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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 6, Issue 26
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1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe: Bug Be Gone Stick Insect Repellent
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win some handmade soap!
4. Featured Article: The SWAT Team
5. Handmade Beauty Benefit Of The Week: Subscription to Handmade Beauty Business Magazine

Essential Wholesale: pure essential oils, over 200 cosmetic bases, hundreds of carrier/fixed oils such as meadowfoam, cranberry, jojoba and shea butter plus a new Short Run Private Labeling Program!

Bramble Berry, Inc.: over 105 different fragrance and essential oils (including their exclusive "Energy" and "Relaxing"), all soap tested, soap molds and unscented soap bases!

SunRose Aromatics: pure essential oils (many organic), carrier oils and other aromatherapy products, each carefully selected for quality. Check out their new Perfumer's Emporium.

The Scent Shack: fragrance oils and soap supplies. Fragrance oils are pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles, and test results are listed at the Web site. Scents tested by soapers for soapers!

From Nature With Love: over 1,600 ingredients and supplies, including cosmetic ingredients, spa supplies, bath accessories and packaging supplies!

Last Week's Question: State the name of the former President George W. Bush cabinet member who has had benign lesions removed from his skin.

Last Week's Answer: John Ashcroft

This Week's Question: In the 1950s, the United States government invented DEET, an effective and many say dangerous and deadly insect repellent. At what US agency was DEET invented?

Be the first to correctly answer this week's question and win some handmade soap!

Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered.

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner's name will be announced in the next newsletter!

When I was a little girl, I spent many summer months in rural North Carolina (anyone ever heard of Enfield?) with my maternal grandmother. Other than spending the days with my cousins learning how to spit watermelon seeds, catch chickens and pick cotton, cucumbers and tobacco, I also spent a considerable amount of time after my childhood adventures sitting on the front porch with my brother and grandma, just relaxing and using a handmade contraption to swat at flies. It was pretty gross seeing all the little bug bodies smashed up in the swatter, but in the end, I figured it was better on the swatter than on me! I’m not sure why but my grandmother never sprayed me with those insect repellents that I’m sure must have been on the market in the 1970s. I do remember having a multitude of mosquito bites – so many that I never really gave repellents much thought as I became an adult.

But now that I’m a mom (and the wife of a husband for whom an insect bite is reason enough to call the National Guard), I am far more concerned with repelling insects that I ever was as a child. Just yesterday morning, my daughter informed me that there was a bug on the family room wall. I hoped it was a fly, but much to my chagrin, it was a very large mosquito. Everything from itchy skin to mosquito-borne illnesses ran through my mind. I quickly folded up an old newspaper section and “SWAT!” He was history. My kids got a kick out of seeing what was left of him. One day, they’ll appreciate the hours of itching and swelling I may have saved them.

As we dressed for an afternoon at the swimming pool yesterday, I packed our Bug Be Gone Stick Insect Repellent and off we went. I massaged it on their limbs, chest and back to help keep the critters at bay. You can make some yourself using the recipe here. I used known insect repellents like eucalyptus and lemon scented tea tree oil, but you can substitute oils that you have in your own aromatic pantry. Here are a few you might like to try.

Catnip is a mint-like herb known mainly for its ability to cause cats to go into a happy, drug-like trance. It is also known to be an effective insect repellent when used in essential oil form. The aroma of catnip is reminiscent of mint, but with a much more harsh and undesirable undertone. I don’t like the smell so I didn’t use it in Bug Be Gone, but research seems to indicate that I’d be better off getting over my dislike of the aroma if I want to do a better job of repelling mosquitoes!

Geranium essential oil is sweet and pungent. It blends well with any citrus and rose for a nice aroma and is often used in perfumery. Added in small quantities to oils like lemongrass and eucalyptus, it makes a nice ingredient in insect repellents.

Lemongrass is one of my all-time favorite essential oils for bath and body care. I love the way it smells and unless we are totally desperate, my husband won’t use soap unless it has lemongrass essential oil in it. Lemongrass is uplifting and herbal – the scent makes me feel strong and healthy and if I have a headache, lemongrass essential oil usually helps soothe it. In fact, now that I think of it, next time I make Bug Be Gone, I’m going to substitute lemongrass for the citronella to create a more citrus-y smelling product.

Like all essential oils, these oils can be irritating to the skin and are known for being even more so than some other insect repelling oils like lavender and lemon. You can try those too, but in part because I have a sense that mosquitoes are repelled in part because of unpleasant aroma, I like to use oils that have a stronger aroma, and to me, the ones in the product and those above are better bets. At least that’s what my instincts tell me!

So this summer, don’t let the dynamic duo of sun and bugs spoil your summer fun. Use the oils above to be your own SWAT team, and don't forget the sunscreen (check out last week’s article on this topic here) and as Cheryl Crow would croon, get out there and “soak up the sun!” Just do it in a healthful way!

Did you know that HBN's magazine is coming out this fall, just in time for the holiday shopping fun? Did you know that it will feature an article on the handmade mineral makeup revolution -- not to mention feature several HBN members and industry participants in the first and only print trade publication exclusively designed to serve the handmade beauty business industry? Did you know that advertising discounts are and online promotional perks are available for members who advertise in our magazine?!! Well, now you know!

Of course if you are a member of HBN, your subscription to our magazine is FREE! Well, not really FREE -- it's a membership benefit. So if you have not joined HBN yet, now's the time. Not only will you get the magazine, but you'll also get lots of other benefits.

As the refreshing and original saying (NOT!) goes, "Membership has its privileges!"

You can join HBN here.

You can see all of our great member benefits here.

Have A Great Week!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.handmadebeauty.com