Search Results for: trace
Soap Intensive for One
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| Ralph, from Lebanon, after 3 fun days of soaping! |
We had a very special guest at Otion for a 3 Day Private Soapmaking Lesson. We were able to cram a lot of soaping into the class because Ralph was such a quick learner. He was a natural at soapmaking and covered all the types of soapmaking, all the types of molds he could use (including a nifty Vertical Mold that hasn’t even hit the Bramble Berry product line yet!), all the types of colors to use (including herbal infusions) and experienced a wide variety of soap situations (diluting Labcolors, seizing soap, accelerating trace soap to name a few).
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| Geode Soap from this tutorial |
Ralph spent almost an entire day on all of the ins and outs of melt and pour soapmaking, culminating with swirling and layering. But before we did that, we did the freeform Gem Soap. Both batches turned out great
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| Adding Fragrance (Cold Water) |
Ralph also learned how to make lotions from scratch and do Liquid Soap, from scratch. All of his bottles turned out perfectly and he and I both breathed a sigh of relief when none of his fragrance oils seperated or did anything funky in liquid soap (as they are prone to do). You can make your own liquid soap from scratch; we’ve got an ingredients + video + e-book tutorial here.
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| Just a small sampling of the soap we made in 3 days |
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| Our whipped CP soap, in-process |
We had a really good time with Whipped Cold Process soap and everyone enjoyed the Cotton Candy Look of the project.
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| Rock Soap |
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| The Birchwood Mold makes swirling a breeze! |
Thanks for visiting Ralph! We can’t wait to host you again and this time, take a day to explore the sites (skiing anyone?).
Chai Latte Love (CP Soap Tutorial)
Guest post from Amanda at Lovin’ Soap. Thanks, Amanda!
My name is Amanda Griffin and I am a soap maker living in Grand Prairie, TX. My passion is sharing, talking and teaching the craft of soap making in the classroom, on my blog (www.lovinsoap.com) and in my eZine, Lovin’ Soap.
One of the best things about soap making is being a part of the soaping community. Whether it’s on a forum, at a meet-up, at a conference or at a local supply shop; soap makers are some of the most passionate, creative and caring people I have ever met. I’m truly grateful to be a part of this amazing community of crafters.
Chai Latte Soap!
I’ve been on a chai kick lately. I managed to wean myself off of Starbucks Peppermint Mochas only to discover the greatness of their Chai Lattes. Those things are addicting. So look-y what I ordered to soap!
I ordered Bramble Berry’s Chai Tea Cybilla. It smells wonderful! I was going to blend it with some coffee but I looked through my FO stash and couldn’t find any. O’well.
I found these little 3 fl. oz. white cups at the grocery store awhile ago and knew that I wanted them for my Chai soap.
This was going to be a test batch so I came up with a small recipe. When you’re doing a recipe this size be sure to measure in grams and be as exact as you can.
The recipe:
Palm oil – 90 g
Coconut oil – 90 g
Olive oil – 90 g
Cocoa butter – 30 g
Castor oil – 30 g
Lye – 46 g
Water – 100 g
*A note on this recipe + BB’s Chai Tea. I knew the fragrance oil would probably accelerate a bit because it does contain spice. I didn’t even use a stick blender; I just mixed with a spoon and it thickened quickly and also got very hot. Also note that my recipe is a pretty quick tracing recipe because of the palm and the cocoa butter. So if you want to slow things down when using fragrance oils like this…use a recipe that contains higher amounts of olive. If you’re okay with lard, lard is slower to trace than palm so works great also. Keep your temps down as soaping cooler tends to slow trace. Adding the fragrance oil to your melted oils helps also if you have a fast moving FO.*
For this soap, I’m going to make this recipe twice. Once for the bottoms and again for the tops. So make your soap as usual and bring to trace. Pour it into the individual cups.
That was easy enough! Now we’re going to make the tops. Since these are hot drinks I wanted a layer of cream on top that molded to the top instead of a whipped top like they put on the cold drinks. I’m going to make our same recipe and do sort of a partial whipped. I used a cold lye solution but melted the oils like I usually do and let them cool a bit. Since I used cocoa butter I couldn’t let them cool too much or it would start to re-solidify. I wanted the topping to be more white so I added some Titanium Dioxide dissolved in water.
Once you have your lye solution cold (put it covered and labeled in the fridge) pour your lye into the melted oils. I wanted to whip some air into this mixture so I used a beater instead of my stick blender. I didn’t add any fragrance oil because I wanted it to stay nice and white.
You can see after I’ve whipped it for a bit it gets more white in color.
I beat it for about 10 minutes. Longer than I thought it would take! You want to look for it to become whiter and a bit frothy/slightly whipped. My goal is to pour it over the tops of the drink bottoms and have it spread on its own. So you don’t want something that you have to spread with a knife. We’re ready to pour the tops on.
I scraped off the tops of the cups to make them more even. I would actually recommend leaving a bit more head room in your drinks than I did so you have room for the cream topping (so spoon out a bit). I’ll add more cream topping for the next batch – lesson learned.
Gently spoon the topping on. If you do it slow enough and a bit at a time it will form a nice dome without running over the sides.
Depending on what drink you’re making, you can sprinkle of some topping. I added a bit of cinnamon to these. If I were doing a peppermint mocha I would shave a bit of brown soap to look like chocolate shavings on top.
These cups are super easy to unmold. Let them sit like this for about 24 hours, pop in the freezer for 10 minutes or so and gently push from the bottom while squeezing the sides gently. They pop right out.
On Bramble Berry’s website they do state that this fragrance oil discolors to brown. This is exactly what I want so I didn’t add any colorant. If I wanted a darker brown I could have added some brown mica or even some cocoa powder.
Here are the chai soaps labeled. You could leave them naked, put a label around the naked soap or my favorite (see below)…put them back in cups and put the label on the cups. They ended up being about 3.5 ounces (so if you download my label template, make sure to check the size of your batch).
Download the label template here.
-Amanda
Want more from Amanda at Lovin’ Soap? Check out her Lovin’ Soap E-Zine.
Let it Bleed: Cold Process Soap Color Gradation Tutorial
I’ve long been fascinated with how to make Labcolor’s inherent bleeding qualities work in a bar of soap. It does a great tie-dye look and the swirls are romantic and ephemeral. But, the idea of a sunset or a rainbow really drew me in. I started with a simple but sophisticated color graduation. It’s a very easy concept in theory but in practice, takes precision and weighing … and patience.
My husband and I are using this bar in our shower at home right now at home and it has fantastic lather and a great balance of bubbles with moisture and creaminess. Coupled with the absolutely exquisite scent and sophisticated color, it’s one of my favorite recipes I’ve made in a while. Read through all the instructions; it requires prep and precision.
Ingredients
29.6 oz Olive Oil
14.8 oz. Coconut Oil
8.89 oz. Palm Oil
5.92 oz Palm Kernel Oil
2.96 oz Sweet Almond Oil
2.96 oz Mango Butter
9.34 oz Lye
21.5 oz DistilledWater
4 oz Fresh Snow (the star of the show!)
Magenta Labcolor (20 ml diluted in 8 oz. of distilled hot water, Germaben II preservative added at 1%)
5 containers that will hold 18 ounces each
5 lb Mold With Sliding Bottom
Get everything you need with the click of a button.
(Note: If you’re looking at this recipe and thinking “Why, oh why, are you weighing to .96 on any of these? Anne-Marie, you are on crack!” It’s okay to round up to whole numbers on the Palm Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Mango Butter and not change the lye. You’ll end up with slightly more superfat but not enough to change your recipe. So not to worry you don’t need to buy a brand new scale!)
Step One: Stop. Check. Do you have all of your safety gear on hand? Are kids out of the house? Animals locked outside? Do you have an hour to focus? Do you need to review the Lye Safety Video? How about scaring yourself half to death with this scary blog post I did on lye? Done? Check? Great. Eye protection ON!
Step Two: Weigh out all of your oils. Melt the Palm, Coconut and Palm Kernel Oil. Add the Mango Butter to the warm oils and stick blend the Mango Butter in. Add the Sweet Almond Oil and Olive Oil to this mixture. Set this aside.
Step Three: Weigh out your water (I don’t do volume because I like the precision factor of weighing it). Weigh out your lye in a separate container. Add the lye slowly, slowly, slowly to the water, stirring the entire time, taking pains NOT to breathe in the fumes. Work only in a well-ventilated area. If you are ultra sensitive, wear a mask.
Step Four: We’re working with a hotter mixture this time so check the temps of your oils. If they’re not up to 140, heat them up until they are. Check the temp of your lye; has it dropped to 140-150? Is it clear? If so, it’s ready to add into the oils, slowly. Careful! No splashes.
Step Five: Use your stick blender to achieve light trace.
Step Six: Separate out the soap into 5 containers. WEIGH the soap out into containers. Weigh out 18 ounces of soap per container. There is no fragrance added yet.
Step Seven: We are working from lightest to darkest. For each layer, you will add fragrance and color and *then* stick blend to a very thick trace.
Layer 1: No color, Fragrance suggested usage rate: .8 oz.
Layer 2: 7 drops of color, Fragrance suggested usage rate: .8 oz.
Layer 3: 14 drops of color, Fragrance suggested usage rate: .8 oz.
Layer 4: 28 drops of color, Fragrance suggested usage rate: .8 oz.
Layer 5: 43 drops of color, Fragrance suggested usage rate: .8 oz.
For each layer, you’ll strive to achieve a THICK trace. Then, pour carefully over a low-placed spatula. This helps the soap not break through to the next layer. You’re looking for very straight lines. Do not hurry the pour. You have time.
I did a light dusting of fine glitter over the top just for a little Fairy Queen look.
This soap does best with a warm gel phase; the colors pop! more with a strong gel phase.
Buy One, Get One Free (E-Zine Special)
We’re absolutely a’twitter with our hearts a’flutter over these super cute soaps made by Amanda from Lovin’ Soap. What’s even cooler about these soaps is that she shares her technique to make them (and more!) in her brand new E-Zine, Lovin’ Soap.
Filled with cold process soap tutorials on utilizing color for some delightful projects, this E-Zine is professionally laid out and features an interview with a professional soaper as well as (eyes downcast modestly) moi.
Want to learn more or buy the E-Zine? Click here to check it out. It’s attractively priced at $8.99 for 27 pages of projects, definitions (emulsion versus trace), interviews and adorable downloadable labels for your own soapy projects.
But WAIT, there’s MORE! Anyone that buys this E-Zine by the end of January will receive the Soap Queen Melt and Pour (2008-2009) Compilation for free! It’s a two-fer! Or, a freebie that we can all get in a lather about.
This is an electronic file in PDF format – once your payment is processed (usually within 24 hours during the week, a bit longer on the weekends) you will be able to download a copy from your account at brambleberry.com so keep your log-in information handy.
Testing 1, 2, 3!
Yes, I know I’m always declaring that this or that is my favorite. But I really mean it this time. . . for now, anyway. I love our new 12 bar square silicone mold. It is so perfect for testing soaps but also makes 12 perfect bars of soap in a flash! We do a lot of soap testing to ensure that each fragrance we carry is safe for use in cold process soap. For every fragrance you see at Brambleberry.com, we’ve tested at least 100 more (really, I swear, that is not an exaggeration) that didn’t make the cut.
Rather than go over the basics of how to make cold process soap again, I’m just going to share my basic technique for testing fragrances. If you’ve never made cold process soap before please learn about the safety precautions and basic steps first. My series of 4 videos about how to make cold process soap would be a great place to start. Episode 1: Lye Safety, Episode 2: Basic Terms, Episode 3: Using Fragrances, and Episode 4: Using Colorants. And if I catch you making soap without goggles, may the Soap Fairies forever take away your soaping luck.
This is a really great basic recipe that I frequently use for testing. It makes a nice, hard bar of soap and with the high percentage of Olive Oil it traces slowly, which gives me plenty of working time. Get everything you need to make this recipe (except the fragrances and olive oil) with the click of a button.
Whenever you make CP soap, prep is very important. When you’re trying to test 12 fragrances, it’s ultra important. I gather all of my safety equipment, ingredients, tools, containers and molds. Next, I mix my Lye solution. While that’s cooling, I measure out my fats and oils.
Next, I weigh out all of my fragrances. It is really important when testing fragrance oils, like I am here, that everything is accurately weighed so that you can duplicate your successes .And, when all the fragrances are weighed out, you can just do a quick ‘dump ‘n’ stir’ – you need 12 little dishes if you’re working on 12 individual fragrances.
Next I mix my lye and oil and bring it to a very light light trace, after everything is prepped. Then I weigh out 4 ounces of soap batter into each container. I fill all 12 containers before moving on to the next step. You may have noticed that this recipe makes a little more than 48 oz. This is because you can never get every last drop of soap out of the pot, and with this recipe you are sure to have 4 full ounces for each bar.
Finally, I thoroughly mix in the fragrance into one of the cups (by hand with a spoon) and pour it into the mold. Then move on and do the next one. I have 12 individual spoons waiting to go. It’s the only way to ensure no scent contamination.
For clean-up there are a couple of ways you can tackle the job. You can wipe out the wet soap with a paper towel and then immediately run very hot water into the cups to wash the oily mess down the drain. Or you can wait a couple of days and wash the fresh soap out the cups. The waiting method is easier – but it only works if you have the space and enough containers that you don’t need them for a few days!
Do you have other testing tips and techniques? I’d love to hear them!
Cold Process …. With a Twist!
Add elaborate details to your Cold Process soap easily with fun melt & pour soap pieces. In the bars above, I embedded a basic brown and black layered melt & pour loaf and some experimental marbliezed soap in green and white cold process soap.
Tip: To ensure your melt and pour does not ‘sweat’ in the CP soap, let it sit out for 24 hours under a running fan before embedding into your CP soap recipe.
What You’ll Need
32 oz. Apricot Kernel Oil
20 oz. Palm Oil
18 oz. Coconut Oil
4 oz. Castor Oil
1.90 oz. Jojoba Oil
10.7 oz. Lye
25 oz. Distilled Water
4 oz. Hungarian Lavender
Tools:
Stainless steel or glass mixing bowls
Scale
Heat safe mixing spoon
Electric Stick Blender
Vinegar (in case of splashes)
Gloves, goggles and long sleeve shirt
Cardboard box lined with freezer paper or Bramble Berry Wooden Loaf Mold
Important: If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, we highly recommend reading The Everything Soapmaking Book or watching our How to Make CP DVD, before you attempt the recipe below. Safety information about handling Lye is here. And, of course, SoapQueen.TVhas FOUR free videos on making CP soap that I can’t recommend enough.
Instructions:
Step 1: Gather all of your ingredients and tools. Weigh your oils and have all of your containers and molds ready before you even look at the lye. Also, plan out your embedds and make sure they fit in your mold the way you want.
Tip: You don’t need to invest in expensive molds to start making soap! We just used a sturdy cardboard box and lined it with freezer paper. To figure out how much soap your mold will hold, use this formula: Length x width x height x .55 = approximate soap in ounces. When calculating your height you don’t want to fill your box all the way to the top – so just put in the height you want your soap to be.
Step 2: SUIT UP! Put on your gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection.
Step 3: Wearing your full safety protection, mix your pre-measured lye into your water. Once it has cooled to between 120F to 130F, gently mix the lye water into your melted oils.
Step 4: Once your soap has reached light trace, add the Lavender essential oil and colorant(s) of your choice.
Step 5: Divide your soap into different bowls if you are making multiple colors.
Step 5: Pour about an inch of soap into your mold – if you are using multiple colors, pour both colors and give it a gentle swirl.
Step 7: Place your soap embeds in the CP soap. Wiggle them down a little (your gloves should still be on) to make sure no air bubbles are trapped.
Step 8: Pour more CP soap over the top to cover the embeds.
Step 9: Wait a minimum of 48 hours before attempting to cut. Remember, Cold Process Soap requires a full 4 to 6 weeks of cure and dry time before using.
Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!
Cheery Holiday Cold Process Soap Tutorial
Wouldn’t these be an extra special Christmas gift? If you start your recipe this week it will be cutting it close with the cure time, so make sure to add a “ready to use date” on the packaging. Enjoy!
Buy everything you need for this three part recipe in the click of a button!
Cranberry Embed Directions
Two days ahead of time, make your cranberry embeds This is an unscented batch of soft soap that is almost play dough like in its consistency. The batch is a small 45 oz. size and is meant to fit into our Silicone Pans.
Recipe
16 oz. Olive Oil
7.9 oz. Macadamia Nut Oil
6.1 oz. Coconut Oil
.8 oz. Jojoba Oil
4.2 oz. Lye
10 oz. Water
Wearing full safety gear and following basic CP principles (unsure about CP soap? Watch the FREE SoapQueen.TV tutorials on CP soap here), make your soap.
Add Burgundy Oxide and Merlot mica at thin trace and stick blend in. If you want to ensure no clumps at all, pre-mix color with 2 tsp of oil. Pour your soap and do not insulate. To keep the soap softer and more pliable, not going through gel phase is essential.
After the soap has set-up for just one day, use a melon baller, a cookie dough batter tool or just cut into squares and round off the corners and form with your hands. If the soap is too sticky, mix a little flour with Merlot Mica and apply to your hands to keep your hands from getting sticking to the soap.
Next make layers 1, 2 and 3: Get your soap to thin trace then, separate it into three batches. This recipe is designed to give a good amount of working time for multiple swirls and layers.
White with Green and Black Swirl Directions
14 oz. Olive Oil
8 oz. Coconut Oil
6 oz. Canola Oil
5 oz. Palm Oil
2 oz. Palm Kernel
5.0 oz. Lye
11.6 oz. water
2.6 oz. Cranberry Fig Fragrance
Colorants
Green Soap: 20 oz soap batter with Emerald Labcolor and Green Chrome Oxide. Add approximately 1 oz fragrance.
White Soap Mix: 20 oz soap batter with Super Pearly White. Add approximately 1 oz fragrance.
Black Soap Mix: 12 oz soap batter with Black Iron Oxide and Vintage Gray Mica. Add approximately 3/4 oz fragrance.
Add the fragrance right before you pour so that if your fragrance accelerates trace you will still have time to embed your cranberry inclusions.
Fragrance the white layer of soap. Pour a thin layer of white soap over the black/green mixture. Add the Cranberry Inclusions, two by two, spacing evenly along projected bar cut lines. Pour the rest of the white soap.
Spoon or pour the remainder of the black and green swirl over the Cranberry Inclusions/White layer.
For the last layer: Split the batch into two containers.
Red and White Swirls
Recipe
4.88 oz. Olive Oil
2.79 oz. Coconut Oil
2.09 oz. Canola Oil
1.74 oz. Palm Oil
.7 oz. Palm Kernel
1.76 oz. Lye
4.03 oz. Water
.9 oz. Cranberry Fig
Red Soap: 7 oz soap batter blended with Burgundy Oxide and Merlot Mica. Approximately 1/2 oz fragrance blend.
Uncolored Soap: 11 oz soap batter with approximately 3/4 oz fragrance oil.
Swirl the colored soap and white soap together. Pour over the Green/Black layer.
Insulate well and allow to harden for a minimum of 2 days before cutting. To ensure your soap is mild and hard, be sure to make your soap by November 15th so it can dry for a full 4-6 weeks before the big day!
Soap Puffed Marshmallows
As promised (on Facebook; what, you’re not reading our Facebook fan page obsessively? Shame. Shame), my Hot Cocoa Soap recipe in all of its chocolaty goodness! I used an advanced technique called ‘In the Pot Swirl’. Basically, you split up your batch into two different colors and pour 1 color into the second pot in various places. The soap batter naturally swirls the colors together when you pour the soap into the mold (I used the 5 lb Wooden Log Mold). I also used real cocoa powder as my brown colorant then mixed in Super Pearly White Mica (in about 12 ounces of soap batter) for the swirling color. Swirling a thin layer on top adds a nice touch so save a little extra of the Super Pearly White soap. You can use any swirl technique that you want though. If you want to see exactly how the ‘In The Pot Swirl’ technique is done, check out this video to watch the step by step process.
The Recipe (screen shot from the SOAP iPhone App)
I do have to admit that I made this recipe to test a new fragrance called Hot Cocoa that Bramble Berry is bringing in for the holidays. It’s pure chocolate bliss and passed the cold process test with flying colors. I’ve already ordered it so keep your eyes peeled on the Bramble Berry site. In the mean time, I would suggest a combination of Dark Rich Chocolate and Vanilla Select.
And now the secret to my ‘mallows! They were totally inspired by Soapylove’s Soap Frosting recipe (check out the guest blog post here and a Soap Queen TV episode here). They smell delicious and look positively edible!
Ingredients
4 oz White Soap Base
2 Tablespoons Liquid Soap
Electric Mixer
Knife
ONE: Melt 4 ounces of white soap base in the microwave. Use an electric mixer to blend the melt and pour soap base with 2 tablespoons of liquid soap, 1 ml of Vanilla Select and 1 ml of Vanilla Color Stabilizer. Once the mixture is fluffy, scoop it into a silicone tray mold and let cool for about 30 minutes.
TWO: Once the mixture has cooled, gently release (or pry) the soap from the mold and cut evenly into marshmallow sized squares. Use your hands to round out the corners (they mold really easily).
THREE:Pop them on top of your CP soap at thin trace for a sweet accent!
Get everything you need for the soap and the marshmallows with the click of a button. The only thing you’ll have to get on your own is the olive oil. I’ve also included the 5 pound wooden mold but if you already have one, remember that you can delete anything that you don’t need from your shopping cart.
Did You Already Eat That? (Guest Post)
A big thank you to Emily Caswell for letting me share her post on the Safe Cosmetic Act of 2010! The blog is, of course, written with tongue firmly in cheek but for a serious reason. It is written in response to the broad, overreaching tenants of the proposed HR 5786 which would ‘ban’ ingredients that were proven to be ‘carcinogenic when ingested’ for use in skin care. Most everything is carcinogenic in some way, shape or form when ingested and Emily has a droll interesting way of explaining commonly demonized trace elements that may be lurking in your own fridge. Check out her blog GCDSpa Stuff and website GCDSpa.
The Precautionary Principle: A Cautionary Tale
I’ve been inspired by the actions of WATCH (Women Against Toxic Cosmetics Harm) and the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, who (with the assistance of the Environmental Working Group and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics) sent away 12 common cosmetics products last spring to be tested for chemicals. Since they’ve already found the hidden toxins in my medicine cabinet, I figured maybe I’d take a look at what was going on in my fridge. I’ve been a vegetarian for more than 25 years and eat a diet based largely on whole, organic foods, so I was sure my food “tests” would come out clean. I was appalled by the results.
Carcinogens
• Formaldehyde
As it turns out, the apples, bananas, beets, broccoli, onions, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, grapes, green onions, kohlrabi, pears, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, radishes, and watermelon I have been feeding my family naturally contain 2 to 60 mg per kg of formaldehyde. The dried shiitake mushrooms my husband likes contain a whopping 400 mg/kg! As you may know, formaldehyde is classified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen, and is known to cause cancer in rats.
• N-nitrosopiperadine
Before I learned of its formaldehyde content, I enjoyed my baked potato, and added a generous dash of black pepper. Now I’ve learned that black pepper, too, causes cancer in mice. It contains substances that break down into N-nitrosopiperadine, which is carcinogenic.
• Safrole
With pepper out of the picture, I figured I’d turn to other herbs and spices to make my poison-laced meals more appetizing. But cinnamon and nutmeg are among many that contain safrole, which causes liver cancer in rats. Rats.
• Tannins
Who knew that my morning beverage was killing me from the inside out? Guess it doesn’t matter whether I choose coffee or tea, or head straight for the cocoa, because with all three I’ll be getting tannins, substances which cause tumors in experimental animals. (What a relief that people don’t consume coffee, tea, or cocoa in large quantities!)
Endocrine disruptors
I thought that by eliminating the parabens from my beauty products I’d be “safe” from endocrine disruption, but I was so misled. Lots of plants apparently have naturally-occurring hormone-like activity, in the form of phytoestrogens. There are high levels of these phytoestrogens in my carrots, legumes, broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower, soybeans, oats, rice, onions, apples, and coffee. Thank goodness I don’t drink beer, because they’re in that, too. Sure, these phytoestrogens are considered beneficial by some, but I also read that when sheep consume these natural hormones it can lead to decreased fertility. Their consumption also disrupts the normal cycles of female rats. And if things are bad for rats (particularly when consumed in grotesque amounts), they must be bad for us (even if eaten in moderation). Right?
Goitrogens, enzyme inhibitors, mutagens, antivitamins
The list goes on and on. It’s a horror show. All of my favorite foods have ingredients that, if not downright toxic, are capable of inhibiting enzyme action, vitamin absorption, and thyroid function as well as causing cellular mutations. Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, mung beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, parsnips, celery, and wheat are only a few. I’m a walking time bomb, eating my way to the next organ failure.
Now that I understand the dangers, I can’t believe that the government has been advising us to eat fresh fruits and vegetables every single day! Even The Harvard School of Public Health says, “Most people should aim for at least nine servings (at least 4½ cups) of vegetables and fruits a day.” They recommend, “Go for a variety of kinds and colors of produce, to give your body the mix of nutrients it needs.” What are they trying to do, KILL us??
I, for one, will not be brainwashed. You can tell me that these foods are “safe” and even “beneficial,” but I’ve done my research. I know the truth. I’m taking my cue from the Environmental Working Group and their Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and adopting the precautionary principle with regard to my fridge. Anything that’s been linked to cancer in animals, or has estrogenic or toxic effects, will be banned from my diet. Until further notice, then, I won’t be eating apples. Or bananas, beets, onions, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, grapes, green onions, kohlrabi, pears, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, radishes, or watermelon.
Oh, and coffee, tea, cocoa, eggplant, mung beans, brussels sprouts, parsnips, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, lentils, peas, peanuts, soybeans, oats, rice, onions, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. Did I forget anything?
But I’m not going to stop there. These foods are in every supermarket, and as The Story of Cosmetics suggests, we need to make sure that for items in our stores, the “choice to be safe and healthy has already been made.” Surely this must apply to our food, too? Take a look at your broccoli label. Where is formaldehyde listed on that package? Where are the goitrogens? The laws governing these labels are a travesty! I will not rest until my Evian label includes not just “water,” but also arsenic, fluoride, chlorine, barium, mercury, atrazine, copper, chromium, and any other measurable contaminants.
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 is nice and all, but The Safe Foods Act of 2010 is a piece of legislation I could really sink my teeth into. Who’s with me?
Report from DC – Education Matters
Hi from DC! It’s been a jam packed day. I can’t even convey how much work, how much energy and how much commitment everyone that is here with me has to this issue of ‘Safe Cosmetics.’ If you are unfamilar with bill H.R. 5786, the ‘Safe Cosmetics Act’, you can familiarize yourself with it here (Soap Guild Site). Here’s what we told the offices we met with:
1. Small Business will be negatively impacted – Regulatory issues around cosmetics cannot be more stringent than than are with food (as they will be with this bill). Small business especially will bear the brunt of this regulatory climate.
2. Trace elements are not feasible to include on labels – This is what a label will look like for a lotion bar with Cocoa Butter, Olive Oil and Lavender Oil
Ingredients: Olive Oil (Tri-Glycerides of Palmitic, Di-Glycerides of Palmitic, Palmitoleic, Stearic, Oleic, Linoleic, Arachidic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Squalene, Beta Carotene, Campesterol, Methylenecholesterol, Stigmasterol, Sitosterol, Fucosterol, 28-Isofucosterol, Stigmadienol, Brassicasterol, 7-Cholestenol,Ergostadienol, Avenasterol, Triterpene Alcohols, Tirucallol, Taraxerol, Dammaradienol Beta-Amyrin Germanicol, Butyrospermol, Parkeol, Cycloartenol, Tirucalladienol, 24-Methlene 24-Dihydroparkeol, 24-Methlenecycloartanol, Cyclobranol, 4-Methyl Sterols, Esters of Tyrosol, Esters of Hydroxytyrosol, Vitamin E (Tocopherols), Carotenoids, Oleuropein) Cocoa Butter (Tri and Diglycerides of Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Lead, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Isoleic Acid, Beta Carotene, p-Hydroxybenzoic Acid, Vanillic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Syringic Acid, Phenylehtylamine, Theophylline, Aliphatic Esters, Aromatic Carbonyls, Caffeine, Theobromine, Diketopiperazines and Alkylpryazines), Lavender Essential Oil ( Cineole Octanol, Octanone, Alpha Bisabolol, Alpha Cadinol, Alpha Humelene, Alpha Phellandrene, Apha Pinene, Alpha Terpinene, Alpha Terpineol, Alpha Terpinyl Acetate, Alpha Thujene, Alpha Thujone, Beta Bisabolol, Beta Pinene, Beta Thujone, Borneol, Bornyl Acetate, Camphene Camphor, Cineolealpha Terpineol, Carvone, Caryophyllene, Carophyllene Oxide, CIS Alpha Terpineol, CIS Alpha Bisabolene, CIS Carveol, CIA Linalol Epoxide, CIS Ocimene, Citronellal, Citronellol, Coumarine, Cuminaldehyde, Eugenol, Furfural, Geraniol, Geranyl Acetate, Geranyl Butyrate, Hexanol, Hexyl Tiglate, Isoborneol, Lavandulol, Lavandulyl Acetate, Limonene, Linanlol, Linalyl Acetate, Methyl Heptenone, Myrcene, Nerol, Neryl Acetate, Oleanolic Acid, P Cymene, Rosemarinic Acid, Sabinen, Terpinenol, Terpinolene, Trans Carveol, Trans Epoxy Linalyl Acetate, Trans Linanol Epoxide, Trans Ocimene, Ursolic Acid)
3. Reporting requirements are draconian. This bill requires you report when you hire someone (to the FDA), when you change suppliers (like when you switch to Bramble Berry from another vendor), who your distributors are (hello? competitive advantage out the window) and all of your ingredient formulations (without guaranteeing your confidentiality).
4. This bill is based on bad science – Cosmetics are not killing you. Diet, lack of exercise, obesity, smoking, and excessive drinking are positively linked to cancer. Cosmetics have no conclusive link. Yes, 1,4 Dioxin is terrible (in high doses, ingested by rats). Yes, Formaldehyde is bad if you are massively exposed to it (in 100% concentration high doses, bathing in it) but small businesses are trying to formulate with natural ingredients and yet they are the ones that will be most affected by this.
The meetings were our opportunity to express how small business would be affected. We were thankful to have the time and understand that there is more time for us to comment, educate and share how small business will be affected before a bill is passed.
There is still time, Soap Queen Readers and Bramble Berry Customers – keep up on OpposeSCA.com, write your Representatives, sign the petition and vote your opposition to the bill here.
The most important thing? Your Representatives are on BREAK right now. They are likely visiting/staying in your district (where they live). CALL THEM! Visit them while they are home. You have thirty days starting now. You can do it! Call me if you want talking points – 360-734-8278 or email me. I will help you talk to your Representatives and tell your story in a way that makes an impact. We can do it – we can educate and inform lawmakers on how this bill (as currently written) affects us.
‘Safe Cosmetics Act’ NOT So Safe For Small Biz
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010′ (H.R. 5786) was introduced this week by Democrat Representatives Scharkowsky (Illinois), Markey (Massachusetts) and Baldwin (Wisconsin). The full version of the draft bill for you to read is here. This draft has not yet been voted on. There is still time to have changes made.Now is the time to educate yourselves and write your lawmakers.
Bramble Berry opposes this draft legislation as written recommends that you write your Representative with a customized message opposing this legislation as it is currently written (not sure who your Rep is? Click here to find out!). Add your details; make it personal and let them know that if this bill passes as it is currently written, that your business will be affected. Here’s one example of a letter that you could write:
Dear Representative,
I am writing to express my concerns about H.R. 5786, the ‘Safe Cosmetics Act’. I make lip balms, soaps and lotions and sell them at the local Farmer’s Market. My business makes less than $5000 per year. I sell to pay for my daughter’s piano lessons and my son’s soccer camps every year. What I make augments my family’s income and helps our quality of life. I make my soaps and lotions with common ingredients that you can find in your kitchen. For example, I have a great bar of soap that I make out of four ingredients: Olive Oil, Water, Lye and skin safe fragrance. H.R. 5786 has a bunch of extra reporting requirements that would be virtually impossible for me to comply with. I’m just one woman in a kitchen. I don’t have a huge staff to help me. Plus, I often change my formulations based on the season and what my customers are asking for. Being nimble is a huge advantage for me and if I have to submit a new safety and ingredient affidavit for every product, that will take away one of my key advantages. Please don’t support this legislation. It is well-meaning but is written in such a way that I won’t be able to stay in business because I won’t be able to keep up. Estee Lauder started at her kitchen table. Please don’t take that opportunity away from me.
Sincerely,
Suzy Soaper
Suzy’s Soaps
Bramble Berry is opposed to the bill for the following reasons:
1. It is unnecessary. The cosmetic industry is a safe industry with a wide variety of choice on the marketplace for consumers.It is already illegal to manufacture unsafe cosmetics and is already illegal to not fully label ingredients or contact information on products.
2. This bill would, handicap small manufacturing business. In a time of economic uncertainty and distress for millions of Americans, this is untenable. For some families, the income from the Farmer’s Market may be what they are living on now.
3. The reporting requirements are ‘big brother.’ They ask for your annual sales, number of employees and even the names and addresses of your vendors. They even require you to log your proprietary formulas. It’s not clear what information might be kept confidential or not.
4. ‘Detectable’ trace elements must be included on labels. Since almost everything is detectable, labeling will be confusing to end consumers (even more than it is already). So, “Water” on a label would look like “Aqua, Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Zinc” (and if you live in my town, you’d also have to include caffeine, oral contraceptives and antibiotics in your water labeling requirement).
5. Trace Ingredients that are considered carcinogenic when ingested (eaten) will be unable to be used in skin care products. Ingredients that are ‘found to induce birth defect’s when ingested or inhaled will be banned as well. You will be able to eat apples but not put them in skin care products. That’s because apples contain small amounts of cyanide. Lucky for us our body can detoxify cyanide in small trace amounts. But under this law and the ‘trace elements’ portion of the proposed bill, you still wouldn’t be able to put apples into your products even though you can safely eat apples.
6. Safety Statements, ingredient listing and registration information must be listed for each and every cosmetic, soap, lotion and potion must be made up. With a small scale manufacturer who is making a few of this and a few of that, this is a paperwork nightmare. It does not allow for easy changing of recipes when formulating and trying new recipes.
7. There is no full exemption for small businesses. Small businesses often launched because of the notion that cosmetics could be made with a larger proportion of more desirable ingredients than have typically been used by traditional cosmetics manufacturersI fully believe that the backers of the bill are well-meaning and trust that this bill will have more changes before it is voted on. But it’s up to us to explain what changes need to be made to protect small business. Don’t just take my word and interpretation of the bill as gospel, read the bill for yourself here and start the education and change process today.
Updated 8/1: There is a petition against the ‘Safe Cosmetics Act’ here. Read the petition and sign it if you agree with the statements. The official Oppose SCA site is here. Curious about how a bill becomes law? There’s a fantastic post about it here as it pertains to the ‘Safe Cosmetics Act’ in particular.
Updated 8/1: There is a petition against the ‘Safe Cosmetics Act’ here. Read the petition and sign it if you agree with the statements. The official Oppose SCA site is here. Curious about how a bill becomes law? There’s a fantastic post about it here as it pertains to the ‘Safe Cosmetics Act’ in particular.
A TestaMINT to Mint Chocolate Chip
Yesterday was a whirlwind afternoon. I tested 8 new fragrances for Spring 2011 and I tested the new Mint Chocolate Chip Fragrance Oil in a 5 pound batch of cold process. The results are in and I’m pleased to announce the Mint Chocolate Chip behaved beautifully! The scent holds up nicely and it didn’t accelerate trace in the slightest. I used a swirling technique using ketchup and mustard squirt bottles to layer in some thin lines of green (mint) and brown (chocolate). Originally I was going for a chocolatey-minty-icecreamy swirl but ended up with a camouflaged army motif. Since there was such a high percentage of olive oil in my recipe, the base color turned out a little more yellow than I had planned. But the soap still turned out great. I’ll be sure to keep you updated after the unmolding ceremony.
Below are the potential Spring 2011 fragrances that I’m testing. There are so many promising fragrances but they have a long way to go to get into the Bramble Berry line of fragrances. Only one fragrance seemed to separate a little bit but the rest are looking promising (holding back an exited girly scream). I’m in LOVE with these scents and can’t wait to release them!
Then some unexpected visitors. My brother, Erik, brought the “kids” over to say ‘Hi‘ to their favorite auntie. Sammy on the left and Toby on the right…my little angels!
Oh and if you’re looking for a super cute Mint Chocolate Chip melt and pour project and missed my re-post on Friday, learn how to make these sweet soaps (below) on The Soap King blog.
Soapylove Tutorial – I Heart Soap
Have you seen the new Soapylove molds? I’m so excited about them! There’s an adorable Rainbow and this one is the I Heart Soap.
Here’s a neat way to show off the mold’s raised details without much fussiness. In fact, the print makes the heart seem extra 3-D which is neat! It’s really simple. Here’s how it’s done…
Supplies (makes 2 bars of the flowery print design):
2 ounces Naturally Clear soap base
6 ounces Bright White soap base
Candy Jar fragrance oil set
I Heart Soap mold
Water Soluble Paper
Non-Bleeding Red liquid colorant
Instructions:
Have a cute design printed on the water soluble paper using a laser printer. I bought some pretty printable scrapbooking paper designs from Tracy Ann Digital Art on Etsy. Make a template by tracing the heart from the mold onto a scrap paper then cut out. Trace this onto your printed paper and cut.
Melt the clear soap base then fill just the heart area. Place your design face down into the clear soap and allow to harden.
Meanwhile, add a few drops of red colorant to the remaining soap base. Make sure the soap is nice and hot (130ish), spray the heart area with alcohol, and pour a thin layer into the mold so all the details are filled and you have a very thin layer otherwise. Allow to harden.
Melt the white soap base, add fragrance of your choice (1/2 – 1 teaspoon), and let cool to 120 degrees. Spray the red soap with alcohol and fill mold with white soap, making the stream of soap hit the back of the heart (this will hide any thin areas that might happen if you poured on a different spot). Allow to harden and unmold!
To make the pearly version, I just used pearly mica instead of red colorant and colored the white soap with a bit of the red colorant to make a pretty pink.
Have fun!