The Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, starting at 1 p.m. EST for interested stakeholders to provide an open forum to solicit feedback on the establishment of the BioPreferred voluntary labeling program.  This program will allow USDA to authorize manufacturers and vendors of qualifying biobased products to […]

The past decade has seen an explosion of small, independent soap, fragrance and cosmetics companies emerge from the kitchens and basements of America. Creative entrepreneurs have conjured up a myriad of offerings from bath fizzies to sugar scrubs and spa products to mineral makeup.  All of those products were introduced to the market by small […]

Sometimes, you may have a soap idea, but can’t find a commercial mould that fits your need, or you just want to create something silly or personal.  For those times, making your own mould is your best option.  Mind you, this method does not create professional grade silicon moulds that will hold up to hundreds […]

Elizabeth Carnahan from Longcroft Soaperie in Scotland is one of the success stories of the boutique bath industry.  Elizabeth has parlayed her hard work and genius with product development into a cottage industry that has been on the pages of some of Europe’s top magazines. As well as producing, marketing and selling her soap, Elizabeth […]

For years, handmade and artisan bath and cosmetics people have been making organic and cruelty-free products, providing an alternative for consumers who want to avoid petrochemicals and animal testing.  Well, it didn’t take long before the large chemical companies caught on to the fact that they were leaving a market untapped, and suddenly, we see […]

What’s the history? The earliest known evidence of soap use are Babylonian clay cylinders dating from 2800 BC containing a soap-like substance. A formula for soap consisting of water, alkali and cassia oil was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC. The Ebers papyrus (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly […]

Once upon a time rainwater was filtered through hardwood ashes to make a Potassium Hydroxide solution. It’s actually a pretty cool process. The ladies who taught me how to make soap would let rainwater collect in an old tree stump, and add ashes to it periodically. They knew the water was alkali “enough” to make […]