I’ve talked before about how lotions work, and skin absorption rates, and the claims of certain cosmetics manufacturers that they have a product which will “penetrate the skin” and do magical mystical (usually anti-aging) things. But we know, unless a product has been deliberately designed to penetrate multiple skin layers, the skin doesn’t let much […]

Recently a bill has been proposed in Colorado, the ‘Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act‘.  Hearings on the bill begin in March. The bill would prohibit the sale of “…any personal care product that contains a chemical identified as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity.”  On the face of it, that sounds logical. I mean, who […]

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 […]