Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Last Minute Christmas Gifts: Spa Related Items

Well I've taken far too long to get back to my blog. My energy level has been extremely low with this surprise pregnancy and then adjusting to our new environment. To quote my brother, "I think I'm solar powered." I do enjoy the green and the extra moisture though and now I'm feeling better and more energetic. This week before Christmas is going to be busy so I thought I would just stop by with some links for those who are scrambling for some last minute gifts.

This set of spa related links is from a blog I enjoy called "Chickens in the Road". Suzanne has just moved into her new farm and has some very interesting things on her blog.

Homemade Body Spray
Brown Sugar Scrub
Chocolate Face Mask

Merry Christmas.

Art Explosion Clip Art

Misleading Dove Commerical 2011

As a soapmaker, I find that the Dove commercial that has been running this year is very annoying and terribly misleading. "If soap dries itself out over time, imagine what it can do to your skin over time" Really? I can certainly understand that the average person might be swayed by this, but it isn't very true and very misleading which is so very wrong for a company determined to put "True Beauty" back on the map. Why the lies and untruths?

Soap is a chemical reaction with fats and lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide). Water is the delivery system to get the lye evenly mixed. Freshly made cold process soap is still very moist and usually requires 4 to 6 weeks to "dry" out into a nicely aged hard bar. Actually, soap that is a year old is even better than soap that is 6 weeks old because the soap continues to change and become more mild. At least it does in my experience. Eventually, a large proportion of the water will evaporate, but through the soap is cracked and dry looking, it doesn't mean all the good stuff has gone, it just indicates the water has left the building. Of course there are other factors to it such as the formulations. Some fats make for a harder bar and sometimes causes the soap to dry faster and crack.

Another misleading little fact that Dove chooses to ignore is that the very same type of thing happens to syndet (synthetic detergent) bars as well. It seems to happen more often to the bars I bought from the store than the ones I have made 5 years ago. Yes, I did find some soap I made 5 years ago and it was wonderful! Of course, I know how old my soap is, but really who know how long store bought soap has been hanging around. But really, in this case, older is better in my opinion in the case of soap.

Okay, that is my rant. Here is a couple other places who have problems with the Dove commercials. The Alabu Skin Care Blog and Point of Interest have some perspective on them as well.  Dove is a nice combo soap and syndet bar but I just have a problem with their advertising.