Making soap and cosmetics
What are they?In the past, many people used wild plants, herbs, vegetable oils, animal fats, vinegar and salt to make their own household cleaners. A few still do, but nowadays the greater interest lies in making natural cosmetics. These include everything from lip balm to skin creams, toners, hair tonics, scrubs, face masks, cleansers and soap.
How do you make natural cosmetics?For face scrubs and face masks, you can mash strawberries and yogurt with porridge oats, or avocados with honey and essential oils. For creams and lip balms, you add almond oil and essential oils to beeswax. Bread soda is the main ingredient of bath bombs; for bath melts you mix cocoa butter with dried flowers, such as lavender or rose. Skin toners and aftershaves are made from rose water or cider vinegar with essential oils.
“Face creams are the most complicated natural cosmetics to make, because you need to get oil and water to solidify with beeswax,” says Vivienne Campbell, a medical herbalist who runs courses in natural cosmetics.
How do you make soap?Soap is the result of a chemical reaction between caustic soda, which is strongly alkaline, and acidic oil or fat. "It's important to match a precise quantity of oil – rapeseed oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil or olive oil – to caustic soda at the correct temperature, because each oil has a different saponification [or soap-producing] value," says Anna Browne, who runs soapmaking courses.
Traditionally, the mixture of caustic soda and oil was stirred for a few hours; now you generally mix it for about 15 minutes with a hand blender, adding essential oils and colours once the hardening process begins. Then you put the soap in moulds and leave it to set for a few days.
Where do I sign up?Vivienne Campbell (theherbalhub.com, 086-8899168) runs natural- cosmetics courses in Cos Leitrim, Wexford and Clare. She has upcoming courses at the Organic Centre, in Rossinver, on October 22nd; Bodhie Health, Wellness and Nutrition Clinic, above Roches Pharmacy at 14 Main Street, Gorey (November 12th and 14th); and St Flannan's College, in Ennis (November 9th, 16th and 23th, 7.30pm-9.30pm).
Vanessa Finlow (verypuresoap. com) will hold a natural-cosmetics workshop on November 12th in the Craft Lounge, Unit 1, Hardy’s Lane, Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin (thecraftlounge.eu, 086-3309443).
Anita Davis will hold a soapmaking course on October 29th at Greenan Farm Museums Maze, Greenan, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow (greenanmaze.com, 0404-46000)
