Friday, April 29, 2011

Some New Soap-Lebermuth Co-op

I have not posted soap pictures in a very, very long time. Recently I participated in a co-op purchase of Lebermuth fragrances and essential oils. I've been making six bar test batches with each as time permits. So far each and every fragrance has been very well behaved allowing for plenty of time for delicate, multicolor swirls. All of the swirls were done using the ITP (in The Pot) method. Take a look!

First, is Egyptian Dragon. This one was a surprise to me. I had never experienced the fragrance before, but took a chance. it's a soft, perfumy scent. The scent description from Lebermuth is, "Tantalizing warm blend of myrrh, dragons blood, patchouli; with floral notes of rose and jasmine, kissed with base notes of woodsy musk, make this blend a must have for your wonderful is line." This one is colored with Bamboo Charcoal and Colorona Bordeaux mica. As the soap ages it is beginning to darken to a tan. I'm hopeful it will still be beautiful once it finishes discoloring.

Next is White Musk. I love musk. Out of the bottle it is a light musk scent. It is beginning to bloom now that it has been introduced to the soap. "An intriguing, complex floral musk. Fresh floral top notes with ozone, citrus, apple, strawberry, muguet and blueberry. Mid notes of jasmine, rose, lilac, gardenia, carnation, camphor and peach. Base notes include mossy amber, musk, orange flower and powder." It too is starting to darken as it ages. The colorant is pearl white mica.

Third is Blue Musk. It is softly feminine musk. "A delicate, light, floral musk. Top notes of lily of the valley. Mid notes of jasmine. Musk and vanilla form the base. " It is light out of the bottle and in the soap. It's nice though, even at 1 oz per lb of oils. The colorant is Ultramarine Blue. So far no discoloration.

Fourth in this line up is Tuberose. This fragrance went viral with the buyers. One person mentioned the greatness of the FO and suddenly everyone had to have it. :) "The tuberose is traditionally a night blooming plant famous in Hawaii to create long-lasting leis. Complex, sweet, exotic and elegantly floral." It was a well behaved floral. I used 1 oz PPO and it is very strong. I will probably back down to .7 for the larger batch. It is colored with Pearl Green and Pearl Pink for the swirls and a bit of Titanium Dioxide in the base. The tuberose, I learned, is a very white flower with a blush of pink occasionally and green foliage.

Finally two versions of Lemongrass. The first is the plain and simple essential oil with no extra colorant. It is fresh and delightful all by itself. I have test blended the EO with lavender and geranium rose and really like this lemongrass. This soap fits very well in my Pure Essentials lineup.

Here's the other Lemongrass. This one I chose to add pulverized lemongrass herb. It took a surprisingly long time to turn the dried herb into a powder. So far I like the effect. I'll be watching carefully for any discoloration from the herb. I imagine it will impart some scrubbiness to the soap as it cures.





These will be available at SweetTeagans.com and on my Etsy store once they're fully cured. Give them at least four weeks.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Introducing Luxury Shampoo for (Wo)man's Best Friend


As I formulate surfactant based shampoos for people, my mind always wanders to adaptations I can make for our furry family members. If your dogs are like mine, they like to play in the mud, roll in 'stuff' and get doggone dirty. I could use some real, natural soap on them - and I have - but it doesn't leave their coats as nice as I like.

The pH of cold process soap is much too high for hair (human or dog). It opens the cuticle of the hair leaving it vulnerable to breakage. You 'could' rinse with apple cider vinegar to adjust the pH and close the hair shaft, but to be honest that's never worked as well as advertised. If you've ever tried that method you know what I mean.

After several formulations, I've settled on this plant based surfactant blend loaded with oat protein, Vitamin B5 Panthenol, and coat conditioners. I chose Oatmeal as the scent for the calm and gentle feeling people seem to get when they smell it.

Since the shampoo is a solid form, this is no watered down version of a deluxe shampoo. You're not paying extra for petroleum packaging and you're unlikely to spill it accidentally as most of us tend to do when bathing our dogs. You're also not paying to ship water. Each 3 oz bar of solid is the equivalent to 12-18 oz of traditional shampoo. That translates to dozens of baths.

To use the shampoo, simply wet the dog's coat, rub the bar over the dog's coat a couple of times, rub your hands through the coat to create luscious lather then rinse. You'll see lots of foamy bubbles, yet this shampoo rinses quickly and cleanly leaving a sparkling coat that is not left stripped of natural oils.

You could stop there, but I've created a partner to the dog spa day shampoo in the form of a solid conditioner. Just swipe the conditioner bar over the dog's back and rinse it out. As the rinse water runs down the coat it will add silky conditioners leaving the hair smooth and shiny. You won't want to stop petting your dog after this treatment. Mine don't seem to mind :)

This Dog Shampoo and Conditioner Duo is listed on SweetTeagans.com and at my Etsy Store. They will be packaged in natural muslin drawstring bags.

Sample versions of this duo have been donated to my County Animal Control as a gift to people who adopt a new dog this month.

Solid Bubble Bath Bars


Recently I've had a lot of requests to share my favorite bubble bar recipe. Today has been a wonderful day, so I'm in a sharing mood :)

I welcome you to use this formula as-is and even post it to your own site, as long as you give credit to me and post a link back to this blog. Deal? OK, here you go.

Shannon's Favorite Bubble Bar Formula:
Dry Phase:
SCI 4% (I'm experimenting with higher percentages of this)
SLSa 18% (Working to replace with Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate)
Cream of Tartar 26%
sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) 37%

Wet phase:
cocamidopropyl betaine 8%
coco silky cleanse (or DLS Mild or some other gentle liquid surfactant) 6%
fragrance 1%
color (I've used liquid lakes and mica. they both work fine) It only takes a teensy amt of color!

Step 1. pulverize the dry ingredients (like in a coffee grinder or food processor.) Be patient - the SCI may take a beating before it surrenders into powder. Make sure everything is well blended. I've recently discovered the Ninja Power Prep food processor and love it for this application!

Step 2. Using gloves, pour the wet ingredients over the dry. Work quickly to blend it all together well. Once the blend forms a dough and becomes less sticky, mold into your choice of shapes. Ice cube trays are about right for a single use bath size. You can make them into bars so the user has to break off a piece. It's up to you.

Step 3: Allow to dry for an hour or so before trying to unmold. They will not hold together well if unmolded too soon. Package them or use once they're nice and dry. I usually wait a couple of hours at least. I've stored them in the open in our main bathroom and they work just fine.

Notes: These will begin to puff up as you mold them. You can either leave them rustic, or smoosh them down into the mold to get them more dense. I like them dense so they take longer to dissolve under tub water. The texture of this blend should be similar to stale Circus Peanut candy (come on, you know what Circus Peanuts are )

This blend should produce lots of billowy foamy suds using a very small amount of bubble bar. My typical size for a 'single serving' is about 15 grams - roughly a tablespoon. That's how concentrated and powerful the synergy of the surfactant blend is.

I have softened well water and these bubble for a good long time. As the water cools let out some of the water, add more hot water to the tub and enjoy a recharge of SCI bubbles.

Have fun!-Shannon

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Your Favorite Soap Swap

I just wrapped up hosting the "Second Annual Your Favorite Soap Swap" for the Dish Forum. The swap was limited to 20 participants, and allowed for Fragrance Oils, Essential Oils, CP/HP or M&P soap.

Participants were given several months to create and cure their favorites. Here's the Cast:


My own submission into this swap is the center soap in the last photo. It's my favorite at the moment: Avocado Oil. It contains Palm Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Distilled Water, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Cream, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Essential Oils (Geranium Rose, Orange, Lemongrass and Dark Patchouli), Vitamin E-Tocopherol, Green Chrome Oxide Pigment, Titanium Dioxide, Tussah Noil Silk.

I love how silky the lather feels with the avocado oil, cream and silk. I cannot wait to try out all of my friends' favorites.

Recipients should be receiving their return boxes starting Monday 4/25. I can hardly wait to hear their reactions to the many new gift soaps!