Introducing Eilistraee Colorless Herbal Hair Conditoner

Eilistraee, also referred to as "The Dark Maiden," is a fictional deity in the Forgotten Realms. She is a goddess in the drow pantheon, and her portfolios are song, swordwork, hunting, the moon and beauty. She is worshipped by song and dance, if at all possible, in the surface world under the moonlit night among the woods. Eilistraee is represented by a drow female in the nude, dancing with a silver sword under the moon. 

Her hair is long, silver-white and often illuminated with moonlight. This herbal mix seeks to capture such a glow for your own tresses. 

This herbal hair conditioner is perfect for moonlight white hair, or for cooler-colored locks that could stand some herbal conditioning, but don't want to have the color changed at all. You'll find it leaves your hair with amazing shine and volume. Please note this mix CANNOT lighten your hair, only impart transparent tones to your natural color. 

Ingredients

Certified Organic Zizyphus Spina Christi (Sedr) , Organic Aloe Vera Powder, Nettle, Wheatgrass.

• Certified Organic Zizyphus Spina Christi (Sedr) – Conditions hair in a manner similar to that of henna, providing body, aiding in detangling, scalp conditioning, and provides shine/sheen to hair. 
• Aloe Vera – Contains many of the products necessary and effective in fighting hair loss: Biotin, b-vitamins, zinc and inositil. It also contains anti-bacterial properties that keep the scalp healthy by controlling scalp infections that can prohibit hair growth.
• Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica)– Often called nature’s conditioner, Stinging Nettle is natural deep cleanser useful for oily skin and hair that promotes hair growth.
• Wheatgrass- Smooths the hair cuticle and helps alleviate itchy, scaly, scalp conditions.

Storage: The powder can be stored in the freezer for well over a year, so long as it is kept in an airtight bag or container. The mud can be kept frozen for 6 months.  We're offering it in a 10g sample size and a 100g full size. 

I've been wanting to do a blend for white hair for awhile now, I hope you love it :)

Rehabilitating Damaged Hair Naturally E-Book

I'm very excited to get this up and for sale!  Based on an article I wrote several years ago, this e-book is the compilation of years of knowledge and experimentation gained along my journey from damaged to long, natural, healthy hair. 

The focus of this book is on growing hair long, but the techniques within apply to hair of any length. More than 30 full pages of text, pictures, charts, diagrams and recipes, this e-book is written in an easy-to-relate-to tone.

Even though this book is the result of hours upon hours of work, writing, editing, and developing the graphics, I wanted to keep the price low.  It comes out to about 16 cents a page, not counting the cover, title page, or references.  I did this because it's knowledge I wanted to be accessible, and also, if people come across the PDF elsewhere online, they might be willing to purchase their own copy if they feel they benefited from the knowledge within.

So what's inside?  Here's the table of contents and a few sample pages!



.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸Table of Contents:

1| How my journey began
This book is the culmination of years of research and trial and error along my own path to healthy hair. Learn how traditional hair care destroyed my hair, and how I found my way back to healthy hair following natural methods.

2| Understanding healthy hair
This section breaks down the structure of the hair so you better understand how its affected, for good or ill, by things you do to it.

3| Understanding types of damage
Heat, dye, chemicals, and harsh styling tools all damage hair, but they each do so in a different way. Learn about each of these types, what causes them, and how to prevent each type of damage. 

4| Tools of the Trade
An overview of the basic styling tools you'll want to have to style and protect your hair.

5| Coming to grips with reality and your hair type
Learn about your hair's natural state and how to work with it rather than against it.

6| Diagnostics: Finding out what your hair needs
Clarifying? Protein? Moisture? We've all heard that our hair needs these things, but what are they? And now do you know which ones your hair needs? Find out in this chapter with a few simple tests that you can do with things already in your home.

7| Treatments
Explore different types of natural treatments for your hair, including ones that impart protein and moisture. Inside this chapter you'll find recipes and information about oils, butters, rinses, and herbal muds.

8| Color
Hair color is closely tied to identity. Learn what might drive you to color, and what non-damaging color options exist. 

9| Trimming
Take control of your hair by learning about self-trims, microtrimming and split end hunting. This section also gives tips about selecting a pair of hair shears and busts the myth of split end repair. 



This guide is does not exist to market my own products. The things I make are mentioned because the products I make and sell were ones I developed on my journey to healthy hair. I will never claim they are the only way or the best way for every individual. The best hair care routine and products are the ones that work for you. To that end, I’ve included several other recipes and treatments that you should be able to try with items you have in your house, or ones you can easily acquire at your local grocery store.

I truly hope you enjoy the book, and I'd love to know what you think!

There is a second e-book in the works, this one all about coloring hair with henna, cassia, indigo, and other herbs!

NightBlooming Knight- Errant Spring Solstice Quest for The Eternal Rest Combs

And on the Solstice the Knights shall Ride!
A knight-errant is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. "Errant," meaning wandering or roving, indicating how the knight-errant would typically wander the land in search of adventures. NightBlooming has a quest for those that would dare to take it. Though a challenge, the reward is great!

As NightBlooming's signature style is well known to our customers, we're offering up this pair of a fork and a dangle finishing pin as a reward for the one who can unravel this riddle! The answer lies within one of my sold items, so the better you know NightBlooming’s work, the easier this may be.

This time we're drawing two winers and each will get a comb!


The Prize: Eternal Rest Wild Rose Hair Comb
In some pagan mythologies, no undead or ghostly creatures (particularly vampires) may cross the path of a wild rose. It was thought that to place a wild rose on a coffin of a recently deceased person would prevent him from rising again.

This comb, as beautiful as its mythology is somber, may just keep evil from crossing your path. 

Built upon black metal, this comb has a trio of lucite leaves gracing its surface and a copper rose with a glass pearl in its center. The comb has a total length of 2.5 inches and a usable length of 1 inch.

We'll do another quest for the Summer Solstice! So even if you don't win please try again then :) 



Rules
Use the clue to find the right listing, then look in the item description or photos to answer the question. When you think you know the answer, convo me!

The contest will run for a week (closing at 12am on Wednesday the 27th of March), and a winner will be randomly drawn from all those that submitted the right answer. 

You are allowed only ONE GUESS and cannot amend your answer, so make your submission count! The winner will have the sticks shipped to them for free++ anywhere in the world!  ++Free shipping is via First Class USPS. If you would like a different shipping method or insurance, a small charge will apply. 

Once the winner is announced they may check out with the sticks. Best of luck to you all! 

You can see all the sold items here.

The Quest
Your Hint:
Christians hold the lily as a symbol of chastity, innocence, purity and piety. In early Christian art the white lily is symbolic of the Madonna as the flower is associated with the virgin Mary. It is typically depicted in a vase or held by Gabriel in Annunciation paintings.

This stick, done in pure silvers and warm golds, would be a fitting gift from an angel.

The Question:
Praytell, how many metal petals hang from this stick's dangle?

What the hell happened with our international postage rates?

If you ordered recently, especially if you're an international customer, you no doubt noticed a pretty significant hike in postage rates.  It surprised me, too.

I knew postage rates were going up, but they've done that before.  The last two or three times it's happened it was a small enough increase that I didn't raise the shipping prices on Etsy to compensate.  Etsy shipping is a game of guessing and averages, so sometimes I lose out a little on shipping, and I'm okay with that.

So when I heard there was going to be another round of postage hikes, I thought I'd wait it out and adjust as needed, not figured it'd be THAT bad, I mean it never had been before, right?

Wrong >_<

The night of the first postage increase I lost about $4/ international order.  And I have a LOT of international orders.  So, sadly, I really had no choice to raise my shipping rates this go round.

The rates went up a little to US and Canada, but anywhere else outside of the US the rates went up a lot.  Here's the complete list of international postage changes:

So what does that mean in more NightBlooming-specific terms?  

• The cost of shipping a single/pair of hair sticks went up about $4
• Heavier herbal products (bottles of oil and 8oz hair salves) had their rate increased a bit more
• Packages are still not insured/tracked unless you decided to pay the extra to upgrade from First Class Package International to Priority Mail International.

I hate this as much as you guys do.  I love my international customers and always prided myself at keeping my shipping rates as low as possible.  I don't make any extra money on it.  It's the bare minimum I can charge to cover my costs, my shipping program, and packing materials.  Please rest assured, that's the same.  If I can find places where I can adjust it back down, I will.

So what do we do?

For my international customers here's a few things we can try:

• Group Orders- If you guys want to go in and have a bunch of people buy a ton of stuff and then have one person repack and reship it from within your home country it'd save some shipping costs.  Depending on what was going into a group order, I could send it in a Flat Rate Box.  This is especially worthwhile if there's a lot of heavy items (large bottles of Triple Moon Oil, Moondust in glass bottles, 2 ounce and 8 ounce Panacea Hair Salves, etc).   I haven't tried this yet, but I'm willing to have a go at it if you guys are :)  
•  Lifting of Custom Order Restrictions- Right now there's a limit of one custom order per person per order (i.e. you couldn't be on the custom order list for more than one item at a time).  I've been a little soft on that recently, but it still stood as the official policy for me to fall back on in case I got overwhelmed with customs (again).  For international customers, I'm raising that limit to 3.  You could probably talk me into more if my list is manageable  So if you have a few ideas, we'll get them all done at once so you can combine shipping.
• Holding Items to Combine Shipping-  I'd be happy to set items aside so you can build up a few things and then have them sent all at once together.  The caveat to this is that you still have to pay for each item up front, but I'd adjust the shipping cost and refund you the overage.  

I'm racking my brain on how to keep this manageable for you guys, but I am utterly open to more suggestions. If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comment box below!

Moondust Herbal Dry Shampoo

No water?  No worries.

When I was a teenager my family took a two-week backpacking trip through the Teton Mountains.  It was breathtakingly beautiful, pristine and awe-inducing.  Camping there also came with a pretty strict set of rules concerning what products you could use.  Anything with artificial scents was banned because it attracted bears, and liquids were discouraged whenever possible because they were heavy and you had to carry everything with you over several days and many miles.  The only water for bathing was frigid rivers from melted snow and ice further up the mountains, so sold it instantly gave you a headache if you got your hair wet.  I solved this problem in the innovative ways teenagers do, I stopped all attempts to get my hair clean.  Five days in my hair was so greasy that I looked like the proverbial otter in an oil slick.  One of the other women had a bottle of talc with her, and so I was introduced to the idea of dry shampoo. With just a sprinkle of powder and a brush I was looking almost human again and felt tons better. 

What exactly is a dry shampoo?  And why should I use it?

A dry shampoo is a powdered substance used to clean the hair where it isn't practical or desirable to use water and traditional shampoo. Dry shampoos work by soaking up oil and dirt on the scalp and then both the shampoo and the trapped dirt is brushed out of the hair. Some of the benefits of Moondust include:

• Stretching Washes- Moondust will clean the hair without overstripping the scalp and stimulating it to produce more oil.  This lets you go longer in between traditional washes and helps retrain your scalp to produce less oil.
• Preserving Color & Treatments- If you use chemical hair dyes, washing causes the color to fade faster than anything.  Dry shampoos remove the oils in your hair, but not the color.  Also, if you've had a brazilian blowout or a keratin treatment, you're instructed not to wash your hair for several days.  Dry shampoo makes this easy and won't interfere with your treatment!
• No water needed!- No need to take a lengthy shower just to clean your hair!  It's great for camping, after the gym, or anytime you're strapped for time, but just need to freshen up your locks.

Introducing Moondust Dry Herbal Shampoo

Hair care by the moon is an old practice, and some tales say that even cutting your hair by the moon can grant different effects. Trim on the New Moon and your hair will grow faster. Trim on the Full Moon and your hair will grow thicker and fuller. 

This natural dry shampoo blends the amazing properties of our Triple Moon Hair Anointing Oil and our Færie Dust Herbal Hair Conditioner to give you smooth, silky, clean hair without the need for water.

A bed of Organic Orris Root is enhanced with a bouquet of herbal powders and essential oils to clean hair and leave a fresh, herbal scent behind. For those of you familiar with our Triple Moon Anointing Oil, the smell is very similar. The scent straight from the jar may seem very strong, but once used and brushed free of the hair, the sent is faint, sweet, and lingering.  Unlike other dry shampoos, there are no filler ingredients, and Moondust is free of clays or powdered minerals.  It's 100% herbal, lighter, and easier to brush out of your hair.

Each batch of Moondust takes a full lunar month to make. Its preparation is started at the Full Moon, the most potent of all lunar phases, and is finished at the next Full Moon.

Samples, Shaker Jars & Refills

If you've never used a dry shampoo before, or you want a smaller, lighter container for traveling, our 1/10 oz sample size is ideal!  It'll give you one or two treatments (depending on how thick your hair is, the thicker your hair, the more you'll need) without a big commitment.  The plastic sample jar has an adjustable opening for sifting out the Moondust.  We recommend turning it about a third of the way and gently tapping the jar with your finger to dispense. 

The shaker jar is full sized version, holding 2 ounces of Moondust. This glass spice jar has a flip top, one side with holes for shaking, the other larger in case you ever need to extract a larger amount from the jar. 

Need a refill?  Save money by refilling your current class jar with a Moondust Refill Pouch. Sold by the ounce, you can get Moondust in bulk and top of your jar as needed.  Order as many ounces as you'd like and it will arrive in a compostable bag.  You'll need 2 ounces to refill your jar to the top, but having extra on hand for multiple refills saves time and money on shipping.  Use the quantity dropdown to select how many ounces you'd like.  Not sure how multistock works?  This will show you how.

Storage, Directions & Ingredients

Storage: Store the powder in a cool, dark and dry place.

Directions: Do not use on clean hair. Comb hair until free of tangles. Section hair and lightly sprinkle Moondust as close to the scalp as possible. Gently work through hair near the scalp with fingers. Let sit 15 minutes. Brush Moondust from hair with a boar bristle (or similar) brush. You may choose to cover your brush with cheesecloth to help collect the powder. Repeat if necessary. 

Ingredients: Organic Orris Root, Organic Corn Starch, Horsetail (Shavegrass, Equisetum arvense), Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus), Burdock Root Powder (Arctium lappa), Marshmallow Root Powder (Althaea officinalis) aka Gulkhairo, Aloe Vera Root, Hibiscus Flower aka Jaswand (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis), Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica), nettle-infused oil, sea buckthorn oil, and the essential oils of bay, birch, cedarwood, german chamomile,honey, lavender, red thyme, rosemary, sage, tea tree, and ylang-ylang.

Detailed Ingredients:

Orris root– the roots Iris germanica, Iris florentina, and Iris pallida. Once important in western herbal medicine, it is now used mainly as a fixative and base note in perfumery with its sweet, floral scent.

Organic Corn Starch- This fine powder absorbs oils and odors and helps prevent clumping.

Horsetail (Shavegrass, Equisetum arvense)– Horsetail, not to be confused with cat-tail, is possibly the most abundant source of silica in the plant kingdom, helping to keep hair strong. Many people believe that horsetail can help speed up hair growth. Some of the ways to take horsetail is to drink it in your tea, take it in capsule form or apply it directly to the scalp and hair.

Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus)– This herb has been used for centuries to heal inflammed, weeping, irritated skin conditions.

Burdock Root Powder (Arctium lappa)- Contains mucilage and starches that soothes irritated skin and membranes and is one of the most effective herbs for promoting hair growth and reducing the amount of hair shed.

Marshmallow Root Powder (Althaea officinalis) aka Gulkhairo– Soothes both the skin and scalp. Used alone or in conjunction with aloe vera liquid/gel, it provides excellent relief from skin and scalp irritation while leaving hair soft and shining.

Aloe Vera Root– Contains many of the products necessary and effective in fighting hair loss: Biotin, b-vitamins, zinc and inositil. It also contains anti-bacterial properties that keep the scalp healthy by controlling scalp infections that can prohibit hair growth.

Hibiscus Flower aka Jaswand (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis)– An emollient (meaning it helps the cuticle of the hair lay down) and a demulcent (meaning it leaves a light soothing film behind) this herb has a cooling effect. It stimulates hair growth, increases hair thickness, reduces and prevents graying, balding, hair-loss, dandruff, split-ends, and many other hair conditions and many scalp disorders. It is also an excellent natural conditioner that may impart a warm reddish color to hair.

Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica)– Often called nature’s conditioner, Stinging Nettle is natural deep cleanser useful for oily skin and hair that promotes hair growth.

Nettle-Infused Oil– Fixed or essential oils are not obtained from this plant but extracts are produced, although not by distillation. The plant, organically grown, is macerated in virgin olive oil to produce nettle oil which contains the lipid soluble constituents. Used for treating eczema and other conditions causing itching of the skin and is natural deep cleanser useful for oily skin and hair. Nettle is also said to promote hair growth.

Sea Buckthorn Oil– So rich in vitamins and nutrients that it has been even speculated that the plant must have been cultivated by some ancient plant-breeder. A useful, highly prized, and specific oil typically used to treat damaged skin, ulcerations, scar tissue, wrinkles, eczema, burns, etc. Cold extracted from whole Sea Buckthorn berries, it is a moisturizing and anti-inflammatory, scalp soother. This oil is exceptionally rich in essential fatty acids, carotenes, tocopherols, and phytosterols.

Bay Essential Oil– Bay is a scalp stimulant and antiseptic astringent and was very popular with the Romans, who thought Bay was a symbol of wisdom, peace and protection. The Latin Laudis means “to praise,” which is why the victors at the Olympic games were presented with a Laurel (Bay) Wreath. The priestesses at Delphi sat over the burning fumes to increase their prophetic visions.

Birch Essential Oil– Birch oil is another herb that is believed to help promote hair growth. This herb is often recommended to people who may be experiencing hair thinning, as it is also known to slow down hair loss.

Cedarwood Essential Oil– Excellent for both hair and skin care. It balances oily skin, soothes and helps to heal skin rashes, reduces oil in hair and skin. Famed cedars of Biblical times (Lebanon cedar) provided one of the world’s earliest perfumes. Other ancient cultures used cedarwood for sarcophagi and palace and temple building material.

German Chamomile Essential Oil– Promotes hair growth, scalp soother and hair conditioner. This most soothing of herbs was used in ancient Egyptian medicine as an emblem of the omnipotence of Ra through its power to restore wholeness to the Self.

Honey Absloute- This rare distillation of honey cleans, disinfects, and still manages to help moisturize.

Lavender Essential Oil– Enhances hair growth by stimulating the scalp. The name “lavender” is derived from the Latin lavare, meaning, “to wash” and was known as one of the seven polyvalents (effective against many toxins). Greeks and Romans perfumed their bathwater with lavender, burned lavender incense to appease their wrathful gods, and believed the scent of lavender to be soothing to untamed lions and tigers.

Red Thyme Essential Oil– Helps control an oily scalp and stimulates the scalp, promoting hair growth. So important was the herb’s aroma that its name was culled from the Greek thymon, meaning, “to fumigate.” Indeed Roman soldiers bathed in thyme before entering a battle, and in the Middle Ages sprigs of thyme were woven into the scarves of knights departing for the Crusades. Most present-day research has centered on thyme’s ability as an antibacterial and anti-infectious agent, even when diffused in the air.

Rosemary Essential Oil– An antimicrobial/antiseptic scalp stimulant and soother; to the ancient Greeks and Romans the plant was sacred, symbolic of loyalty, death, and remembrance, as well as scholarly learning. At weddings and important occasions, wherever solemn vows were made, garlands and headdresses of rosemary were worn, as an emblem of trust and constancy. 

Sage Essential Oil– A scalp soother and astringent, the herb is of ancient repute, valued as a culinary and medicinal plant – called herba sacra, ‘sacred herb’, by the Romans

Tea Tree Essential Oil– A long-reputed herb for its ability to sooth irritated skin, this oil reduces the itching of an irritated scalp. The aboriginal peoples of Australia soaked the pungent leaves in hot water and used them in all manner of medicinal treatment. 

Ylang–Ylang Essential Oil– The extract of lilies, this oil is a scalp soother and follicle stimulator. Indonesians spread the luxuriant flowers on the marriage bed of the newly weeded couples. Ylang means “flowers of flowers,” sometimes called “the perfume tree.”