Olive Soap Shampoo Bars - Remedy for Dandruff

It is an old tradition for the ladies in Greece to keep long hair, usually in a braid down the back or braided and turned in a bun at the base of the head. My hair growing up was always cropped short as it was slightly curly, rebellious and a disaster to de-tangle but the older women in my family kept this hairstyle and I was always envious of their long, strong, beautiful locks. Their trick to keeping long hair? Olive Soap!
As discussed in the previous post, for most families in Greece and in other areas of the world, Olive soap was and is the only cleanser needed for a household. It is used to bathe, wash the hair, the laundry, the dishes and anything else that requires cleaning around the house. Olive soap, however, is not only a super efficient powerhouse of a cleaner but its natural beneficial properties are unparalleled. Known to be the mildest soap around, Olive soap can be used by anyone and all skin/hair types can benefit from its gentle moisturizing properties. It is also known to be a mild anti-inflammatory as it calms and soothes the skin, an anti-oxidant as natural olive oil contains Polyphenols and Vitamins A&E, and improves elasticity.
Taking what I learned from the elders and incorporating some other medicinal herbs and oils I decided to spice up the family soap recipe and make it even more beneficial as a shampoo bar. As I have long hair myself now, no more chopped crop for me, I needed to develop something for breakage, dry scalp, dandruff, and something to tone and strengthen the roots of my heavy hair. The following herbs were incorporated with the olive bar adding to its already long list of beneficial properties:

Rosemary - Conditions, stimulates hair growth, strengthens hair root, clarifies the scalp and eliminates dandruff
Bay Leaf - Restores life and shine, stimulates hair growth, promotes scalp health
Sage - Stimulates hair growth, darkens grey hair, restores shine
Cedarwood - Tones the scalp, eliminates dandruff

The results were great for this shampoo bar so we've gone into production and will be posting them up on www.kallisteshop.com soon. Please contact us if you would like to pre-order or have a special order request!

ANCIENT GREEK & SYRIAN OLIVE SOAP - Tradition in Modern Times

A staple for every local household, Olive Soap blocks are stacked in high piles throughout the marketplaces of Greece and Syria. This old world soap is considered an essential commodity for the locals and the only cleanser necessary as it is used to wash the skin, hair, clothing, dishes and anything else in the home. Though the discovery date of olive soap is unknown and is claimed by many civilizations of antiquity, the use of natural oil as a cleanser can be historically documented back to 3200 B.C. Mesopotamia. According to evidence from ancient documentation, this primordial oil wash evolved into the natural soap  we know today around 1200 B.C. Ancient Egypt, or the Late Bronze Age in Ancient Greece.
It is interesting to study the transformation of soap in modern times and how an abundance of products have stemmed based on their applications. Today, a person would not consider using their bath soap as a dish soap, or their dish soap as a shampoo. In many parts of the world however, the tradition and resourcefulness of the olive bar remains.
As a young girl, I travelled to Greece frequently for visits. My summers were spent with the older women of the family where I was taught the old ways of life. I called this Greek Boot Camp. Travelling from Brooklyn to Greece every summer seemed like a travel through time in those days and I can absolutely say that I did not recognize or understand the old women's lessons until adulthood. In the off chance there is a goat which needs milking Brooklyn I can absolutely do that too!
Coming back to the topic at hand, as a child I was taught that greek olive soap was a jewel of household items, one to be cherished but not used sparingly.  For many years it was literally the only item which was needed in the bathroom until consumerism got the best of me and shower gel, anti-frizz shampoo, a deep conditioner, a light conditioner, anti-dandruff shampoo and shaving lotion all took over the space my little green soap used to sit. My skin and scalp suffered the consequences of an extravagant consumer lifestyle and the life lessons of boot camp materialized into a way of life and then into the company Kalliste.
Next topic - Olive and Bay Oil Soap, based on the formulation of Syrian Aleppo Soap. Rid your scalp of dandruff in ONE washing, the natural way.

June Giveaway is posted!

Answer our questionnaire and enter a contest to win our new Wine Bar before it hits the web and stores! 10 lucky participants will be randomly selected on June 15th to receive this new bar loaded with anti-oxidant quercetin, flavonoids, minerals and vitamins. Thank you and Good Luck!