Here at Rainwater Farm, we love summer and the warm weather it brings, as well as the farmer's markets and craft fairs that come with it. However, there is one thing about summer that we for sure don't like -- the insects and bug bites it brings along with it. Thankfully, though, we have a few things up our sleeves to help combat these pesky little critters, so if you're someone who needs help fighting bugs like us, read on to see what we love to use.

Camper Soap

This was the first of our bug repellent products. Although you may be confused as to how a soap can keep bugs away, it's really quite simple. The essential oils we put in this bar soap help to repel bugs. As you shower with it, the essential oils permeate your skin and are absorbed into your body. When used regularly, your body builds up its stores of the essential oils, which then naturally repel insects when outside. 

Our Camper Soap is perfect for our customers who are mosquito magnets -- people who can't go out to the mailbox without getting bit by mosquitoes. Using the camper soap helps to provide constant defense without having to reapply bug repellent each and every time you step outside. If out for a long time, though, especially in those long summer evenings, our mosquito magnets may want to double up with our Bug Repellent Spray as well.

Bug Repellent Spray

Though our Bug Repellent Spray was something I threw together in a frenzy at my daughter's graduation party, we've heard from customers time and time again about how amazingly effective it is. Our Bug Repellent Spray is made using the same essential oils as our Camper Soap, providing all-natural and non-toxic protection from pests. This is in contrast to conventional bug repellents made with DEET. According to the CDC, many safety precautions should be taken when using DEET, such as not applying to any broken skin, using the minimum amount necessary, not applying underneath clothing, and washing the DEET off as soon as possible to prevent complications and irritation. This all points to the fact that DEET can be very harmful to the human body and skin. However, none of our products contain ingredients that are unsafe for your skin. In fact, the reverse is true: our products are actually beneficial for your skin and body! 

Bug Repellent Stick

Being the strongest of our bug repellent products, the Bug Repellent Stick is perfect for hikers, campers, all-day gardeners, and anyone else out in nature for long periods of time. The base of our Bug Repellent Stick is the same as our Silken Skin Conditioner, but the essential oils we put in it are identical to our other bug repellent products. The lotion bar can simply be rubbed onto the skin and provides strong, long-lasting defense against insects such as mosquitoes, chiggers, and ticks. And because of its base, it's moisturizing as an added bonus!

Listen to me talk more about our bug repellent products and how they came to be in this video:

Welcome to our new educational series, where you can learn more about the making of Rainwater Farm and our products.

Chances are that we have been passionate about making soap as long as you have known us, but that has not always been the case. A couple years before Rainwater Farm started in 1992, we had a family friend visiting, and when she left, she left behind a bar of handmade soap. Although I thought it rather unusual, curiosity won the day and I decided to try it out. After using it, I realized I could never go back. This led to trying to find the perfect soap recipe through books, trial and error, and advice from my friend who had left the bar behind. After asking many questions of my friend, she finally relented and gave me her recipe for soap. What began as a small endeavor to make good quality products for my family and friends quickly grew into a business of selling my products to members of the community.

Fast forward all these years, and we now ship products on a daily basis all over the country. Although we make a wide range of products now, still in my basement, bar soap, specifically Oatmeal Lavender Bar Soap, will always hold a special place in our business and hearts since it was the first of our products that we made.

What makes our bar soap different from products that you can buy in the store? I'm glad you asked. The base of our bar soap is fats and lye, whereas the "soaps" (they're actually detergents) that you buy in the store are made from a variety of chemicals that are harmful to your skin. These chemicals are not only harmful for your skin, but they also strip your skin of its natural oils, therefore drying out your skin and often causing irritation. Another difference between our bar soaps and products found in stores is that our products are made using only essential oils, no synthetic fragrances. To contrast, almost all products found in stores include synthetic fragrances, which studies have found to be harmful to the human body. Even many products advertising to be made with essential oils will often include minute amounts of essential oils and large amounts of synthetic fragrances, therefore still causing harmful effects to the body and far outweighing any potential benefits of the essential oils in the product.

Here at Rainwater Farm, we vow to always use the highest of quality in ingredients and to never knowingly mislead our customers in any way, especially when it comes to the health and safety of your skin and body.

Magnesium is a mineral whose importance is often overlooked and ignored. I want to share information that explains how essential it is for good health and how several RWF products provide you with magnesium.  Magnesium is important for many processes in the body: muscle and nerve function, the regulation of blood sugar levels, maintaining a healthy blood pressure, and the production of proteins, bone cells, and DNA. Magnesium is involved in hundreds of functions in our bodies, but when our bodies experience stress, magnesium levels fall, and it is important to be intentional about replacing it. Some experts claim that magnesium deficiency is the single largest health problem in our world today. I remember my son, John, at around 8 years old, asking me if I had taken my magnesium, because he sensed I was stressed and he knew that when I took some magnesium would I calm down and stop being so irritable.

There are many reasons that magnesium deficiency is much more widespread today. Depleted soil conditions mean that plants and meat from animals that feed on these plants provide lower amounts of magnesium. Fluoride and chlorine in the water supply make magnesium less available since these chemicals "bind up" magnesium ions in drinking water.  Common substances that many of us consume daily, like caffeine and sugar, also deplete the body’s magnesium levels.    

Magnesium deficiency has several serious problems associated with it: calcification of the arteries (leading to heart disease, heart attacks, and heart failure), muscle spasms and cramps, growing pains, restless legs, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, hypertension, hormonal problems (leading to PMS and menstrual cramps), pregnancy issues (nausea, cramps, hypertension), sleep problems, low energy, and poor bone health.

RWF provides products that are part of the solution to the magnesium-deficiency problem. The magnesium moves quickly into the bloodstream and muscle tissues, replenishing the body’s magnesium stores and bypassing the kidneys. I have magnesium products in five different forms:  Magnesium Deodorant, Roll-On Muscle Relief, Magnesium Oil, Magnesium Cream, and Bath Salts.

- Magnesium Deodorant: People who are low in magnesium stink more when they sweat. The absorption rate of anything you apply under your arms is close to 100%, and since magnesium deficiency causes your sweat to stink, our magnesium based deodorant goes to the root of the problem by restoring magnesium.

- Roll-On Muscle Relief: This product uses the same magnesium oil that is in my deodorant, but it is applied through the roll-on head of its container.  Roll it on your children's legs when they complain of growing pains, roll it on your restless legs, roll it on your temples when you have a headache.  Emily, who works with me at Rainwater Farm, rolls it on her lower abdomen to alleviate menstrual cramps.  Donna, another employee, applied it to her neck after having surgery to relax her muscles, enabling her to sleep better.

- Magnesium Oil: This spray-on magnesium is perfect for applying anywhere you are experiencing muscle pain or cramping. Since magnesium is absorbed most effectively through your skin, my Magnesium Oil is one of the most efficient ways for replenishing magnesium supply in the body and quickly providing relief from problems caused by deficiency, such as muscle cramping, restless legs, or migraines, to name a few.

- Magnesium Cream: In this product I combine magnesium with my Silken Skin Conditioner. The result is a product that rubs in easily, moisturizes your skin, and provides your body with valuable magnesium. Rub onto your feet at night for a better night's sleep.

- Bath Salts:  When you use my magnesium-rich Bath Salts, you will at first detox and then your body will absorb magnesium that has been depleted. Your skin will also be moisturized by the almond oil in the salts. There are four different kinds:  Muscle Recovery - especially good after workouts; Respiratory Relief - for colds and respiratory illness; Lavender and Herbal - both promote better sleep.

To read more about magnesium, click here.