably give me hell, but that shows you how badly I was looking for new opportunities (read: money.) So I signed up. Predictably, I sucked at it. I don't think I even sold enough to cover my demo set. To let you know where my head was, when my friend initially showed me the company's catalog (no website - remember people, this was pre-21st Century) I didn't understand what it was and I started pitching her ideas that I had for redesigning their packaging. I was obviously missing the concept. She looked at me like I had a third eye.



But here's the thing that I got out all of this: I learned about the existence of natural products. This company's specialty was cleaning products that came in concentrated form and you added water. Truthfully, the products (and the packaging) weren't memorable. The only thing I really remember is that they lasted a long time and I couldn't keep up with the monthly required minimum purchase because I had a tiny apartment that I rarely cleaned. But I do distinctly remember going to the orientation where they were talking about the cleaning products aisle at grocery stores. Lots of expounding on the chemicals that most of these products contained, and explanations of why they were bad for our environment, our home, our water, etc. This information is in the forefront now, but remember, this was over a decade ago. They told us to take a trip down the cleaning product section of the grocery store aisle and notice the smell. That the smell is called "seepage" and it occurs because the plastic can't contain the chemicals it holds. Their instructions were to go home, gather up all of our chemical laden cleaning supplies, put them in a box and set them out at the curb. This was, not so obviously at the time, to make way for the starter kit of their cleaning supplies that was on it's way, but I bought into it and I did it. And let me tell you, I have never used another bottle of Pledge or Windex again. And I still can't stand to walk down the cleaning products aisle of any grocery store. The point is, this is a very important part of my story, because if not for this experience, none of this information would have even been in my consciousness. I was passionate about the message, but I couldn't sell the company because I didn't believe in it. I have worked so hard to make Mama a company whose products I do believe in, and I can vouch for them because I make them myself. This year, I plan to write more about all of this and natural products in general. I hope that you'll enjoy the journey with me.