This week was chock full of information, from oils and fragrances to organization tips. The Sunday Night Spotlight: Jojoba Oil explains how this versatile product is somewhere between an oil and a liquid wax, and how it can be used in scrubs, lotions, lip balms and cold process soap. Have you used Jojoba Oil in your products?
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Sizzling Summer Hair Round Up
It’s officially summertime, and if you’re anything like that Bramble Berry team, that means spending lots of time at the beach (believe it or not, even the chilly waters of the Pacific Northwest warm up enough for some swimming this last week!). Or, if you’re like me and Chris, you’re spending lots of time outdoors (hiking and triathlons).
Summer sun can be tough on your hair, so that’s why we’re rounding up our Sizzling Summer Hair series. Featuring nourishing ingredients such as Argan Oil, Nettle Extract and Carrot Seed Essential Oil, this is a collection of tutorials that will keep your hair healthy year ’round.
The Sizzling Summer Hair collection includes four tutorials: Argan Oil Shampoo, Conditioner, Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray and Hot Oil Treatment.
Facebook Photo of the Week (June 21st ~ June 27th)
This week, we shared a collection of recipes designed to keep your hair silky and smooth. The Argan Oil Shampoo Tutorial uses hair loving ingredients like Nettle and Carrot Extract to nourish hair during hot summer months. To complete the routine, the Leave-In Argan Oil Conditioner Tutorial is incredibly moisturizing and great for de-tangling.
If going to the beach everyday this summer is not a possibility, you can easily recreate the texture of beach-hair with the Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray. Simply spray dry hair and “scrunch” to help define curls, and make your hair more manageable when creating up-dos. If you’re tired of the traditional pony-tail, included in this post is a simple hair tutorial that’s great for beating summer heat.
The warm weather has certainly inspired use of bright color palettes and fruity scents. The soap created for an upcoming Soap Queen TV short is a perfect example! On the other hand, our Facebook Photo of the Week from Shana of Bathvs features a classic color combination of black and white, resulting in a soap that is perfect for all seasons.
Sizzling Summer Hair: Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray + Hairstyle
You’re shampooed, you’re conditioned, and now it’s time to finish your do with a Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray. This simple spray recipe relies on Dead Sea Salt and Pink Sea Salt to give your hair body and volume while enhancing any natural waves or curls. Finish off the look with an easy-breezy up-do. Now you’re ready for a day at the beach!
Check out the other tutorials in this series: Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner
Sizzling Summer Hair: Leave-In Argan Oil Conditioner
Shampoo and conditioner go hand-in-hand, and we’re following up yesterday’s Argan Oil Shampoo with today’s Leave-In Argan Oil Conditioner. You can either use this conditioner like a leave-in de-tangling spray, or as a traditional wash-off product. It contains hair nourishing Carrot Extract, as well as DL-Panthenol, which is more commonly known as pro vitamin B5.
Check out the other tutorials in this series: Argan Oil Shampoo and Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray
What’s New: Winter 2014 Edition
The are holidays said and done and the new year is underway, so now is the time treat yourself to new soapy products. There are dozens of new products (including a crazy triangle spatula and new silicone molds) since the last What’s New post. In the upcoming year, you can expect more new items based on your suggestions.
Fragrance Oils
Sunny Herb Garden Fragrance Oil, Sugared Fruit Surplus Fragrance Oil, Wildflower Honey Fragrance Oil, Tobacco & Bay Leaf Fragrance Oil
Four new fragrances were added to an ever expanding fragrance collection. Sunny Herb Garden and Tobacco & Bay Leaf are both earthy, masculine scents. Wildflower Honey is subtly sweet, while Sugared Fruit smells just like its name implies — delightfully sweet candied fruit!
Guest Post: Perfectly Preserved + a body butter recipe
Lotions and butters are some of the most popular bath and body products, but they’re also products that can raise the most questions. Questions such as “Do I need a preservative for my product?” “Which preservative do I use?” and “Are preservatives safe?” are some of the most common ones we see, and we hope this thorough guest post by formulation guru and fellow crafter Susan Barclay-Nichols will help clear up some confusion.
Susan is an expert in cosmetic chemistry, and in this post she gets down to the nitty-gritty of which preservatives work best in which products, their usage rates and their ingredients. It’s a one-stop-shop for everything preservative related! Read on to learn about the wide world of preservatives and how you can safely use them in your products.
A-M Note: If you’re concerned about parabens and the safety of preservatives in bath and body products, we’ve found these following resources to be helpful explanations: Parabens Puzzlement, More to the Parabens Puzzlement and Debate Over Parabens – Truth and Research. Borrowing from the blogs: “The FDA supports the use of Parabens as does the European Union….and under regimented testing by the cosmetics directive of the European Union they too, found no direct correlation of Parabens and cancer.”
Keep in mind, the type of preservative you choose is up to you, and I’m glad that there are effective options for everyone out there who wants to responsibly use a full spectrum preservative. All Bramble Berry preservatives have been approved for use in body products. Now onto the guide! – A.M.
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You’ll notice there are actually two areas of contamination in the product. The first is the great big green spot on the left side, but did you notice the brown-y orange streak to the right hand side of that on the side of the jug? Yep, there’s a little more contamination for you!
I made this lotion without preservatives to show you how quickly things can go off. I made this sixteen days ago. (It might have gone off earlier. This was the first chance I had to check it, to be honest!) I did all the things I generally do – I heated and held both phases, I made sure all my equipment and workshop was clean – but I left out the preservatives. I covered it tightly with Press & Seal in this jug after it had cooled to room temperature. It’s been cold in the workshop – below 10˚C – which is quite chilly considering a fridge should be kept at 0˚C to 4˚C, and room temperature is 18˚C to 22˚C. It is also quite damp back there as we’ve had a bunch of rain since Halloween – just about every day – which is normal for this time of year.
What’s New for Fall
Santa came early this year to Bramble Berry, and he brought a whole host of new products with him! With winter quickly approaching, we want to highlight some of our new products before the busy soaping season starts. We’ve got a few exciting new tools, several fragrance and essential oils and a library’s worth of books and e-books. If you have any suggestions for products you’ d like to see Bramble Berry carry, be sure to let us know in the comments below.
In the past few months, we’ve been working hard on some new soaping tools that will change the way you swirl. Our Easy Swirl and Comb Swirl Tools (also available in our Swirl Tool Kit) are a cold process soaper’s dream. Instead of spending time painstakingly getting those peacock or frog foot swirls just perfect, these tools make the designs possible in a matter of minutes.
Our two newest essential oils — Cedarwood Atlas and Palmarosa, are fantastic for any all-natural recipe. Cedarwood Atlas Essential Oil is said to have aromatherapy benefits, and it’s it’s been said to be helpful for acne-prone skin. In cold process soap, this essential oil has a lovely woodsy scent. Palmarosa Essential Oil, on the other hand, has a soft floral aroma vaguely reminiscent of rose and blends well with citrus-y oils such as Bergamot or milder oils such as Chamomile. We used Palmarosa in the beautiful Fall Leaves soap we cut earlier this week.
To achieve a beautiful blue jean-blue, we’ve introduced a Natural Indigo Powder that can be dispersed in isopropyl alcohol and used in melt & pour or added to the lye water for cold process coloring. Indigo requires a super hot gel phase to go blue and we found that adding it directly to lye water gets you the most blue color. For the below video, we added it, pre-dispersed, at trace. We used Indigo Powder, Safflower Powder and Paprika Powder to color our Celine Swirl. Check out the cut below:
Easy Grip Silicone Ladle, Round Silicone Spoon, Silicone Spatula, & Square Silicone Spoon
These easy-grip silicone tools have been our go-to tools for our soaping sessions. They’re also easy to clean and sanitize. The rubber handles have a non-slip grip and can resist temperature up to almost 500 degrees Fahrenheit. You can purchase the tools individually or purchase the entire Silicone Tool Set.
Do you want to learn more about making your own lotions, cremes and emulsified scrubs? These three new e-books — Back to Basics, Formulating Lotions & Cremes, and Lotion Making 101 — will give you all the information you need to start formulating your own recipes. And at the very last moment (minutes before this post went up), we added this 194 page e-book on Hair Care Products. With this e-book, you’ll have a comprehensive overview of hair chemistry, how shampoo and conditioner work and most importantly, how to formulate great quality hair products for everyday use. They’re available for quick download and instant formulation gratification.
We added three new molds for your melt and pour & cold process soaping (or chocolate or plaster or wax crafting). We couldn’t help but add the Ornaments Mold, and the Guest Goat Milk Tray Mold and an art-deco inspired Filigree Bee Mold were too cute to pass up.
In Bubbles to Bucks, veteran soapmaker Elin Criswell explores what it takes to turn your soapmaking hobby into a business. She gives you useful advice on starting a small business so you’ll have the tools to succeed. This is a must-read for any soapmaker wanting to start or grow their business.
We also snuck a brand new fragrance oil into our line. Introducing the Amazon Lily & Rain, which smells like florally fresh line-dried linens. If you want a sneak-peek of how it works in cold process, check out our Rainbow Squirty Swirls (it performed beautifully!). Also, be sure to also check out the refill for the Guava Shave Ice Fragrance Oil, which is part of the SoapyLove Island Style Soap Colorants Kit. It’s a great way to keep this perennial summer favorite in-stock.
To achieve the perfect decorative finish for your bath bomb cupcakes, soap meringues, or even your fluffy soap filling, use this brand new Basket Weave Frosting Tip to take your designs to the next level.
Now you can get all your major soapmaking oils in one place. We’ve introduced Canola Oil to our fixed oils line for an affordable, inexpensive oil to use in your recipes. We like using Canola Oil as a partial substitute for Olive Oil when we’re trying to get precise colors in soap because it doesn’t discolor the way Olive Oil sometimes can.
Have you used any of these new products yet? If so, we’d love for you to leave a review on our website. Not sure how to do it? Learn how to leave a review on our website here.
Soapy Social Media Roundup
Another week has come to a close, and we started to catch the first glimpses of autumn (it rained for what felt like the first time in months). We rounded out our Soap Crafting-inspired tutorials this week with a citric-acid Shampoo Bar recipe. If you missed the other tutorials, you can check them out here, here and here. Speaking of Soap Crafting, we’re planning something exciting at the end of this month (I may or may not be signing the book at a local bookshop in Bellingham *winkwink*). As usual, we had plenty of activity on planet Soapy Social Media, so take a look at a few of my favorite things from the past two weeks.
Pins:
Top left: This is a great little primer on how to frost beautiful cupcakes. Bonus points: these tips apply to frosting soap cupcakes too!
Center left: This sandwich is so pretty that I would almost feel bad eating it. I love the idea of incorporating edible flowers into simple meals, and lately I’ve been trying my hand at growing some of my own.
Bottom left: You might have to do a double-take with this one — it’s not just a glass, it’s an edible glass! Better yet, it’s made with ingredients that complement the drink itself.
Center: Some excellent advice to keep in mind each day. If I’ve learned one thing from being in business for 15+ years, it’s that things don’t happen if you sit around and wait for them.
Top right: I am so in love with this awesome rainbow soap by Amathia Soapworks. The soap in the front left was made with a cool leopard spot technique, and I tried my hand at it for week four of the Great Cakes Soapworks Challenge.
Center right: So letting a two year old go wild with finger paints may not be the best idea, but this touch painting project still looks like so much fun. It could be something fun to try on a sunny weekend afternoon (out in the garage, with plenty of newspaper down, as far away from the kitchen as possible, of course!).
Bottom right: Who doesn’t love a bit of gold glitter to spice things up? I love mixing a bit of gold glitter with a clear nail polish base for a little pop of color.
Instagram:
Believe it or not, we’re already thinking about Halloween. We worked on a very spooky eyeball-inspired soap this week.
More Soap Crafting awesome-ness! This is the Neon Swirl.
Even though it was sad to realize Fall is approaching, we got some much need rain in the Pacific Northwest this week. Jamisen couldn’t wait to play outside in it!
Tweets:
- I’m a sucker for fun fonts, and this font by ElliotSix is adorable. The catch? According to the font description, it was created by a boy named Elliot, who is (you guessed it) only six years old.
- I typically stay as far away from Taco Bells as possible, but this caught my attention: they’re adding waffles to their menu. And by that I don’t mean they’re serving breakfast; I mean they’re creating some kind of taco-waffle-monster hybrid! Is this the best marketing decision of all time, or the worst? Only time (and a lot of waffles) will tell.
- You may have heard the adage that smoke is attracted to beauty, but does the same hold true for mosquitoes? A new study aims to find out.
- I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote lately. With patience and perseverance you can do anything.
Facebook Photo of the Week (August 9th ~ August 16th)
Welcome to another weekend, everyone! Hopefully you had a fun and productive week — I know I did because my Mom was here to help out with the craziness that comes with two kids and two working parents. To celebrate the release of Soap Crafting, I created a series of cold process recipes inspired by the book. Each recipe was chosen for its unique additives or challenging new technique. I hope they help you expand your soaping skill set. The recipes are Busy Beeswax Soap (soaping with beeswax), Sudsy Shampoo Bars (soaping with citric acid to lower pH), Strawberries and Cream (adding cream and fruit puree to soap), and Bramble Berry Soap (soaping with beer).
In baby news, Lily spent mornings at home with the nanny and Grandma this week and then came to work with me in the afternoons. It’s hard to believe, but she is almost 3 months old now. She is turning into quite the charmer. Having Mom/Grandma around to help help take care of Jamisen and Lily and our garden was such a relief; bless her; she planted all my Fall starts in the garden. It’s always a great time when she comes to visit. I’m looking forward to a fun, family-filled weekend since Grandpa arrived on the train late last night (and we let Jamisen stay up to welcome him). But before we take off to Farmer’s Market, here is our Facebook Photo of the Week. These little guys are just wait for their kisses to turn into Prince Charmings.
This week’s photo comes to us from Michelle Daniel, owner of Tea Time Creations, LLC. What I loved about this soap was the sheer amount of detail that went into it. The handmade frogs with their little tongues and eyes, the reeds growing up the sides of the cake and even the unsuspecting little black fly sitting next to the frog. I can’t imagine how many hours of painstaking focus and precision it must have taken. Michelle made this soap for the Holly Swirl Challenge hosted by Great Cakes Soapworks, which presents awesome competitions with a different theme each month. Michelle has plenty of her other creations displayed on her website, blog and shop too, and sometimes it’s hard to believe they aren’t edible! Thanks to Michelle for this excellent display of creativity, and thanks to everyone else who posts, comments and interacts with us each week on our Facebook page. I look forward to seeing your wonderful photos each and every week.
Michelle’s website: Tea Time Creations
Michelle’s Facebook Page: Tea Time Creations
Michelle’s Blog: Tea Time Creations
Be sure to post pictures of your soap creations on the Facebook page each week for a chance to win a gift package from Bramble Berry, and don’t forget to check Soap Queen regularly for soapy news and updates!
New at Bramble Berry ~ Back to School Edition
It’s only August, but back to school season is just around the corner. New backpacks for the kids, stocking up on cozy sweaters for fall and of course, gearing up for holiday soapmaking and crafting! Jamisen starts pre-school this next month and he has the cutest little dinosaur backpack to take to school.
It’s been a busy month with lots of new products added, from cute soap molds to fancy new essential oils and finally, a much anticipated aluminum-free deodorant base. We’d love to see photos of your creations on our Facebook page, and you can always check the What’s New section on Bramble Berry’s website to be the first to know when we add new items. Happy soaping!
Melt & Pour Soap Fundraiser Kit
Looking to spice up a fundraiser? Ditch the wrapping paper and chocolates in favor of adorable, handcrafted soaps. This kit includes 100 pounds of melt & pour soap, eight different fragrances, various embeddable toys, an assortment of colorants and all the soaping tools you’d need to make 400 bars of soap. The total value of these items individually be more than $460, and so you save almost $100 when you buy them bundled in this kit. You also get extra downloads to help your student sell (like an order sheet).
You’ve been asking and we’ve finally perfected the recipe. Try out this new aluminum free-deodorant base in our push-tubes for easy use. No additives are necessary, simply melt down and pour into containers. You can add up to .1 oz. of your favorite fragrance or essential oil to make this deodorant your own.
Bio-Mulsion wax is a naturally-derived, plant-based emulsifying wax that provides superior skin absorption and a nice spreadable consistency. Use this wax in lotions, creams and liquid serums.
Soothing and skin-loving, Colloidal Oatmeal makes an excellent addition to face masks, milk baths, soaps and creams. Its finely ground texture and nourishing properties make it a fantastic additive for those with dry skin.
Isopropyl Alcohol is the ultimate soapmakers clean-up companion and soda ash fighter. Coconut Milk Powder is an excellent additive and Liquid Crothix helps thicken liquid soaps or shampoos.
Isopropyl Alcohol, Coconut Milk Powder & Liquid Crothix
It’s glitter galore! We’ve introduced four new glitters for your nail polish creations. For inspiration, check out the tutorial we did using the Peacock Nail Polish Glitter.
Gold Nail Polish Glitter, Silver Nail Polish Glitter, Peacock Nail Polish Glitter, & Firebrand Nail Polish Glitter
So many cute molds, so little time!
First Row: Guest Pea Pods, Cow & Calf Tray & Guest Fruit Tray
Second Row: Art Deco Fauna Tray, Bicycle Mold & Iris
Lemon Eucalyptus Essential Oil
We’ve added a fresh and bright essential oil to our fragrance family. As an added bonus, this essential oil is also effective in bug sprays!
Spiced Amber Ale and Cucumber & Kiwi
Get ready for fall with the sweet, aromatic Spiced Amber Ale Fragrance Oil. But if you’re not quite ready for fall, the fruity and fun Cucumber & Kiwi Fragrance Oil can liven up any lingering summer projects.
Judging the ADGA Competition
My friend and amazing soapmaker Kathryn Hackney shares her experience judging the American Dairy Goat Convention Competition in Boise, ID this past October. She also includes some tips from the judges at the end of the post. Enjoy! -Anne-Marie PS – Longtime readers may remember previous posts (here, here, here and here) about the ADGA convention and judging. I’m still dreaming about their (goat) cheese tables!
Hair Chalk Recipe and Application Tutorial
I’ve been loving (obsessing over?) the hair chalking trend going around. If you follow me on Pinterest you may have seen a few hair chalking pins lately, so of course I had to give it a try. After a few test runs with the help of some gracious Bramble Berry team members’ luscious locks, I’ve come up with what I think is a great hair chalk recipe that works on both light and dark colored hair. Plus, a how-to about applying the chalk to hair once it’s made. It washes out in 1-2 shampoos (depending on the color of your hair before chalking; lighter hair may take a second shampoo) and really pops – the perfect low-commitment pizzazz to kick off the new year right.
Make it Monday: Cold Process #UniqueTops
Last week’s Make It Monday challenge was such a blast, and we had over 100 soaps submitted in the #natural colorants theme of the week. We saw everything from Calendula to Activated Charcoal to amazing homemade blends of different herbs and spices! Take a look at our Facebook album to see all the soapy goodness. Check back later today to see the winners of last week’s challenge.
Are you ready for this week’s challenge? Drum roll please…