Essential Oils and Soapmaking ... making your smells "stick"

As an artisan soap maker, I belong to more than a few soap making and other body products groups on various social media sites. It is in one of these groups that I have stumbled across many, many folks who use essential oils in their soaps and then post inquiries about why their EOs fade after a period of time. They ask what can be done to make their scent blends "stick" or last longer and are often given advice that the addition of clay or other ingredients will help. Yes, clay will aid in making an EO "stick" in a bar of soap ... but that is not addressing the reason that a smell fades in the first place.

In the case of essential oils, whether or not your fragrance lingers in the finished product lies in what type of oil you are using to scent your soap batch.  Are you using a single Top Note, like Lemongrass?Or a Top/Middle Note, like Lavender?

EO Top Notes will give your products a burst of scent, but tend to fade after a period of time, after the terpines (the molecules that create the smell) have dissipated. In the case of soap, the EO that is closest to the surface will fade ... only to reappear as the bar is used.

Your Lemongrass soap scent has not "disappeared", its scent is simply no longer on the surface of your product. Lavender EO will last a bit longer because it's both a Top and a Middle Note ... it has longevity in its application and you will continue to smell it much longer than a simple Lemongrass EO scented soap product, though not nearly as long as it would if you included sandalwood or cedarwood in your EO blend.

In soap making instances, when faced with the addition of any number of essential oils to my finished product, I tend to include some sort of Base Note to my EO blend. Base Notes serve to anchor the entire EO blend, giving it longevity in the finished product.  In short, my soaps scented solely with essential oil blends last significantly longer than those scented with one or two EOs ... and the batch doesn't require the addition of some sort of clay to the recipe to anchor the scent profile.  

In the case of my recent kombucha soap recipe, I used 9 essential oils, balanced between Top, Middle, and Base Notes. It took a day or two to research the EOs I was using, as to their individual properties and how they fit together into the whole blend, and an hour or so to figure out the math to create the amount needed for a 12 pound batch, but in the end, the surface smell of this soap will outlast my simple Lavender & Lemongrass soap without the need to add clay to my recipe.

There is a wealth of information on the interwebs about basic aromatherapy and how to use EOs in your soapmaking (and other projects). In general, I keep the following in mind when creating my EO blends:

Top Notes (30% of your EO blend) The majority of essential oils are classified as top notes. Top notes evaporate fast. They are fresh and uplifting in nature.

Middle Notes (50% of your EO blend) Middle notes normally give that extra punch to the blend and have a balancing effect. They are very soft in nature. Base Notes (20% of your EO blend) Base notes are very heavy, the scent is very solid, and will linger for a long time.  These fragrances are very intense, rich and relaxing in nature. AromaWeb has some incredible information on their website about essential oils and their profiles ... they are one of my go-to places for instant information when I sit down to blend a new smell. Most importantly, they will tell you if your searched oil is a Top, Middle, or Base Note, what it blends well with, and max usage rates (if there are any). I know this is lengthy ... and I hope it helps at least one person in their soap making endeavors =)

What's in YOUR Lotion?

In many of today's skin products, even the most seemingly benign ones made by "handcrafted artisans", you will find a few ingredients that may cause one to scratch their head in confusion. Words like "dimethicone" and "propylene glycol" and "phenoxyethanol" are commonplace on an ingredients listing for products primarily crafted using a pre-made lotion or soap base ... products claiming to be "natural" or "naturally crafted", but are not actually good for the skin you love to live in.

Dimethicone is a silicon based polymer. Simply put, it’s a silicon oil, man-made in the laboratory and used in personal care products as an anti-foaming agent, skin protectant, and skin or hair conditioner. And while it is an FDA-approved ingredient for use in lotions and other skin products, listing it as a "low level risk", for me, this is not a good ingredient to be using in your daily skin care. Like petroleum products, silicone oils can actually make dry skin worse over time. Instead of sinking into your skin and nourishing it from the inside out, like healthy ingredients do, it forms a sort of plastic-like barrier on the outside of skin.

Furthermore, that artificial coating on the outside of skin causes several issues:

* It traps everything under it—including bacteria, sebum, and impurities—which could lead to increased breakouts and blackheads

* The coating action actually prevents the skin from performing its normal activities—like sweating, temperature regulating, sloughing off dead skin cells, etc.

* Prolonged exposure to dimethicone can actually increase skin irritation, due to the coating property and because dimethicone is listed as a possible skin and eye irritant

* Those with sensitive or reactive skin are at risk of an allergic reaction to dimethicone

* On top of all this, dimethicone is a non-biodegradable chemical—bad for the environment

Phenoxyethanol is a man-made, synthetic preservative and while it is considered a safe alternative to parabens, this chemical has been restricted in Japan and the EU because of its potential mutagenic effects. Sadly, though they are effective against bugs, it seems most synthetic preservatives carry some health risks—especially since we are exposed to them everyday in several products.

Propylene Glycol is a form of mineral oil, an alcohol produced by fermentation of yeast and carbohydrates. In the skin and hair, propylene glycol works as a humescent, which causes retention of moisture content of skin or cosmetic products by preventing the escape of moisture or water. The Material Safety Data Sheet warns users to avoid skin contact with propylene glycol as this strong skin irritant can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage. When used in body products, propylene glycol is what gives lotions their "slip" and their "moisturizing" properties ... leading to various known health effects, such as eye irritation, skin irritation, skin drying, defatting (dissolving natural fats).

The Face and Body Lotions made by Raison Éthique contain none of those ingredients ... in fact, our ingredients list is quite minimal. We use Vitamin E as a preservative and raw, organic beeswax as our "slipping" agent. Our ingredients do double duty as actual food ... and we don't have a single ingredient requiring a chemistry degree, hiding toward the bottom of the list in really small print.

In the very beginning, we thought about taking short-cuts - buying some of those fancy, pre-made lotion or shampoo bases that we could simply add scent to and slap our name on it ... but that's not really the type of product we want our customers to use ... and it's certainly not the type of product we want to sell.

And so ... we do it the old fashioned way ... we make our lotions by hand ... using temperature and beeswax to emulsify our products and vitamin e to preserve them. It takes a little longer ... but the end result is a product of which we can be proud ... with no synthetic additives undoing the benefits all the other ingredients provide to the human body.

"Fresh and clean as a whistle" ... or is it?

This morning, I discovered a bar of Irish Spring tucked away in the dusty recesses of an unused bathroom cupboard drawer.  I dragged it out with the intent of tossing it into the trashcan.

But, as a soap maker, curiosity got the better of me ... and so, I turned it over to read the ingredients label:

There are a number of ingredients with which I was not familiar ... even though the internal shudder that coursed through my body certainly has become a familiar feeling whenever I read the ingredients labeling of so many commercially made products being sold on today's grocery store shelves.

So ... I fired up the computer and headed for the interwebs.

BTW - the internet is a beautiful thing, really.  Twenty years ago, research such as I was about to undertake would have required a library card, a sack lunch, and a degree in chemistry.  But not any more ... with a little typing and a good browser, you can find whatever you seek, whenever you wish.  It's like it's MAGIC!

But, I digress ...

So let's take a closer look at those pesky ingredients:

Soap (sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate, and/or sodium palm kernalate), water, hydrogenated tallow acid (skin conditioner), coconut acid, glycerin (skin conditioner), fragrance, sodium chloride, pentasodium pentetate, pentalerythrityl, tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate (can I buy a vowel, please), titanium dioxide, D&C green #8, FD&C green #3.

Ugh.  I make soap ... and I've never, ever heard of any of this stuff.

Well then ... let's break it down, shall we?

Sodium tallowate:  Sodium tallowate is a true soap made by combining the fatty tissue (or tallow) of animals, such as cattle and sheep, with lye, typically sodium hydroxide.

Okay ... I get that one.  

Sodium cocoate:  Sodium cocoate is the sodium salt of fatty acids from coconut oil; lauric acid is the primary component of this oil.  Function:  Surfactant - Cleansing Agent; Surfactant - Emulsifying Agent

This is NOT coconut oil (Cocos Nucifera) ... this is a byproduct that they are classifying to be the same as coconut oil.

Sodium palm kernalate:  Sodium Palm Kernelate is a sodium salt of the acids derived from palm kernel oil.  Function:  Surfactant - Cleansing Agent; Surfactant - Emulsifying Agent; Viscosity Increasing Agent -Aqueous; viscosity controlling.

Not to be confused with palm kernal oil, which we don't currently use due to the sustainability and the orangutan issues surrounding the sourcing of this inexpensive oil.

Hydrogenated tallow acid - a mixture of saturated fatty acids which are produced from animal fat by hydrolysis and then treated by hydrogen at high temperature and pressure in a presence of special catalysts.

We use stuff like cocoa butter and/or shea butter, coconut and olive oils ... and we leave the glycerin IN the soaps that we make, keeping the natural conditioning ingredients where there are supposed to be, which is IN the soap.

Coconut acid - Coconut acid is obtained from the meat of the coconut and used in soaps because the extra fat it contains helps ensure the lye is fully reacted, and it gives the soap a good feel and more lather.

This is the closest ingredient to the real thing that I've seen so far ...

Glycerin (now, this is a fun one) - produced by synthetizing sugar or different propylene based substances OR is a byproduct in the biodiesel making process.

In conventional soap making, glycerin is a naturally-occurring substance that is created during the soapmaking process and is absorbed back in to the soap as it cures.  It is what makes your skin soft and is what helps your skin absorb moisture from the air.  Glycerin is hydroscopic ... meaning that it pulls moisture from the air and brings it to your skin.  

It is during the commercial soapmaking process that salt is added to the soap mixture, causing the soap to separate from the glycerin; allowing for ease in the extraction of the glycerin to be used in other things like skin care products, medicines, and other alimentary products.  Without glycerin, soap can be very drying to your skin ... so companies add it back ... only it's not the same glycerin that they removed in the first place ... it's a chemically-derived substance.

Makes sense ... 'cuz Glycerin (aka Glycerol or Glycerine) is also used in the tobacco industry as a humectant; in the food industry as an additive; in the pharmaceutical industry as an excipient and formulation aid; in chemical substances as an intermediate; in the cosmetic industry as a skin moisturizer and humectant; as an anti-freezing substance in cell and sperm preservation; and as a lubricant in hydraulic fluid.  There's lots of money to be made off of this stuff ... no wonder the stuff is so precious that they need to siphon it off to use elsewhere.

Sodium chloride - regular ol' table salt

Pentasodium pentetate - used in soaps as a water softener, and to protect dyes and perfumes from combining with metals in a solution. It is considered a chelating agent.  It's full name is Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid.

(Pentaerythrityl) tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate - an antioxidant [used in the manufacture of soap] that inhibits reactions promoted by oxygen that could cause unsaturated fats to become rancid.

IMO - if manufacturers stayed away from animal tallow (fat) in the first place, this ingredient would be unnecessary.  Yes, I am aware that the use of animal fat in the making of soap has been around since the beginning of Time ... but this isn't Babylon ... we've come a long way in our knowledge of making stuff from other stuff that is healthier to place in and on our bodies.

And then ... there's all the rest of the stuff ... titanium dioxide, a whitener added to get this chemical mess white so that the colorants can be added, along with a vague reference to a fragrance that is not of natural origins, but will leave you "Feeling Fresh and Clean as a Whistle".

BTW - after I researched all this information, I stumbled across a webpage wherein the author already did the homework:  http://www.scientificpsychic.com/blogentries/ingredients-in-soap.html.  I suppose I could have stopped ... but today, it seems, was a day for learning.

And so ... on that note ... the soap's being chucked in the trash.

I'll do it on my way to the shower ... where I plan on using my own stuff.

Cheers!

Oh My Meadowfoam!

One of the main ingredients in our lotions and perfume oils is meadowfoam seed oil ... a relatively new oil on today's market that boasts a long chain fatty acid structure which delivers good barrier formation and helps to lock fragrance onto the skin, while also helping to prevent the rapid absorption of natural creams and lotions that may sometimes be perceived as "drying".

Our nourishing hand and body lotion is perfect for keeping your skin soft & smooth. Loads of meadowfoam seed oil and vitamin e will pamper your skin without leaving a heavy, greasy feeling behind.

bio-friendly ingredients: meadowfoam seed oil, distilled water, beeswax, vitamin e, essential and/or fragrance oils.

You can find this amazing stuff ... and so much more ... in our online store!

Made for a Woman ...

"Strong enough for a man ... but made for a woman!"

That's the marketing gimick that's been associated with Secret Deodorant since the beginning of time.  And it's no wonder ... it's a phrase that, when combined with the ultra-feminine packaging, totally appeals to every aspect of a woman's psyche.  It's pretty.  It smells good.  And on our sweatiest, highest stress days ... we still come out of it smelling like a rose.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Secret Deodorant carries no acute or chronic health effects.

Well ... if you overlook that nasty aluminum ingredient ...
and talc ...
and cyclomethicone ...
and behenyl alcohol ...
and pentadecalactone ...
of course there are no serious health effects!

And when you take into consideration that aluminum in deodorants cause breast cancer and Alzheimer's ... well, you can completely understand why this particular brand specifically targets women.  And if you cannot, let's just say that there's a fuckton of money to be made off of cancer research [especially breast cancer research] ... and the more women using conventional deodorants that contain harmful chemicals, the more women that you have fall into a higher-than-normal risk for breast cancer and other related diseases that the pharmaceutical companies can then make money off of ... it's a vicious cycle perpetuated by greed.

So ... let's take a closer look at these ingredients ...

Aluminum [in any form] - a strong human neurotoxicant and an endocrine disruptor that is directly linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
Talc - proven to cause tissue injury and fibrosis; is also a skin and lung irritant
Cyclomethicone - a silicone-based solvent and is used as a "wetting agent" for personal care products
Behenyl Alcohol - a saturated, fatty alcohol used as an emollient, emulsifier and thickener in cosmetics
Pentadecalactone - a perfume and/or fragrance ingredient added to health and beauty products.  It is a pheromone derived from the male human and is used to attract females; in OTC body products, it is included in it's synthetic form.

YUCK!

Personally, for years and years, I fell under the sing-song spell of this particular brand.

And then quit ... cold turkey ... about three years ago.
I plan on remembering who my kids are when I'm 90.
I also plan on having both of my breasts.

But ... I still sweat.  And on really, really warm days ... I prefer smelling more like a flower than a gym sock.

So ... I did the research ... formulated a few recipes ... and voilá!

Organic Deodorant

Only 4 ingredients ... tested on pregnant women & teens ['cuz they can really sweat] ... and no complaints.
No clogged pores.  No yucky ingredients.  Made by a women ... for humanity.

Three scents are available ... more to come!

Chamomile & Lavender

Mother Earth [bergamot, cassia root, cedarwood, nutmeg, lavadin, & peppermint]

Basil, Sage & Mint

It's Been Such a Long Time ...

since I last wrote.  I know.

We've I've been a little busy ... okay, more than a little ... crazy busy.

So ... to catch y'all up:

Days have been filled to the brim with meetings ...

and new body products like this whipped, chocolate body souffle

and these incredible chocolate bath truffles

which are also available without chocolate ... 'cuz not every woman wants to smell like a dessert!



And then ... a trip to the beach to celebrate our 1st Anniversary ... 'cuz we're cool like that the Smalls were at school and it was our only chance for 6 hours of silence, together, that didn't involve sleeping.




And sometime around the end of February, we headed out to Lincoln City to stock a new store that opened up right on Hwy 101.  Cool place filled to the rafters with amazing artisan treasures.



And to round out the month, with the first designer meeting under my belt, The Muse has been heading into overdrive spinning fabrics into clothing, setting up artistic collaborations with other equally talented designers, and talking to potential wholesale accounts about their carrying of our line of body products.

It's been a fun month!

There's so much more to come ... will keep you posted ;)

365 Days of Creativity - Day 6 - Holy Habaneros

About a week ago, I have a message from my sister-in-law ... she's experiencing some incredible pain in the muscles of her legs.  Pain that the doctors are suggesting to be treated with some heavy-duty meds.

She doesn't really want to go that route ... and I can understand.
Completely.

So ... I jump online and begin researching alternatives to medication in the treatment of deep tissue pain.

And on one of my favorite sites for alternative medicine, I find what appears to be a pretty amazing idea:

Capsaicin Cream

I locate a recipe and send my husband to the store for a pound of habaneros.

which he chopped for me ♥

so I could then cook them in olive oil in the slow cooker for the next 24 hours.

When finished, the whole, visually volatile mess is run thru the blender ... 

'cuz, ya know, it certainly ISN'T HOT ENOUGH AS OIL ALONE!

After blending, I strained out all the little particles ... thought about feeding the pieces to the chickens and changed my mind ... they love me and I didn't want to ruin that relationship  ;)

The strained oil is then blended with organic beeswax and poured into these cute little jars to cool.

For all intents and purposes, this stuff sounds amazing!  We've listed it in our online store.

For those wanting to know what this stuff does and how it's used, here's more info:

Deep Tissue Capsaicin Cream, good for arthritic pain, deep tissue pain, bursitis, fibromyalgia, diabetic neuropathy, joint & muscle pain, and post-herpetic neuralgia.

When applied to the skin, capsaicin cream has been found to deplete substance P, a neurochemical that transmits pain. Capsaicin is a natural chemical with desensitizes a person to pain, providing a temporary reduction in a person's overall pain levels. When used regularly, capsaicin cream will provide prolonged pain relief.

Recommended dosage is .025% capsaicin cream, applied to the skin four times a day, directly over the areas of muscle or joint pain. Amount may be increased to no more than .075%.  Those sensitive to capsaicin may experience a stinging or burning sensation as a result of the capsaicin infused oil, this is a normal reaction to the capsaicin oil.

When using, wear gloves when applying ... or wash hands immediately after coming in contact with the cream. Do not use with a heating pad. Do not apply immediately after a hot bath or shower. Avoid getting in eyes or other mucus membranes. Do not apply to broken skin.

Ingredients: organic habanero oil, Grade A virgin olive oil, organic beeswax.

* Please note, this product has not been evaluated or approved for use by the Food & Drug Administration for its healing or medicinal properties.  Use of this product should not be lieu of your doctor's advice.  In case of a harsh reaction, such as inflammation or skin blisters, discontinue use immediately.  Always seek medical advice when experiencing internal pain. *

365 Days of Creativity - Day 4 & 5 - Shhhh!

On Monday, I was accepted as an Official Designer for Fashion Week San Diego.

YAY!!!

So, life's a little exciting around here at the moment.
And on Day 4, I spent most of the day working on 2 designs for San Diego ...
can't show them to you, 'cuz it's a S.E.C.R.E.T!

For those that know me, you know how much I love sharing on FB the stuff I'm doing in the studio.
Day 4 ... notsomuch ... 'cuz no one's supposed to know about any of it until like, October.
The kids have been sworn to secrecy ... bribed with candies for the next 6 months!

Now ... Day 5 ... that's a completely different story.

I can tell y'all about today ... until the cows come home.

Except, there's not much to tell ... we chopped about a pound of habaneros.  Okay, not "we" ... my husband chopped them for me ... and now they're marinating in the slow cooker for our next project.

which will be shared with you ... tomorrow.

Until then ... hasta la manana!

365 Days of Creativity - Day 3 - Vanilla Cream

Vanilla Cream Massage Oil Body Bars ...

we revised the recipe, replacing the majority of the shea butter with illipe butter and moderately increasing the amount of vanilla flavor ... creating a scrumptious treat for your body, mind, and spirit.

Illipe butter is the fat obtained from the nuts of Shorea stenoptera, a wild crop in the jungle of South East Asia. It is pale yellow solid fat after extraction, which turns quickly into green color. It has recently been introduced as a cosmetic raw material and is used in various skin-care preparations such as nourishing night creams, sun products, hair masks, and lip balms. It is the exotic butter that comes closest to matching cocoa butter in triglyceride composition. Illipe butter is recommended to heal sores and mouth ulcers. It reinforces the skin lipidic barrier and helps maintain skin moisturization, practically reversing the damage to the skin caused by the environment.

Cocoa butter is obtained by pressing crushed seeds of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao. Cocoa butter is a well-known, valued ingredient in chocolate. In cosmetics, it is valued for its melting point, which is close to body temperature, its greasing and lubricating properties, and emollient virtues. Cocoa butter also provides skin conditioning and thickening attributes.

You Should Know - the Wonders of Healing Salve

To start the New Year off right, we're putting up another batch of our Organic Healing Salve.  It's becoming quite popular ... just this last week, two more stores are carrying this amazing product.

For those of you unfamiliar with the ingredients found in this tiny tin of wonderfulness, I've put together a list of the ingredients and what they do for you when it comes to things like bumps, bruises, cuts, burns, scrapes, bee stings, diaper rash, sunburn, eczema, and the like.  Because there are no synthetic chemicals, there's really nothing that our salve is not good for ... we've even used it on our pets.

Every product that we've created and eventually placed into a store was borne of a need here at home to have the best products available ... products that do not harm the environment or harm our family's health.  Every product we make we use first on ourselves to ensure that nothing bad would happen ... even if it's accidentally swallowed.

The herbs used in our infused oils are grown on our property.  No fertilizers.  No pesticides.  No synthetic chemicals are used to grow these amazing ingredients.  Our free range chickens and ducks provide all we need to fertilize the garden and control the pests.  The oils, beeswax, and honey used are all certified organic and come from local farmers.  Because we are aware of the importance of maintaining the integrity of the ingredients' health properties, we process small batches of our salves at low temperatures ... high temperatures kill the "good stuff" found in each ingredient.

You can find this product in our online store at www.secondstardesigns.com, in our Health & Beauty section.  To find a store in the greater Portland/Vancouver area which carries our products, simply click on the "stores" menu tab.


Only good things for you and your family.

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Coconut oil works wonders for dry and damaged skin, cuts, bruises, and speeds the healing process while it fights infection.  Coconut oil forms a protective barrier against the skin to hold in moisture while penetrating into the deeper layers of the skin tissues to help in keeping the connective tissues strong and supple.

Grapeseed oil is naturally astringent, antiviral, and contains a number of antioxidants as needed by the human body for health.  As one of the primary oils in our salve, grapeseed oil provides anti-inflammatory pain relief as well as aiding in improving the skin's overall circulatory health.

Chamomile contains spiroether, a strong antispasmodic agent that relaxes aching and tense muscles.  Chamomile also contains compounds that are antibacterial and anti-inflammatory and is used to promote tissue regeneration.

Calendula is a particularly good treatment for all types of skin irritations, insect bites, and minor wounds.  The antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties of calendula make it effective toward the healing of many types of wounds and skin irritations.

Comfrey is one of the best-known healing herbs and has been used for centuries ... as far back as the early Greek and Roman civilizations.  Its name, symphytum, comes from the Greek symphyo and means "to make grow together" ... and was used at the time to heal fractures.  Comfrey relieves pain and inflammation caused by injuries and degeneration of the skin tissues.  Topical treatments are used to heal burns, skin ulcerations, abrasions, lacerations, insect bites, and any other skin irritation.  Comfrey's naturally occurring astringent tannins help to form a protective surface over wounds to promote healing of the underlying tissues.

Plantain is a naturally occurring herb used to stop bleeding in minor cuts and abrasions, and helps in treating all forms of skin irritations, superficial ulcerations of the skin, and burns.

St. John's Wort is naturally anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and is naturally analgesic.  It's used in the treatment of damaged skin and helps to calm the pain of sciatica and arthritis.  It is a singular healing herb that when included in an ointment, helps to open obstructions, dissolve swelling, and close up wounds.

Lavender helps to relieve pain, kill germs, heal burns and skin rashes, and provides an overall calming effect, reducing your perception the pain associated with any skin trauma.  Its naturally antibacterial and antiseptic properties kill bacteria and help to clear up acne.


Honey offers incredible antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties for your body and overall health.  Its natural healing properties can be used as a head-to-toe remedy for everything from eye conjunctivitis to athlete's foot.  Its powerful healing attributes have been recognized for thousands of years to promote healing for cuts, cure ailments and diseases, and to correct health disorders.

Beeswax acts as a surfectant and when used in conjunction with other oils, forms a protective barrier on the surface of the skin.  This barrier provides a film of protection against irritants while still allowing the skin to breathe.  Similar to honey, beeswax offers anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral benefits, making it beneficial for treating minor skin irritations.

DISCLAIMER: These statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. These products are not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disease or medical condition. Please consult your doctor before using these or any product during pregnancy or if you have a serious medical condition.