Beer Soap

Ah, the wonders of beer. ("Mmmmmm. Beer." -- Homer Simpson.)

Ahem, well, Captain Obvious and all, but my Irish kin are certainly reputed to enjoy the stuff, exporting some of the most popular of beers, such as the widely known Guinness.

How long humans have been making beer is uncertain, but what is known is that beer has been fermented since ancient cultures, at least since the time of Sumer, and his people, the Sumerians. The Sumerians celebrated their fermented libations with documented hymns, such as the following, as translated by Miguel Civil of The Oriental Institute of the University of Chigago):

In the reed buckets there is sweet beer,
I will make cupbearers, boys, and brewers stand by,
While I circle around the abundance of beer,
While I feel wonderful, I feel wonderful,
Drinking beer, in a blissful mood,
Drinking liquor, feeling exhilarated, 
With joy in the heart and and a happy liver,
While my heart full of joy,
And my happy liver I cover with a garment fit for a queen!
The heart of Inanna is happy again,
The heart of the queen of heaven is happy again!


The ancient Sumerians sound like a bunch of dancing hobbits in the above song. But, mad props to the Sumerians here: the stuff is indeed great, not only because it's, uh, beer, but also because of its beauty benefits! Yes, indeed: Cleopatra took beer baths, just as many in Eastern Europe today take beer baths. It's said to be great for the hair as a rinse; others claim it's great for beautifying the skin. I have used it as a toner for the skin and I'm a fan, hands down. But what's also great about beer, is that it makes an incredible soap. No harsh, unneeded chemicals such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate -- put simply -- beer, used in making soap, means bubbles..

When my Etsy site is launched (sooooooon) such wonderful beer soaps will be available for your bathing pleasure.

My Dragon's Blood Beer soap. 

(No dragons were harmed in the making of this soap.)

Milky Mint Soap

'Wanna tell hand eczema to take off? Milky Mint Soap is the best way to do so!

Of recent months, this refreshing batch of soap has been a hit, as family members have been demanding it, which is pleasing, but also kind of annoying. (Me: "Family, stop mooching my soap and give me five bucks!")

'Can't say I blame 'em, though. Eczema runs in my family, as we all have sensitive Irish skin that doesn't take kindly to the harsh "soap" (i.e., detergent, not soap) from stores. That being said, I do have to admit, there's nothing quite like bathing in an all-natural, milky-mint soap. Made with nourishing organic milk, and using mostly Spearmint essential oil with a touch of Peppermint, the smell is so wonderfully invigorating in the shower! Spearmint essential oil has a sweeter scent than Peppermint, and is also less irritating to the skin, so a ratio of just a little Peppermint essential oil with more of the Spearmint essential oil makes a fine, minty soap.

Freshly poured batch of my Milky Mint Soap

Other essential oils, such as Lavender and Cedarwood, are known to help eczema, but this soap, with the addition of Nettle Leaf powder (known to aid in eczema) as well as the soothing milk, left my hands soft, smelling sweetly, and eczema free. Some people swear by goat milk for soap intended to aid eczema, but in my experience, organic cow milk is just as effective.

Fresh-cut milky mint soap, curing alongside my dragon's blood beer soaps. 

My etsy and ebay sites are under construction, but if you wish to order a batch via paypal, please email me at floweredunicorn@gmail.com.

This post was written for educational purposes only and only to reflect my own personal experiences with herbs and essential oils (I am my own guinea pig; what works for me may not work for you, and please consult a physician before using essential oils). My soaps are not intended to diagnose or cure any disease. Do not use essential oils while pregnant or nursing before consulting a physician.

Mica and Cold Process Soap

I'm pretty strict when it comes to making soap. I only make soap the traditional, Tyler Durden way (cold process, although I'm open to hot process, as well). Since I first began making soap, I've only used natural ingredients: this means plant-based colorants and essential oils in scenting. I'm still all about the natural (um, hello, hippie blog and all), but I've relaxed a little and expanded my horizons to using mica colorants (micas are derived from natural Earth minerals, and I use mica cosmetics, so really, why the heck not). Now, the thing is, micas are known to work especially well  in transparent "melt and pour" soap, but... "melt and pour" soapmaking kinda defeats the purpose of why I make soap. I have nothing against "melt and pour" soaps, which are lovely and kudos to those who enjoy it. But... Tyler Durden is basically my hero, and honestly, do ya think Tyler Durden would make foofy "melt and pour" soaps? Considering that an enlightening moment in the film Fight Club involves NaOH, I wouldn't think so.

"What is this?"

"This... is a chemical burn."

Anyway, where was my point in this? Oh: Since Cold Process soap is opaque, not all micas will work, but some will. One idea: if you're interested in stamping your soap with an image, you can dip a stamp in a little mica and press onto soft, freshly unmolded soap - I've tried this myself and the effects are pretty nice. Another idea is to layer and sprinkle cold process soap with a little mica. Also, as an alternative to Titanium Dioxide, I personally like to use pearlescent mica in lightening my soap. Now, you may be wondering where to get great micas to work with in your soapmaking. I order my mica colorants from Oregon Trail Soapers Supply. They carry awesome mica colorants, among other much-needed soap-making supplies.

Pearlizer mica from Oregon Trail Soapers Supply. 

You can add this to cold process soap to lighten it. 

Even with opaque cold process soap,

the sparkle will reflect in the light.

I recently made a batch of beer soap, made with Guinness and scented with an essential oil blend of Frankincense, Myrrh, Clove, with touches of Vetiver and Vanilla. I lightened some of the soap with the pearlizer mica, and swirled it up. It's a very smoky, spicy scent... perfect for guys and gals alike, and soon to be available via my shop.

Soooooooap.

Autumn and Pumpkin Spice Soap

Ah, Autumn. 

Vivaldi's Autumn.

It is just arriving... the oak tree's leaves are just starting to leave its verdant shade of green, now tipped with the faintest hue of gold. Autumn has been my favorite season since I can remember. The beautiful colors are a visual wonder, but Autumn brings other sensory delights: Crisp air, flavorful apples, and various culinary delights made of pumpkin and spices. 

I welcomed the arrival of September by making Pumpkin Spice Soap, which smells exactly like Pumpkin pie. Made with an essential oil blend of cinnamon leaf, nutmeg, sweet orange, and vanilla, it is definitely one of my best batches to date. 

All natural Pumpkin Spice Soap.

Shea Lemon Soap

"Science. What is it all about? Technology, what is that all about? Is it good, or is it whack?"

Science rocks. In college I always loved lab work particularly, as it's so fun to get down and "do" science. "Makin' soap is classic chemistry, yo!"  (Said in my best Ali G voice with a hand flick.) After studying soapmaking books for months and especially learning from the great "Soap Queen" Anne-Marie Faiola (owner of the fabulous Brambleberry.com where you can get alllllllll your soapmaking supplies and then some), I made my very first soap! The experimental batch I made is a lovely pale yellow soap made with shea butter and lemon. Natural, toxic-free, healthy soaps FTW!

My Shea Lemon soap. It's alllllll natural, baby.

My recipe, using metric units... yes, metric:

136 grams extra virgin olive oil
136 grams organic coconut oil
90 grams organic shea butter
90 grams "rainforest friendly" palm oil
170 grams water
62 grams lye

After the soap traced, I added lemon and lemongrass essential oils to the batch. In future batches with this specific recipe, I'll be adding d-alpha-tocopherol (natural Vitamin E) as a slight natural preservative, and also lemon butter.

Success with another arrow in the quiver!

What's in your beauty products?

Looooong story ahead.

In 2004, I spent some time in Alaska, going to college at UAA studying archaeology. An Irish person such as myself does not have the skin meant for arctic weather, because my skin changed for the worse: my hands were itchy, and my skin cracked and bled. My hands looked so bad that I was wearing cloth mittens everywhere, even indoors. I was suffering and it sucked. I actually thought I had some kind of flesh-eating bacteria. A visit to the dermatologist allowed a diagnosis: eczema, but she just prescribed corticosteroids and sent me on my (unmerry) way (thanks, doctor whomever, for prescribing Prednisone, as that stuff IS POISON). Ahem, anyway. The air is very dry in Alaska, and the prescribed Prednisone, as well as skin lotions, wasn't helping, either.

When I returned home to Oregon, my eczema greatly regressed but it was still bothersome from time to time. I then visited an excellent dermatologist and this doctor helped me understand eczema (and my many allergies). Through my own research and managing the eczema, I came to the understanding that while I always had slight eczema  I have very sensitive skin, and that most soap products bother me.  Any soap product with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate notably causes my eczema to flare up with a vengeance. Therefore, my shampoos and soaps are, of course, free of sulfates. I can't do the dishes without rubber gloves, as dish-washing liquid is murder on my hands. My SLS-free soaps are purchased from soapmakers, and from Trader Joe's.

My experiences eventually led me to the million-dollar question: what's with all the "questionable ingredients" in consumer products, anyway? What's with the labels that scream "Sulfate free" and "Free of parabens" and "Phosphate-free"? A visit to the Environmental Working Group website yields answers to what these ingredients are and informs you of what's in your own products.

Some of the basics:

Sulfates (i.e., the above mentioned Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) are found in just about every cleaner, from garage-floor cleaners to shampoos to soaps to toothpaste. (Yes, you read that correctly: stuff that is used to clean garage floors is also put into your toothpaste and shampoo.) This is the stuff that creates lather in a soap, and as a surfactant, it's good at removing oils from your hair and body. It is also known to be a skin irritant, especially for those who have sensitive skin and eczema. According to Bonnie Rochman's Time  Health article Ingredient Anxiety, another concern regarding Sulfates is that "some of these foaming agents are skin irritants; others combine with petrochemicals to form 1,4-dioxane, which is a probable human carcinogen."

Parabens are found in many beauty products, including cosmetics, deodorants, shampoos, and hair products, and is used as a preservative and anti-fungal agent. Have a look at the label on the back of a hair product, perhaps one that you own and use. Do you see "methyparaben", perhaps? The problem with parabens is that they mimic estrogen; lab tests have indicated endocrine-disrupting compounds. According to the Environmental Working Group, parabens "were found in breast cancer tumors of 19 out of 20 women studied." Scary.

Phthalates are found in a variety of products, including fragrances, cosmetics such as eyeshadow, liquid soaps, nail polish, shower curtains, and more. The Environmental Working Group website states, "Phthalates have been found to disrupt the endocrine system" by affecting sperm counts and reproductive systems in male animals, and studies indicate (U.S. Center for Disease Control’s 2005 National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals) it is also linked to liver cancer. Also frightening is that most personal care products don't list phthalates on labels, according to The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Other nasty ingredients include but isn't limited to Bisphenol A (BPA),  DMDM hydantoin, Phosphates, and 1,4-dioxane.

Consumers are unknowingly spending money (sometimes, a lot of money) on products containing these harsh ingredients.

Due to my own need for soaps without SLS, I've decided to jump on the soap-making bandwagon. I'll be updating subsequent blog posts with my soap-making experiences. Eventually, the soaps that I'll make (and those that turn out decently enough) will be available for sale through my Etsy page. W00t.

For more information, please see:

Ingredient Anxiety written by Bonnie Rochman
The Environmental Working Group
The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics

All natural soooooap: including Triforce soap! W00t!