Archive for August, 2009

Posted on August 25, 2009 - by napavalleybath

Bathe…..Roman Style

Bathe…Roman Style

Aphrodisiac. Stress reliever. Sleep enhancer.

Lavender is limitless. Used for everything from aromatherapy to disinfectant, lavender is calm and balance, sweetness and light. And with its rich history, lavender has stories to tell.

A Sensual Soak

Lavare: Latin, ‘to wash’

It’s time to summon the lively public bathhouses of Ancient Rome.

Built to house 300 to 1500 people at a time, bathhouses were a place to socialize, do business, and cleanse …after all, Romans didn’t have bathrooms in their homes.

Roman baths housed several pools, each with a different temperature. From the lowly peasant to the highest noble, a cross-section of people delighted in their daily bathing ritual. Side by side, they relaxed and rejuvenated with the luxurious scent of lavender wafting up from the waters. And above and beyond its sweet bouquet, lavender’s restorative qualities soothed bathers’ skin..

A prized commodity, lavender was sold for 100 denarii (ancient Rome’s silver coins) per pound – the equivalent of a full month of a farm laborer’s wages.

Today, Napa Valley Bath invites you to indulge – for much less – with our line of new line of lavender bath products.

So why not steep yourself in the bathing rites of ancient Rome…and let lavender be your guide!

Al bagno!

Posted on August 20, 2009 - by napavalleybath

Travel Beyond the Surface of Skin Care

Your favorite soaps, lotions and skin cleansers whisk you away to decadent journeys.

Whether it’s a fruit-filled orchard, an overgrown tropical garden, or a spicy, faraway lair, as you apply your favorite soaps, lotions and potions, you’re transported.

Another Journey: Inside Your Body

You take imaginary flight when using your favorite lotions and potions on your skin – your body’s largest organ.

Simultaneously, the ingredients in your chosen skin care take a journey of their own.

Invisible ingredients in your personal care products course through your blood, veins, tissues and other organs. Since you don’t see them – and they smell divine – chances are you’re not thinking much about this corporal ‘road trip.’

But attention must be paid…the truth is, invisible chemicals in your products are likely stored in your tissues and fat, while other chemicals mess with your hormones and reproductive systems. The ‘invisible’ ingredients found in your sensual skin care program take a dangerous left turn – and only you can stop it.

Chemicals in ‘Conventional’ Personal Care Products
The FDA is simply not on board with protecting us from ‘hidden ingredients’ in personal care products. After all, the European Union has outlawed 1,100 chemical personal care ingredients because they are a threat to their citizens’ health. The FDA has banned only nine. Furthermore, the FDA does not require companies to test their products for safety.

You are quite simply on your own when it comes to choosing safe, healthy personal skin care and personal care products overall.
Top offenders include:
• Fragrance – The typical fragrance contains 50-100 chemicals, none of which are required by law to be listed as ingredients: they are considered ‘trade secrets.’ Worst fragrance offender? Phthalates…
• Phthalates – Phthalates were found in nearly 100 fragrances tested by the Environmental Working Group. A chemical plasticizer, phthalates bioaccumulate in our tissues and have been shown to cause birth defects and liver cancer in lab animals.
• Preservatives – This standard ingredient group includes parabens, which mimic estrogen; formaldehyde, a known carcinogenic; and mercury, a neurotoxin.
• Color – Many dyes contain heavy metals, like neurotoxic lead acetate and carcinogenic arsenic.
• SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and SLFS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate) – These surfactants, found in products that lather, can cause skin and eye irritation and have been linked to abnormal eye development in children; they can also react with other products to produce carcinogenic nitrosamines and dioxin.

When you use ‘conventional’ beauty care products, your lovely beauty ritual transforms from a decadent escape to a harsh – and unhealthy – reality.

Mother Nature’s Perspective

From an environmental perspective, our country’s water systems are not set up to filter out these hundreds of relatively new toxins. So they wind up in our waterways and harm wild life. Tap water – which you may drink and definitely bathe in takes a hit too.

Peace of Mind Pampering: Go Natural and Organic

At our sister company, St. Helena Olive Oil Co., we like to say “it’s all about the ingredients.”

As with food, so it is with personal care.

When you know the ingredients in your skin care products, you can take that imagined trip to the lavender fields of Provençe or transport yourself to the sun-kissed vineyards of the Napa Valley with truly pure delight, 100% worry-free.

Opt for safer, healthier, skin care…and enjoy the voyage of lifetime.

Posted on August 18, 2009 - by napavalleybath

Napa Valley Lavender Harvest Is On

I was fortunate to land on American soil in time for the lavender harvest…..and even more fortunate to begin a new relationship with our Napa Valley organic lavender farmers, the Kahns.  I will talk more about Bob and Sharon in a later post, but for now I want to share the abundance of the harvest!

I touched down in mid July and didn’t waste any time to get to the Kahn’s ranch in South Napa.  Their property is  on the back of a ridge so you have to meander through winding roads until the valley opens up and subsequently dead ends into their property.   As I headed into the open valley, I spotted their driveway up ahead…outlined with cypress trees.  It wasn’t long until I reached the gate…and soon was surrounded by olive trees….as I ascended, I could see the lavender in the distance…hundreds of lavender plants…well 1,200 lavender plants to be exact.    For a moment, I thought I was back in Tuscany…..

I was in a loaner car that was not 4 wheel drive and couldn’t make it up the dirt road….so I parked it and began the trek up.  As I meandered up the winding gravel road, I could smell the lavender in the air.  As I approached the distilling shed, it became more pronounced.  Ah…..I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes…there is life after Florence!

Bob met me at the top of the drive….and although I knew different, he seemed as if he’d been farming organic lavender all of his life….we said our hellos and proceeded into the distilling shed…as my foot hit the cement floor, I was taken back by the potency of the air….it was not a typical flowery lavender aroma…it was woody….and green….and flowery…it was the entire plant….it all of it’s glory….I couldn’t help but breath deep.

I was so excited to be there…something I had dreamed of for years.  Bob and his distiller Gabe  ran through the process with me.  I had an understanding of distillation but watching the process was fascinating….and their passion was infectious.   I LOVE listening to people who love what they do and are trying to produce the best….in total alignment with mother nature.  I find it incredibly inspiring and could sit and listen for hours.   I had more things to accomplish that day but I could hardly pull myself from the shed.  It was the company, yes….and the aroma…it was so different….so pure….real….wow….I wish this could be a scratch and sniff blog!

Pulling myself from the shed, I walked the property with Bob and got up to speed on both their lavender and olive harvest.  We talked about Italy….about lavender….about life….about olives….about their new cats…about rattlesnakes…by far one of the best business meetings I’ve had.   He then led me into the room where they kept the oil that had been distilled to date.  Lined up in a cupboard were 34 oz. jars of the essential oil…about 10 in total I believe…and total production was predicted to be about 20 max or 680 oz….yes, that is it folks….680 oz. max of organic Napa Valley lavender essential oil. As I looked at all the bottles,  I couldn’t help but smile…wow…here we were…it wasn’t too long ago that I had met the Kahns by chance….and their story was the inspiration for our Napa Valley Bath line…and now it was here…it was happening….it was time to unleash the dream.

We smelled the different dates of oil….yes, they had different characteristics….but, overall the oil was intense…the scent in the shed was nothing compared to that in the bottle…my mouth watered as I breathed in the floral and grassy notes of the oil…as if I could taste it.  Once again, I was lost in the moment….all I could do was breath deep.

We will go into the distillation process in more detail in another post but the bottom line is that you get very little essential oil from distillation and a whole lot of hydrosol. Hydrosol, also known as floral water, is a by-product from the distillation process. A hydrosol is like an essential oil but in far less  concentration…approx. .02% of essential oil is in the hydrosol.   The Kahns produce their hydrosol as a direct by product of the essential oil…they do not continue to distill after the oil is gone….thereby creating the most floral and natural hydrosol possible.  It reminds me of the first press of the olive….going for the best quality…always a good thing!

So this is the beginning of our new local journey together….I look forward to sharing more posts with you about the people I meet and the things that I learn along the way.  Keep checking back or sign up for our blog so you don’t miss out on any of our tales!