The economics of soap

I've talked a lot about the sustainable ingredients of my soap and why this soap is so good for you skin, but now I'd like to talk a little about the economics of my soap, and what it means to support local economies.

I order my organic, sustainable shea butter from an African American lady in Brooklyn who promises her import business supports small and local farmers in Ghana.

I buy organic coconut, avocado and olive oils from Costco, where employees are given a fair wage and benefits.

I buy my organic vervain leaves from a tea supplier in Boston who exclusively imports from small growers in the South of France.

I buy the chemicals needed for saponification (sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide) from an educational chemical supplier here in Denver.

I make each batch in my greenhouse, using a mold I created myself, and I label with stickers I created with my own art and printed on my computer.  Each batch is a labor of love and I enjoy my work very much, and I enjoy sharing the product with others whose dry skin problems might be helped, as mine have been enormously helped.

When I sell each bar for about $7, I am basically just covering the cost of my supplies.

When you buy a bar of Dove soap at Walmart for $2, the environmental impact is immeasurably larger than the cost of a bar of my soap.  That soap is full of detergents and the result of mass production, and the executives of Proctor and Gamble and Walmart make a fraction of a few cents off each bar.  The employees who manufacture, package, ship and sell this product don't see any of that profit.  They often even make a sub-poverty wage, which is subsidized by government welfare payments which all of us pay for with our taxes.

Do you really want to add to the incredibly negative environmental and personal impact of supporting large inhuman corporations?  I think the long term spiritual and psychic impact of using cheap mass produced products is not good for you, or the earth.

So that's why I make and sell soap for virtually no profit.  I believe it's a very small contribution I can make toward a more balanced healthy earth, and maybe an example for all of us to examine where we get our products, who profits, how they help our skin, our morale, and our planet. Yes, it's hard to spend $7 on a similar item that can be bought for $2, but is it really similar?  What is the long term cost to not only your skin, but your spirit?

I encourage all of us to be more conscious consumers, with even as small an item as the soap you wash with.

Blessed Be.

Lemon Vervain soap ready to ship

Order Here

Calendula and Vervain - the perfect marriage!

Calendula (also knows as marigold) has been used world wide for it's herbal healing properties -- the petals are anti-bacterial and can heal skin infections and wounds. Hindus use these flowers as necklaces and to adorn temples due to their holy attributes to promote health.

Vervain is an ancient herb which was used in the Mediterranean region by Druids, Romans and Greeks, and on through the ages. You can order an "infusion de vervain" from any French cafe. Vervain "is recommended in upwards of thirty complaints, being astringent, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, etc. It is said to be useful in intermittent fevers, ulcers, ophthalmia, pleurisy, etc., and to be a good galactogogue." (Botanicals.com)

When these two herbs are combined they add up to super healing properties for the skin, as well as having calming and soothing effects. My new soap will incorporate these two herbs, along with rosemary and lemon oils, olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, and sodium hydroxide to bind the fats with the water. The chemical process that makes soap means the moisture in the fats will stay on the skin, even as the water pulls away any impurities or dirt. Manufactured soap uses detergents which dry the skin, this soap just uses the natural chemical process so you don't even need moisturiser afterwards, your skin will love you!

 Coming to my Etsy shop in November.

Coming soon - Calendula/Vervain soap!

NEW THIS YEAR -- I grew Calendula flowers in my garden this summer, and the fragrant and healing petals will make a lovely addition to the vervain in my soap.

Calendula is another ancient healing herbal - this from Wikipedia:

"Calendula species have been used traditionally as culinary and medicinal herbs. The petals are edible and can be used fresh in salads or dried and used to color cheese or as a replacement for saffron. A yellow dye has been extracted from the flowers.

"Romans and Greeks used the golden calendula in many rituals and ceremonies, sometimes wearing crowns or garlands made from the flowers. One of its nicknames is 'Mary's Gold,' referring to the flowers' use in early Catholic events in some countries. Calendula flowers are sacred flowers in India and have been used to decorate the statues of Hindu deities since early times. The oil of C. officinalis is used as an anti-inflammatory, an anti-tumor agent, and a remedy for healing wounds."

My new batch of healing soap is under way, come back soon to see progress.

Mushroom, soap, and healing the planet

I just watched this amazing talk:
http://youtu.be/DAw_Zzge49c

Paul Stamets is a world famous mycologist, and he has discovered that the fungal properties of mushrooms lead to bee health.
So more mushrooms = more bees = saving the planet.

I had a revelation that mushroom spores could go in my soap, adding anti-bacterial properties.
So look for a new batch in Winter of anti-bacterial soap, with mushroom spores and honey.

Why this soap is better

I was recently dragged to a very post products store in Boulder called Lush.  

"You will love everything there, it's all hand made and totally natural," my daughter promised.

I had a long conversation with the manager after examining all their soap ingredients.  Only ONE of the product lines was sodium hydroxide based, the rest all had detergents in them.

This is not natural soap.

She had a long explanation about phasing out this and that, blah blah blah, but the truth is, almost no one makes commercially manufactured soap the old fashioned way from lye saponified with fats.  It simply costs ten times more than cheaper detergent processes.

Go look at your shampoo bottle, it will be all sodium laurel sulphates and other detergent chemicals. These are made with alcohols and acids, and they dry, dry, dry your skin.

The only widely available lye based soap on the market is Dr. Bronner's - and it uses potassium hydroxide so the soap will stay liquid.

I actually do love Dr. Bronner's, so if you need liquid soap, it's a great choice.

The truth is, once you try truly saponified soap, you will never want to use detergent based soap again.

Getting ready for the holiday season!