5 minute read
A Local Soak
by nancylee bouscher
Of the many things that confuse me in this life, one that my brain struggles with most, is how some people do not like baths. Worse, some people do not even have bathtubs. I have asked, maybe even grilled a little bit, friends and family who prefer vertical water experiences to try to understand, but nothing they say has justified their stance. I remember one friend, disgusted by the mere thought of a bath, said with a wrinkled brow and shake of her head that a bath was like “making a soup of your body and then stewing in it,” and my enthusiastic reply was, “EXACTLY!”
Just like any good soup recipe, a good bath starts with the best ingredients. For me, that means first cleaning the tub, and my go-to tools are Bon Ami AllPurpose Cleanser, with a sprinkling of peppermint and lemon essential oils. Not only does it smell great, but it leaves my tub sparkly. Then I gather the supplies—candles, towels, face mask, soap, loofa, pumice, cold water, hot tea—not to mention the actual ingredients that go into the water, or the “broth” as it will become. And just like with any broth, getting the salt right is the first priority.
Now, if you have been in the Wellness Department, you know we like to give you lots of options. We realize the wall of bar soaps can feel excessive, and surely there’s no reason to have that many choices when it comes to lip balms; however, we figure that free will and the ability to make the rules of your body are important even when it’s just toothpaste versus dental gel. Our bath salt selection is also vast, and while we feel good about all the brands we carry, there is only one brand that is made up the road by a lovely local lady that many folks around here know as Makena, the founder and sole owner of the infamous Shepard Moon Concoctions
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Mak relocated to Mount Vernon from Seattle about four years ago when she realized that her city had evolved from what she described as “heart-centered” to more cerebral. When she started Shepard Moon, named after her beloved dog, being in a thriving, healing community helped her products find their way into tubs and rubs through word of mouth or direct sales to her clients. It was these casual connections and serendipitous meetings that occurred in the middle of meals that conspired for Mak to bring her products to the retail market. Twenty-five years later, and you’ll find her products in over 70 retail stores. While some companies grow themselves through new product launches and marketing campaigns, Mak’s goal is to love her work, which she most undoubtedly does. Along with her one faithful and fabulous assistant, Suki, they are providing the most essential ingredient to a therapeutic bath: intention.
When you choose to draw a bath, you are telling yourself that you deserve a moment of rest to rebalance, to soak and simmer, to just be. Because Makena has a background in the healing arts, she is well-versed in the actual medicinal benefits of soaking in a warm bath, and that is the intention they put in every hand-mixed and measured item made by Shepard Moon. Epsom salt blended with beautifully balanced organic essential oil blends makes Shepard Moon products rise above many other bath salts. Honestly, it’s not difficult to find a bath salt that smells good, but their formulations go beyond smelling good. They are formulated to help you feel good, too. Take, for example, my personal favorite, Vitality. This blend includes organic essential oils of geranium, juniper, rosemary, fennel, and black pepper—and is the best thing I have found to relieve muscle aches and pains.
When I asked Makena to share more about her blends, she elaborated:
“Two good examples would be our Ache & Pain blend Based on my understanding of the body, I used Laurel, for not only its anti-inflammatory benefits, which helps reduce pain, but also because Laurel slows down breathing by helping to open and relax respiratory pathways. Slowing down breathing naturally reduces pain. It signals the brain to inform the body that it is okay. In our Lavender Lullaby, we use Rosewood essential oil as the majority oil, even though our Lavender Lullaby has a wonderful, rounded lavender essence. Rosewood has twice the linalool content as Lavender, the constituent that actually makes you sleepy. Rosewood has a lovely quality of enhancing whatever oils are blended with it. Along with the frankincense and sandalwood, this is a really lovely and soft lavender blend.”
Running your own small business comes with its unique aches and pains, too. Besides the fifty-pound bags of salt somehow weighing more than they did 20 years ago—the price of those bags have also increased in alarming ways. Makena recalls the price for two pallets of Epsom salt, a product of China, doubling overnight during COVID, and fears the pending tariffs could cause another drastic price hike, one she is not sure how she would handle.
We know that what we put on our skin can get absorbed into our bodies, but we often think of that in terms of what to avoid. This makes sense, especially when there is so little oversight on known toxins, such as phthalates, which impact hormonal health, to forever chemicals like BPA. But when we decide to soak away the stress, why not fill the tub with intentional ingredients made by lovely local ladies that shop in your Co-op and appreciate the Magic Skagit in the same way you do. So, put a pot on simmer and go soak. It’s one of the best ways to support local that I’ve found.
