Hello, and welcome to HerbAlcochete website! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do writing on it 🙂
About Me
Hm, what can I say about me? So, my name is Sofia Matias, I was born in Lisboa in 1976 (now do the math!), I am a mechanical engineer by training and the mother of this wonderful Joana since 2014.
Life has been an adventure with very exciting moments. One of them was discovering that I like to make soaps… no, natural cosmetics! It all started with a family trip to Parque dos Monges, (Caldas da Rainha, Portugal) where I attended a soap-making workshop.
The workshop was very simple, but I learned that I could make soaps with natural products. So simple that I could find almost everyone in my pantry! I was so curious that I decided to investigate on the net about how to make natural homemade soap and ended up trying it out. That’s how it all started!
Why Talk About Soapmaking And Natural Beauty Products?
I must confess, I am lazy. Therefore, starting a blog, writing on it continuously for almost 2 years is something that comes only out of passion, inspiration and conviction.
Passion and inspiration about the excellent products that can be made by collecting ingredients from nature, simple and 100% natural. With very simple processes.
And a conviction that these same products are incomparably better than the hygiene products we use today. Thus, this blog exists because I want to show the best that natural ingredients and simple manufacturing processes have to offer to all of us.
I will make and post recipes, tutorials, and share with you my own experience about natural skincare products. Bear in mind, I don’t have a special workshop to make them. I make them over a counter, in my kitchen. At home. With kitchenware! If I can do it, so can you.
Anyway, if DIY is not a thing for you, I will also show the best places to buy natural skincare. Enjoying natural skincare should be something we should try at least once in our lifetime. So, go for it, and purchase some 🙂
Formulating a lot of stuff gave me knowledge to know if a skincare product is mostly natural or filled with chemicals. Believe me, do not trust ANYTHING at face value, as you have several degrees of honesty among all skincare companies (natural or not).
So What Is HerbAlcochete All About?
HerbAlcochete is a blog where you can find recipes and step-by-step instructions for making all types of natural skincare. Handmade soaps, balms, creams, perfumes, bath bombs, you name it! You can also find information about where you can buy or get ingredients and equipment. However, soapmaking/natural skincare can be a very cheap hobby if you avoid the expensive ingredients. Especially essential oils.
If you just want to buy them, HerbAlcochete also advises some online shops, stores and brands where you can buy skincare and haircare products made with natural ingredients.
A little curiosity: the name HerbAlcochete comes from the combination of herbal (relative to herbs) with the name of the very picturesque and beautiful Portuguese village where I live: Alcochete.
So… From Alcochete with love, HerbAlcochete gives herbal beauty to the world!!
I hope you enjoy the experience! I suggest you to start your journey at the homepage.
