BrooklynBath and I (Rose) would like to wish you many great endeavors for 2012.
We are so thankful to you our readers, customers, friends and family who have helped us prosper greatly this year. Because of you we have been able to make incredible bath and body care products that you have all come to love!
Ring in the New Year and make 2012 the year to make things happen!
Saludos! (Cheers)
Brooklyn Bath will be making its first public appearance at the Natick Farmer’s Market in Natick, Massachusetts on Saturday, November 19th 2001. Market hours are from 9am to 1pm.
Here’s a snapshot of what bath and body care goodies you can find at the Market.
Swing by, meet me (Rose) owner and soap crafter and see what Brooklyn Bath is all about!
Check out this new fresh design of Lavender Breeze!
I wanted to try something different with our best-selling Lavender Breeze soap. Same size, same scent but a fresh look. I wanted to make sure that this would be a hit so as usual I made a 1 pound test batch. Why 1 pound? It is a controlled measured batch while still being able to incorporate the fresh white swirls on this soap.
I made the same basic recipe of olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, mango butter and castor oils, fragrance lavender and skin-safe colorant. The only tweek to this recipe was the added pinch of titanium dioxide to do the white swirls and top white layer. When it was time to pour my soap I decided to pour it ounce by ounce and in different angles in my mold. That’s the beauty of the incredible art form of making soap – you can’t get it wrong!
Once I was finished pouring all the oils like a Mama Bear I covered, wrapped and placed my soap to nestle for 24 hours to cure and do it’s magic. When I unmolded I was excited to see how it look in its entirety.
So imagine how excited I was when it was time to cut this block into bars….and….the FINAL REVEAL!
Only 4 bars were made and will be ready to sell in our Online Shop: www.brooklynbath.etsy.com
Mark your calendars! Ready Date: 9/29/11
On Saturday, July 30th 2011, 30 bath and body company owners from all parts of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts got together in near the Binghamton area for the annual Central New York (CNY) Bubbles and Blazes Gathering. This all-day gathering held every year at a chosen destination gives owners like me a chance to meet and discuss shop, network and make new friends in the bath and body industry. For me, it was my first time and I was excited months before the date.
We were met by our gracious hostess Maria Gelnett of Soap Studio Brookside and were treated to vendor bags full of great samples from various bath and body suppliers.
We were able to participate in a product swap – which was fabulous! I participated and went home with 17 different bath and body goodies! There was a mixture of different types of soaps, creams, hair products, dream pillows and scrubs just to name a few.
CNY Product Swap
In addition, some of us participated in a Yankee swap also. It was actually my first time and it was so much fun. I went home with a brand new crockpot
– perfect for making larger batches of hot process soap! Some of the goodies scored included: mud bath kit, gourmet oils, and gift cards to fine restaurants.
Demos shown were: how to make felted soap, the latest craze – column swirling, and making whipped cold process soap.
Everyone participated in a potluck and so we were treated to some amazing cuisine from our colleagues including lavender water which I absolute fell in love with.
Door prizes were awarded to every single attendee. I received a jug of grapeseed oil! I love using that oil in toiletries. And also, raffle for great prizes were awarded to 4 very lucky people. I wasn’t one of them – but next year!
If all that wasn’t heavenly enough all attendees were encouraged to bring soapmaking tools for the garage sale. I scored a few things as I couldn’t pass up the deeply discounted wares.
I made some amazing new friends, reunited with colleagues including my first soapmaking instructor The Handmade Soap Coach who did the demo on whipped cold process soap. Of which I must try of course! and learned a great deal more about the art of making bath and body products.
CNY 2011 Gathering
Needless to say I am clearing my calendar already for next year. If you are interested in learning more about the gathering or the group please visit their site Central New York Soapmakers.
Become a member, participate in the discussions, make new friends and learn so much from them.
Recently a customer of mine asked me why the ingredients on products are always in a “different” language – why can’t they just be written in plain English.
The “different” language he’s referring to is the INCI form of the ingredients. INCI stands for Ingredient Nomenclature Classification….
If you can refer back to biology class and recall that animals fall under the classifications of different species, classes and kingdoms. The same holds true for the ingredients used in cosmetics. Lavender essential oil comes from different parts of the world. There’s Bulgarian lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), French lavender (Lavandula dentate), Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas), and so forth. But while these may be all lavender some components are not the same. Therefore they all have a distinct name or INCI.
It’s also important for formulators to know what the INCI is for their ingredients as different suppliers can sell the same ingredients but can be comprised of different components. For example, emulsifying wax used as an emulsion in body products can be different from one supplier to another. One supplier will list it as emulsifying wax NF but another will list it as Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60 . The difference in the two that they both can lend a different “feel” in an emulsified base such as lotion. They’re both good! but one may give the lotion extra “glide”.
INCI is important because it is what the FDA requires of every cosmetic product sold for the purpose of safety to consumers. We all have different reactions to different things either man-made or natural. Knowing the ingredients on the label is very important to recognize to prevent an allergic reaction.
Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Shaving Soap
Lovely round bar of shaving soap made with olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and a little bit of castor oil for bubbly goodness. Also added is Bentonite Clay. Bentonite Clay is said to help lift impurities off the face and gives “slip” to the skin when shaving.
This bar of soap is scented with Brambleberry’s Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. It’s description reads, blended with utmost care, this is the perfect melding of three fabulous scents. Sweet and toasty, this is one soap that you’ll want to take a bite out of!
You can grab one at the online shop of BrooklynBath. Each bar is $5.00
I made a batch of salt spa bars via the cold process method. I used a blend of two fragrance oils that really remind me of Apple Jolly Ranchers!
The great thing about these bars is that they bring a “polish” feature to the skin whilst cleaning.
They will take about 4 weeks to dry and should be ready at the end of August. I can’t wait to try and report!
Salt Bars
Want to experience the luxurious handmade soaps created only by BrooklynBath?
Visit our shop at BrooklynBath Online Shop
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What do Soapmakers do when they’re not making soap? They meet other Soapmakers of course! Back in March of this year (yes, I know this post is a tad bit late) 12 soapers got together in Queens, NY for a fun-filled day.
The organizer, Melissa Rivera – owner of Naturally Good Soaps, (that’s her on the far right of the picture) arranged a private luncheon for the 12 bath and body company owners at Alba’s Pizza & Restaurant in Queens, NY. Our very large dining room table (laden with food) was flanked by a groaning table of promotional and sample items from vendors: Motivators Promotional Products, Peterbrook Herb Farm, Citrus Allied & Science and Garden State Naturals.
Goodie Bags
Accompanied by the natural goodies were handcrafted artesanal soaps that each of the soapmakers made for a soap swap. Each soapmaker supplied 12 soaps (1 soap for each participant).
NYC Soap Swap
The point of the soap swap is to appreciate what other artisans of handcrafted soap creates. Everyone specializes in one or other type of soaps and it’s a great way to enjoy a variety.
We spent a wonderful two hours eating, laughing, swapping tales and talking shop. Afterwards, we walked over to Vivian Dritsas, owner of’ “The Little Soap Shop“. Here Vivian gave us a tour of her bath and body retail shop and answered questions relating to the retail industry. For many of us that don’t sell at a retail location it gave us a real feel for what it would be like to be a retail owner.
Afterwards, we each said our goodbyes and made a plan to get together at a future and do it all over again.
Oh yes, that will be at the end of July – stay tuned!
We have two soaps on the curing rack that will be ready for end of April and will be listed at www.brooklynbath.etsy.com shortly.
4 oz bar/$5.00 per bar
What makes this soap different from other soaps I’ve made in the past? We used apricot kernel oil -a light oil that is good for dry skin; hemp seed oil – a lovely oil in soaps that yields moisturizing qualities to dry skin.
Lavender Breeze
Ingredients: Olive Oil, Distilled Water, Palm Oil, Coconut Oil and Castor Oil
4 oz bar/$5.00 per bar
(the bars are slightly larger than the usual ones so you get more soap!)
A bestseller every single month! Enjoy the soothing and calm scent of lavender in your bath.
Ready: 4/24/11
