Revisiting ‘Guinness’ for St Patrick’s Day

Several years back I wrote an article on our favourite beer, Guinness, which is featured in our famed Irish Stout Oatmeal soap. As St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, we thought a revisit was in order.

Is Guinness Good For You?

Look closely at a glass of Guinness beer.  It is not black, but a very dark shade of ruby. Precious like the gemstone.  Celebrate St Patrick’s Day (or the whole week) with a pint of Guinness and yes, you will feel good.  Proud drinkers of this fine brew attest to that.  So much so, that the slogan ‘Guinness is good for you’ was born. Today, however, claiming that an alcoholic drink improves one’s health is illegal in Ireland. (maybe here too?) So, we just have to remember the slogan ourselves and pretend otherwise. But we know. Guinness keeps the artery walls cleaner and free of harmful cholesterol. It is high in iron and low cal. It is a fact that Guinness keeps you younger. Shhhh.

Guinness is the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland.  The founder, Alex, started brewing this stout 258 years ago, back in 1759. If you are of Irish decent perhaps your ancestors did imbibe, but today, Guinness can be found worldwide. Bitter, (English) extra smooth (Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon), Anniversary Stout (Down Under) and more.

Guinness is often used in culinary recipes. In Ireland, Guinness and Steak pie is a favourite. Here in North America you might find it in everything from beef stew to chipotle ribs to chocolate cake.

But as a skin care company we promote Guinness on the skin!  Guinness contains anti-oxidants, providing you with B vitamins and preventing free radical damage.

We made our Irish Stout Oatmeal Soap (Guinness) a couple of years ago to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. We had so many accolades it became a permanent Earth to Body product. One testimonial came from Monsieur Eau, our water delivery guy:

"O Mon Dieu. Le savon. Extraodinaire. I love it.  My sister loves it too. Look at my hair. I need more. I want three cases.  It is parfait.”  He beamed under his thick mane of white hair, always impressive, but now even more so. Freshly coifed with our Irish Oatmeal Stout soap, now reigning as a shampoo too! 

We call our Guinness soap Irish Stout Oatmeal Soap’.  It is Castile based with Guinness, organic oatmeal and a very subtle touch of bergamot.  

If you have Guinness beer, you can use the actual brew to nourish the skin.  

* Mix flat Guinness (let it sit for an hour or so), and add warm water to a couple of tablespoons of the beer.  Let sit for a few minutes and rinse off.
* Guinness beer contains brewer’s yeast and this kills bacteria.  You can rinse your skin with Guinness and reap the benefits, especially for acne prone skin. 

Or just use our soap! 
Enjoy your Guinness this St Patty’s day. Or any day.  Cheers or ‘Sláinte’ as the Irish say.  If you are reading this after St. Patty’s Day, ‘Sláinte encore’!