Some of y'all are scratching right now, aren't you?

It might not really last for seven years, but it sure can feel like it. 

Winter fades away, the bees come out, and stuff starts blooming. And for lots of people (approx 20% of the US population), this means their skin starts itching, their eyes start swelling, and their noses start sneezing and wheezing.

Allergies.

We have one in our home who has atopic dermatitis (aka eczema) this time of year every year. I know that as soon as the first blooms appear, I'm going to hear these words: "Mommy. I'm itchy."

Even a soap making family has skin problems from time to time.

Keep in mind also that "Exposure to environmental sources is to blame, including chemicals and pollution (indoor and outdoor), highly processed low-fiber diets, overuse of antibiotics and stress." (Healthnotes Newswire [August 18, 2005])

Thankfully, we have a solution! Aside from our ultra moisturizing, unrefined shea butter (for the itch, not to be applied to broken skin or open wounds!), good soap (We recommend our Plain Jane Shea Butter Soap), and a good clean diet,  nature has opened up her hands generously and provided us with...

Stinging Nettle.

That's right. It stings. But only when fresh. Once it's been dried and encapsulated, you can swallow it. Or if it's been dried and ground up you can drink it as a tea (or add it to your shampoo). The more stuff blooms, the more we do of both for our wee little itchy ones. 

(Urtica dioica, aka Stinging Nettles. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.) 

Nettles can be:

• Applied externally
• taken as an infusion or tea or tincture
• cooked and eaten
• swallowed in a capsule

Nettles are:

• a natural anti-histamine (see this link for other natural antihistamine herbs as well)
• rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium.
• a galactagogue, meaning that it stimulates milk production in mammals
•  is used in shampoo to control dandruff and is said to make hair more glossy
• great for pregnant women to consume daily and in large amounts! (Please do!)
• immune boosting

Our favorite way to ingest Nettle is by making a strong tea and adding orange or lemon slices to it.

During allergy season, we also buy the 365 brand of Nettle Capsules from Whole Foods Market and my itchy people take one capsule with every meal. Before we discovered this we were nearly driven insane by the itch! It works as our family's best defense against allergies.

Nettle is by and large one of my favorite most favorite herbs/foods. Every natural home should be familiar with and well stocked in Nettle!

Make it a part of your regular diet or supplement intake!

Additional Resources:

PDF on Allergies and Immune Support

Herbal Reference and Products from Gaia Herbs

Much Love and Wishes for an Itch Free Spring,

CM

It's March! We've almost made it through the winter. (Was that winter we just has here in Alabama? Hard to tell!)

Not only are we here to help you get your skin ready to radiate in the sun, we have some new stuff to give away this month!

(Stick around for details on the giveaway below)

First, the radiating in the sun. Or sweating. Or glistening, like we Southern Belles do. We have a new flavor of Pitty Party for you! It's been my privilege to test this out and I am beyond thrilled. I put some Geranium Lime PittyParty on yesterday morning. It powered through my day with five kids at my heels. It kept me nicely scented all night long with a newborn, and y'all.... I still smelled great after my workout with Jillian Michaels this morning! I'd say we have a winner here! If you like to smell pretty at your pitty party, try some out!

Last summer, many of you got to try the Cedarwood and Lavender Pitty Party and have not ceased to ask for more. Finally, I am happy to present it to you as a nice manly addition to our line of under arm warriors. It's here to stay, people. Get it before it's hot. Hehe.

And finally, one last new kid. I've been wanting to make a lip balm that was slightly tinted and shimmery for a while now, and I finally did it. Oh, and I added a splash of Vanilla. Because anything yummy and shimmery should include vanilla. A little Pink Grapefruit and Vanilla shimmer for your pout!

We did sneak one in that isn't new, but it does look a bit different than you might be use to seeing. We are now infusing the Nettle extract into the oils we use in our Nettle Shampoo Cube instead of just sprinkling them in. Thus, it has a darker color now. We think you'll find it has made your favorite shampoo cube even better!

March Specials!

We had to do a play on March 17th being St. Patrick's Day. It's some sort of unspoken rule. So, we present you with 17% off our favorite get ready for the warm weather products!

And how about that Photoshop job, hmm? Pretty fancy if I do say so myself. And I do. Pretty fancy!

For the month of March you will get 17% Off:

• All flavors of Pitty Party Natural Deodorant (Geranium Lime, Cedarwood Lavender, Spearmint Rosemary, and Clary Sage Lemongrass), only $4.14 this month!
• The Ultimate Foot Scrubbie (PACKED with ground Pumice Stone. You will no longer be embarrassed to show your heels or exhaust your pedicurist. ) Only $4.14 this month!
• Sleepy Feet Foot Balm (Unrefined Shea Butter with Vit. E and Lavender and Mint! Perfect for waking up tired feet or putting achy feet to bed. And great for those embarrassing heels as well.) Only $4.97 this month!
• Chunkie Super Fat Soap. It's super moisturizing, but it's also super cool. We love that peppermint in the shower all year long, but it's super cool when the weather warms up. Also, we have a lot of it in stock right now. Only $4.14 this month!

The Giveaway!!!

One LUCKY winner will receive:

• Their choice: Geranium Lime or Cedarwood Lavender Pitty Party
• Their choice: Pink Grapefruit Lip Balm or Balmy Obsession Lip Balm (Should a man win, we assume you might not want a tinted shimmery lip balm.)
• One Chunkie Soap!
• One Foot Scrubbie
• and stop the madness....One Sleepy Feet Foot Balm!!

How to enter:

• Leave a comment on this blog telling us your favorite Spring Time activity
• Follow us on Twitter and retweet our Tweet about the Giveaway. Then leave a comment here letting us know you did!
• Follow us on Facebook and Share our Status Update about this giveaway! Then leave a comment here letting us know you did.
• Sign up for our newsletter by entering your email address on our home page. Then leave a comment here letting us know you did.
• Follow this blog! Add it to your reader or grab our RSS feed. Then leave a comment letting us know you did.
• PIN your favorite Cheeky Maiden product to Pinterest, or HECK, Pin this giveaway onto Pinterest. (You'll have to use the Pin It button on your browser for the products, or use THIS BUTTON Pin It to pin the Giveaway) Then... you guessed it! Leave a comment here letting us know you did!

You can enter as many times as you want using the above actions. Make sure you leave a comment on the blog below letting us know! Entries will be closed March 17th. So, get to tweeting, pinning, and facebooking. But don't hurt yourself.

and GOOD LUCK!

 Much Love,

CM

Susy, from Texas is testifying about our Shampoo Cubes!

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you how incredibly impressed I am with the shampoo bar. I was a bit skeptical because another soap maker gave me some to try a while back, and I was...less than impressed. I haven't liked anything else I've been using, and I even reverted to nasty, chemical-laden, store-bought shampoo for a while for lack of good options. Well, I decided that since nothing else Cheeky Maiden has ever disappointed me, I should give it a try, and I'm SO. GLAD. I. DID. Thank you for never disappointing. I love that my hair is actually clean and not full of shampoo residues. I have some of the world's craziest thick hair, and now I don't have to put extra stuff in it to bring out its natural shine. I don't wash my hair but a few times per week; this stuff makes me want to use it every day. Why should I be surprised? Cheeky Maiden never disappoints."

 Read our FAQ Blog about Shampoo Cubes to find out how to get great hair naturally!