A Higher Standard in Natural Bodycare!

Someone just returned a product they bought last Christmas…..they didn’t  know it was a natural product, made fresh daily and  not preserved.   When they used it recently, it was a little ’sticky.’   We want everyone to be happy, so we replaced it.

I wondered aloud if other companies get these kinds of returns, and our fantastic shipping angel,  Diane, replied, “perhaps it’s because they hold us to a higher standard!”

I repeated this to another business person, and they agreed that we are basically, “famous for being green, clean, etc.”  That’s good, actually, THAT’S GREAT!!!

Although I am constantly amazed at how few returns we get,  another thing that happens occasionally, is that someone returns a product that seems to smell ‘off.’  But often…it smells O.K. to us and we just can’t figure it out.  Recently, though, someone returned a product and it had been made just a week before.  We passed the product around…and six  of us just couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  Then, BOING! I got it!  I guess that’s why I have the big desk.

Firstly, we use only food-grade oils in our products.  Most, if not all, large commercial companies use some form of mineral oil, aka ‘petrochemicals.’ There is basically no smell to mineral oil, while our expensive nut and vegetable oils do have an actual smell of their own.

Secondly, we use as little fragrance in our products as possible, not to save $$$$, but because  almost 95% of reactions to body care products are fragrance-related.

So, the scent in some of our products may be light, with a slight aroma of the natural oils coming through. In time, I hope more products have this problem; smelling too natural.  I talked to a few locals and friends who use our products  and they all agreed they love that our products do have a nice, light, clean scent…and most used the word, “natural.”

I hope we continue to be held “to a higher standard.”

Bye for now,

Linda

They’re Fibbing!!

Even more funny stuff.  A recent issue of Profit magazine contained a short news brief entitled, “Green Sheen.”  It reported on the government’s recent crackdown on “greenwashing,” which it describes as “the practice of disingenuously marketing one’s products as green.”

It also quotes a “recent report by environmental marketing firm Terra Choice.  It found that 98% of the 2,219 SUPPOSEDLY (my emphasis !) green products it investigated committed at least one of the seven greenwashing “sins,” including “being too vague, (e.g., “all-natural”), making claims that are irrelevant, and fibbing!”

98%!!???  That sound like a lot, doesn’t it?  And yes, they ACTUALLY SAID FIBBING!  Apparently, the Competition Bureau of Canada (didn’t know we had one!) just fined seven retailers who were fibbing.

I hope we aren’t fibbing.  We try, honestly we do.  We recently caught ourselves using something that we are always railing against; propylene glycol.  We were importing a really nice herbal extract, and just found somewhere on the shipping documents that it actually contained propylene glycol.  We thought it was a pure extract,,,so of course, we discontinued it, and did manage to find one without that pesky ingredient.

But, we are too picky.   Another VERY large soap company uses it as the first or second ingredient in their soaps.  Also, it can be found in really natural (so-called) toothepaste and yes, folks…we are actually eating it!  It is in lots of food products, as a thickener I guess, including ice cream.

So,  if you catch us fibbing, let us know.  If you catch someone else fibbing, let them know.

Good Luck!

Linda

Bye for now,

Linda Quiring

B.O.?……..Oh no!

Body odor!

People don’t like to talk about it, yet it’s a normal body function. Now that I think of it,
there are a lot of normal body functions we don’t like to talk about.

I suppose we think if we don’t talk about it,- it doesn’t exist.Well guess what, it does exist!!
We can see it, we can hear it and yes, we CAN smell it!
Speaking of smell, I had a customer in my store recently
she was very distressed because she had just found out
that her “natural” deodorant she had been using for years
is…….full of chemicals and strange ingredients she didn’t understand.

Recent studies have found that the dyes and perfumes in most deodorants
are causing allergic reactions, rashes,itching and eczema!
So, what to do!!!

Alive Magazine Oct. 2009 issue says:

“Try natural Deodorant Stones made from mineral salts such as Potassium Allum
that eliminate odor-causing bacteria. Fragrance and Alcohol free and non-staining,
these stones last for six months to two years making them cost effective.
“Not only have I been selling these Deodorant Stones for over ten years I have
also been using them myself for over ten years!
I was so happy to be able to help this woman choose a safe, healthy alternative.
I also suggest saving the crystal when it gets too small to navigate around your pit area
you can use the small bit for your feet, eliminating foot odor,
thus granting you one less normal body function to talk about. Bonus!!
Amber Quiring

The Hidden World of Bodycare

My message, when asked about body, hair and skin care has ALWAYS been, “READ THE LABELS.”  When Saltspring Soapworks began, back in ‘79…there WERE no labels…..or more correctly, they didn’t really say anything.

In the U.S., ingredient listings were mandatory, in order of appearance.   Usually, the 1st ingredient was water!  But in Canada…we didn’t need to do this.  I began to do it anyway, thinking that our ingredients were so special people would want to know about them.  Also, we had nothing to hide.

One day, we had a visit from the owner of one of Canada’s largest “natural” body care companies.  He had one line of products that  we didn’t make…and he felt we could sell in our shops.  He was known as quite a “guru” in the emerging natural market.  He gave me a few free samples,  including shampoo.  As we sat there in my office, I smelled the shampoo: it was wonderful, pure essential oils.

I looked at the label,  it all looked great! “But,” I said naively, “where’s the surfactant?”  That’s inside talk for the detergent, the cleansing agent or whatever.  Something had to make this shampoo lather.  “Oh,” he said, “its  sodium lauryl sulfate.”

“But, but, ” I gulped, “it’s not on the label.”  His response floored me, and I still remember it,  of course.

“We only list ACTIVE ingredients,” he said.  “People don’t like to read about  all the chemicals and preservatives.”

“Oh,” I thought…..ACTIVE INGREDIENTS???!!!!

So there you have it.  Hidden ingredients.  Also, aren’t you glad they’re protecting us???

And they are still doing it.  So are we!  We just discovered one of our nice food-grade extracts had propylene glycol in it….hidden away in something we thought was 100% coconut.  Immediately, it was scrapped, of course…we don’t knowingly do this and we are looking for that 100% natural replacement.

Others, it seems, aren’t so picky.       If you find a hidden ingredient, let us know.  We’ll send you something nice!

Linda

Confessions of a Body Lotion Junky!

I am a confessed Body Lotion Junky.
Ever since I was 11, I have been obsessed with Hand
and Body Lotions.
Everywhere we went, you would find me in the shops,
searching out the lotion testers (you name it, I’ve tried it)

I was always searching for the BEST LOTION. When I say best, I mean:

BEST SMELLING, BEST FEELING, BEST INGREDIENTS, simply BEST!

I even used to mix 2-3 different types of lotions to create my own scent.

(Sometimes this did not work out so well)

At any given time I had 4-6 different bottles of lotions rattling around in my

cupboard-did I mention that I was obsessed?

A few years ago my mother-in-law and BOSS! (more on that another time) invented

LAVENDER BODY SOUFFLE and now I must confess, I am monogamous with my Body Lotion.

Although sometimes I relapse and use the Gardeners Hand Therapy Cream (Another great invention)

after a long day battling vicious weeds and thorns in my overgrown garden.

Now that I am down to one (well two) natural lotions, I use them more frequently (using up what I

have on hand) thus my lotion is always fresh and i am not ending up with lots of half full bottles of

old product-YUCK!

How about you- how many old bottles of lotion do you have kicking around your cupboard?

Would you rather have 1 or 2 great quality, fresh, natural lotions (With a shelf life of 8-10 months)  that you use up before replacing

or a couple of old lotions loaded with up with preservatives and cheap ingredients that have a

shelf life of 5 + years!!

Let me know, I would love to hear your comments.

Amber Quiring.

MORE HIDDEN INGREDIENTS!

I found a great organic Body Lotion. It worked so well and smelled so nice, I wanted to reinvent it for Saltspring Soapworks. “What a great formula,” I thought but noticed there was no preservative.

Without a preservative, you’d need to keep it in the fridge, or it would only last 2 or 3 weeks! But, when I asked my chemist for help with a formula, he found some hidden ingredients.

The 1st ingredient was a lovely herbal extract and although it was alcohol-based, I knew not all alcohols were bad (red wine??) Turns out that herbal extract contained some other things, including the preservative! Slightly misleading????

Someone showed me an organic hair conditioner, which cost twice as much as ours and wanted to know if it was twice as good. Hidden among a long list of nice things; essentail oils, herbal extracts, vegetable oils, was a long word I’d never seen before.

Googling it, I found it was the preservative, and contained a solvent used in nail polish remover, among other things. Not recommended for body care.

You paid HOW MUCH for this ‘organic’ conditioner???

So, forget about reading labels. What to do? I given it a lot of thought, and think I’ve found the solution. It’s the same old thing: small and local. Like you want to know the farmer who grows your food. That your green peas don’t come from China. (Sorry China).

Find someone you can trust, someone close by that you can hold accountable. We field questions from customers about our ingredients constantly…and we don’t mislead people about what’s in our product.

If you find a hidden ingredients somewhere…let uf know. We’ll send you something nice!

Linda Quiring

Founder,

Saltspring Soapworks

Still Harping!

I can’t believe it!  After all of my posts about ‘organic’ I’m still harping on it.   It seems every week brings a new development in the world of  ‘organic’ body care.  Why do I use ‘ marks?  Because….I’m still trying to figure out what ‘organic’ means and folks, I’ve been making body care for over 30 years!

My brother-in-law makes and sells noodle soup.  We go on holidays with them sometimes, and even down in Arizona in a little town, he’ll run into the latest shop  or market and see if there’s any noodle soup.  Does he need more noodle soup? No, he’s looking to see what brand is selling where.  “Oh,” he’ll say, “so and so brand is being discounted at the dollar store.” Sometimes, it’s “what a good idea! They’ve put hot peppers in the noodle soup!” and he’s inspired to try something new.  You get the drift.

So, now I don’t feel so silly running around wherever I go buying soap and body care products.  Yes, I can write it off, too!  It’s R&D (research and development!)

Down there in never-never-land I found the most wonderful organic products made in the U.S.A.  “These are the kind of products we want to make,” I thought.  “What wonderful, clean, healthy ingredients!  Now, could we do something like this??”

The answer is NO!!  Well, we could, but why would we want to?

Firstly, how about an organic natural soap that uses Canola Oil for a base…or since canola has gotten such a bad name, how about calling it Rapeseed Oil…Only, it is not really a good oil for soapmaking….it is about the last thing on the list you would use to make a fine handmade bar of soap.  Why use it?  I think it would be because it is readily available, and pretty darn cheap.

What’s better..or a better value?  How about an organic body care product that is 85% organic but the 15% is synthetic ingredients made from petrochemicals?  Is this better than a 100% natural product, made from 100% plant-based ingredients but that is only 10 or 25% organic?

How about a company that calls itself “______________ Organics” but uses mostly non-organic and synthetic chemicals along with a small amount of natural and organic ingredients? Is this O.K.?  Confusing? Fraudulent? (more on this later, see my next blog)

How about a company that sets itself up to certify organic products, sells companies it’s eco-logo and then certifies products that contain synthetic petrochemicals in fragrances, etc.

All I can say is, “READ THE LABELS!”   “READ THE LABELS!”

Linda

An Ounce of Prevention!

It’s FLU SEASON!  But….I’m not worried….I’m not going to get it.  I never, well, almost never get flu.  I also never get the vaccine.  My secret?  I don’t avoid people or cough into my sleeve, stay home or avoid public places.  BUT, I do wash my hands a lot; not obsessively I think, perhaps a little compulsively.

For instance, on the ferry, I NEVER EVER grab the handrail….4000 people have grabbed it that day from everywhere in the world…and I also wash my hands every time I come home from being out in public.

Which leads me to the Ounce mentioned above.  This week our local newspaper, the Gulf Islands Driftwood, had a big feature about H1N1!! oh no…the dreaded H1N1!!!!

I didn’t read all the article…I tend to change the radio station when they talk about ‘that flu’ and I don’t have T.V.  I don’t read the big city papers….and so, I don’t put ‘the flu’ bug in my consciousness.  BUT….I do follow the Driftwood’s No. One Big Tip for avoiding ‘the flu,’ and I quote:

“Wash hand frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds.”

That was easy.

One thing…most commercial soaps people use are now ’syndets’ or synthetic detergent bars.  Do they work the same as real soap?  I’m not sure.  Does anyone out there know the answer to this?

Anyway, we have soap.  Lots of soap, REAL soap  Soap in all different colors of the rainbow.  We have lots of different scents and fragrances; West Coast Fir, Chamomile, Lavender, etc.etc.etc.

So, you have lots of lovely choices on how to avoid ‘the flu.’

And handwashing appears not only be good for prevention..but also, THE NO. l PREVENTION TIP!

Again, that was easy!

Bye for now,

Linda

FRESH!!!

I was wandering around downtown Victoria, waiting for an appointment..and found a body care shop that looked interesting!  They had some delightful new products……a salt scrub and a sugar scrub…..well, maybe not so new.  We’ve been making our Salt Spring Soapworks saltscrub for almost ten years and the sugar for six or seven.  But hey, the jars were beautiful!  Wish I was a big multi-national and could afford containers like that!

They also cost a LOT more than our scrubs…..over 30% more!  So, time to check the ingredients….let’s see….natural oils….sea salts….natural sugar…pretty good so far….the scents were all 100% pure essential oils…this looks really good…..If I didn’t have a bathroom full of delightful scrubs….I might have bought one.

BUT!  HEY! WAIT!  There were also quite a few things that looked really scary. Like chemicals and preservatives…yes, these jars were preserved enough to last for years!  And apparently, some people keep these kinds of products for years.

Occasionally we get a complaint that our scrubs have gone ‘off’ and don’t smell good anymore.  Sometimes they actually get a bit hard.  We usually ask how long they’ve had it…we will of course take back instantly, anything that isn’t up to our high  standards!  But usually, it turns out the product has been around for awhile….one lady brought back a Cranberry Scrub from Christmas in the middle of summer…well, by now it’s 8 or 9 months old.

A friend once complained to me that her scrub had gone ‘off.’  I asked how long she’d had it and she replied that I’d given it to her for her birthday A COUPLE OF YEARS BEFORE!!!!  If I don’t love something enough to use it up in 2 or 3 months, or I find it at the back of the bathroom cupboard….out it goes!!!

So……I need to ask!!Would you rather have a completely natural/organic product that’s handmade in small batches…and lasts 2 or 3 months max…..or a wonderful product full of preservatives that will still be hanging in there when you find it under the towels in 2011???  And…do you want to pay $12 more to have all those nice preservatives??

One men’s product made by the other guy…..and with a natural scrub in it…..has seven, 7, yes, SEVEN preservatives!

But for something like the scrubs…or massage oils, or bathbombs….that will last for a few months with none at all…..that we make up FRESH each week…why not skip the convenience of loooonnnnngggg shelf life for a CLEAN, FRESH product!

Let us know what YOU prefer….

Linda Quiring

It’s Always Something!

Just when we think, O.K.  the paraben thing is over..the SLS thing is over…no one in the known world is using them in body products anymore…now…another BIG NO NO!!!

Now, it’s the PALM OIL!!  Yes, we use Palm Oil in our famous Artisan soaps….and sometimes it’s Palm Kernal Oil.  But now,,,,,another larger soap and body care company has a really large campaign going that Palm Oil is really bad; bad for the environment mostly, bad for orangutans, and something else, I forget.

I just found out about this campaign, but it explains why in the past few months we have had a couple, not many, calls about our use of Palm Oil.  The first time, we consulted with our supplier, and found that no, our palm oil wasn’t coming from the places where it is unsustainably grown that the company is boycotting.  I called the lady who inquired, but she still believed that just generally, palm oil must be bad.

I asked her what she would suggest we use..and she said soya.  Well,  our research has shown that vast areas of Latin America are being decimated for soya production by mostly American companies.    Canola is Canadian….but is all GMO….so what to use, what to use.?..olive oil is nice..but too soft for a really good soap…we just add a bit to superfat the soap, and also, we use coconut….again…just enough to create a good lather…but it’s too drying to use by itself….mixed with palm oil…the French and Italians say it makes the best soap in the world…and they should know!!

The company boycotting the palm is using ‘rapeseed’ instead.  When I grew up on the Prairies,,,fields of rapeseed were everywhere….but the name was not politically correct, or even nice, and it was changed to ‘Canola,’ short for Canadian “ola” or oil.  However….it appears that about 100% of Canola is now GMO….remember Percy Smeizer??  Why would anyone want to drop Palm Oil from their soap and add GMO canola?

Not sure…but they are calling it ‘rapeseed oil’ again…and apparently it is not GMO.  Also,,,it is way easier to grow than Palm Oil, which is obtained from a tree, not a weed, the Canadian Prairies are now covered with canola …and well, it is famous for being really, really CHEAP!!!!

Are we going to change over??  Don’t think so…actually, it is also famous for making really, really BAD soap!

I’ll keep you posted, but in the meantime…I think our blend of Palm, Coconut and Olive makes about the finest bar in the world…this after 30 years of soapmaking!  If anyone out there has more information on the  canola/rapeseed question  vs palm or palm kernal vs soya….let us know!

Bye for now, and enjoy the last day of August…..(or was that today?)

Linda

Sizzling Summer Sales!

I have been so busy this summer…somehow I forgot to Blog!!!   Yes, we have been having sizzling summer sales!  Firstly, our trip to the wonderful, fantastic Filberg Festival was a huge success!  We did that most favorite West Coast fair for many, many years…then…just didn’t go for while for some reason…..But this year…we cancelled some further away things and decided to go local again….

It was wonderful!  We were amazed at how many people had tried out products…how many people perceived us as natural and a source for quality products without all the bad things people don’t want anymore.  Our new Body Gelato and the 100 % organic lip balm were the Big Hits!  How do so many people hear about a small family business on a little island!  I guess all these years of hard work have paid off!

The summer market we do here each Saturday has also seen record sales…we’ve been doing it for over 20 years I think….but it just keeps growing…here, we see not only locals, but people from all over Canada, lots of Americans…and some travellers from Europe too.  But mostly,,,it’s people from B.C. and Alberta….people on ’staycations’ which I hear is the latest thing…means we don’t  go to Paris or Belize…..but stay in the province……  lots of Albertans too.

The big sellers there are again, the Lip Balm and Body Gelatos….and more than anywhere else…just lots and lots and lots of our wonderful, famous, Artisan Soaps….

Thanks for shopping, Folks!

Linda

BYE!!….. Off to The Filberg Festival

Hi….haven’t been blogging lately….too busy watering my giant pumpkin, and getting ready for The Filberg Festival.  What’s Filberg…..just the biggest and best artisan’s craft market on Vancouver Island, some say the West Coast!  They are really picky, only the best of course……the cream of the crop of artisan’s in B.C.

Also, a tremendous line up of performers…..it’s going to be hot!  Record temperatures this weekend predicted…but we will be cool in our booth under the trees…..come and see our newest Body Gelato offering!  It’s great to be back as we did the very, very first Filberg back in …..was it the early ’80’s!  But this is a perfect chance to talk with our fans and meet new one’s from near and far and show them What’s New!!

See you there,

Linda

SWEET FEET!!

Yes, it is summertime…and we are wearing our sandals….is everyone looking at our feet???  Women come into our shop a lot….and say they are looking for something for the feet of their significant other.  It appears these ‘others’ have really bad feet.  We talk a little about how to have great feet…and they look at their feet, at my feet…..and decide maybe they need a little advice about how to care for their feet.

Most of the year…out little footies are nicely hidden in our socks, shoes, boots, etc.  but now, in July, everything gets exposed; toes, toenails, and especially, heels.  Did I say heels??? Why does everyone have such cracked rough dry, actually really ugly heels?  I think it is because generally, we can’t see our heels.  We don’t even notice they are there til July….

If you have any kind of icky fungus thing….try washing feet with our Pet Shampoo,,,,yes, it’s full of real Tea Tree oil….or…just get a small vial of our pure Tea Tree oil and rub it on liberally to freshen and clean them.  (this works really well for the significant other).

Well,  what to do, what to do.  First….I would get a good rough scrubby thing.  A pumice would do, we have wooden foot files, and now we scrape away at the rough parts.  A little soaking in some of our nice bath salts would do.  I would use the Sports Therapy salts.  Next…start treating them regularly.  You can’t just tuck them away for ten months and expect to suddenly present them in great shape for summer.

Start to scrub them with the pumice/foot file at least a couple of times a week…try not to be too rough…remember, you have neglected them for a long time.  …and then, moisturize every night.  The sock thing really works; coat them heavily with our Peppermint Foot Lotion, then put on a pair of thin cotton socks.  A couple of weeks of this treatment should leave them looking a lot more presentable!

I really use a lot of our Sugar Scrub at this time of year.  I know, I know, its a little decadent to use a handful every night just for your feet…but it really works to first, exfoliate, and then, to soften them with the natural oils we use.

Now, you are ready for those sandals, for the beach, and for lots of exposure.

Have fun,

Linda Quiring

Yes, We Have No Parabens!!

Almost every day, we get questions about parabens….Yes, we no longer use them.  Almost every body care company now markets their products as ‘paraben-free’ and ’sulphate-free.’

When I researched this a couple of years ago, a chemist told me he had done two years research and hadn’t come up with one legitimate study showing parabens to be more harmful than anything else….and that parabens are naturally occurring in things like grapefruit.  This accounts for their being ubiquitous in our bodies.  Personally, he felt that manufacturers of newer more expensive preservative systems were behind the drive to ban them, although they’ve apparently been used quite safely for decades.

However, we’ve  moved away from parabens.   Just in case!  Recently, someone asked me about the label on a shampoo and conditioner from a small company that markets itself as ‘organic.’   I wasn’t wearing my reading glasses, and couldn’t read the shampoo label, but the conditioner listed, between a lot of nice herbal extracts, the word ‘dehydroacetic acid.’

It is a  a pyrone derivative, fungicide and bacteriacide.

Inobviously, it’s the preservative.  It wasn’t the last ingredient either!  Also, seems to be used industrially as a ‘plasticizer’ and is basically, a “ketone.”   This is the dreaded ingredient they’re trying to eliminate from nail polish remover!! In an ‘organic’ product??!!

The European Union has banned it, although it is listed as safe for use in the U.S. and Canada, but of course, so are parabens.

Sometime ago, I checked out a website on this, I forget which one,  but the Dr. reporting believed that a truly 100% safe natural preservative that works just doesn’t exist yet!

Currently, we are using ‘gluconolactone’ which Skin Deep rates as a ‘1′ or ‘low hazard.’

Better still, MOST of Saltspring Soapworks products are made fresh, daily, in small batches, and sold by us, ourselves.  No agents, distributors or big warehouses.  So,  our soaps and lots of our other products like bath salts and scrubs, just aren’t preserved and will last for months, and with soap, basically for years!

And, best of all, we are so small that every time a newer, better preservative becomes available, we will have it S.A.P.

Meanwhile, like I always say, “JUST READ THE LABEL!”

Linda

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING??

I spoke recently with James…a cosmetic chemist I consult with from time to time on my formulations.  He’s young and green enough to not allow parabens and sulphites in his lab.

“I want a 100% organic shampoo and conditioner,” I said, “not just 100% natural and maybe some organic!”

Here’s what we came up with:

a)  The shampoo felt thin and watery. It had no body.

b) It didn’t lather well.  I used three times my normal amount, but it didn’t ’sudz’ well. (I know, I know, suds are drying!)

c) The conditioner felt thick and rich….but after applying, I couldn’t really feel it.

The results were really disappointing.  My hair felt dry and kind of bushy, not smooth and silky.  I reported back to James, who said, basically, (I’m paraphrasing):

Industry just hasn’t kept up with consumers’ demands (19% of us) for ‘clean’ and ‘green’ products.  Our consciousness has changed more quickly than manufacturers and suppliers have been able to keep up with.  In many cases, organic ingredients just don’t exist, or work as well as  current natural or synthetic ones.

Companies like Saltspring Soapworks are really limited in their choice of ingredients and in many cases, insisting on 100% organic means compromising features and benefits.  Like what?  Well,  quite  often  organic preservatives don’t preserve well, nearly as long, leaving us vunerable to icky microbes and bacteria!

Changes are coming, and as more of us demand change, it will happen.   Years ago, suppliers reassured us that parabens were safe, but consumers insisted we not use them.  So we insisted our suppliers come up with something better, and they did! (more on this later) Trade publications and the internet assure us that everyone in the industry is working diligently to provide the new and more pure ingredients we demand.  Growers are growing things, chemists are testing things.  But until more of the industry suppliers ‘go green’, 100% organic doesn’t necessarily mean a better product.

Let us know what YOU think!  Are you willing to sacrifice the results you want for 100% organic?

Linda

When Less is More!

Now, we are all striving to make our products as green as possible.  At Salt Spring Island Soapworks, we are researching PCR bottles…post-consumer recycled that is.  Just so much better!  And we are constantly looking at new forms of packaging…like containers that melt.  It gets a bit complicated; we reseached bio-degradable bags only to find out that they truly weren’t…just sort of degraded a little faster than the 1000 years it takes regular plastic in the landfill.

A wealth of new ideas and products is hitting the market, along with some things, like the PCR that actually look great!  I saw a line of 100% organic, or nearly, 100% organic on my holiday last winter.  I even bought a couple of things..which were nice, but VERY expensive.  Part of the expense, I’m sure, was the lovely packaging.  Now don’t get me wrong, I loved their packaging.  If we were a bigger richer company, we might do this too!

But, wait a minute!  Why does a jar of 100% organic moisturizer need a box, anyway?  Wouldn’t a really eco-friendly jar be enough packaging?  Why do a cleanser, toner, mask and body wash all need boxes?  If I bought the whole lovely line of skin care, I WOULD HAVE SIX BOXES!!!

Someone else, a really big European skin care line is introducing a new jar of priceless anti-aging cream, and talking a lot about their, yes, THE BOX!  How bio-degradable and green it is.  How environmentally friendly.  How unnecessary, actually.

So, don’t buy into the idea that too much packaging is O.K. if it’s green, or looks green, or might be green.  Even if it is, it isn’t.  More packaging is what we WAN’T!    Not what we NEED!

Bye for now,

Linda

Somehow, there is something wrong with this picture.

ECO-FRIENDLY OR ECO-FAKE????

Sorry to keep on harping about the Green Thing….but…we really  want to bring you the best  skin, hair and body care on the planet.  We keep dumping things that could possibly be harmful, and, we keep adding  exciting new ingredients….years ago (remember, we’ve been doing this for 30 years !) they were saying ‘natural’ was a fad.  Now, suppliers and manufacturers can hardly wait to be the first with  cleaner, more pure ingredients for the paradigm shift in skin care, i.e. PURE! FRESH! CLEAN!

But, things  aren’t as simple as they seem.  We insist a product be ONE HUNDRED PER CENT NATURAL to be called a natural product, and ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ORGANIC to be called an organic product….1 or 2 percent just doesn’t make it!  Do you want to discover your new expensive organic shampoo only has 1% organic ingredients, maybe the essential oils that scent it…and the rest is only ‘natural’ or sometimes….even synthetic!

The reason I am ranting again about this today…is I think I finally saw the ultimate Eco-Fake product!  A rising star with a wonderful ‘green, natural, eco-friendly’ etc. website has just introduced a line of skin body and hair care!  Yes,,,it is all about ORGANIC, ORGANIC, ORGANIC.  But a quick glance at the ingredients (does anybody else read this stuff??) shows not only are most of the ingredients not organic, they are not even natural, and actually, quite the same things you would find in a 16oz bottle of really cheap shampoo at the $$ store or drugstore. The small amount of ‘organic’ in this product is only there for show, for the marketing buzz, and to get those big $$$$!!!!

So, all I can say is…..read the labels….and then google the words you can’t read, pronounce or understand!

Bye for now,

Linda

WHAT’S THE BUZZ????

I AM ADDICTED TO LIP BALM!!  Like many others.  I have one in my purse, one near my computer…one at my desk at work, one at my desk at home, in the  hiking pack, my little bike thing, in my car, and now, with spring finally here, I’m keeping one in the greenhouse.

Over the past couple of years, our most requested product has been Lip Balm.  Why haven’t we made it before?? Well, we wanted to do it right.  Most of the Lip Balm I’ve used…I haven’t liked.  I do a lot of gardening, hiking and biking, all outside in sun, wind and cold…I found most balms either too hard, with synthetic mineral oils and waxes.  Or too soft, with natural oils that melted and went off quickly, or were too sticky.  The nice natural ones often had really creepy preservatives to fend off rancidity.  Often they had a lot of synthetic fragrance, and who wants to put that on their lips, or possibly, eat it???

Lip Balm, easy as it seems, was a challenge.  So, we spent two years researching!  Yes, we Did!!! We ended up firstly, with a huge 7 gm state-of-the-art tube…almost TWICE the normal amount.  Then, we consulted a young naturally-oriented cosmetic chemist who helped us formulate a water-free product…apparently, bacteria need H2O to survive.  The shelf life is around two years.

Then, we used local Wildflower Honey & Beeswax, and soon I should be able to supply these from my own hive.  Most important, we decided from the beginning, because it is used on the lips, that IT HAD TO BE 100% ORGANIC!!! Not just 1% so we could put it on the label……but 100% ORGANIC!!!!

We’ve used the best ingredients available;

Wildflower Honey (from free-range bees) – Queen of Skin Softeners, anti-aging/anti-wrinkle.  Coconut Oil – Natures Best Emollient, Beeswax;  Natural wax, not hydrocarbon like white cosmetic waxes.  Olive Oil – Emollient,  removes flaky dry skin.  Shea Butter – smooths skin,  Mango Butter – Great Natural Emollient.  Hemp Seed Oil – Rich in Omega 3’s, healing.  Vitamin E – Anti-oxidant, Peppermint Essential Oil – Fresh, clean scent, and Vanilla Absolute for a warm, sweet scent.

We believe we’ve come up with the best lip balm in the world….and we can prove it!!! Again, you get twice as much 100% Wildflower Honey Lip Balm for a reasonable price..with ALL
of the great ingredients, and NONE of the bad ones!

After 30 Years of making the best natural skin and body care available…we’ve done it Again!! We weren’t the first kid on the block to have Lip Balm…but…

We  feel  this is the best Lip Balm on the planet !!!!!!!!!!

STILL FRESH!!!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a fine shop I found in the Palm Springs area….selling ‘fresh’ and ‘organic’ skin, hair and body care.  I was impressed, although it turned out that everything wasn’t organic all the time….which was a little confusing…there was no way to know what was organic and what wasn’t.

Also, I had trouble with the FRESH idea and that these things had to be refrigerated.  I learned this after I had bought a couple of things….and didn’t like them being in the fridge….and  the ‘bio-dynamic’ ingredients inside only lasted a few days, I think….although the product itself would last for a year if refrigerated!

But…we’ve been having a really cold spring! After a few weeks in the warm desert sun and sands of Palm Springs…it is absolutely freezing!  Here it is March 8th, on Salt Spring Island, in what we call “The Banana Belt” of Canada and it is snowing even as I sit here.   The weather did solve my problem though…I put my two “fresh” products on the windowsill just outside the bathroom door that leads to the sauna.  I whip the door open, grab the jar and bottle, whisk them inside…smooth and spray on the products and out they go!  Works really well. ….except they are cold….but I don’t have to run all the way to the kitchen.

So, what’s the big deal???  Only that I THINK THESE PRODUCTS ARE WONDERFUL!!  They make my skin feel great,,,,no fragrance or chemical smells….and I really think my skin looks better; smoother, softer, less dry and YOUNGER!!!  (at my age…this last is really important).

Although I felt the products were expensive…they were not anywhere near the $158 per month I just saw advertised for some wonderful clinically-tested skin care for ‘mature skin’).

So..now I am a convert…I know how to make fresh products…we started out Salt Spring Soapworks in the kitchen, after all.    But, once we started selling our products in shops…I was convinced by even the really natural chemists we needed to have a preservative system to keep our natural ingredients clean and fresh.

We’ve always made everything in really small batches, don’t ship them all over the world, or warehouse them.  So we can use about 1/10th of the preservatives most companies do. We’ve also used the best most natural ones we could find.

The whole experience with “Fresh”  has made me feel there is a way to go back to our roots….maybe WE will get little mini-ice paks to sell our skin care…and make people keep it in the fridge…..it’s worth a try!

Linda

p.s.  I don’t really mind smelling like a cucumber!

p.s.p.s. Let me know how you feel about this??? Want really fresh products??
100% pure, natural, fresh and organic?? Want to keep them in the fridge???

The Soap Contest….We Won! We Won!

Everywhere I go…..I look at,  smell and touch soap and sometimes actually buy it.  Not that I’m short of soap…but I really like to know what’s going on in the World of Handmade Artisan Soap.   Once, I found a black soap from Portugal….it was clay, and made with lots of olive oil.  I loved it…and it helped inspire our West Coast Mud Bar with Spruce and Fir local essential oils and  from the Coast of Northern B.C.

I tried a lovely Honeysuckle soap  from a large American company making natural products…. the Honeysuckle was a synthetic fragrance, but I loved the feel of the soap.  I found they had it made in France…from Palm Oil.  That was many years ago, and Palm was unavailable in Canada, so Bill and I went to Portland where tankers of oil came in and the palm was shipped to food suppliers for taco chips, Fritos, etc.  We brought home two large barrels in the van, across the border, and made soap. It was another soap epiphany, and we still use it.

On our recent holiday down South, we travelled and hiked around Southern California, and checked out soap as we went along.  Found a really nice, totally natural Lavender Oatmeal soap…nice lather, great scent…but….they used large steel-cut oats, the kind we eat!  It made for a pretty scrubby bar, actually too rough, and the oats fell out as we used it..  We always use the quick cooking oats for soap.  They are smaller, thinner, and I think make a better soap. They just kind of melt when you use the bar…..so, I thought our Lavender Oatmeal won!

Next, I found a really nice bar superfatted with every good thing you could add to a soap; cocoa butter, shea butter, aloe vera, I forget what else!  It felt wonderful on the skin, and had a soft silky lather.  But, a thumb print remained when pressed, and it lasted maybe 1/3 as long as our bars…. just too soft…..so We Won Again!

Lots of other soaps looked  or smelled great, or had appealing packaging and cute quirky names…but….I didn’t try them.  Usually, it was the fragrance.  Anything synthetic and just too strong meant instant rejection.  Most handmade soap I saw was  neatly cut, although some looked like they had been cut on big machines, not on the handmade cutters most of us use.  The thing that really impressed me the most though, were the combinations of essential oils that the artisans used to create their really exotic bars.

p.s. You may have guessed this is my own personal soap contest, and we usually win!

p.s.p.s.  We don’t ALWAYS win!

Linda

But Is It FRESH???

Hello Again….still in Palm Springs….spent yesterday in the Anza-Borrego State Park..hiking up a desert wash to a palm oasis ….it was warm and sunny…..but today…it’s a movie and shopping….

Shopping  means a lot of looking around and occasionally, we actually buy something! Found a new Body Care shop…and the signage was  “FRESH!”  and “ORGANIC.”   Everything looked good, and for once, reading labels, I was impressed. 

“Is everything really organic?” I asked.  Well, the answer was, not really. It seems they were unable to consistently source 100% organic ingredients, so sometimes things aren’t organic, but mostly.  We have the same problem, only, we don’t market things as organic unless they are 100% organic, always, not sometimes. 

But these were the most natural products I’ve ever seen and I bought acouple of  things.  They packed up my products and then popped a couple of tiny ice packs in the bag and I was then  told the products had to be refrigerated. 

I thought of returning the products..but had already paid for them…so, home they came and there they sit in the fridge.  Sometimes, I don’t use them because I forget to get them out of the fridge.  And  when I do my evening ritual, I don’t like putting freezing cold creams on my skin….Also, after a week or so, the toner has a decided green layer on top that wasn’t there before.

So, how fresh do we want to go?  The toner has a Best By date of a year from now, but would I want to take a nice fresh cucumber, mix it with a few other ingredients, and keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, a few months or a year?

O.K.  Fresh has gone far enough.  Please, don’t be so fresh!!!

Bye for now, Linda

P.S. These products cost me a small fortune!

SEEKING SOAP IN SO.CAL.

Still here in sunny Southern California….enjoying hiking the desert….movies, and  visiting local farmers markets, street fairs, and dozens of cute little boutiques.

We love our soap business…and love to see what others are doing, too.  It’s fun, exciting, and  really inspiring to see what’s happening in the wide world of soap.

Somehow, things were different this year….I don’t think it’s the ‘downturn’ everyone is talking about…but, well, something different.

We met lots of soapmakers…saw lots of handmade soap, but somehow…I know some people won’t like this…..they all looked the same!

It seems handmade soap is now ubiquitous…and has become increasingly commercial…..out of 20 or so soap lines we looked at, only 2  looked fun, exciting and creative.  The rest were all melt and pour…..read; soap blocks purchased from the large chemical corporations.

Now, I know there is a place for this……but, hopefully, not at the expense of real, hand-stirred, hand-mixed and poured soap, made with real vegetable, tropical or exotic oils instead of a detergent base.

At one market, I asked a nice young lady what the soap was made of and she replied, “soap base.”  I asked what the ingredients were…and she replied, “glycerine,” not even aware of what was in her melt-and-pour base.

This seems to be where things are going….but, thankfully, we did meet one wonderful soapmaker at a fair who was genuinely interesting and creative. He was new at things…and really excited to meet us…..soapmakers for over 30 years!

He had put everything but the kitchen sink into his bars; a base of palm, coconut and olive….shea butter, aloe, coco butter, and lots more, I forget.  He gave us one free for giving him some great free advice on a problem he just couldn’t solve….that we had worked out years ago!

The bar was really soft; you could press in your thumb and leave a print.But in the bath, it was lovely and mild and had pure essential oils for fragrance. Alas, it was too soft, and really didn’t last at all.  Yet all of the superfatting had made this one of the most moisturizing bars I’ve ever used!

The more commercial-looking bars were all smooth and uniform…and were in display boxes and not wrapped…our gift was obviously individually hand-cut..and handwrapped with a kind of funky little label….the more sophisticated ones usually smelled of synthetic fragrances….some of them quite lovely, but I preferred the fresh essential oils of the one we’d been given.

It made me think a lot about what consitutes a top-quality, handmade artisan soap…and here’s what I came up with.

Needs to be oils (not tallow) known to make a bland, mild soap, not overly perfumed, hand-cut and hand-wrapped…..and a little superfatting, not too much, or it won’t last.  But enough to make it really moisturizing….after some thought, I came up with what I call The Big Three.  This will serve in future as a guide for all of our soapmaking:

First……has to be MILD.

Second….has to be MOISTURIZING.

Third:  has to LAST A LONG TIME.

Anything else?? Oh yes…no animal products or ingredients…let me know what you think.

Bye for now,

Linda

SORRY! from Palm Springs……

Sorry….we’ve been having so much fun hiking and enjoying the sun in Palm Spring that I forgot to do my Blog!

Let’s see…Christmas was…well…different…..it snowed more on the island than we’ve seen in the 35 years we’ve lived here…had to walk to town…close the shop some days…however…we survived!

Just as I thought…the ‘financial meltdown’ affected business…..but in a positive way…….it seems people really did a) shop locally, b) look for high-quality handmade items, c) bought ‘green’ and natural, and d) bought items like jam, candles, soap and body care…anything that wasn’t “stuff.”

A big treat…we decided to have our Christmas party at the Harbour House…..our local hotel/resort that won the Green Business Award for 2008, and places our soap and amenities in each room.

After years/decades of cleaning, cooking, and shopping for the staff party each Christmas…what with the weather and snow…we decided on the Harbour House….what an experience!

Not only are they ‘green’, they have converted most of their property into organic gardens and are actually GROWING lots of the items on the menu…with lots more coming on stream.  I was a little miffed however…when they beat me at the Fall Fair in the wheat category….the judges thought mine was a little ‘green’ so Harbour House won!

For the party though, they made up for it….giving us the ‘Green Room’ which has now been painted blue.  We  had the one of the best dinners I can remember…..roasted potatoes and veggies actually grown on the property…organically…..served by locals….appies…dessert…everything was superb…we booked for next year!

A great example of local businesses supporting each other…..and thanks Harbour House for spreading the word about our products!

All for now…..going up to the High Desert for some sunshine!

Linda