A big thank you to Jennifer Perkins, host of Craft Lab on the DIY Network & HGTV, for using and reviewing the SoapyLove Line of products from Bramble Berry.
Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
A big thank you to Jennifer Perkins, host of Craft Lab on the DIY Network & HGTV, for using and reviewing the SoapyLove Line of products from Bramble Berry.
Filed Under: Cold Process Soap
Treat (don’t trick) your skin this chilly fall season with a handmade, moisturizing and delicious smelling soap with real pumpkin puree. Pumpkin is full of antioxidants and vitamins A and C which can help keep your skin youthful and refreshed!
Preparation: Make sure you have all of your ingredients with in reach (I even double checked our recipe on the iPhone Lye Application). Then line your mold with Freezer Paper (click here for instructions on lining your soap mold). Most importantly review lye safety guidelines.
Lye Safety Tips:
ONE: Weigh and combine your Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil and Caster Oil. Make sure all of the oils are in liquid form so you might need to melt the coconut and palm oil in the microwave or on the stove.
TWO: To make your lye solution, add 7.4 ounces of lye to 15 ounces of distilled water (you can increase the water to 16.5 if you like a slower trace). Remember to always add the lye to the water- never add the water to the lye. Mix the lye water until the cloudiness clears and the temperature cools. The ideal temperature is between 125 and 135 degrees though some soapers soap all the way down to room temperature lye. I like 125 personally. Notice the water heats all the way up to 191 degrees when combined with the water and lye. Gloves and goggles stay on for the ENTIRE soapmaking process.THREE:Once your oils are combined and their temperature stabilized under 135 degrees and your lye water has reached 125-135 degrees, slowly pour the lye water into your oils stirring at all times. Then stick blend the oil and lye mixture (approximately 2-3 minutes). Turn the stick blender on and off, making sure to mix the entire mixture thoroughly (up down, side to side, around and around).FOUR: Once your mixture has reached light *trace, stick blend in 3 oz of pumpkin puree. Then separate the mixture into two different containers- 2/3 in one bowl and 1/3 in the other.*Trace looks like thin pudding where faint trailings of soap stay on the surface of your soap mixture when lightly drizzled from a few inches overhead.FIVE: Add up to a full Tablespoon of titanium dioxide to the container with 1/3 of the soap and mix with your stick blender. This will keep make a lovely light contrast color.
SIX: To the second container, add 1 Tablespoon of Copper Sparkle mica and use a stick blender to mix well. This will make a beautifully dark and rich pumpkin color.
SEVEN: Once the Copper Sparkle mica is fully incorporated, stir in 3 oz of Pumpkin Spice Fragrance Oil by hand. This fragrance slightly accelerates trace so be ready to pour once your fragrance is mixed in.
EIGHT: In your mold, pour in 6 ounces of the light colored soap followed by approximately 10 ounces of the darker colored soap. The pours do not have to be exactly 6 or 10 ounces – just eyeball it. Make sure you pour two layers of each soap base, alternating colors. Once your mold is filled to the top, swirl the soap with a spoon, spatula or chopstick. Repeat this step using the clear plastic mold. Your gloves and goggles stay on for the entire soapmaking process, even during the swirling part.
Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap
Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap
These marbled soaps make the perfect gift or favor for any occasion. And if they’re not cute enough as is, you can fit 5 of these little guys into one of our new soap boxes. The best thing about this soap project is that you can pick any color combination for customization that fits your occasion. This project may look tricky but anyone can do it – even beginners!
Aligning your sphere mold: Super important tip –When you take your mold out of the package, make sure to mark each end (top and bottom) with a permanent marker so you will always know how to line it up. The mold is lined up correctly when it comes out of the package. If they are aligned incorrectly you will have wonky spheres.
ONE: Have all of your tools ready to use including a cup of hot water. We’ll be using the hot water to clean the injector tool when switching soap colors.
TWO: Melt 12 ounces of white soap base and separate evenly into 2 containers. I used clear, heat safe glass mugs from a thrift store. They worked perfectly for this project.
THREE: Add 1 ml of fragrance oil to each batch and mix well. I used the delicious and popular White Tea and Ginger but you can use any fragrance oil that you want. A non-yellowing fragrance oil would be preferable; we want our white soap to stay strikingly white!
FOUR: Add 6 drops of the Fiery Fuchsia to one of your containers of white soap. Mix well. The other container of soap will remain white.
FOUR: Using your injector tool, drop a pea sized drop of PINK soap into each cavity of the bottom half of the mold. Have your alcohol spray bottle handy and spritz any air bubbles that surface. Immediately clean the injector tool in hot water.
FIVE: Use the clean injector tool to drop a pea sized drop of WHITE soap on top of the pink soap. Then swirl the soap together using any object you can find (toothpick, small fork, pick, spoon, etc.).
SIX: Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 until the bottom half of your mold is filled. Then let soap cool for 10-15 minutes. Remember to clean you injector tool when you’re done with each color. It’s not much fun to clean if the soap has hardened.
SEVEN: Once the soap has cooled, spritz the soap with rubbing alcohol to ensure the layers stick, and place the other half of the mold on top (remember to line up the mold using your two dots from step one). Then secure the mold using 3 rubber bands. Trust me – the rubber bands will make life much easier when filling up the rest of your mold.
EIGHT: Reheat your pink and white soap in the microwave and refresh your hot water for round two. It’s time to fill up the rest of our spheres.
NINE: Use your clean injector tool and fill up each top cavity with white soap about half way. The nozzle of the injector tool fits perfectly into the hole of the mold. Immediately clean your injector tool. Then fill up the mold the rest of the way with the pink soap. OR alternate pink and white soaps until the sphere cavity is completely full. Let loose and have fun with it!
Hint: Because this mold was created for ice cubes, you might see a sphere filling up with soap other than the sphere you are currently filling. Just keep plugging away. The great thing about this project is that is doesn’t have to be perfect. The uneven colors are what make these marbled soaps POP!
TEN: Once your soaps have cooled (about 4-6 hours). Pop them out of the molds. Yes, there is a little clean up required. Just scrape off the edging with your fingernail and smooth the soap with your finger. I haven’t figured out how to get rid of the bubbles on the bottom of the soap so let me know if you have any suggestions. I just smoothed them out with my fingers and they looked great!
Tip: If you have trouble popping the soaps out, put them the mold in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. They should pop right out after that!
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Big yahoo for frequent blog commenter, Burnt Mill, for winning the random-drawing survey takers contest. Congratulations Misty! I’ll be sending you a full set of the following:
Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap
To introduce you to some of our favorites (but it’s hard to pick your favorite when they’re all your babies!), I have put together this easy and super adorable project. The scalloped rectangle mold is used to look like yummy old fashioned cookies and can be made in two “flavors”: vanilla/strawberry, and chocolate/vanilla!
Supplies:
Sweet Treats Colorant Set
Delectable Desserts Fragrance Oil Set
1 lb. Naturally Clear Soap Base, cut into small cubes
1 lb. Bright White Soap Base, cut into small cubes
Scalloped Rectangle Mold
Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle
Cutting board and knife
For the strawberry/vanilla combo, for each soap you are making, melt 3 ounces of clear soap base (20 seconds on high in microwave). Stir in a few drops of Buttercream Yellow colorant. Then add a few drops of Vanilla Frosting fragrance oil and a few drops of Vanilla Stabilizer.
Pour in a layer of this soap, just to 1/4″ thickness. Allow to harden at room temperature.
Now melt 3 more ounces of clear soap base and color with a few drops of Pink Frosting colorant. If you would like a softer shade, you can stir in a drop or two of the White Icing colorant. Now add a few drops each of Strawberry Jam and Vanilla Stabilizer.
Check soap temperature to make sure it is no hotter than 120 degrees. Now spray your Vanilla layer in the mold with alcohol and pour in the Strawberry soap until 1/4″ from the top of the mold. Allow to harden completely.
Briefly reheat the Vanilla soap for 10 seconds or so in the microwave. Check the temperature again, spray the Strawberry layer, and top off the mold with soap. Allow to harden.
Gently pull sides of mold away from the hardened soap, invert and unmold. Voila!
For the Chocolate version, use clear soap base with Bakery Beige for the “cookies”, then white soap base or clear base colored with White Icing colorant for the center. I recommend the Chocolate Fudge and Vanilla Frosting fragrance oils.
Make sure to check back here at The Soap Queen often because I’ll be back with lots of great projects featuring the new Soapylove supplies! See you then! — Debbie
Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap
This gingerbread man soap project has been a favorite of mine for years and is one of the most popular kits at Bramble Berry. Our gingerbread man soap mold is easy to use and the results are always adorable. I couldn’t resist sharing this classic project, but I wanted to give it fresh, new twist. So I created a little box template that fits the soap perfectly and gives a nice finishing touch as a gift.
Soap Queen TV: Gingerbread Soap Project from Soap Queen on Vimeo.
To make the soap you can just purchase the kit here or get these ingredients individually:
Gingerbread Man Soap Mold
Clear Melt & Pour soap base
White Melt & Pour soap base
Merlot Mica
Cappuccino Mica
Gingersnap fragrance
To make the box you will need:
Bramble Berry Box Template
Cardstock
Scissors or craft knife
Bone folder or butter knife
Glue stick or double stick tape
Ribbon
Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap
ONE: The first step to this project is making a pumpkin mold out of the Flexy Fast Molding Putty. Never used Flexy Fast Before? Check out Soap Queen TV to see a full tutorial.
Mixing your Flexy Fast: Flexy Fast comes as 2 parts, Part A and Part B. The usage rate is 1:6 (B:A) by weight or 1:20 (B:A) by volume OR mix a golf ball size of the white stuff to a marble size of the pink stuff. With vinyl gloves on, knead the two components together until fully incorporated. You’re done when you have a nice bubblegum color with no pink streaks, which will take about 1 minute.
Molding your Pumpkin: Carefully form the putty around your pumpkin. Really press the putty into the pumpkin to ensure that you get all of the realistic details and to release any air bubbles. Make sure there are no holes in the putty that the soap could potentially leak through. More thick is better than thin on this project so don’t be shy about forming a thick mold.
TWO: The soap, color and fragrance quantities may slightly vary depending on the size of your pumpkin (my pumpkin was 5.7 ounces). For the stem, melt about ½ ounce of clear melt and pour and add a smidgen of Liquid Green (not even a whole drop). Mix well. Use a dropper to fill the stem part of your mold with green soap and spritz with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any bubbles.
THREE: Melt about 6 ounces of clear soap and add your favorite fall fragrance. I used ½ ml of Pumpkin Spice, ½ ml of Butter Cream and Snickerdoodle and 1 ml Vanilla Stabilizer to keep my orange color bright and vibrant. It smells like pumpkin pie!
Variation Fragrance: ½ ml Pumpkin Pie Cybilla, ½ ml Cream Cheese Frosting and 1 ml Vanilla Stabilizer. Delicious!
FOUR: Now that our soap has been scented, add 20 drops of the Sunshine Yellow and 1/2 drop of the Fiery Fuchsia from Soapylove’s Jewelry Box Color Set (it helps to put a drop of the fuchsia on your spoon and drip half of that amount in the soap). The Fuchsia is really strong so it just takes a teensy bit compared to the Yellow. Mix well until you have the perfect pumpkin orange. Then add a pinch or 2 of Sparkle Dust to give the pumpkin an extra festive touch.
FIVE: Check the temperature of the soap and make sure it’s no hotter than 130 degrees (we don’t want to melt our green soap that’s already in the mold). Spritz your green stem layer with rubbing alcohol to ensure the layers stick then pour the sparkly, orange soap into the mold and give it a final spritz with rubbing alcohol.
Tip: If the soap seems a little too big just cut it in half for smaller version. Even though it’s half the size it’s still equally as cute.
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Soapylove Colorants, Fragrances and Soap
Fragrance Oils
Mandarin Myrrh Fragrance oil
Bay Rum Fragrance Oil
LoveSpell Type Fragrance Oil
Lavender and Herb Fragrance Oil
Patchouli Fragrance Oil
Summer Melon Spritzer Fragrance Oil
Vanilla Oak Fragrance Oil
Essential Oils
Balsm Peru Essential Oil
White Thyme Essential Oil
Soap Molds
Heavy Duty Molds
2 Piece Ice Sphere Mold (check out a fun tutorial here)
Colorants
Chocolate Shimmer Mica (lip and eye approved)
Copper Penny Mica (lip and eye approved)
Deep Blue Mica (eye approved)
Lavender Mica (lip and eye approved)
Matte Yellow Mica (lip and eye approved)
Super Blue Mica (eye approved)
Super Green Mica (eye approved)
We’ll have our popular ‘What’s New’ category updated on the Bramble Berry site soon enough but until then, I hope this helps you to not miss anything new and exciting that we’ve added in the last two months.
Filed Under: Bramble Berry News
Naturally Clear Melt & Pour Soap: This SLS-free soap is as clear as you can get while staying almost 100% natural. The soap comes in a perfect storage container.
Bright White Melt & Pour Soap: This SLS-free soap is the same formulation as the Naturally Clear, only with the addition of all-natural mineral Titanium Dioxide to make the soap white.
Jewelry Box Colorant Set: Add a few drops of these gorgeous crystal clear colorants to clear soap base and create any color of the rainbow! The superfine soap glitter suspends easily, adding that irresistible touch of “bling”!
Sweet Treats Colorant Set: This set takes all the guesswork out of hitting that tricky shade – a mouth watering tan that looks like baked cookies, donuts, waffles, ice cream cones, or pop tarts. The white color allows the crafter to soften it more, or add a drop of Buttercream yellow to warm it up. The White, Pink Frosting, and Buttercream colors are gorgeous for layered dessert inspired soaps. The bonus tube of mixed “rainbow sprinkle” jojoba beads is icing on the cake!
Candy Jar Fragrance Oil Set: With classic hard candy scents, this will be a must for those neon styles and glittery jewel tone soaps! The Vanilla Stabilizer will give extra insurance that those pretty soaps won’t change color.
• Cherry Pop
• Pink Strawberry
• Lemon Drop
• Tutti Fruity
• Vanilla Stabilizer
Delectable Desserts Fragrance Oil Set: Like a trip to the ice cream shop, this set covers all sweet tooth temptations. Creamy frosting, rich chocolate, sweet jam, and refreshing sherbet scents will tickle any fancy!
• Chocolate Fudge
• Strawberry Jam
• Vanilla Frosting
• Orange Sherbet
• Vanilla Stabilizer
Three molds based on Soapylove’s whimsical design sensibilities.
Scalloped Heart Mold
Scalloped Round Mold
Scalloped Rectangle Mold (pictured below)
Filed Under: Business Musings
Lipstick vs. Water vs. Candy
Let’s just say that long before the lipstick is going to kill you the water will have done you in. Even your favorite candy will kill you before the lipstick does. I’m sorry to say that if you are going to follow the direction of Skin Deep and throw out your lipstick then you are going to need a very large trash can. Make sure you clear your home of all water and any other drink that has water in it, chocolate and candies of any kind.
“Federal standards initially limited the amount of lead in water to 50 parts per billion (ppb). In light of new health and exposure data, EPA has set an action level of 15 ppb. If tests show that the level of lead in your household water is in the area of 15 ppb or higher, it is advisable – especially if there are young children in the home – to reduce the lead level in your tap water as much as possible
. (EPA estimates that more than 40 million U.S. residents use water that can contain lead in excess of 15 ppb.)” (source: EPA)
Obviously the FDA has a lower threshold limit for lead and yet they are being beat up by Skin Deep once again. The FDA allows 20 ppm lead in straight undiluted FDA approved colors. But there is not a lipstick on earth that is 100% color. Most colors have even lower than 20 ppm lead and every batch of color must be approved by the FDA before it goes to market.
On September 2, 2009 the FDA updated their website: Lipstick and Lead: Questions and Answers
An important section of the update is included here:
“How has the FDA followed up on the latest reports?
FDA scientists developed and validated a highly sensitive method for the analysis of total lead content in lipstick and applied the method to the
same selection of lipsticks evaluated by the CSC. FDA found lead in all of the lipsticks tested, ranging from 0.09 ppm to 3.06 ppm with an average value of 1.07 ppm. FDA concludes that the lead levels found are within the range that would be expected from lipsticks formulated with permitted color additives and other ingredients that had been prepared under good manufacturing practice conditions.
An article on FDA’s testing method was published in the July/August 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Cosmetic Science.1 The article includes results for lead in all the lipsticks we tested. FDA’s testing method is now available for use by any suitable analytical laboratory for the determination of total lead in lipstick.
Is there a safety concern about the lead found by the FDA in lipsticks?
No. FDA has assessed the potential for harm to consumers from use of lipstick containing lead at the levels found in its testing. Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use, is only ingested incidentally and in very small quantities. FDA does not consider the lead levels that it found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern. FDA also notes that the lead levels that it found are lower than limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick.
It has been reported that levels of lead in certain lipsticks exceed those for candy. Is this a fair comparison?
No. The FDA-recommended upper limit for lead in candy is 0.1 ppm. It is not scientifically valid to equate the risk to consumers presented by lead levels in candy, a product intended for ingestion, with that associated with lead levels in lipstick, a product intended for topical use and which is ingested in much smaller quantities than candy.” (Source: FDA.gov)
The test methods that the FDA used for the most recent study can be found here and are available to the public.
Does the FDA take lead seriously? Can we trust the FDA to look out for the best interest of consumers?
Yes and yes. The FDA has been actively involved in setting standards and recalling products based on levels of lead being too high. Examples are these recalls made by the FDA for lead contamination:
Dagoba Organic Chocolate Recalls“Eclipse 87%,” “Los Rios 68%,” And “Prima Matera 100%” Dark Chocolate Products Because of High Lead Levels
Cost Plus World Market RecallsRed, Blue, Green, and Yellow Speckleware Beverage Containers and Glass Water Tank For Potential Lead Exposure Risk
State Health Department Warns ConsumersNot to Eat Chaca Chaca, Lead-Contaminated Candy From Mexico
Speaking of Candy
What about the difference in allowed ppm of lead in candy vs. lipstick. The Environmental Working Group chose the level of candy to compare to instead of water. The numbers sure look more shocking when you compare ppm of lead in lipstick vs. candy at first glance. But a realistic look at consumption of just one piece of candy vs. lipstick exposure takes all the thunder out of the exposure. (See above chart)
Don’t give up candy yet! For more information on lead in candy read the FDA’s page: Supporting Document for Recommended Maximum Level for Lead in Candy Likely To Be Consumed Frequently by Small Children and Guidance for Industry: Letter to Manufacturers, Importers, and Distributors of Imported Candy and Candy Wrappers.
What does the FDA say on Lead Poisoning from Cosmetics? Read their web page dedicated to Kohl, Kajal, Al-Kahal, or Surma: By Any Name, a Source of Lead Poisoning.
Last Thoughts and Bottom Lines
Here is the bottom line – not one single case in U.S. medical literature of anyone getting lead poisoning or cancer from lipstick! For more information on why lead is found in food and lipstick read my blog post The Real Story on Lead and Cosmetics.
In her article Skin Deep activist Jane Houlihan says, “If it’s made for the lips and contains lead at levels that mandate a warning under California’s Proposition 65, why doesn’t the manufacturer take steps to reduce the lead in this “Made in China” lip gloss?” This question just goes to show how little Jane Houlihan and the Environmental Working Groups knows about cosmetics. California’s Proposition 65 requires that any product containing any one of 783 ingredients that trigger this warning statement put that warning statement on their label in order to sell cosmetics in California. The ingredients in theWink Strawberry Sangria Shimmer Lip Gloss that triggered the warning statement are: Mineral Oil and Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). The colorants used are NOT the trigger that required this company to put the Proposition 65 warning on their label even though she is trying to make you think that is the cause.
Please, please, Skin Deep a.k.a. Environmental Working Group educate yourselves on the cosmetic industry before declaring yourself the authority on the industry. Stop misleading consumers with your poor science and alarmist methods.
Why am I spending all this time sharing my insider knowledge? Because everyone deserves to know the truth and make educated decisions. Good companies are being harmed all over the nation by these twisted reports. During bad economic times the last thing these companies need to do is to lose sales over the misrepresentation of their products by Skin Deep and the Environmental Working Group. You need to educate your customers with the truth about this organization and their regular misinformation propaganda.
What about you? Are you going to quit wearing lipstick? Quit drinking water? Quit eating candy? Or quit listening to Skin Deep?
Author Kayla Fioravanti is a Cosmetic Formulator and Registered Aromatherapist. She writes for Demascope Magazine, Les NouvellesEsthetiques & Spa’s and NAHA. In addition to that, she is passionate about small business; she went to Washington DC with a committed group of small business advocates to talk about the small micro beauty businesses.
Filed Under: Lip Products
Filed Under: Personal Ramblings
The final day of our Otion Soap Intensive ended yesterday and I’m already getting excited about planning our next one. Have suggestions on what you’d like to see at the next one or a special instructor that you’d love to see at Otion? Let me know! Class is limited to 12 people and we already have one person on the sign up list for next year. You can get on the sign up sheet by calling Otion at 360.676.1030
Sunday started with an Intro to Melt and Pour. I crammed as much information on the basics in as I could in one short hour so that Debbie from SoapyLove would have the maximum time possible to showcase the versatility that melt and pour provides.
She taught two of her signature projects: Perfect Plaid and Soap Tarts.
Debbie’s teaching style is easy to follow and every student left with many ideas on how they could take the techniques she taught and apply them to their own soap projects to give their businesses a unique and personalized twist.
Lori Nova from The Nova Studio finished our day of instruction off with the ever-so-helpful, ‘Color with Confidence’ class.
She has tested over 70 colorants in cold process soap and saved everyone hours of testing by showing us the colors in soap and explaining how and why the colorants act the way that they do. It was a useful class that illuminated the mystery of colorants in a easy to understand way.