Why antibacterial soaps are dangerous and not necessary.

Antibacterial soaps were first developed for use in hospitals and clinics where sterile environments are often necessary. In recent years, these soaps have made their way onto the shelves of nearly every store that sells body care products. While the claims of killing up to 99.99% of bacteria on your body may seem attractive, in reality they may cause more harm than good.

Known harmful effects:

• Antibiotics kill bacteria, but not viruses which are the cause of colds and the flu.
• Using antibacterial soap will kill both good and bad bacteria
• Bacteria evolve quickly and can develop resistance to antibiotics in the soap. This leads to strains of bacteria that are multidrug resistant such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA.
• Exposure to bacteria helps to strengthen our immune systems.  Using antibacterial soaps on a regular basis may make you more prone to bacterial infections. It is very important for young children to be exposed to bacteria so that they can develop a strong immune system.
• Researchers are finding a link between allergies and the use of antibacterial soaps. This is again due to a weakened immune system caused by a reduced exposure to bacteria.

One of the most common antibacterial agents found in commercial hand soap is triclosan. In addition to the harmful effects stated above, triclosan produces some harmful effects of its own:

• When triclosan is mixed with chlorinated water (plain tap water) they combine and produce chloroform gas. Chloroform can cause a person to loose consciousness and thus could cause drowning when taking a bath. In addition, chloroform is toxic and is listed as a carcinogen.  
• Triclosan can cause accumulate in fat cells and cause hormonal problems and liver damage.
• Triclosan is also linked to eczema, asthma, and allergic reactions.

So what can you do to keep yourself and your family safe from germs? It has been shown that regular soap is just as effective in removing bacteria and viruses from the skin as antibacterial soaps. While regular soap does not kill bacteria, it does make it easier for the bacteria to be washed away. Soap is an amphipathic molecule meaning that one end of the molecule is hydrophobic (water-hating) and the other end is hydrophilic (water-loving). Since bacterial cells are encased in a lipid membrane, the hydrophobic end of the soap molecule will bind to the lipids and the hydrophilic end of the soap will bind to the water. This allows the bacteria to be easily removed from your body by washing with water.

Pinterest Board

I have kept a personal Pinterest board for some time as a way to group link, pictures, recipes, etc that I find interesting, but don't want to keep in an open tab on my browser.  I normally have 20 tabs on my browser at once, so this has been a great way to store information for me. I have a board on soap packaging as inspiration while I redesign my own soap packaging. Many of you may find these interesting, so here is the link to my board. Happy Pinning! http://pinterest.com/sauclair/

One of my favorites in my soap packaging board

How to care for your natural handmade soap

Handmade soap is made without synthetic preservatives or artificial hardeners. One of the great things about handmade soap is that it does not need these things added to them. If made and stored properly your handmade soap will be very hard and long lasting.  

The number one rule for prolonging the life of your soap is to make sure it does not sit in a pool of water between uses. Get a good soap dish that allows the water to completely drain away from the soap. The best type of soap dish will also allow air to circulate around the bar. It is even better if you can let your soap completely dry between uses. For soap that is unused store it in a dark cool place like a lingerie drawer or linen closet.

In our shower we use one of those metal racks that hang off of the shower head. These racks allow the water to easily drain and the soap to have good air circulation. They are a good bet for a long lasting handmade soap.

How to care for your natural handmade soap

Handmade soap is made without synthetic preservatives or artificial hardeners. One of the great things about handmade soap is that it does not need these things added to them. If made and stored properly your handmade soap will be very hard and long lasting.  

The number one rule for prolonging the life of your soap is to make sure it does not sit in a pool of water between uses. Get a good soap dish that allows the water to completely drain away from the soap. The best type of soap dish will also allow air to circulate around the bar. It is even better if you can let your soap completely dry between uses. For soap that is unused store it in a dark cool place like a lingerie drawer or linen closet.

In our shower we use one of those metal racks that hang off of the shower head. These racks allow the water to easily drain and the soap to have good air circulation. They are a good bet for a long lasting handmade soap.

Christmas scented solid sugar scrubs

Solid sugar scrubs are all the rave right now. While I have made them in the past (see old post here), I thought I would try out some new molds I fund at Marshall's.  These molds are larger than what I have used in the past and I did not cut them down into smaller pieces. When I go into the shower, I like to have a decent sized block of scrub that I can break a piece off of and then scrub away. These seem like the perfect size. They fit well in my hand and will last for quite a few showers.

Iced gingerbread, spiced orange, and sugared cranberries scented solid scrubs.

I followed the same recipe as in this post for the spiced orange and sugared cranberries solid scrubs, but I modified the recipe a bit for the iced gingerbread. I love to use some courser sugar in brown scrubs, so half of the sugar is demerara sugar and the other half is regular white sugar.

All nice and wrapped!

Etsy Cuteness!

Dylan and I started taking pottery classes together last year and it has turned me into a total pottery addict.  I can spend hours on Etsy looking through all the great pottery and dreaming of making things as nice. Well I just had to share my recent find on Etsy as it is just so great.  I can't stop looking and smiling at those cute flower pot faces! 

Hairy Babes Plant Pot

 

Pick up one of these cuties at www.namnamceramics.etsy.com.

In the oven: Lemon Poppyseed Shea Soap

I have slightly revamped my Lemon Poppyseed Shea Soap. In the past, I used both lemon and vanilla fragrance to make the soap smell like a lemon poppyseed cake, but the vanilla turned the soap a brown color and did not fit with how I imagined the soap to look. I then tried this soap with just a lemon fragrance and infused calendula petals in the warm lye to try and get a slight yellow color. While the soap smelled ideal, the yellow did not last.  So, this time I modified again and used a mix of lemon fragrance and litsea cubeba essential oil and yellow oxide for a hint of yellow. The soap is still setting up and will be ready to cut tomorrow.

Lemon Poppyseed Shea Soap

It smells very nice so far.  Since I ran out of my lemon fragrance oil, I might just use only the litsea cubeba next time. You can order this soap now at either www.LadybugSoapworks.com or www.LadybugSoapworks.etsy.com.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Now that Thanksgiving has past and the days are getting colder, I have started think about the month of holiday parties I have ahead of me.  I like to bring a treat to the parties, so I have started making a list of deserts to make. This year Christmas will be hard for me. If I don't find a new job soon, come Jan. 1 I will be officially unemployed. While that in itself is sad and very scary to me, it is forcing me to be creative for Christmas. I plan to make a lot of my gifts and bake even more! So here is the first item on my list:

  

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

I found the recipe on www.annies-eats.com. Go check it out! The bars look beautiful and extremely yummy!  I can't wait to make some this weekend.  I will let you know how they turn out!
 

Why antibacterial soaps are dangerous and not neccessary.

Antibacterial soaps were first developed for use in hospitals and clinics where sterile environments are often necessary. In recent years, these soaps have made their way onto the shelves of nearly every store that sells body care products. While the claims of killing up to 99.99% of bacteria on your body may seem attractive, in reality they may cause more harm than good.

Known harmful effects:

• Antibiotics kill bacteria, but not viruses which are the cause of colds and the flu.
• Using antibacterial soap will kill both good and bad bacteria
• Bacteria evolve quickly and can develop resistance to antibiotics in the soap. This leads to strains of bacteria that are multidrug resistant such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA.
• Exposure to bacteria helps to strengthen our immune systems.  Using antibacterial soaps on a regular basis may make you more prone to bacterial infections. It is very important for young children to be exposed to bacteria so that they can develop a strong immune system.
• Researchers are finding a link between allergies and the use of antibacterial soaps. This is again due to a weakened immune system caused by a reduced exposure to bacteria.

One of the most common antibacterial agents found in commercial hand soap is triclosan. In addition to the harmful effects stated above, triclosan produces some harmful effects of its own:

• When triclosan is mixed with chlorinated water (plain tap water) they combine and produce chloroform gas. Chloroform can cause a person to loose consciousness and thus could cause drowning when taking a bath. In addition, chloroform is toxic and is listed as a carcinogen.  
• Triclosan can cause accumulate in fat cells and cause hormonal problems and liver damage.
• Triclosan is also linked to eczema, asthma, and allergic reactions.

So what can you do to keep yourself and your family safe from germs? It has been shown that regular soap is just as effective in removing bacteria and viruses from the skin as antibacterial soaps. While regular soap does not kill bacteria, it does make it easier for the bacteria to be washed away. Soap is an amphipathic molecule meaning that one end of the molecule is hydrophobic (water-hating) and the other end is hydrophilic (water-loving). Since bacterial cells are encased in a lipid membrane, the hydrophobic end of the soap molecule will bind to the lipids and the hydrophilic end of the soap will bind to the water. This allows the bacteria to be easily removed from your body by washing with water.

New beginings

As some of you may know, I run a small soapmaking business called Ladybug Soapworks. This business was really started as an impulsive decision without much planning.  As I have run the company for the past few years, I have come to realize that I would like to focus on creating a more natural and upscale brand. I am very passionate about using plants for healing, comforting, and beauty. This has let me to do a lot of self-study and take a college course on ethnobotany.  Ethnobotany is the study of how indigenous peoples use plants. I am especially impressed with the knowledge that these people have learned over the many generations of their relying on nature for survival. Sadly, much of this knowledge is being lost as shamans pass on without apprentices to carry on their knowledge for future generations. Indian Aryuvedic medicines, Chinese medicine, and medicines used by indigenous peoples throughout the world are great resources if you are looking to heal and sooth your body using plants. While I will not be producing products that cure or heal due to regulations, I would like to use plants that have been known for hundreds of years to soften skin, promote thick and shiny hair, or relax a person through aromatherapy. With this goal in mind, I will be re-branding and renaming my business to Vitae Essentia.  Vitae essentia means essence of life in Latin. This name truly encompasses what I hope my new company will represent. My goals are to create a product line that is made from only natural ingredients. I want to take the essence of pretty flowers and turn them into sensual perfume. I want to capture the beauty of nature and use it revitalize our own beauty. This is the purpose and meaning of Vitae Essentia.

My new logo...what do you think of it?

Please check out my new website at www.essentiastore.com and follow this blog to see product pictures, tutorials, herbal information, life musings, and pretty much whatever  else I think you might enjoy. Hopefully, this blog will be a place for discussion and inspiration.  I look forward to sharing much more with you in the future.