Our Peppermint & Lavender Essential Oil

For the longest time we've been trying to find the best source of Lavender and Peppermint Essential Oils in the Philippines. Really, we didn't want the ones available locally 8 years ago. They're affordable, they smell good, but those are not the ones we're looking for. Almost every Lavender and Peppermint we've taken a whiff at smells narcotic, seems to have a little too much of some fragrance notes, and generally, feels "incomplete."

Back then, who cares about real essential oils? Who would really know what real Lavender Essential Oil or real Peppermint Oil smell like and what difference does it make? Well, we did and we still care enough to keep talking about how different the real ones are.

In the supermarket aisles at the home section or at body care section, there's a lot of products using lavender. There's car freshener, home spray, fabric softener, body wash...the list is seemingly endless. Is it possible they use lavender essential oil? Possibly not. The cost of real lavender essential oil is too expensive to be in mass-produced and mass-priced consumables. So they use fragrance oils, composed by perfumers, "inspired" by real essential oils. This is the reason why not a lot of Filipinos don't know what real lavender smells like. All we're familiar with are the lavender fragrances from fragrance factories. Most of us have never even smelled fresh or dried lavender plants at all.

Castile Bar Soaps July Promo

So everyone's been asking us, do you have bars? Well now we do! Introducing our Castile Bar Soaps, made the same way we make our liquid soaps: with the same ingredients from nature and caring, loving hands. Enjoy your favorite Casa de Lorenzo Castile Soap variants in bar. The oils and essential oils we put in our liquid soaps are the same great ingredients we put in the bars. Go ahead, try one. Its only 100 pesos each for the whole month of July.

Call us at 0917-6081219 / 0939-9192916 or email us at order@thecasadelorenzo.com today.

Elemi Essential Oil: The Things to Know

nwitimes report

The Philippines is the world's major producer of Elemi. From the resin of the Canarium luzonicum, Elemi essential oil is extracted, and this tree is abundant in the Philippines, particularly in the island of Luzon. For many years, it has been a popular ingredient in a lot of mainstream perfumes and has been regarded highly for its exotic scent and rarity.

Called as the "poor man's frankincense," the elemi shares characteristics similar to frankincense and myrrh. The scent of elemi essential oil is fresh, spicy and lemony, perfect as a middle note for perfumes. It is a natural analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. Used by countless people to help soothe muscles, calm nerves and aid minor respiratory problems but perhaps the biggest claim to fame of elemi essential oil is its contribution to reduction of wrinkles and rejuvenation of skin.

From Sylvia T. Ramos blog

In a book published by the International Genetic Resources Institute written by Dr. Roberto Coronel, the Canarium luzonicum and its relatives are indigenous to the Philippines. Locally called "malapili" because of its Pili-like qualities, the Canarium luzonicum are of low value to farmers before the resin has been discovered to contain desirable properties for extraction of essential oils. This tree bears fruit like Pili, although inferior. Historically, the resin from C. luzonicum is being used as an ingredient in making plasters, oinments, paints, lacquers, varnishes and inks. Forest dwellers use the elemi resin as torches, rolling it in leaves and lighting it up to serve as their fragrant light for the night.

From PNA Legazpi Bureau

As disclosed by the local farmers of Sorsogon (a province in the Bicol region where a lot of Canarium grows), they only tap the "malapili" trees in the past because they're quite expendable and the extraction of resin eventually kills the tree. In a study published in a Philippine Journal of Science in 1945, among the reasons why the C. luzonicum became the source of elemi is because it gives out sufficient quantities for profitable collection. After collection of the resin from the trees, these are shipped out to Europe for the extraction of Elemi essential oil.

Fast-forward to present times, several innovative individuals began to maximize the commercial potentials of the Pili tree (Canarium ovatum). From just producing pili nuts, other products like pulp oil and essential oil has been extracted. Due to good attention of some agriculturists and plant scientists, farmers were able to devise a way to properly "tap" a Canarium tree for resin without killing it. With this advancement in farming technology, the more common pili tree (C. ovatum) became a good source of elemi and with further processing, become elemi essential oil.

This new development, the production of elemi essential oil may prospectively look good since the sources have more than doubled. The world market may soon be enjoying a bigger supply of the essential oil.

Below is the analysis of the chemical composition of Elemi essential oil. It was done using GC and GC MS analysis.

Components of Elemi Essential Oil

Sources:
Gloria Manalo, Agustus West, Analysis and Composition of Manila Elemi, The Philippine Journal of Science, 1943
Author Unknown, Promising Fruits of the Philippines
Roberto E. Coronel, Pili Nut Canarium ovatum engl., International Plant Genetic Resources Institute

Some Reviews of our Castile Soaps

Just a quick post to share some reviews done by our blogger friends who took some time off their busy schedules to try out our Lemongrass Manila Castile Soap and the newest Coffee Dark Castile Soap. Read their blogs to see what they think of our soaps :)

by Rebel Sweetheart
http://www.therebelsweetheart.com/

by Pensive Thoughts
http://www.pensivethoughts.com

by Mama Nees
http://www.mamaneesnest.com

by eSuperMommy
http://www.esupermommy.com

by Mum Writes
http://www.mum-writes.com

by Lhyzie Bongon
http://lhyziebongon.com

by Pinay Mommy Online
http://www.esupermommy.com









We will update this page once the other reviews come in. Thanks for reading!

Where to Buy Castile Soaps in the Philippines?

Liquid Castile Soap or Bar?

There's a lot of people looking where to buy castile soaps in the Philippines. And of course, there's a lot of choices and finding what you need won't be a huge challenge. First, one must decide whether its bar or liquid castile soap. Both are "castile soaps" and are natural, but always read the labels of the ingredients to make sure all ingredients are natural and organic in nature.

If the choice is liquid castile soap, look no further because there are a lot of ways to get yourself a bottle without the hassle.

You can always get your liquid castile soap needs with us, just fill up an order form on our website and we'll take it from there. We can also be messaged via SMS (0939-919-2916) or email (order@thecasadelorenzo.com) and we deliver to virtually anywhere in the Philippines. Casa de Lorenzo also offers the widest selection of soap variants and sizes, ranging from a type made purely of Olive Oil soap to a cleansing mix of Rice Bran Oil soap, Virgin Coconut Oil soap and Palm Oil soap. You can get it scented or for the DIY enthusiasts, unscented. We also provide it in 250mL, 500mL, 1 Liter and 1 Gallon sizes, so take your pick.

Our Newest: Coffee Castile Soap

We're proud to announce the release of our newest liquid soap variant: the Dark Castile Soaps. As it's name implies, it is darker than the usual soaps we make. One might be shocked at the contents of every Dark Castile Soap bottle because it is literally almost black. But don't be fooled by appearances, .

The first among the variants is the Coffee Dark Castile. For our love of coffee, the way it wakes us up during mornings, and how it makes us jumpstart our day, we thought we'd carry that over in the shower. We've been trying to make this soap happen for more than a year now, and it was just recent that we're satisfied with it so we're now sharing it to everyone.

We're Crazy About Coffee!

Like millions of people around the world, we're taking our love for coffee to the next level!

Us here at Casa de Lorenzo, makers of Liquid Castile Soap in the Philippines, are brewing something that will change the way everyone will wake up to mornings. We know that coffee is an important part of our every day life, and we've seen how coffee has been a distinct part of our history back in the Spanish days so we've decided to make coffee enjoyable as well in our products.

Did you know that the Philippines used to be a top producer of coffee in the world? Our country used to grow Liberica coffee, known to produce bigger beans and stronger coffee aroma and flavor, thus the "Kapeng Barako" name was coined to the coffee grown in the southern part of Luzon.

Watch out very soon for the newest addition to our natural products.

Our Fascination with Natural Soaps

Cheesy may it sound, our soaps come from a deep respect and fascination of nature. Many would not understand how real soaps are made, all that everyone sees is an amber bottle labeled castile soap from us. To the ones who enjoy our products, we'd like you to know more about it. For the ones who are still pondering to try, read on, you might see a good reason why.

Our castile soaps are made from oils. Not added with oils, but made from oils. All fatty substances can be made into soap, and depending on the oils used, a soap can either be highly moisturizing, bubbly or a highly cleansing one. Olive Oil soap can condition the skin, Coconut Oil soap is very cleansing to the point it can dry out the skin, and Palm Oil soap can be a very boring one on its own. However, mixing them together in the right amounts, you get something wonderful. We stick around with what Mother Nature offers and stay close to it. Casa de Lorenzo Castile Soaps itself are proof of this.

Benefits of Calamansi Essential Oil

Image from Elaynam

This is one tough article to make since there's not much that can be said about Calamansi Essential Oil. There is little research about the oil and its fairly unappreciated yet.

We all know about Calamansi. Its what we use in making juices, cooking, cleaning and laundry. From the supermarkets to the little sari-sari store by the street, Calamansi is available. It is just an essential part of a Filipino's life. Like Lemon and other citrus fruits, Calamansi produces essential oils from its skin.

What are its benefits? First, its scent. Calamansi Essential Oil has the capacity to help deodorize any bad odor. It eliminates the unwanted odors by overpowering other scent molecules in the air since the human nose is a lot more sensitive and appreciative to citrus smells. Making a linen spray of Calamansi Essential Oil will definitely keep your room or any area of your house smelling fresh and wonderful.

Secondly, smelling Calamansi Essential Oil can affect behavior. Studies gave indications that Calamansi Essential Oil have anti-anxiety effects. Just by smelling it, one can feel relaxed and refreshed, some even feeling a tingling effect while smelling.

Third, Calamansi Essential Oil has antimicrobial properties. It is not only astringent, but it can inhibit the growth of bacteria. Adding it on the stuff that you use when cleaning the sink or your bathroom not only deodorizes, but helps eliminate bad bacteria present in those surfaces. Although there are other stronger antiseptic essential oils than calamansi, it can still do the job pretty well.

Image from Assbach

Fourth, it can help relieve symptoms of respiratory ailments. Best if combined with Peppermint and Eucalyptus essential oils. Place boiling water on a huge bowl and place a few drops of Calamansi, Peppermint and Eucalyptus and start inhaling the steam.

Fifth, mouthwash. Place a few drops of Calamansi essential oil in a glass of water and stir. Begin to gargle with the solution. It helps elimate bad breath and disinfects your mouth.

Its pretty wonderful to know that there's something local and very Filipino that can be used like Lemon. Since we are the world's largest producer of Calamansi, we should take advantage of the abundant supply here in the country.

Check out Casa de Lorenzo's Calamansi Essential Oil

Soapy Friends Promo

We're not saying things between you and your friends are "soapy." We just want you to share to your friends and help spread the word on natural stuff, especially about Casa de Lorenzo Castile Soaps.

Here's our latest gift to all of the believers of taking care of skin naturally and in taking care of the environment. We hope that sharing to other people your experiences in bathing using Casa de Lorenzo Castile Soaps will convince them to try. And because you shared us, whatever soap your friend get, you'll get it too!

Visit our Promo Page to start!

Casa de Lorenzo Promo Page

Mechanics:

1. Open to everyone.
2. Tell your friends about Casa de Lorenzo Castile Soaps and encourage to try. As our gift to you, whatever soap they get from Casa de Lorenzo, you also get it for FREE!
3. Simply ask them to use the special ordering form on our promo page (Link here: http://www.thecasadelorenzo.com/p/promos.html ), add your name and mobile number, and we'll contact you separately.
4. After the successful delivery of your friend's soaps, we will deploy your package. Please note that shipping will be care of recipient.
5. Soapy Friends will end October 7, 2013.
6. For further questions or inquiries, please contact us at 0939-9192916 or email us at order@thecasadelorenzo.com

Super-Moisturize Your Castile Soaps

Image from Mix97

To a lover of Natural Products, more likely than not, you've known that Castile Soaps are awesome in moisturizing and taking care of the skin, depending on how the soap has been made. But of course there is a way of increasing the moisturizing properties of your Natural Soaps.

First, you have to understand how this works.

Every bottle or bar of soap is a delicate balance, thus the soapmaker has to have considerable experience in making soaps, aside from some functional knowledge of chemistry and a lot of patience. Most liquid soaps are on the sweet spot that lies between too much oil and too much lye. Here is where the skill of the soapmaker is essential, as well as the knowledge of what oils to use so the desired effect of the soap can be attained. Coconut Oils are super cleansing when made into soap, Olive oil is very moisturizing and Palm Oil creates very good lather. To create a good soap, these know-hows are all applied.

Passionfruit Oil Extraction Project

So after a few days of figuring out how to extract the oil of Passionfruit Seeds, we've been pretty successful apparently.

Since the Philippines is a tropical country, drying the seeds were as easy as batting your eyelashes. Even though its the rainy season, a quick date with the morning and midday sun, the seeds were dry. What we were attempting is a cold-press method. When you're going natural, there's no way but cold-press, although its quite a tiresome method.

We're Making Passionfruit Seed Oil

Nowadays, in order to get high quality natural products, people have to do it on their own. That's really how Casa de Lorenzo Soaps came about, since we don't want to use detergents sold as soaps on our skin anymore, we made our own soaps (Read Why I Started Casa de Lorenzo). It was enjoyable, and one variant came after another. We're having so much fun in doing things on our own, we've decided since there's a shortage of supply of quality natural products here in the Philippines, we're going to make raw materials ourselves and one of our targets is making Passionfruit Seed Oil.

Manila Castile Soap Day on Independence Day

In celebration of our country's 115th commemoration of our Independence, we're letting everyone try a few bottles of an All-Filipino Natural Soap.

This June 12, 2013, starting at 12 midnight, all you have to do is to go and visit the Casa de Lorenzo Promo Page, leave your name, email and contact number on the form that will be available on Philippine Independence Day. The first 20 to sign up will be contacted and confirmed to get (1) 250mL Bottle of Calamansi Manila Castile Soap, our newest variant.

Link to Promo page: http://www.thecasadelorenzo.com/p/promos.html

Only Natural Ingredients indigent to the Philippines make it to a bottle of Manila Castile Soap. Combining the Cleaning power of Virgin Coconut Oil Soap, the Moisturizing properties of Rice Bran Oil Soap, and the Lather of Palm Oil Soap, the Manila Castile Soap Variant is a great addition to Casa de Lorenzo. Scented with locally-sourced Essential Oils from plants and flowers of the Philippines, every bottle is delightful to the senses when bathing.

Valentines Soap Giveaway

You asked for it, you got it! In celebration of our 1,000 Likes in Facebook and the coming Valentine's Day this February, there will be (5) winners for this Giveaway, but we're not just handing out our regular best sellers but something you won't get everyday.

We've created a few bottles of Limited Edition natural liquid bath soaps scented with CHOCOLATES and ROSES. Because we want you to feel the love, our prizes are (1) 250mL Chocolate Old Fashioned Soap and (1) 250mL Roses Castile Soap for each winner. That means we're giving away (10) bottles of Natural Liquid Soap this time!

To join, just follow the simple steps below:

1. Download the image of Roses and Chocolates Liquid Soap to your computer.
2. Post the image in your Facebook Timeline and comment something about Valentines.
3. Comment below the link of your Facebook Timeline to let us know you joined.
4. Ask your friends to share!

Please be reminded to make the setting for this post "public" so we can review how many shares your post got when the contest ends on February 1, 2013. Announcement of winners will be on the next day February 2, 2013.

Benefits of Castile Soap

All over the world, people know about Castile Soap. In Europe, it has been used for centuries by almost everyone, from peasants to royalty. Now, it has been made more available to everyone and with the globalization phenomenon plus the wealth of information in cyberspace, Castile Soap has reached every country in the planet.

What makes Castile Soap so special? Well, true Castile Soaps are made from Olive Oil, but soaps made from natural oils are considered Castile Soaps nowadays. Any soap made with Olive Oil is an amazing soap. It is highly moisturizing because of a high level of emollients and unsaponifiable materials that help seal moisture in skin, thus making it very soft. Some people even claim that you won't need to use lotion after bathing.

Liquid Soaps Giveaway Poll

We now have over 1,000 LIKES on Facebook, and this calls for celebration! As our way of saying thanks, we're having another splurge of giveaways. Now, we'd love to ask for your help in making our biggest giveaway, worth P3,500 of Natural Liquid Soaps, happen the way you want.

To get updated on the latest about our latest promos and giveaways, do LIKE our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/thecasadelorenzo

On Using Antibacterial Soaps

Today we live in a world where aggressive bacteria and viruses are abound. Everywhere we go, every object we touch, every person we interact with increases the risk of contracting sickness. So scientists came up with antibiotics and antibacterial stuff that aggressively eliminate the threats to us and the lives of our loved ones. By killing these bacteria and viruses, we are safe.

Well, its not completely true. Many people are beginning to think that it is otherwise.

Cleaning Fruits & Vegetables for the Holidays

Its almost Christmas! Here in the Philippines, the peak of activities are coming close and a lot of preparations still need to be done. Christmas shopping is just about to intensify, the rush to supermarkets or the local palengke to buy food for the Noche Buena is not too far away, and the abundance of fresh fruits from all over the world are coming. Not to mention the tradition of many Filipinos of preparing several rounded fruits during the eve of New Year to bring good luck, a lot is being consumed during the holidays.

Natural Liquid Bath Soaps Holiday Sale

As an early Christmas Gift to lovers of natural products in the Philippines, Casa de Lorenzo's Natural Liquid Bath Soaps go 50% OFF!

Instead of paying P350 for a 250mL bottle of our Natural Liquid Bath Soaps, it becomes P175 only. All you have to do is LIKE our Facebook Fan Page www.facebook.com/thecasadelorenzo and SHARE the promo poster from our timeline, and the discount can be applied to your order.

Offer is good until December 20, 2012.