Making Soap Mag #92 Jan/Feb 2019

Founder/Editor In Chief Managing Editor

Kathy Tarbox Beth Byrne

COLUMNS WRITERS Features Guest Articles Soap Work Smarter Q &A Tech Talk In The Lab Formulary

Cindy Novack Bill McConnell Tammie Siller Kate Jakubas Alicia Grosso Sara Golding Sandy Maine Ruth Romano Niki Senior Cindy Lantier

EDITORIAL OFFICE 344 Mizzen Ave NW Ocean Shores, WA 98569 Phone. 425.760.1004 • hello@makingsoapmag.com Making Soap, Cosmetics & Candles Magazine (ISSN 1099-6672) is published bimonthly (6x year) by Petal Pusher Press www.makingsoapmag.com

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE EDITOR LETTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Keep Pet Odors under Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Essential Oils and Pets . . . . 11 Take Care of YOU . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Benchmarking: Getting Out of the Shop to Improve it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Cats and Dogs and Rabbits, Oh My! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 When it is Time to Leave Clients Behind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Abundance and Generosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Ten Tips for Choosing a Website Provider . . . . . . . . 29 Canine Skin Disorders . . . . . 32 Perfect Pooch: Soap for Dogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

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EDITOR LETTER If you own a pet, you are part of a growing trend in many parts of the world. Pets are increasingly considered part of the family, and the money we spend on them a higher portion of the family budget than ever before. This trend is not relegated to baby boomers, but is equally true of millennials.

If dog products are part of your business, you have a wide market range from which to choose a niche, and this pet-themed issue is filled with product ideas and formulas to help you. If you are a pet owner, you too, will enjoy the formulas and tips.

Settle in with your furry family member and be inspired!.

Beth Byrne Managing Editor

CORRECTION: NOV/DEC 2018 Corrections to Diana Gale’s CPLS Troubleshooting guide PAGE 10: We goofed! The number on each footnote was missing within Diana Gale’s CPLS Troubleshooting guide from the November 2018 issue.

The numbers are intact within the text: 1. Soapee.com or Soapcalc.com are easy to use 2. i.e., KD8000 3. www.facebook.com groups/113249609118853 4. Make a brine solution by saturating hot distilled water.

Add salt a Tb at a time, stirring to dissolve before adding another Tb. When the salt will no longer dissolve, the water is saturated.

5. PPO: per pound of oils.

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

january/february 2019 ISSUE #92 Published by Petal Pusher Press 344 Mizzen Ave NW Ocean Shores, WA 98569 (c) 2018 Petal Pusher Press.

All Rights Reserved.

Making Soap, Cosmetics & Candles Magazine is the educational and encouraging voice for the makers of handcrafted soap, cosmetics and candles, focusing on materials, design, techniques and solutions. Sold online and through our stockists. If you would like to stock the magazine, contact us.

Your questions and comments are welcome. Please send them to hello@makingsoapmag.com

Authors’ Guidelines Our website includes a page for potential writers; this includes information on what we are looking for.

The Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Advertising For rates or to place your ad in the next issue visit our advertising page located at www.makingsoapmag.com Disclaimer Making Soap, Cosmetics & Candles Magazine exists solely to give information to its readers, and strives for accuracy in its articles and honesty in its advertisements, but the publisher and editors assume no responsibility for injuries or loss incurred by anyone utilizing the information in the articles or responding to the ads.

Copyright© 2018 by Making Soap, Cosmetics & Candles Magazine.

All Rights Reserved. Material may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission. For reprints, contact the publisher at: hello@makingsoapmag.com or visit www.makingsoapmag.com PRINTED IN THE USA

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F E AT U R E

Keep Pet Odors under Control

by CINDY NOVACK We love our furry friends, but we do not always love how they smell. [1] The companionship pets provide is incredible, but walking into a house that smells like animals is unpleasant. Household pets such as cats, dogs, ferrets, birds, reptiles, guinea pigs, mice, hamsters, fish, and more, possess unique odor issues to address. The obvious first step is to keep up with litter boxes, cage cleaning and pet bathing, but the purpose of this article is to address how to control odors that go beyond basic cleaning and upkeep.

Animals, like humans, secrete skin oils that result in unique scents. Dogs and cats do not sweat, but their glands perspire from their paws and lightly from their hair follicles. Ferrets carry a musky scent and even reptiles have small scent glands. Animals also produce scent when they are stressed, nervous or scared. As they age, their scent changes and breath scent is more distinct.

Many other animal scents and glands also smell unpleasant, but we need not go into graphic detail.

The point is that even when your house, pets and animal areas are perfectly clean, pet odors happen, and controlling those odors is the focus of this article.

Airborne odors caused by dog breath, nervous energy, running and movement are first on our list to combat. These are protein odors. Physically, the only thing to clean is the air itself. It is comparable to cooking meat, such as fish, beef, bacon, and so on. The protein in the air lingers long after the dishes are done. Candles and wax melts are always my go-to for spaces that need freshening up. Strong scents such as cherry, black cherry, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint, pine, cedar and other earthy fragrances mask air odors well. Some people claim additionally, that pure beeswax candles actually purify and improve air quality.

[2] While that has not been proven, I know from personal experience that the warm honey aroma is subtle, yet strong and seems to attach itself to neutralize protein malodors.

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[1]

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Keep Pet Odors under Control

by CINDY NOVACK

[3]

[4]

Additionally, air freshener sprays can eliminate odor immediately, and are a fast and easy solution.

[3] Try the fragrance and essential oils for candles, cosmetics and soaps in a spray bottle as an air freshener mist. Make sure to check the IFRA statements for each oil for acceptable air freshener concentration levels. Spraying the oils at 100% concentration will provide the greatest effect, but do so with caution and only in special situations with intense odors. Keep in mind also, that pets are sensitive to fragrance; we do not want to make them sick or give them a reaction. Do not spray essential oils in a household with cats as it can be deadly to them. Another consideration is that while using oils at 100% concentration may be effective, you are also spraying oil around the house, which come into contact with furniture, floors and walls.

It does not evaporate and may discolor fabrics or leave a greasy residue. Hydrosols or floral waters may be sprayed at 100% concentration around the house however, and are very effective and safe for pets. My favorite air freshener spray presented

below is extremely effective. Spray it around the house, on curtains, linens and fabric couches without leaving residue. Always test sprays on fabric though, to make sure they cause no negative effects.

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Air Freshener/Linen Spray Recipe (makes 1 gallon) [4] • 100 ounces of distilled water • 20 ounces of ethanol, vodka or witch hazel (to help evaporation) • Mix 1.2 oz. fragrance oil with 2.8 oz. polysorbate 20 (30/70% ratio) Blend the fragrance oil and polysorbate 20 together and then mix all ingredients in a gallon jug. Recycle and reuse empty plastic spray bottles for air freshener sprays.

Diffusing hydrosols or essential oils is another great way to control air odors. [5] Again, do not use essential oils if they are harmful to pets in the house. www.makingsoapmag.com • 7

F E AT U R E

Keep Pet Odors under Control

by CINDY NOVACK

[5]

Try baking soda to keep odors under control that attach themselves to carpet. Baking soda has natural odor-absorbing qualities, which is why so many of us keep an open box in the fridge. It is great for other household uses, as well. Add a few drops of a fresh scented oil like lavender, lemon or orange to baking soda to make carpet deodorizer.

Store it in a recycled glass or plastic jar with holes in the lid. Sprinkle it on the carpet and then vacuum. [6] It will not only make the carpet smell great, but the vacuum air will freshen the space, as well.

Castile soap is an effective cleaner for counters, tile surfaces, hardwood floors, furniture and leather. Laundry detergent is also an effective deodorizer. Add a few drops of tea tree essential oil and any other essential oil that tones down its medicinal aroma for an amazing multi-use, natural cleaning product. I prefer tea tree and lemon for leather and hardwood floors. For stinky laundry like pet beds and blankets, I use a tea tree and lavender combination in castile soap.

The last to combat are the most extreme odors - the nastiest, most grotesque, ugliest odors that your pet could possibly produce. Many examples MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

[6]

[7]

exist, but let us choose skunk spray for our example. If your pet was ever sprayed, you know the odor is so intense that it makes eyes water and sets off the gag reflex. These situations must be dealt with quickly and effectively. Thankfully, this tried-and-true formula effectively removes the skunk odor. Do not spend time or money at the store for special skunk removing pet shampoos; simply use the tried and true recipe below. I www.makingsoapmag.com • 8

F E AT U R E

Keep Pet Odors under Control

by CINDY NOVACK learned this after my two hound dogs went on adventure late at night, then came running home after getting sprayed by a skunk. They were rolling on the carpet, trying to rub the smell off on the couch, bed linens and anywhere they could. I cannot accurately explain just how bad the odor was. I think I even cried a little. We used every dog shampoo available, multiple times, and every odor combatting recipe we had, yet still smelled skunk for two days. No candle scent is stronger than skunk - that is a fact!

Thank you Google for this magic “old school” formula that not only works immediately on pets, but works for clothes and other washable fabrics, also. Soak anything that can be soaked in this recipe and intense odors disappear.

Extreme Odor Remover (De-skunk) [7] • 1 quart hydrogen peroxide

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• ¼ cup baking soda • 1 teaspoon castile soap or Dawn™ dish detergent Blend everything together and use immediately. It is magic!

I have been an animal lover all of my life and cannot imagine my world without furry companions.

Still, life happens and they do not always smell wonderful, so employ the ideas and recipes in this article help keep odors under control. Enjoy your furry friends every day they are with you!

Cindy Rumpf Novack is the owner of Candles and Supplies.com and found her passion making candles in third grade. She teaches classes and takes great pride in helping others learn, create and be successful at candle and soap making.

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F E AT U R E

Essential Oils and Pets

by BILL McCONNELL

The natural products industry contains untapped potential for small businesses. One niche leaping to the forefront is essential oil products for pets. Customers consistently ask me for essential oil items that are healthy for their dogs and cats. In case you are unaware, not every essential oil that creates harmony for humans is pleasurable or safe for our pet friends; additionally, proper application methods matter for animal safety.

If you are serious about making essential oil-based products for animals, consider purchasing a copy of the Animal Desk Reference II: Essential Oils for Animals

by Melissa Shelton, DVM. In it, she describes benefits and side effects of specific essential oils on a variety of household pets, ranging from birds and reptiles to dogs and cats. Additionally, she goes over safe methods of application including caging, tenting, and petting styles of application. All of these methods use a highly diluted amount of essential oil because application of essential oils directly to pet skin can be hazardous.

Several oils commonly used for humans cause severe reactions in both dogs and cats. Tea tree oil is one of the more toxic essential oils for dogs. In undiluted form, it can cause severe physical problems in as few as three

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F E AT U R E

Essential Oils and Pets

by BILL McCONNELL

or four days. Exposure to tea tree oil most often occurs through air diffusers or the attempts of well-meaning pet owners to treat certain skin or parasitic conditions. This exposure is toxic to a dog and will lead to the following symptoms: vomiting, paralysis, hypothermia, and without immediate treatment by a veterinarian, even death.

Pennyroyal is another toxic oil to dogs. Pet owners mistakenly believe it repels ticks, so they apply it directly to their dog’s skin, which results in liver failure. Without immediate treatment by a veterinarian, Pennyroyal essential oil is fatal to dogs.

Wintergreen is chemically similar in nature to aspirin, and can relieve muscle and joint pain, just as aspirin does. In dogs, it may interfere with the mucus lining of the stomach, leading to internal bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Many essential oils should be avoided around dogs simply because of the strong aromatic properties. Peppermint, clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus oils might smell wonderful from a diffuser, but the aromas are too intense for the sensitive noses of dogs and may cause respiratory irritation. If you have pets, it is best not to diffuse these essential oils around them.

As with dogs, cats are highly sensitive to several common essential oils, including oregano, clove, wintergreen, thyme, peppermint, all citrus oils, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil. Essential oils build up in a cat’s body, as a cat’s liver lacks enzymes to break down the two main compounds found in essential oils--phenols and terpenes. Phenols are toxic to cats and terpenes are highly concentrated scent compounds. Exposure to these oils may cause sudden liver failure. Cats are especially sensitive to citrus, so essential oil MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

users who enjoy orange, lemon and grapefruit should avoid diffusing these scents around cats.

Do complications mean that a pet owner cannot use essential oils with their pets? Absolutely not, as long as pet owners use recommended safe essential oils for their pets and dilute them to a safe usage level in a carrier oil.

The following essential oils are safe to use in dogs: • Yarrow oil exhibits anti-inflammatory properties • Cedarwood has a calming effect, promotes good circulation, and is effective as a flea deterrent • Helichrysum oil promotes better liver function and digestion • Lemon oil helps calm dogs, allows them to acclimate to new environments and promotes general internal organ health • Aside from its calming properties, Lavender oil soothes irritated skin, repels fleas, and helps wounds to heal Experts seem to disagree about which oils to use with cats, as some recommend peppermint and basil, while others say only to use with extreme caution. They do seem to agree that cedarwood, lavender, helichrysum, cardamom, sandalwood, and frankincense offer specific benefits for feline health, especially as pest deterrents, for calming and for digestion. With cats, caution is key, and you should dilute your oils even more than for a dog.

Experts agree that diffusing extremely low dilutions of essential oils is the best method for administering essential oils to pets. Pet owners should avoid topical and oral applications for cats, but apply diluted oils through diffusion, orally, and topically for dogs. www.makingsoapmag.com • 12

F E AT U R E

Essential Oils and Pets

by BILL McCONNELL

If applying oils to a dog orally or topically, use the following weight and dilution rate guidelines.

Understand that the percentage applies to the carrier oil, so if it says to dilute at 75%, this means one drop of essential oil to four drops of a carrier oil.

• For dogs weighing 0 to 25 pounds, dilute essential oils at a rate of 75% • For dogs weighing 26 to 45 pounds, dilute essential oils at a rate of 66% • For dogs weighing 46 to 75 pounds, dilute essential oils at a rate of 50% • For dogs weighing 76 to 90 pounds, dilute essential oils at a rate of 33% • For dogs weighing 90 to 150 pounds, dilute essential oils at a rate of 25% • For dogs weighing 150+ pounds, dilute essential oils at a rate of 15% Experts recommend that before applying an essential oil to your pet, expose them to the

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bottle. Allow the pet to sniff at the bottle. If they seem to like it, cage your pet and diffuse a very small amount of diluted oil, using a fan to blow the diffusion in your pet’s direction. If the animal does not like the bottle, avoid using that oil around the pet. Remember, their response to the product is an important signal.

Finally, pay attention for signs of toxic overexposure. If it occurs, your pet might exhibit lethargy, weakness, tremors, seizures, digestive issues, respiratory issues, and irritation around their mucus membranes. In such cases, contact a veterinarian immediately.

Bill McConnell is the owner and soap maker of the successful brick and mortar store Whole life Soaps in Wrightwood, California.

Editor’s note: When it comes to essential oils and pets, available information varies widely. It is your responsibility as a pet parent to research oils and consult with your veterinarian prior to use.

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GU E S T A RT I C L E

Take Care of YOU

by TAMMIE SILLER

The Christmas rush is over, the gifts are unwrapped, the house is back to rights, and even the Christmas tree is down. Now it is time to check supplies and start soaping again. You do not want to be low on anything! Make sure you have enough lye for your next few projects. Did you order enough butters and oils? Maybe you need a new mold, or wish to study up on new ideas, techniques and colors. Taking stock and going through inventory is second nature to a soaping enthusiast. It might be time to change the batteries in the scale and ensure that you have enough supplies to make those wondrous soaps your family, friends and clients love. Something just feels good about seeing all those different oils, colors and butters at your fingertips. You are ready for what may happen as you add lye water to oil if it thickens quickly, or heaven forbid, it seizes. Your plans are made before you even take the first ingredient down, the finished product in your mind’s eye. You took stock to make sure you are not missing anything, but are you?

What about those things you need for you? We all know we need to get enough sleep and rest, but do you? Think about it. If it were olive oil, would you ever let yourself be short? How about water and food, are you using the best

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GU E S T A RT I C L E

Take Care of YOU

by TAMMIE SILLER

you can find? Just like your ingredients, you are worthy of paying a little extra to make sure you are running on the best fuel you can find.

Those are just the things that keep you alive.

Now, what about those things that make you unique? You don’t just make plain white soap all the time, do you?

When was the last time you sat around with your friends and laughed the afternoon away, just being with people who get you and enjoying doing nothing but feeling joy? How often do you allow that?

When was the last time you walked with a family member and just enjoyed each other’s company? No stress, no worries, no agenda.

You simply strolled through the park or woods enjoying the crisp air, the smell of the earth after a rain or the brightness of the blue sky.

People in your life love to spend time with you, but making time can be a problem. Sometimes however, it means just doing it. We don’t get to keep those we love forever, so we cannot take a chance on letting time slip away.

All these things are what make us unique. It is from our relationships and our experiences that we come up with new ideas, color schemes and fragrance ideas. We get stuck in ruts breathing the same air over and over, so we need to take time to refresh ourselves and ponder.

The days are short now in the northern hemisphere, and it is the season of hibernation, which means it is time to reflect on what was and what you want to be.

Make a plan, make sure you have all your ingredients. You are worth as much as anything you create. Look in the mirror. Open your eyes, look at the world. Who cares about The View, MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

fake news or bridezillas? Turn off that trash. If it does not make you a better person, let it go!

Face your fears. Look at what is going on around you whether you can do anything about it not. Learn what you love and seek it. We get so caught up in what others want for us, we sometimes forget to take time to look inside. This is a great time of year to reintroduce yourself to yourself.

Rainbows, puppies, hand holding, ice cream, beautiful smiles, warm hugs, great accomplishments, awesome dreams, love of self, love of others, peace, harmony and joy make life enjoyable. Stop wasting time on things that do not matter. Worry provides no benefit; it just ruins today and does not give you time to plan for tomorrow.

Keep an aloe vera plant on your window sill for burns and cuts and tea tree oil for anti-biotic and fungal infections. Use honey instead of fake sugar, learn to cook and throw out synthetic foods.

Keep your mind active, your body strong and your soul pure. Do not let your trust be abused, or your potential wasted. Do random acts of kindness and let them be done for you. Give without asking and take when you need it.

Meet your neighbors, bring them cookies, say hello. Find a group of like-minded people with whom to share your thoughts. Find solutions to problems; do not hide from them.

But most of all, love. Love yourself, your family, your soul mate. Tell them often and with sincerity.

But for goodness sakes, do not waste another day thinking about things that are only designed to render you insensitive. Open your heart till it hurts! Let it feel the pain of struggle, the joy of www.makingsoapmag.com • 15

GU E S T A RT I C L E

Take Care of YOU

by TAMMIE SILLER

friendship, the anguish of loss. Stop closing it off and fearing you will feel pain. You cannot be numb and still live.

All ends of the spectrum are yours to enjoy and endure. Live with gusto. Do not allow simple fears to shatter your dreams.

Now is the time to plan your year, the next five years, the next ten years. Plans are not set in stone and can be changed if you find something better. There is no shame in looking ahead and even less in looking behind. We are the sum of all our experiences, and with that we should be grateful for every bump in the road, every battle won and every battle lost. Learning what we love, how we grow and the knowing we are

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important are our goals. Never forget what made you the amazing person you are today.

Shake off anything that does not serve your highest self. We cannot do our best if we are weighed down with the past. Honor and use it, and add it to the ingredients to blend the life you want to live. You’ve got this.

Happy New Year!

I am a mother of two and many fur babies. My main purpose in life is healing, a family tradition handed down by my grandmother. I am basically an old hippy with a love for life.

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GU E S T A RT I C L E

Benchmarking: Getting Out of the Shop to Improve it

by KATE JAKUBAS

Your workshop can always use improvement, so you spend time on soap forums, looking at others’ spaces and asking for equipment recommendations. The next step to make the workshop better is to leave the soaping world behind and go study other factory spaces that make different products than yours. You probably already take inspiration from non-soapmakers for some areas of your business, such as social media (what are popular bloggers posting about?) and sales activities (what should a wholesale line sheet look like?). Lateral benchmarking is another valuable way to improve your soapmaking workshop.

What is Lateral Benchmarking?

Lateral benchmarking is different than looking at larger companies in your own industry. Instead of focusing solely on soap products, you take inspiration from companies without obvious connections to yours. You might find a kombucha brewer with a workshop the same size, a handbag designer with a combat veteran workforce program that you would like to learn more about or a chocolate maker with a combined factory/ storefront format that you are considering for your own soapmaking and selling. When possible, look to

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GU E S T A RT I C L E

Benchmarking: Getting Out of the Shop to Improve it

by KATE JAKUBAS

companies of roughly the same size, so that you can stay in touch with business owners and help one another grow. Take a formal or informal tour of their space and ask questions about how they make products.

Why spend time out of the soap factory looking at totally different products and industries? Lateral benchmarking offers three main advantages. First, avoid the problems that come with thinking and working only within the “soap industry”. Second, get improvement ideas from noncompetitive peers.

Last, expose yourself to new products, trends and processes.

Avoid the Soap-Only Trap Getting physically out of your soap space helps you avoid wearing blinders for soap-specific products and manufacturing processes. Just as mentioning the term, “wedding” when planning a fancy event, it seems that buying equipment for soap comes with an upcharge and a limited range of options. Seeing other types of processing equipment will offer more to choose from to expand the workshop. Visiting a different production facility focuses your attention on the bigger picture of processing raw materials, with a different angle on material handling and product-making in general, without being stuck on the features of the soap itself. Seeing a bottling system for beer for example, may inspire improvements to your lotion filling line. Cooling trays of brownies at a bakery may make you reconsider your curing racks. An oil drum pump at an autobody repair shop may be just the tool you need to cut down on manual labor in moving oils.

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Friends across the (Store) Aisle Soapmakers are great at collaborating, but it is important to also foster relationships with noncompetitive peers - people making product NEXT to yours on the store shelf, not potentially replacing yours. Being on good terms with the neighborhood pottery maker means you can share insights on customers and contacts at wholesale accounts, as well as inventory management. Even when two products are very different, you will likely find overlap in certain staple areas, such as labeling, packaging and shipping. Moreover, your non-competitive peers probably feel free to recommend the good suppliers and service providers in your area. It is almost certain that you do something well that your quilting friend does not, and a workshop visit is a great chance to share your own best practices. You then identify your own areas of strength and find out which parts of production already work well.

Mix It Up for New Ideas New ideas for soaping are not found thinking about only soap! Exposure to other products helps to synthesize new and creative variations when you head back to your workshop. Visiting a shop that makes custom tea blends may inspire new ingredients or scents. New approaches to packaging and inventory rotation can come from a bakery’s cupcake display. Learning the process of beermaking might inspire you to use a different ingredient to get a more unique look and feel for beer soaps.

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GU E S T A RT I C L E

Benchmarking: Getting Out of the Shop to Improve it

by KATE JAKUBAS

Now Get Out There!

Now that you added benchmarking to your list of factory improvement actions, how should you find places to go? An online search for factory tours reveals many medium and large factory tour opportunities in your area or the region you visit. If you have never seen another product manufacturing space, it is best to start with formal, open-to-the-public tours like beer breweries. These tours are widely available and provide a good sense of key principles in manufacturing. A public tour does not require special arrangements or the right person to talk to, so they are much easier to get on the calendar.

While the basic processes of making beer are consistent, there are also many differences between breweries. The same can be said of soapmaking. Each time you see a new brewery, you learn about subtle differences in ways to operate. Plus, delicious beers to sample are available!

It may take more work to find smaller productmaking businesses. Invite others to tour your workshop first to get the benchmarking

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conversation moving. We tend to be nervous to reveal our spaces, since most businesses work hard to create a big brand presence even while working out of a small part of a home. Do not be discouraged if it takes some time talking with another maker before you can see their workshop. To find makers in your area, you might also contact the local chamber of commerce, Small Business Administration office, or business networking group. Outside the USA, contact similar offices or groups.

Benchmarking is a great way to improve factory setup and processes. From improving space layout to using new ingredients, looking at how non-soap businesses operate offers a fresh approach to your own factory. It is well worth the time to regularly check in with other businesses to improve your own workshop.

Kate Jakubas spent a decade in manufacturing before founding and growing her soap company, Meliora Cleaning Products. Kate helps artisan manufacturers grow by using the improvement methods used by big companies. She can be reached at kate@meliorameansbetter.com

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F ESAT OA UPR E

Cats and Dogs and Rabbits, Oh My!

by ALICIA GROSSO

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

I grew up in a part of Kitsap County with enormous swaths of forest that surrounded the residential areas.

My friends and I spent countless hours exploring and visiting our favorite locations in what we considered “our woods.” When I returned to the area after nearly thirty years however, I was heartsick to see that the formerly green slopes of Bucklin Hill were now crowded with malls, big box stores, and medical centers, except for a little trail next to a persistent creek that was designated a protected area. The trail snakes across the area, and an interpretive center is housed in an old barn. It is all that is left of a childhood friend’s farmlands.

Time marches on, progress is inevitable and commerce is essential. An entrance ramp to the freeway that goes over and down the back of the hill, across the central valley, turning south toward Bremerton, appears to be built at the back of what was an abandoned farm as early as the late 60s. There, a small apple orchard, a dilapidated house and the remains of a barn were left. It was the perfect blackberry picking spot, and as children, we speculated about the people who lived there and seemingly disappeared. We would go back down a short trail to “Dead Cow” Road - a dirt road we could walk all www.makingsoapmag.com • 20

SOAP

Cats and Dogs and Rabbits, Oh My!

by ALICIA GROSSO

the way to Island Lake, and then traverse the short path to our homes.

Pink Dogwood Cold Process Soap

One of the first things I did when I returned to the area was to go look at our old house near the top of Bucklin Hill. I was still reeling from the altered landscape and attempting to take in all the change, which looked and felt like devastation.

And there it was. The tiny evergreens at the edge of the front yard that sprouted from the bark we put down in 1970 grew into huge trees!

The “tulip tree” magnolia was also enormous, taking up a large part of the front yard. And there was my favorite, blazing pink in full bloom, the pink dogwood. It was still there, in proportion to the house and yard, trimmed and cared for. Its beauty was a balm to my bruised heart. I did not get out of the car; I just parked by the water tank and looked at the dogwood for a long time. When I left, I went the old way, out of the neighborhood onto Bucklin Hill Road, the opposite direction from the freeway.

Oil Blend

In remembrance of that pink dogwood, I designed a soap. This “one pound oils” batch is almost white, so the pink shows up as a cool pink rather than a warmer peach tone. When you make it, add pigments to the lye solution to ensure even dispersion of colorant. This is a great technique for one color soaps. You can also use the ultramarine-in-lye technique when you want another color by taking the alreadycolored soap out and adding another color to it to blend into an entirely different color. Because the dogwood fragrance oils I researched may accelerate trace like other florals, make this recipe by letting the lye solution and melted oils cool to about 100°F before blending them. That should offer enough time to blend well and pour into the mold before it gets too thick.

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

• • • • •

Castor oil - .5 oz Coconut oil – 5 oz Jojoba oil – 3 oz Olive oil – 4 oz Shea butter – 4 oz

Lye Solution • Water – 4.5 oz • Lye – 2.1 oz • 1/4 teaspoon ultramarine pink oxide pigment • 1/2 teaspoon titanium oxide pigment • Dogwood fragrance oil - .5 oz Weigh out the oils and warm just until the solids are melted. Make the lye solution, including the colorants, by carefully pouring the lye into the water and stirring until solids are dissolved and solution clears. Let cool. When both the oils and lye solution are at about 100°F, pour the lye solution into the oils. Blend well, and when the reaction begins and is just at trace, add fragrance oil. Stir well to incorporate completely.

When the soap is at a medium trace, pour into prepared mold.

Catnip Cold Process Soap Catnip is not only for cats. Catnip – Nepeta cataria, is considered an extremely useful plant for women’s health. It contains a chemical very similar to the active ingredient in valerian root, which can improve relaxation and sleep. It can help with indigestion and soothe hives, fevers, even arthritis. Note: If you are interested in the health benefits of herbs, please conduct your own research.

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F ESAT OA UPR E

Cats and Dogs and Rabbits, Oh My!

by ALICIA GROSSO

If you make soap for sale, you cannot make any claims regarding anything other than cleansing and cosmetic claims. Keep in mind also, that herbs with active constituents can cause allergic reactions. With all that in mind, make informed decisions about what you create.

Using herbs in soap that you grew in your own garden is satisfying. Choose organic fertilizers and pest control in cultivating herbs for ingestion and bath and body use. Fortunately, catnip, a member of the mint family, is easy to grow. If you do not want it to spread, plant it in a container.

Three-fold Catnip Cold Process Soap Make strong catnip tea and cool completely. Do not make lye solution with still-hot or warm tea.

Infuse olive oil with catnip by warming the oil and herb gently on the stove or in the microwave. Let sit it for a day. Rewarm and strain out herb. Let oil infusion cool completely.

Ingredients • • • • • • •

Coconut oil - 5 oz Catnip-infused olive oil – 11 ounces Castor oil - .5 oz.

Lye Solution Catnip tea – 4.5 oz.

Lye – 2.2 oz.

Dry crushed catnip – 1 heaping tablespoon to go into soap and a small amount to decorate the top.

This is a simple “one pound oils” batch. Use the heat exchange method. To do this, simply allow the heat of the lye solution to melt the coconut oil.

Weigh out oils, then make the lye solution using the catnip tea. The tea may let off a strong MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

aroma and turn orange, which is very normal when using herbal tea infusions. Pour the hot lye solution into the oils, and stir carefully until the coconut is melted. Add the dry, crushed catnip.

Stir to trace and pour into mold. Sprinkle the rest of the dry catnip onto the surface of the soap.

Spritz with alcohol to reduce the chance of ash.

Let sit in mold for twenty hour hours or until firm.

Turn the soap block out onto work surface. Cut into bars and let dry and cure on brown paper.

Luxury Lavender Cold Process Soap

with Rabbit Ear Lavender and Bunny Tail Grass decoration When I lived in southern California, I spent ten years on a garden at one house, then ten years on a garden at another house. Leaving the first house for the second was not as difficult as leaving the second for parts unknown up in the Pacific Northwest. I had wonderful and intense backyard gardens at both houses. The ten year old lemon verbena moved successfully the first time, but when I dug her up at twenty to move to Seattle, she only lasted one winter before she expired. The mugwort root I collected in the Los Angeles forest prospered and overwhelmed the ferns in both gardens, but I have not successfully propagated it up here.

One of the good things of my twenty-one year Southern California odyssey was the essentially year-round gardening. Shorter growing seasons and a lack of time at home have severely limited my time for gardening here at The Cedars and thus, my dreams for an intricately planned herb garden remain largely unrealized. Herbs and flowers for soap, dye, medicine, and magic did not manifest this year. My wish is to overcome exhaustion and lassitude and nurture myself as spring approaches by nurturing useful herbs and flowers. www.makingsoapmag.com • 22

SOAP

Cats and Dogs and Rabbits, Oh My!

by ALICIA GROSSO

Two beautiful and useful plants I grew in pots are “rabbit ear” lavender – Lavandula stoechas – and “bunny tail” grass – Lagurus ovatus. I did not get a lot of either, but what I did get I dried by bundling and hanging upside-down in the studio.

I pressed the dry botanicals intact onto the tops of a luxurious lavender and lemon soap poured in a slab mold. For elaborate color work, I love a slab mold. Folding layers of color and pulling them through each other works best for me in a slab, as the top of the bar is the wide side.

Conversely, a plain soap without added color in a slap presents a perfect surface for displaying whole botanicals, particularly standouts such as rabbit ear lavender and bunny tail grass.

This recipe features coconut oil and castor for lather, almond, avocado, hemp and macadamia oils for cushiony feel, jojoba for whiteness and hardness, and evening primrose oil for skincare benefits. This is a “one pound oils” batch, suitable for a test batch or when you want just a few bars.

Luxury Lavender Cold Process Soap

with Rabbit Ear Lavender and Bunny Tail Grass decoration Oils • • • • • • • •

Sweet Almond Oil – 2 oz Avocado Oil – 2 oz Castor Oil - .5 Coconut Oil – 5 oz Evening Primrose Oil – 1 oz Hemp Oil – 2 oz Jojoba Oil – 2 oz Macadamia Nut Oil – 2 oz

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

Lye Solution • • • •

Lavender Tea – 5 oz.

Lye – 2.2 oz.

Lavender Essential Oil - .5 oz Dry botanicals for decoration – rabbit ear lavender and bunny tail grass, both with stems.

Use the heat exchange method to make this recipe. Weigh out the oils and make the lye solution with the cold lavender tea. Pour the hot lye solution into the oils. Stir until coconut oil is melted. Stir until trace begins, then add the lavender essential oil. When the soap is well traced, pour into mold. After twenty-four hours, or when the soap is firm, turn out the block onto work surface. Cut into bars. On the wide side of each bar, arrange the rabbit ear lavender and bunny tail grass stems. Press into the surface of the soap. Dry and cure the soap with the decorated side up and standing up on the ends.

Alicia Grosso is an artist, teacher and author.

Her soapmaking books are, The Everything Soapmaking Book and Soapmaking: A Magickal Guide. She wrote a soapmaking column for The Essential Herbal magazine, presented at soapmaking conferences, and served as a guest teacher at soap studios. She lives in the beautiful Puget Sound.

www.makingsoapmag.com • 23

WO RFK E AT SM UA RE RT E R

When it is Time to Leave Clients Behind

by SARA GOLDING

As exciting as it is to service multiple accounts, whether it be through consignment, wholesale or custom orders, sometimes arrangements simply do not work out. Just like any other relationship, your relationship with clients must be healthy and productive for both parties to make them worthwhile.

One of the biggest clues that an account is not working out is when the task of fulfilling the order creates more anxiety or stress compared to other accounts. If an account is working for you and ultimately fulfilling its needs within your business, you have a healthy working relationship with that client. If you dread working with a particular client, then chances are, it is time to break it off.

Look back at your business goals. What were some of the reasons you wanted to start your own business? What are you trying to accomplish? If working with a particular account does not tie in with these goals, it is probably time to move on. [2] One of the first reasons to drop an account is due to the stress involved to maintain it. It is not uncommon to hear that clients are unreasonably demanding when it comes to custom orders. Many believe that if they are paying for a custom product, that it should meet and exceed an enormously high criteria of demands, and anything they deem unsatisfactory should be replaced, courtesy of you.

This is partially true. If you promise a particular MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

item, then it is up to you to deliver; however, you are allowed to set reasonable limitations up front.

Clear communication of what you can and will provide will help to alleviate or avoid many problems up front. Remember, custom orders should be controlled by you and your skill set. This is not the time to be searching for an unknown fragrance or to be looking for a new product line that you have not had a chance to thoroughly test out. Telling your client that you do not offer particular scents, items, colors and so on will eliminate many potential issues.

Next, have a clear contract in place for what you are providing for the client. List name, quantity, size and other important information so the client knows what they are paying for. Speaking of paying, include the total price and ask for a partial deposit upfront. This will help cover the cost of supplies. Include actual examples of the product the client is purchasing wherever possible. The more information you include, the better the result in the long run.

That being said, some clients will still ask for more than what you agreed upon, and you have to decide how to handle it. Did you truly fulfill your end of the contract? Did you provide them a quality product that you know absolutely is right, and did you do everything you could to satisfy them? If so, refer back to the contract and decide if you should www.makingsoapmag.com • 24

WO R K S M A RT E R

When it is Time to Leave Clients Behind

by SARA GOLDING offer a refund or replacement. Communicate to your client how to resolve the situation. Remember, the contract is there to keep things legal and fair for both parties. Make sure of course, that the solution you offer is both fair and legal. If so, then you may offer a resolution that will satisfy both parties.

Wholesale or consignment locations do not always live up to their end of the agreement. Sometimes, owners promise to merchandise products in specific parts of the store, but then change the location, usually for the worse, which results in a less visible area for your items and a lack of sales. Owners may also start demanding exclusive scents, products, packages or other expectations, which create more time and stress to produce.

Any time you make changes to existing line sheets to accommodate a retailer, you start digging into profits.

Wholesale accounts work because they: • Save production time, as products are scaled up for efficiency.

• Save money and other financial resources as you purchase larger quantities of raw materials at a better price.

• Allow you to sell larger quantities of products with less time invested on the front end to facilitate those sales.

If any of the above points are jeopardized, business will suffer. If you were to run a benefit versus cost analysis on your sales for those accounts, what would you find? Would you see a decrease in profits, compared to your other wholesale accounts? Would you see that the time you invest is disproportionate to those sales? Would you find that you are wasting additional resources through product testing and development as you attempt to find new ways

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

to keep your client happy? All of these factors contribute to personal dissatisfaction and stress.

To be sure, breaking off a relationship with a retail client is a delicate matter. Do it tactfully and gracefully. Give the retailer a reasonable span of time to make alternate arrangements. You can also work towards breaking it off with the client by taking a multi-step approach.

First: discuss with the retailer alternatives to their demands that will satisfy both their needs and yours. If that does not provide a solution, look at your line sheet. This paperwork should have terms within it that keeps profitability up and your stress level down. If you have not already, start printing dates that the line sheets are valid. When it is time to send the next line sheet, check to see if making changes to the terms will make accounts more worthwhile. Add in larger minimum orders or an increased price, for example. Do not hesitate to contact accounts and let them know that on the next order guide, changes begin. This allows retailers to make a decision to order more before the changes come into play or to find alternatives.

Hopefully, these sorts of changes will help you rebuild into a healthy working relationship. If it does not, clearly state your intention to discontinue working with that retailer. Let them know that you have decided to go in another direction with your business and sincerely wish them the best of luck.

After seeing hand crafters and makers struggle as they transitioned into business, Sara desired to share the basics of business. Beyond small business consultations, Sara stays busy with her company, Sunflower State Soap, and raising her daughter.

www.makingsoapmag.com • 25

AS FE KAT SA UN RD EY

Abundance and Generosity

by SANDY MAINE

For this issue, I am asking one of my favorite questions and answering it, too! It is an important question I have thought about many times and answered in many everyday ways.

Q

The question is:

What does “Abundance and Generosity” have to do with owning and running a business and a life?

A

The reason for creating meaningful work in your life is so that your happy life can create good things for yourself and for others. This is where the “meaning” of meaningful work comes from - helping yourself by helping others. A happy mind is one of generosity and abundance for all.

Work to create a culture of internal security, keeping yourself gentle, open, trusting and genuinely happy for the successes of other people. Aiding in the success of others is very nourishing to the soul. This type of generosity creates further abundance and further generosity and thus becomes a wellspring of goodness and happiness in the world.

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

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AS FE KAT SA UN RD EY

Abundance and Generosity

by SANDY MAINE So, help others whenever you get a chance. Help your customers, your employees, your family, friends and strangers, too.

Through your business, or hobby, or daily work, you can make a difference. I believe that business in the future will truly become a social art form. Businesses will be owned and shared by individuals and groups who will, by the work of their hands and minds, create deeper meaning and balance in the world. With our hands and minds, we can heal the sick, feed and lift the poor, renew the earth and enhance diversity. We can educate each other in the ways of equanimity, fairness, tolerance, abundance, compassion and love. We can also have lots of fun!

As we use creativity, work, and purchasing choices to relieve the world of danger and unhappiness, our own happiness will blossom. Think of your small business as a tool for gaining the freedom

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

needed to be optimally happy, and to then share that abundance and happiness with others.

Sandy Maine is a business consultant, founder of Sunfeather Natural Soap Co., Adirondack Fragrance Farm, and CEO of Sandy Maine Inc, a private label body care & soap manufacturing facility in the Northern Adirondack Mountains of NY State. www.adkfragrancefarm.com

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T E C H TA L K

Ten Tips for Choosing a Website Provider by ruth romano

Your website is a valuable asset, so choosing the right hosting provider is probably one of the most important business partnership decisions you will make. In an ideal world, choosing a hosting provider is a one-time only decision and once you are ‘betrothed,’ you will happily ever after. Unfortunately, this is not the reality of hosting services; but if you know what you need and have a list of criteria before you start searching for a provider, you stand a better chance of finding the right partner.

Cloud hosting, dedicated hosting and virtual servers are just a few of the options when it comes to hosting.

Not all websites offer the same options; therefore each one will have its own specific requirements in terms of hosting.

It goes without saying that you need a reliable and secure hosting partner, but finding one is not necessarily easy. It is particularly hard to find one that offers the right balance between cost and features.

What should you consider before signing a contract?

Here are ten tips to help you choose the right hosting service for your website:

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

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T E C H TA L K

Ten Tips for Choosing a Website Provider

by RUTH ROMANO

1. Don’t Let the Web Developers Host Your Website When you are starting out, this may seem like an easy option, but it could become a problem in the long term. Always keep your developer and hosting service separate. Obviously, you need to grant access to your developer as required, but letting them look after everything under one roof can be a recipe for disaster. Horror stories abound about developers holding businesses for ransom just to gain access to their own website, for example.

2. Get to Know Your Hosting Needs You will never find the right web host if you do not know what you need, so start by answering a few basic questions. What kind of website do you have? For example, is it a blog or an ecommerce site? What kind of content management system (CMS) do you have? What are your traffic volume requirements?

3. Choose the Right Hosting Service Consider all the options in terms of what you need now, but consider the long term, as well.

A shared hosting service may be suited to your needs when starting out. A shared service is where your website shares server space with other websites. Although this can work out cheaper, it may result in slower response times.

A more expensive option like a Virtual Private Server (VPS) is faster, with better performance, but not necessary for a very small business.

Weigh up the pros and cons of each and make sure you are not paying for something you do not need.

4. Read Hosting Reviews It can be useful to check out third party reviews to give you an idea of what other customers MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

experience with hosting providers. If users report recurring issues with certain providers, then you know which ones to avoid. Also look at industry magazines as they will often provide annual lists of the best and worst providers, to save you valuable time. Forums can also be a good source of information.

5. Server Reliability and Uptime Scores We need our websites available twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, so this is a feature to look for in a web host. A good hosting provider will be more than happy to provide their server reliability and uptime scores. If they are not keen to share these figures, they obviously have something to hide. You should expect a minimum of 99% uptime for your website. An uptime guarantee is a good indication that a web host is committed to keeping your website running smoothly. A score below 99% is unacceptable and indicates an unreliable service.

6. Will Your Website be Safe?

Ask the hosting company how it will protect your website when it is on their servers. Do they run regular security updates? What do they do to stop malicious attacks? If they are suspicious when you ask these questions, walk away. Look for providers that include firewalls, monitoring services, and other security addons. Bear in mind also, that your website needs regular updates to keep it safe, which is not the responsibility of a hosting provider.

7. What about Backups?

Find out if the host schedules regular backups of your website, and if so, how long the files are retained. If your site goes down, you need to know how to access backups in order to get it back up and running as quickly as possible. www.makingsoapmag.com • 29

T E C H TA L K

Ten Tips for Choosing a Website Provider

by RUTH ROMANO

8. Customer Service Consider what kind of customer service different hosting companies provide. Are they available twenty-four hours a day? What methods of contact do they offer? It is useful if you have several methods to contact your provider and if they offer a live chat facility. This is often the best option as you can download a copy of your chat to keep for future reference.

9. User-friendly Will you have a user-friendly administration panel to access your hosting account? And does the provider offer useful help guides?

10. Cost Last, but not least is the cost of the hosting service. Many providers entice potential customers with an offer to sign up with them for a low cost, but when it comes to renewal time, hit with a higher bill than you were expecting. It is not always a good choice to go for the lowest price hosting, anyway. As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” Cheaper options sometimes go hand in hand with constant downtime and poor customer service.

As you can see, you must consider multiple factors when looking for a web hosting service, but if you spend time up front to research, then you can find a reliable hosting partner that will provide you with a platform to grow and develop your online business.

Ruth owns an award-winning soap business based in the UK www.ruthromano.com/ and runs regular soap making classes, teaches a cosmetics business course and provides a business consultancy service. Ruth is an experienced marketing professional and a Huffington Post blogger www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/ruthromano MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

www.makingsoapmag.com • 30

IN THE LAB

Canine Skin Disorders

by Niki Senior

“When will I get a full nights’ sleep?”

“She’s making herself raw.”

“I just wish I could do something more.”

“She’s just not herself.”‌ These words freely fell from my mouth around six years ago. Our dog Saskia, a Tibetan Prayer Dog, suffered terribly with skin issues from the age of three to five years old. We began to dread the return of summer.

We did not want prescribed steroids from the vet. Although beneficial in the short term, steroids only mask physical symptoms and do not address the underlying causes of skin sensitivity. Furthermore, steroids can have adverse consequences on liver function later in life as they can cause lesions on liver cells.

We looked at other, broader options of self-treating, but we needed a veterinary diagnosis first. We then made a major decision to invest £1180 for an extensive full-scale allergy report. This report would uncover exactly what she was allergic to.

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

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IN THE LAB

Canine Skin Disorders

by NIKI SENIOR

After blood tests and a couple of weeks waiting, we finally received the allergy report. It was extremely detailed, for not only did the report identify allergies to certain meats such as beef and rabbit, but also to a wide number of grasses including meadow fescue, perennial rye and timothy grass. We live in the UK in the Norfolk countryside and our lanes are awash with such grasses, so we knew it was impossible to eradicate exposure, but we could alter her diet. I chose from that day forward to cook fresh meat for her every day.

It became apparent that she was also allergic to tree pollens, sweet chestnut, ash and leaf mould during the wetter, autumnal (fall) months. We had no option other than to redefine our walks to avoid wooded and leafy areas. Thankfully, we have lots of surrounding pretty villages with pavement to walk on, so this did not pose much of a problem.

If that was not enough, Saskia is also highly allergic to aspergillus mould. This is tiny particles of mould found in the bottom of bags of kibble and grain, unidentifiable to the naked eye.

Thankfully, she proved negative in respect to cats – yes, dogs can be allergic to cats, to their skin dander, anyway.

We learned a great deal from reading and absorbing these extensive findings. One main area of consideration was the fact that there are literally hundreds of things that a dog may be allergic to and we, as pet owners, should not make assumptions as to what they are, even though it is tempting. If we make our own supposition when a skin complaint rears its head, we often wrongly make a diagnosis, take personal action and then wonder why our cure is not working. It is instead, important to have a vet diagnose the issue and the owner to plan treatment steps based on medical fact.

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

Often, the action we take to provide a remedy is the correct one, e.g., administering something bought over the counter. For a couple of days this seems to do the trick. Another side to the coin however, can cause damage. Without a proper diagnosis, the product bought over the counter may actually exacerbate the situation if the pet is allergic to any of the ingredients in the product purchased.

I am an animal therapist and once treated a Jack Russell Terrier that had very little fur when an over the counter cream left his skin was very inflamed. The poor little soul was tormented by a poor, though well-meaning procedure. Then, as you would imagine, his only respite was scratching. The result was one poor, little dog in body and mind.

As it transpired, this little one made great progress after three sessions where I showed his owner how to use natural herbal remedies like calendula oil and chamomile rinses. After a month or so and much TLC from his owner, he made a complete recovery.

We have moved on greatly within the last couple of decades regarding pet care and made great leaps in understanding their wellbeing.

Many procedures and habits from the past are outdated and archaic; therefore, it is best to do your own research, even with offered veterinary medicine. Do question things, find the information available, do not always accept the first solution and act quickly. Do not allow a medical condition to become prolonged as it does not take long for a small issue to become something that is unbearable and difficult to cure.

Some of us of from a certain age remember a time when good, old Bruno would put up with anything. We used to give him leftover dinner, some Bruno’s slept outside at night and they took no supplements at all. Regular injections www.makingsoapmag.com • 32

IN THE LAB

Canine Skin Disorders

by NIKI SENIOR

and boosters from his local vet, a run around the block daily and he was pretty much sorted.

Phew, was it really that easy to look after Bruno?

Nowadays, we are a sterile society. We have cleaning products and sprays galore, the scent of a Norwegian forest straight from a can, a plug-in aroma of lavender, implements that hang around light cords and scented powders to eradicate the presence of Bruno for that all-important lounge carpet. Yet, all are laden with hidden chemicals that affect our animals greatly, especially their skin.

Poor, old Bruno has no choice but to cope with all of this as he cannot complain vocally. He is breathing in the scent though, and placing his paws on the carpet powder, lying down on the floor and taking a monthly bath in even more, so he will establish his protest in other ways.

Bruno starts sneezing, wheezing, feeling lethargic and itchy and does not want to go for walks. Consequently, we need to look seriously at reducing the synthetic chemicals we allow in the home.

You can do many things to enhance your dog’s wellbeing. I am a qualified aromatherapist and Master Herbalist, so I implement a few antiinflammatory and skin supporting herbs in Saskia‘s diet, along with essential and carrier oils to her skin management regime. By doing this, I made a huge breakthrough in tackling her allergies.

Below, I added a 100 percent natural recipe for a room freshener spritz that is safe to use around dogs, which also brings about a peaceful and calming effect to the home.

You will need: • 100ml bottle with spray nozzle • A mixing jug MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

• • • • • •

A whisk A funnel 60ml of filtered water (not straight tap water) 33ml of distilled witch hazel 5ml of vodka 8 drops of Citrus Aurantium (petitgrain) essential oil • 4 drops of Vetiveria Zizanoides (vetiver) essential oil Method: 1. Pour all ingredients into a jug, starting with the largest fluid amounts and whisk thoroughly for around 30 seconds.

2. In a clean bottle place a funnel and pour in the whisked mixture 3. Place the spritzer nozzle on the bottle 4. Label with date and contents If kept in a fridge this will last for up to six months. Do not spray directly onto the dog and avoid the dogs’ eyes.

I graduated as a Master Herbalist and founded my dedicated animal wellness brand AniScentia in 2016, born out of love for Saskia and my personal experiences. My above experiences, along with twenty-two years of working with hundreds of animal clients and lecturing in animal therapy, enhanced my understanding about just what it means to us to see our canine companions healthy and well and leading fulfilling lives.

Niki is Master Herbalist and founder and formulator of The Norfolk Apothecary and AniScentia, www.thenorfolkapothecary.com and www.aniscentia.com. She is the author of Animal Healing – Holistic Techniques by Llewellyn Worldwide. www.makingsoapmag.com • 33

F OFREM ATUULR AERY

Perfect Pooch: Soap for Dogs

by CINDY LANTIER

Several of my customers asked for a dog soap. While I thought it might be an interesting project, I did not set aside the time to do the necessary research right away.

Once I did however, I learned that a dog’s skin and fur is a bit different from human skin and hair. When formulating for them, we need to take a slightly different approach.

Most people think the main difference is pH, when in fact, the pH of a dog’s skin is slightly higher than ours, at approximately 6.5, while human skin is about 5.5 pH. Real soap’s pH is about 9-10, making it a bit closer to a dog’s skin than ours. Since soap is rinsed off, the pH difference seems acceptable, unlike a leave-on product, where the high pH could be an irritant or could damage the skin.

I am more concerned about making a soap that actually gets the dog clean, keeping in mind that dogs are not meant to be washed as often as humans, and they are exposed to more dirt, especially outside pooches. That means a dog shampoo bar requires a somewhat higher cleansing number than I am comfortable with using myself.

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

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F O R M U L A RY

Perfect Pooch: Soap for Dogs

by CINDY LANTIER

Remember, dogs should only be bathed about once a month, if that. If you need to wash your dog more often, consider rinsing Rover with a conditioner instead of soap.

Because of the higher cleansing number however, I wanted to add conditioning oils to ensure that the bar is not harsh. Below are the oils I finally decided would make a great dog soap bar. [2] Coconut Oil – I want the bar to clean and think lather is important to the owner washing their dog, so I chose a high percentage of coconut oil.

Olive Oil – I chose olive oil for two reasons: (1) It makes a mild bar of soap that will moisturize and condition; (2) even though it takes a while to cure, it will cure out hard, despite the numbers that a soap calculator reveal.

Shea Butter – Shea has a high number of unsaponifiables compared to many other soapmaking oils, so it will add moisturizing and conditioning properties. I find that I can use a higher amount of coconut oil in soap if I add a fair amount of shea butter.

[2] [3]

Neem Seed Oil – Neem oil is a staple in dog shampoo bars because it is thought to ward off fleas and ticks. I have absolutely no empirical evidence to support that statement, but most of the formulations I looked at contain it. The smell does linger a bit in the cured bars, so I added it at a fairly low amount.

Castor Oil – This is for its bubble supporting properties. Contrary to what some people think, castor oil does not actually create bubbles or lather. Instead, it supports the coconut oil by making bubbles last longer.

Rice Bran Oil – I happen to have an abundance of this oil, so I wanted to include it. The fatty acid profile is similar to olive oil. It has long been MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

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F O R M U L A RY

Perfect Pooch: Soap for Dogs

by CINDY LANTIER

used in Asian skin care because it is gentle and moisturizing, so I thought it would be good for dogs, as well.

Sodium Lactate (Optional) – Helps soap firm up more quickly. It is also a humectant, so it will draw water from the air, helping to keep the dog’s skin and fur moisturized.

Let’s go over a few other details about this formula: I take a steep water discount, from the traditional 38% of oil weight to 20%. I do this because I will not swirl or create other artistic effects. In fact, I will not coloring this soap at all. The high percent of liquid oils, especially olive oil, cause it to trace slowly if I do not take a water discount. This will also help speed up water evaporation during the curing process. If you usually make soap with full water or a less steep discount, feel free to run this formula through a lye calculator with a discount you are more comfortable with.

I chose to superfat at 10% to help balance the high cleansing number.

[4] [5]

This soap is unscented. If I were planning to fragrance it, I would use an essential oil blend.

Be aware that not all essential oils are safe for dogs, so research carefully or consult a qualified aromatherapist or essential oil specialist.

I want to use the CPOP method (Cold Process, Oven Process) because this is how I make all my soaps. You may choose CP (Cold Process) or HP (Hot Process) if you prefer. Follow the procedures for the process you choose.

Be careful if you plan to fill a thick silicone mold, as I have been told that they do not CPOP very well.

Let’s make dog soap!

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

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F O R M U L A RY

Perfect Pooch: Soap for Dogs

by CINDY LANTIER

*NOTE: This tutorial is meant for experienced soapmakers. If you are new to making cold process soap, please refer a reliable tutorial or teacher from which to learn the basics.

Additionally, I suggest that every soapmaker run all formulas that they are not personally familiar with through a lye calculator before making, especially if you make any changes.

DIRECTIONS:

EQUIPMENT:

4. In a well-ventilated area, slowly add the sodium hydroxide to the water. Stir slowly until all the lye is dissolved. Set aside.

• Scale • Stick blender (aka immersion blender or hand blender) • Safety goggles • Safety gloves • Mask (optional; for mixing lye) • Lye pitcher • Stainless steel spoon for mixing lye • Silicone spatula • Two plastic bowls, one medium and one small • Measuring teaspoon • Plastic (#5, PP) or stainless steel bowl for mixing soap batter (large enough to hold 41 ounces of soap batter) • 2.5-pound soap mold INGREDIENTS: • Sodium lactate - 2 teaspoons (optional, but helps the soap to harden more quickly • Distilled water - 170 grams • Sodium hydroxide - 117 grams • Coconut oil (40%) - 340 grams • Olive oil (30%) - 255 grams • Shea butter (10%) - 85 grams • Neem seed oil (7%) - 60 grams • Castor oil (7%) - 60 grams • Rice bran oil (6%) - 51 grams MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

1. Preheat oven to 170° Fahrenheit.

2. Put on safety gear and make sure you will not be disturbed by kids or pets.

3. Weigh distilled water in lye pitcher. Weigh lye in small plastic or stainless steel bowl.

5. Weigh coconut oil and shea butter into the medium plastic bowl or the soapmaking bowl if it is microwave safe. Melt oils, using the microwave in 30 second bursts. Heat until just melted. Add to soapmaking bowl if you melted in a different bowl and set aside to cool. [3] [4] 6. Weigh liquid oils. Add to the melted hard oils.

Stir until well blended.

7. Add sodium lactate to room temperature lye solution and stir carefully until blended.

8. When the lye solution and oils are both room temperature, add lye solution to the oils. Stir gently until combined.

9. Using the stick blender, blend until soap batter reaches medium trace. [5] 10. If adding essential oils, add them now and hand-stir until they are blended in.

11. Pour into mold. Bang gently on counter to bring air bubbles to the top.

12. Place mold in oven. Turn oven heat off and turn the oven light on. Leave for at least eight hours. I often leave them overnight.

13. Remove soap from oven. Unmold. Cut into bars. Let cure for four to six weeks. [6] [7] www.makingsoapmag.com • 37

F O R M U L A RY

Perfect Pooch: Soap for Dogs

by CINDY LANTIER

[6] TO USE: Completely wet dog with slightly warm water. Make sure the water is not hot. Rub shampoo bar over dog’s coat to create lather and massage the skin and hair, paying special attention to particularly dirty areas. Rinse well.

Follow with a mild, light-weight conditioner.

Comb to remove mats and tangles. Rinse well, then comb again. Let the dog shake off the water, following his natural instincts. Comb him one last time.

MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

[7] Cindy Jones Lantier, of The Eclectic Soul and Soap’s On! is an experienced soap maker and educator. She loves creating products, teaching, and connecting with her customers & students.

Cindy will soon be launching a website dedicated to soapmaking education.

www.makingsoapmag.com • 38

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To be published MARCH 1, 2019

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MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

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MAKING SOAP COSMETICS & CANDLES

www.makingsoapmag.com • 40