Are you in need of a pick-me-up, an herbal remedy for a common ailment or a unique gift for a friend? Look no further than Carmen Nuñez’s The Organic for You shop, located in Pennsauken behind the Cherry Hill Mall. Recently relocated from her booth at the Columbus Farmers’ Market, her shop is filled with lotion bars, soaps, lip balms, essential oils, bath bombs and more. Some items are simply intended to smell luxurious, while others have more practical purposes, such as clearing acne, soothing babies’ sensitive skin, or as a sleep aid. For these medicinal soaps, she ensures their effectiveness before selling them in the shop; her soaps have been successful in treating her sons’ acne and irritated skin issues, and even her own struggles with allergies.

Nuñez was taught to make castile soap by her grandmother in Puerto Rico more than 30 years ago. Her grandmother’s knowledge of healing plants, medicinal herbs and home remedies inspired her to turn that knowledge into a business. After her arrival in the U.S. at the age of 15, Nuñez began taking classes at the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild when she was 19, and received her certification at 23. She opted to add moisturizers to her grandmother’s original castile soap recipe, and a new business was born. She started an online shop about eight years ago that specialized in natural cleaning products, then began making her own soaps, lotion bars and bath bombs which she sold in a booth at the Columbus Farmers’ Market in Burlington County before moving to Pennsauken.

To comply with township regulations at her new location, she can no longer make the soaps herself, so she partnered with a lab in Oregon to make them according to her specific recipes. She provides locally purchased olive oil and organic coconut oil, and the lab uses other organic and plant-based ingredients to formulate her recipes. But, what makes her soaps particularly noteworthy is what is not in them: palm oil, parabens, chemicals and artificial colors or scents are never added.

“Everything is made from plants,” says Nuñez, who has studied herbal remedies under internationally renowned herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar, for several years. For each person who enters her shop, Nuñez begins with the gentlest products to ensure that there are no adverse effects on sensitive skin; she allows customers to sample different products until the perfect remedy is discovered, and people keep coming back for more. Many happy shoppers have followed her to the new location, including dedicated customers from New York City, Atlantic City, and as far away as Florida.

The future is bright for her and her shop; she currently makes her lotion bars there, and plans to offer more products and hands-on workshops, including yoga, tea-blending and blending one’s own essential-oil combinations to reduce stress, heal illness and create ambience. Her current inventory includes pre-blended herbal teas, handmade soy candles, natural deodorants, local honey, essential oils and blends, oil diffusers and creative gift options. Her own favorite products are the Wedding Day diffusing oil and the relaxing, lavender-scented soap, but there truly is something for everyone at this unique shop in Pennsauken.

The Organic for You is located in the Gordon Plaza, 3495 Haddonfield Rd. in Pennsauken. For more information, email [email protected]