November Competition Result

November's best-selling item was:

Honey & Orange Blossom Soap

While my first foray into the world of giveaways was somewhat less than stellar, I'm undeterred! The soap will roll-over into next month to be added to whatever turns out to be December's most popular item.

We Got Press!

Our 'Earth For Men' soap has been chosen as one of the best handmade soap bars for men in the November issue of Vegetarian Living Magazine (out now)! 

The essential oil blend of Bergamot, Cedarwood, Bitter Orange and Patchouli really has an earthy tone, which is how the range got its name.

I really like 'Earth' and I'm glad and very proud that other people do too!

Give us a swirl!

Over the years I have come across some truly remarkable soap creations - from elaborate sculptural pieces to impressive embedded designs.  While our soaps are pretty, they are not really artisitic. We have always made thiem in individual moulds, and they are individually wrapped, which does not really lend itself to artistic effects.

The soap swirl is one of the easiest effects to achieve; at its most basic level (which is about where I am!) you can get a really lovely effect, and in the hands of a skilled master the result can be stunning. About a month ago we were contacted by S4C who wanted to  film us making soap for a kids' TV show.  The production assistant, Hannah, asked if we could make it look pretty.  At about the same time we got an enquriy about making a soap loaf instead of individual bars.  "Of course", I said. "We'll add some swirls. It'll look great", I said. I mean how hard could it be?

Well, we eventually got a nice result, but it took several attempts.  The first attempt was more of a layer than a swirl. The second attempt was better, but still not quite a swirl. In the third attempt we tried using green instead of pink and that was fairly disastrous - there was essentially no contrast between the colours. For the fourth try we decided to use turmeric to make a bright orange, but also decided to try a new aroma, which turned the soap orange.  At the end of it all, the turmeric colour completely faded away, so althouhgh there is a hint of swirl, you have to look really closely to see it!  Finally, on the fifth attempt Ant cracked it.  It might not be a masterpiece but it's a pretty decent beginner's attempt.

With a bit of practice, maybe one day we'll be able to create something like this:

 

(Image courtesy of Saponifier Magazine. Soap by http://www.balsam.etsy.com)

Products Update

Back in January I wrote that we would be shaping up for the New Year, involving discontinuing some items, introducing some new ones and streamlining the product range.  Well, we've just about finished and I wanted to let you know what's new.

At the end of last year there were 14 different varieties of soap!  As much as I liked each one, it was clear that we needed a cull.  So we chose the four most popular varieties, which were (in no particular order) Dusk, Soothe (now called Grapefruit & Geranium), Honey & Orange Blossom and Lavender & Chamomile.  We also decided to build a range of products based on these varieties encompassing Sparkling Bath Powder (described in an earlier post), Bath Salts, Body Butter, Hand Cream, and Massage Oil.

Additionally, Earth has always been a woody, masculine aroma to me so we've created a men's range based on it, and redesigned the packaging.

 Images (clockwise from top left): Grapefruit & Geranium Body Butter, Dusk Sparkling Bath Powder, Honey & Orange Blossom Hand Cream, Earth for Men After-Shave Balm, Shaving Soap and Bath Soap.

New Items: Honey & Orange Blossom Hand Cream, Body Butter, Sparkling Bath Powder and Bath Salts; Dusk Body Butter; Lavender & Chamomile Sparkling Bath Powder and Bath Salts (Body Butter and Hand Cream coming soon).

Discontinued Items: SOAP: Citrus, Clean, Clean Hands, Revive, Renew, Indulgence (Milk & Honey) and Cucumber; BATH SALTS: Indulgence (Milk & Honey), Revive and Aches & Pains; SPARKLING BATH POWDER: Indulgence (Milk & Honey), Revive and Aches & Pains; Detox Body Scrub; BODY BUTTER: Strawberry, Caramel; LIP BALM: Caramel, Mango & Lime, Pineapple; and Revive Massage Oil.

I'm sorry to see the old products go, but very excited about all the new ones!  I hope you like them too...

Olive Oil Soap - Some Facts and Some Fiction

     Bar soap is the result of the reaction between sodium hydroxide and fatty acids in the form of vegetable fats and oils.  Most soap is made with a mixture of oils to get different properties in the final soap - lather, hardness, conditioning and so on.  Pure olive oil soap is soap that has been made using only olive oil.  It is also known as "Castille" soap after the region in Spain where it originated.
     Many sources say that making olive oil soap is a time-consuming affair that will only produce a soft bar of soap, but there are many factors that could affect the quality of the final bar like what type of olive oil is used, the amount of water in the formulation and the method that is used to make it.  

     Pure olive oil soap will not lather as readily as soaps containing coconut or palm oil, especially in hard water, though the lather does improve if you use a washcloth or body poof.  The lather consists of small bubbles and has been described as "slimy" by some.  But lather is not a measure of cleansing ability, although we have been conditioned to equate the two properties.  The soap itself will be hard to start with (if it has been cured properly), but may start to feel a little bit tacky with use.  That is why many soapmakers will add other oils to the olive oil to change the hardness of the final soap, how well it holds together with use and to get a frothier, more bubbly lather.  Using a draining soap dish and not allowing the soap to sit in water will help to keep it from going soft.  

     Olive oil soap is incredibly mild.  So much so that it is widely recommended for use with babies.  Also, handmade soaps tend to have some superfatting (which is when more oil than is needed to react with the sodium hydroxide is used, leaving free olive oil in the soap), which adds to their natural moisturising and conditioning properties.

   On packaging, soap that is made with olive oil appears in the ingredients list as 'Sodium Olivate'.  If a soap is truly made using only olive oil it will not have any other ingredients called 'Sodium ...' in the list.  So next time you see a soap being marketed as "Castille" or "Pure Olive Oil" soap you can check for yourself.

     Two of our soaps use purely olive oil as the oil base - Simply Soap and Honey & Orange Blossom. The formulation and method that we use result in hard bars that are fairly long-lived.  If you can get used to the slightly different feel of the soap on the skin compared with commercial soap, you will find that they are very nourishing soaps that are gentle on the skin and especially beneficial if you have sensitive skin.