June Test Results

I have over a dozen new soaps on the drying shelves, and most have reached the stage where I test them. How is that done? Well, first they go into the kitchen window where I wash my hands before and after cooking, or cleaning or messing with the dogs. Once it passes muster on my hands, I take the soap into the shower and wash with it. If all goes well, I then wash my face with it.

Thus far, out of dozens and dozens of batches of soap I've made over the years, two didn't pass the face washing test, and those are actually sitting in a box in my office, and I'll probably shred them for laundry soap.

What went wrong? Well, I used two different recipes I use often, but both had fragrances I purchased from one company. Both made my face feel warm. It didn't burn or dry my face, but I really didn't like the effect, so they're off the shelf. Which is too bad, they were gorgeous! I won't be buying fragrance from that company anymore.

So on to tonight's test batches.

CUCUMBER MINT

This is my favorite cucumber-yogurt recipe, all vegetable and scented with a blend of mint and rosemary, anchored with a touch of patchouli. 

This recipe is touchy to make, largely because of the yogurt. Between that and the cucumber peel, the soap turned a beautiful light yellow, and is colored with Titanium Dioxide and Green Oxide for the swirls.

This is one of my gentler soaps, good for body and face, normal to dry or sensitive skin. Its has luxurious, rich lather and the fragrance is fresh. 

This one is a total win.

MIMOSA 

A traditional soap, I don't have the recipe right in front of me but its one of my Hemp recipes. I didn't think I'd like this, its fragranced with a champagne fragrance, mixed with orange essential oil. The orange faded down just a bit, but it leaves just enough scent to give the impression of a Mimosa. Its bracing and effervescent. The soap is silky (it does have silk in it) and surprisingly mild. The later is rich and bubbly. This is good for body and face, normal to dry skin. 

 DEAD SEA MUD

This one is a mild olive-heavy soap made with Dead Sea Mud and a touch of sea salt. I was truly surprised at how pretty it turned out, I touched up the greenish brown mud with a tiny bit of green mica and it came out lovely. Its a softer soap than most I make, but will harden with time. Its scented with a mint EO blend and a touch of rosemary essential oil

This is great for normal to oily skin, face and body. (though I have dry skin and I use it on my face almost daily.) Its mildly exfolliant, largely due to the mud grains. You'll want to use a washcloth when you wash your face with this one. 

SUMMERTIME DREAM

Another silk and hemp soap. This fragrance was the first I ever bought for soaping, probably a decade ago. I loved it back then and for nostalgia's sake, I bought another small bottle just to see if it was as wonderful as I remember.

It is!

The scent is a blend of summer fruit...apples and pears and peaches. It reminds me of sitting in an orchard on a warm day. The lather is fluffy and creamy, the texture of the soap is silky and fine. Of the four I have in the shower, I reach for this one just out of pleasure. This one is good for all skin types and is very mild. Its colored with mica colorants.

That's it for tonight! Over the next couple days, I'll be posting a few others. These will be going up on Etsy soon, so keep an eye out for them!

Ethics and Ingredients in Soaping (I'm on my virtual soapbox!)

Its been a long time!
Since its a new year, I figured I should get back into the habit of posting even if I don't have new photos to share.

 Above: Honey and Leather fragrance colored with gold mica, titanium dioxide and cocoa powder. The oils in this soap resulted in a very bright white batter, and in this case, I wanted a warm tan with the brown, so I used gold mica, which morphed to tan.

Over the past few months, I did a lot of soaping for specific events and for special orders. I've experimented with a few new recipes and fragrances, and it got me to thinking about some of the decisions I face with regards to ingredients.

As you (should) know, the Holy Trinity of soaping is Coconut Oil, Palm Oil and Olive. When combined properly, they give a nice balanced bar of soap. Coconut creates bubbles, Olive is conditioning and Palm adds bubbles and stability. Other oils are added to create lather, for theraputic benefits, for hardness and so on. But the main three above are the backbone of soapmaking.

Problem is, Palm is a devil oil. The world-wide production of Palm is having a devastating effect on the environment. That's why I've been experimenting with other oils, primarily tallow and lard. Its what our grandmothers used and I've been very pleased by the results. The soap I'm producing now is far, far superior to my former recipe.

But I still wanted a vegetarian bar other than my Castiles, (100% Olive Oil) so I turned to a lovely recipe that features a medley of fine oils, including Rice Bran, Olive, Sunflower and a few others, blended with cucumber, yogurt and aloe vera juice. Its been very popular and while it isn't as hard as my other soaps, the gentle, luxurant lather is worth it. :)

Speaking of other ingredients, lets talk about some of those other devil oils. Shea oil is also exploiting natural resources as well as the laborers who harvest it. And...*sigh*...Argan Oil. Bad for the environment. Even my hairdresser has stopped carrying it.  I'm sure there are others too. I've been leaning more heavily on more sustainable oils. Hemp is my current favorite, along with sunflower. Both make incredible, luxurious lather.

I take some flack for using soap scents and colors instead of sticking with "natural" or essential oils. So here's some plain talk about fragrance and color. My priority is to create a long-lasting, gentle, ethical and safe bar of soap. 

Not all essential oils are safe. Many are not ethical.

Wintergreen oil smells lovely. Too bad it can be fatal to children.

Sandalwood costs and arm and a leg...because it's endangered. Why do you think these oils are so rare and costly? Because they're RARE.

A few years ago, Patchouli prices went out the roof because of overharvesting. As a general rule, citrus oils burn out of soap very quickly, unless they are anchored with lemongrass (which I'm not fond of) or a blend of synthetic and longer lasting essential oils. In addition, citrus oils can cause photosensitivity. Some essential oils are flat-out toxic when used improperly. Just because Nature made it doesn't mean its beneficial.

If you are going to use essential oils in any context...soap, lotion, massage oil...do your homework. One site I suggest is Robert Tisserand: http://roberttisserand.com/

Last year, a soapmaker/herbalist told me a flat-out horror story about her uncle. His wife was treating his cancer with essential oils, which resulted in a painful and grisly ending for the poor man. I'm not saying EOs are bad, I'm just saying to use caution and educate yourself. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Often what we hear is anecdotal and not backed up by studies.

And this all leads to the question...does any of this matter? If I put lavender oil in my soap, or astronomically expensive emu oil, do the properties of the oils carry over after the harsh chemical process of saponification? Will essential oils retain their theraputic effect?

We do not know. 

Some fragrances last. Soap fragrances are blends of essential oils and synthetics that are designed to be safe and non-toxic, to not morph during saponification. I personally believe that saponification burns out the theraputic benefits of *most* ingredients. Not all, but most. Saponification is the process of making something that is completely different than its base ingredients. That bar you're holding was made from coconut oil and lye, but that soap is no longer oil and lye. It has been transformed into something completely different.

However, I can attest to the fact that emu oil holds up very well through the process. I used it as an experiment in one batch of soap, and to my surprise, it totally eliminated a very ugly red scar on the back of my hand. (If you ever meet me, ask to see my scars! LOL!) Olive contains a high degree of unsaponifiables, which means the good stuff in olive oil carries over to the soap. (I will post more on olive oil and the special challenges it presents to soapmakers.)

Many essential oils are spectacular in soaping: lavender, patchouli, mints, eucalyptus, jasmine and others hang in their beautifully. Some are complete flops. (I'm looking at you lemon, lime, orange, tangerine and grapefruit) But before you decide on what EOs you want to use, do some research. IMO, they are only useful within the context of soaping for their fragrance. which is important. However, if some of those are like wintergreen have toxic levels, you need to know what you're doing in case it does carry over. Every one of the mints (including lavender) and tea tree are potentially irritating to the skin. I tossed an entire batch of tea tree/eucalyptus because it was TOO aromatic. The PH level was fine, but the oils burned my skin.  If you are using EOs, look carefully at the ingredients, many of the more expensive oils are already diluted in a carrier oil.

My personal favorite EO for soaping is a mint/rosemary blend I use in my cucumber yogurt soap. I purchase the blend, its too expensive and complex for my meager skills. Here's an interesting tidbit: the fragrance its based on is "All Natural." Sounds good...right? The duplicate I use is not "All Natural"...they've swapped out ambergris with a synthetic substitute. A good choice as I'd never support the whaling industry and I'm skeptical that the perfume industry used ethically sourced ambergris. 

There is an array of soap coloring, ranging from natural ingredients such as paprika, kelp, clays and various spices and herbs, to FDA approved dyes, micas and pigments. Most are safe, some are not. (particularly cinnamon, clove and other similar spices) In some naturals, the color works (I love a blend of paprika and turmeric) and others just get fugly. Greens tend to go brown. Ugh. But cocoa powder is amazing! My go-to for black is activated charcoal, made from bamboo. Its effective, natural and ethical. For white, I use titanium dioxide, or mica that's been coated with TD. (it gives a different textural effect.)

 My favorite colorants are micas, and since I go for color and design, they are generally dyed with various skin safe colors that remain true and intense for the long haul.

This soap was fragrance with a blend of Black Tea and Sandalwood fragrance oil. Sandalwood is very rare and prohibitively expensive, so the FO is made with various essential oils and some synthetic fragrance. Black Tea fragrance is also a blend of natural and synthetic fragrances that combine to make a smoky, earthy fragrance. The soap is a blend of coconut, tallow, olive, hemp an castor oil and colored only with blue mica. The white body of the soap is the natural color of the soap batter, which shows how exceptional tallow is in soapmaking.

As you can see, there are a lot of decisions to make. For me, it always boils down to responsibility...to the environment and to safety. I've been doing this a long, long time...before we were using stick blenders to speed things up. LOL! I've changed my approach several times. I've chucked wonderful recipes that wound up not lasting long enough, or that developed DOS. (dreaded orange spots) So if you wish one nugget of advice from me, here it is:

PATIENCE.

I can't say how many new soapers are selling their soap before its even cured. They are in such a rush they cut corners, literally. This isn't a craft you can rush. Your soap will not be ready to use for at least 6 weeks. (up to a year for 100% Castile) You should NEVER sell your soap without giving it months of practice and testing. On your own body. Then hand it over to a few friends to try. PH test it. Zap test it. (with your tongue) Take notes on how it changes with time.

 I made dozens of batches before I felt safe putting some up for sale. And you know what? I still have soap that's a decade old, and its still beautiful and aromatic. And every time I send soap to somebody, I'm afraid they won't like it, or will have a bad reaction or something. Its kinda scary.

Seriously. You whipped up something from oil and LYE and you're running your first batch down to the craft show? I hope you have insurance. 

Anyhow, go for it. Have fun. Share pictures with me and if you have questions, just ask. No one makes soap the same way and we all have different styles and preferences. A bad batch can sometimes be redeemed. Sometimes it goes into the trash. Even failures aren't really failures, because you learned something. (Like that time I forgot to grease the PVC pipe before pouring the soap...)

If you happen to be interested, I have a few bars of the soap above available, and some others I need to inventory before putting up on Etsy. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any requests.

I won't have anything new for Valentine's day, but will be doing some pretty florals and fruit scents for spring in general, Mother's Day in particular. I just need to find a little time to get back in the kitchen and play.