It Began on a Whim: How I became a Soap Artisan

It was a crisp chilly morning in early April 2010.  Our family of 5, living at the time in Victoria, B.C. stepped aboard a mid-size ferry. (Anyone familiar with Texas ferries would esteem it as gargantuan, however)
Our destination was Salt Spring Island, one of the Gulf Islands nestled among other such islands in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the Mainland B.C..

B.C. ferry; Sweet ride!

I had searched the internet a day or two before determined to find a do-able one-day excursion for the weekend.  Salt Spring seemed a perfect destination.  Their famed Ganges Market would be open, and the weather forecast boded fair skies.
An added plus were a few stellar hiking possibilities, one trail touting gnome doors hidden along the path.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

The market did not disappoint. As the morning drew on, the darling white tents and rustic farmers' stands bustled with the people, most of whom had traveled by boat to sample and taste the best the island had to offer.  The market's mantra -- Make It, Bake It, Grow It -- attracts a growing population of people who desire to support local communities like Salt Spring by buying that which has been grown or made locally.

Handcrafted Pottery

We had a wonderful time sampling cheeses made from local goat milk.  These were definitely the fanciest cheeses I have ever had.  So flavorful and rich, we could not leave this island without buying a couple of them. Neither can I  speak highly enough of the tasty artisan bread, perfectly crusty on the outside, delicately tender within.  There were tables filled with decadent candies, pastries, and the like; there were jams and jellies, beautiful pottery, jewelry, knitted items. There were tables upon tables of fresh vegetables and fruits.  So much goodness on all sides.  

SaltSpring Soapworks:  I bought my first soap right here!

And then there was this one booth.  I only stopped  as an afterthought right before we left the market square.  Something must have caught my eye. It was a booth of handmade soap.  I know now that it was cold-processed soap.  I knew absolutely nothing about soap that day. Intrigued by the display of tin buckets with soap peeking out,  I stopped to smell, and I was hooked into the sale at that very moment.  I really liked the look of the loofah soaps; I had to have one of those.

Cool Loofah Soap

Handmade Soap in Tin buckets

 I took a few minutes to decide and noticing a restless family, grabbed 3 in haste. (I chose one with mango, one with strawberry and one with rose) We left the market to eat takeout pizza and explore the beach of Salt Spring Island before heading home that day.

Yep, that's our picnic spot.

I could say the rest is history. But my lackluster first encounter with handmade soap was really just the precursor to an adventure into the realm of chemistry and art.  I guess for me, it has also turned into an escalator down into the realm of accounting and marketing. (Yikes!).

My kiddos on a tin horse right near the Market

During the weeks after our trip to Salt Spring Island I fell in love with the soap. I began researching and reading everything I could get my hands on about cold-processed soap. I bought soap from every local soapmaker I encountered.  I spent hours on forums and gathered recipes and troubleshooting advice, lists of all sorts of topics, far too many to list here.  And so I researched for close to a year before I ever attempted my first batch.  And boy was that first batch a scary endeavor!  But how fun to unwrap and cut that first slice of good soap.  I think the slicing is my favorite part of the process, second only to trying a new soap out in the shower.  There's no luxury or feeling of satisfaction quite like it. How blessed I am to be able to make something with my hands that pampers the body and promotes healthy skin, simultaneously providing aromatherapy benefits. I love being a soap artisan. And I am so thankful that what started out as a whim to  explore an island and its market has led to so many fruitful opportunities.

Experiments with Color: Soaping Naturally

I've been wanting to do an experiment using natural colorants for some time now.  Sometimes, its OK or even best to just add the powdered herb directly to the soap at trace.  But in some cases, the soap will come out a bit speckled which is not always desirable, and it may also leave the soap feeling a bit scratchy.  In the past, when I wanted to make an oil infusion, I have gotten out my trusty mini crock pot.  I would add an undetermined amount of olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of alkanet root powder or annatto seeds, (Those 2 have been the ones I have used most often.)  And I would let my crock pot "have at it."  And I've gotten good results.  However, I have felt the need for more precise measurements, and  there is such a variety of herbs and spices to choose from, I have been eager to expand my tool chest a bit in this department.

muslin tea bags 

5 oz. of olive oil added to each half pint jar

  I decided to do a whole set of oil infusions in mammoth proportions to my normal "mini-crockpot" routine.  I chose 14 different herbs and spices to add to these drawstring tie tea bags. All of these ingredients were dried or in powder form.  My understanding is that if you choose to make infusions with fresh herbs, you should soap them immediately as they will be easily susceptible to spoilage. 

Here's the line-up:

1.  alkanet root                    8.  indigo

2.  annatto seeds                 9.  nettle leaf

3.  black walnut hull          10. paprika

4.  burdock leaf                 11.  safflower

5.  calendula flowers         12.  spirulina

6.  comfrey leaf                 13.  turmeric

7. dandelion leaf                14.  woad

In the past, I have always added my botanicals and spices directly to the oil.  But then, I had to strain the oil through cheesecloth to remove any debris.  This is messy.  I had read of others using tea bags, coffee filters, and other such methods to encapsulate the spices and herbs to avoid that messy step. Sounded good to me.  I decided upon muslin tea bags from a local organic grocery store.  I ended up needing a few more bags, so I thought I would also try out the coffee filter idea.  Three of the infusions were done using coffee filters I stapled shut; the rest were done with the cloth tea bags.                                                                                                                                      

  

I measured out 5 oz. of olive oil into each of the half pint jars.  I chose olive oil because of its long shelf life.  Almond oil would be another good choice.  You could probably eyeball the amount of oil, but I was wanting to make more precise measurements when it comes to adding colorants, and so I wanted each infusion to be the same.

olive oil measured out and awaiting fresh herbs and spices

I used the spirulina from my vitamin stash for this one.

Most of the herbs and spices came ready to be measured out.  Spirulina did not.  I am currently in dream/plan mode of a really colorful soap with various shades of green and blue.  I just couldn't resist trying out blue-green spirulina.  Since I had some capsules in the cabinet, I thought, "Why not?" So I did.  But that meant prying open each capsule to get to the powder inside.  I discovered there's quite a bit of powder in each one of these babies.  And this infusion, took by far, the longest to prepare.  I will be ordering this in quantity for the future.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

I added 2 tablespoons of each herb to a tea bag with the exception of indigo and woad.  These natural colorants are so strong, I only added 1/4 teaspoon of powder to each tea bag.  I decided to use my tamale pot due to its large capacity.  I was able to fit 11 half-pint jars into this single pot.  I used a smaller pot for the other 3 jars.  The tray at the bottom of the pot made me feel less likely to overheat and crack the jars though I did only heat the burners to low. I basically allowed the herbs and spices to infuse for 3 hours in a hot water bath on low heat.  I slowly cooled them on a towel when I thought they had steeped sufficiently.  Most of the oils were fairly dark by this time, but I decided to allow them to continue to naturally infuse for a few more days.

infusions in the pot

Ready to go

  Most of the infusions came out as expected. A few of the herbs/spices are supposed to lend a yellowish tent.  Since olive oil is already yellow, it is hard to detect a difference with some of these.
Here are my general observations:
1. Alkanet root--nice dark purple.
2.  Annatto seeds -- bright orange infusion.
3.  Black walnut hull-- brownish-green
4.  Burdock Leaf-  not much change on this one
5.  Calendula Flowers-- is supposed to add yellow color, but not much change
6.  Comfrey Leaf-- greenish, but not as dark as I would like
7.  Dandelion leaf-- green
8.  Indigo-- this is supposed to add the color of denim, but this infusion is looking green.  Can't wait to see  what happens in soap.
9.  Nettle Leaf--- olive green
10. Paprika-- looks a lot like annatto seed infusion.  Bright orange.
11.  Safflower--more golden than plain olive oil with some red tint in there to boot (may be the powder escaping the tea bag.)
12.  Spirulina-- dark blue/green.  This one is going to be fun to use
13.  Turmeric-  yellow; not sure if this is different from olive oil
14.  Woad-- again this blue colorant is looking more green than blue to me in the oil.

My take on the muslin tea bags vs. the coffee filters:  I liked the ease of using the tea bags.  I think they may be less suitable for the powdered substances which are likely to escape.  But they worked great for larger plant material.  The coffee filters were really easy to close up and staple. Plus, they are super cheap.   I'm not sure if turmeric filtered through it or not, but the alkanet and paprika definitely did.  In the future I may use both, but I am leaning toward the coffee filters for cost and easy throw away.

***Part II will feature a small sample of soap using each of these 14 colorants. Can't wait to see how each of these beautiful infused oils manifests itself in cold-processed soap.