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Mellieha
Malta

LisaLise offers online education of natural plant-based cosmetics via e-books and courses

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A look inside the LisaLise natural cosmetics lab with free formulas, DIY how-to's, ingredients tips, sneak peeks, and more.

Filtering by Category: Bath Products

Easy Single Use Creamy Soaps

Lise

These little pink squares are single use soaps. Each one weight only a few grams and because of they way they are made, an entire soap is used up with each application. No waste!

They are quick and easy to make if you can source the star ingredient in paste form (which I have used here), but I imagine they are just as easy to make if you can get the surfactant in powdered form and add a bit of liquid to create your own paste.

The soaps can be decorated quite easily by 'dusting' them with some of the leftover herb and clay mixture, but are just as functional and make an equally creamy lather without any added decoration.

You only need about 20 minutes to make these if you have all the ingredients at hand.

Shall we get started?

Moldable Fun

The main surfactant in these soaps has the INCI name Disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate and is sometimes referred to as Plantapon SUS or just 'Foam Paste'.

This is an anionic, sulphate-free, EcoCert surfactant that is available in liquid, powder or paste form and is suitable for every kind of lathery cleansing product you might want to make: from shaving creams, shampoos, and bath soaps to single-use soaps.

When making these soaps, you’ll discover how pleasantly malleable the dough is - it’s both fun and easy to work with and you can either press the dough into moulds or simply shape your soaps by hand. The pictured soaps were shaped by hand and then sliced in much the same way you might make some cookies.

This portion is enough for a 'try-me' sized portion of 100 grams / 3.53 oz

LisaLise's Single Use Creamy Soaps



Ingredient Grams Ounces
Foam Paste 19.5 0.69
Rose Glycerite 20.0 0.71
Pink Clay 2.0 0.071
Hibiscus Powder 2.0 0.071
Distilled Water 3.5 0.12
Cornstarch 53.0 1.87

Method

  1. Sift the herb powder and clay together (make extra if you want to use some for decorating)

  2. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl

  3. Add cornstarch and work together to form a dough

  4. Shape into single use sized bars ( a few grams per soap)

  5. Optional: roll soaps in leftover herb and clay mixture

  6. Allow to set and air dry

You can use these right away if you like. The texture of the dough is a little 'rubbery' and reminds me a bit of a soft eraser.

Above is a pic of how I shaped these. The dough was molded into a long ‘sausage’ and gently patted to make it into a squarish shape. The pieces were sliced off and allowed to dry.

A Bit About the Ingredients

Glycerite

If you make your own glycerites, these soaps are a perfect place to put them to use. I added a rose glycerite here but you could use any glycerite or replace with glycerine if you prefer.

Herbs and Clay

I chose a pink illite clay and combined it with a powdered hibiscus extract. You can use any clay and herb you like. My main reason for using these ingredients was to accentuate the pink of the rose glycerite. Pictured below: a few soaps with added herb-and-clay dust.

Demineralised Water

This is the same as distilled water. You might easily find this at a supermarket or the likes. It is often sold as water to be used in steam irons.

Cornstarch

This is exactly the same as the cornstarch you might use for cookingand may already have in your kitchen.

Sudsy Demo

Here's how this soap lathers up. There is actually more lather to be had but this is as good as I could get doing one-handed lathering with one-handed photograpy. The soap dissolves readily into a creaminess that is quite pleasant.

Have fun!

Links to Suppliers of the Surfactant

Aroma Zone

Bay House Ingredients

Soapmakers Store

Want more bath-related fun and formulas? You might just enjoy the book below.

Kelp and Matcha Green Tea Shower Shaker

Lise

If you have been following me for a while, you probably know I like to experiment with different ways of putting ingredients together and using them.

Shower shakers came along as a natural course of ‘playing around’ with a few ideas.

A shower shaker is basically bath salts for folks who don’t have a tub (count me in that group). It’s also a version of body scrub that can be put together numerous ways. There’s a link to an introductory shower shaker post at the the bottom of this article.

The Kelp and Matcha Mix

Today’s shower shaker is a mixture of the following ingredients

Amounts?

I eyeballed the amounts in this batch, but here’s a rough breakdown

  • Salts: 85%

  • Milk Powder: 12%

  • Botanicals: 3%

TIP: Unless you want to be able to recreate your batch, it’s OK to eyeball the amounts in a shower shaker.

Above is a shot of the added matcha tea powder and ground kelp before I stirred it into the mixture.

Does that seems like a super teensy amount of botanicals?

Here’s why: these were added mostly to color the mixture that pretty shade of green you see pictured at the top, but there are other reasons to keep the amount of botanicals at a minimum in products of this nature.

As we all know, bath products are rinsed down the drain after use, and as we may sometimes forget, many botanicals take a while to break down completely - even when they start as a fine powder. In short, too many botanicals can make your pipes (and local plumber) very unhappy.

What? No Butter?

I realise the previous shower shaker post (link below) mentioned using grated cocoa butter (which is gorgeous) and this batch has no fats at all.

One of the advantages of shower shakers is that they can really be put together successfully any number of ways.

Admittedly, grating cocoa butter is a bit of a project (which is why I always grate a fair amount at a time and then store it in the cooler until needed). If you don’t happen to have time to grate cocoa butter (I didn’t), there is a workaround.

Apply a light layer of sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil or your favorite oil after stepping into the shower and before using the shower shaker. There is ‘double application’ situation using this workaround, but I see this as extra pampering time and the result is silky soft exfoliated skin.

Could you add grated cocoa butter to this batch? Absolutely!

Could you use other botanicals? Yes, indeed!

Could you use coconut milk powder to make a vegan version? For sure!

This is why I love shower shakers – they’re so versatile and the options are endless.

Do Tell

Have you made and used a shower shaker? Which botanicals did you use? Did you add grated cocoa butter or did you try the oil application? Please share in a comment below!

The book below is full of bath products you an make.

How to : Shower Shaker Body Scrub

Lise

This came about during a spell of making loads of bath products – partly for Module 1 of the Formulation Course at Tisserand Institute and partly for this book.

Today, I'm going to show you how to make a Salt & Pepper Shower Shaker.

A Shower Shaker is a Dry Scrub for the Shower

We all know exfoliating scrubs, emulsified scrubs and other scrubby things, but have you ever made and used a dry scrub in the shower?

I hadn't either until this idea popped up. In many ways, it sounds a little bonkers to bring a dry scrub into a shower. But I experimented with a few ways to make it work, and this version turned out quite well so I had to share it.

Spoiler alert: despite what it looks like, there's no pepper in this product.

Packaging is an Integral Part of the Formula

Part of getting this product to work is finding/making appropriate packaging. There are loads of possiblities. For this batch, I used a small take-away cardboard coffee cup with a plastic lid that I punched holes in to create the 'shaker' bit. It works like a charm.

These cups hold 100 dl / 3.38 fl oz and are the perfect size for a single use. Even though they are sold as single use, I reuse them a few times. The plastic lid can be reused over and over again.

Shower Shaker Ingredients

There are only 4 ingredients to these shakers and you can pretty much put them together any way you like.

Choose salts or sugars that function well as exfoliants (no flaked salt or anything with sharp edges that might scratch the skin). In the pictured batch I am using fine Himalayan Pink Salt.

The 'pepper' in this shaker is actually coarsely ground hempseed flour bought at a local supermarket. You could also use ground hempseeds, or you could replace it with another herb that gives the mixture a peppery look.

Milk powder is added for a little luxurious extra. I use powdered skimmed milk (from a local supermarket). You can omit this ingredient if you like, or replace it with coconut milk powder for a vegan version.

Grated cocoa butter is a little bit of skin-loving magic that gives this mix a fabulous moisturising boost and leaves skin glowing. There's just enough added to moisturise the skin yet not enough to create cocoa butter build-up in your pipes (you're welcome, plumbers).

I've made numerous shaker mixes (both with and without cocoa butter), and every time I've left out the cocoa butter, it exfoliates just fine but just doesn't have that 'fabulous factor'. If you try it yourself, I'm guessing you'll agree.

The cocoa butter should be grated quite finely and distributed as evenly as possible throughout the mixture for optimal results. I know it's a bit fiddly to make grated cocoa butter, but it's worth the trouble.

TIP: Chill the cocoa butter before grating it and immediately store your grated cocoa butter chilled if you want it to remain finely grated and not turn into a lump that needs to be re-grated.

So, are you ready to give this a try? The following is enough for about 5-6 scrubs.

LisaLise’s Salt and Pepper Exfoliating Shower Shaker

Ingredient Grams Ounces
Salts of Choice 255 9
Coarse Hempseed Flour 15 0.53
Powdered Skimmed Milk 15 0.53
Grated Cocoa Butter 15 0.53

Method

  1. Weigh out all ingredients

  2. Place in bowl and stir to incorporate thoroughly

  3. Transfer to air-tight container for storage

Now all you need to do is find/make your ideal shaker container to use when it's time to exfoliate. If you use cups like the one pictured above, it's easy to measure out a few portions by filling a few cups and storing them dry until use. I’ve played around with numerous different types of containers and found most of the work. I’ll be posting more ideas in upcoming posts.

How to use a Shower Shaker

  1. Start by running the water and stepping under the shower to get thoroughly wet.

  2. Now, turn off the water and grab your shaker. Sprinkle enough mixture into a hand for one limb and scrub to your hearts desire.

  3. Repeat until you have exfoliated everywhere and the shaker is empty.

  4. Run the water again to rinse off.

  5. Dry off as usual.

Not only are you exfoliating and moisturising in one go, you are also saving water and sharing a bit of sustainable love for the planet (as well as your utilities bill).

How can that be anything but win-win?

Do Tell

Are you curious enough to give this a try? Please drop a comment and share your thoughts.

PS. The book below is what I was working on when the shower shaker idea came to me.

How to Make an Ivy Leaf Hair Cleanser

Lise

Pictured above: an all natural sudsy liquid that will cleanse your hair and scalp beautifully.

You've probably seen this plant many times and in many places: parks, gardens, fields, forests, and urban areas.

I seem to remember hearing it referred to as 'the architects comfort' somewhere. Perhaps this is because it seems to grow just about anywhere (like, up brick walls) and adds a touch of green and a cozy atmosphere wherever it grows.

While it is both decorative and hardy, Hedera helix - otherwise known as Common ivy – is also a very useful plant for cleansing due to its natural content of saponins. (The word saponin comes from Latin: sapo means soap).

Ivy leaves can be transformed into an all natural cleanser for numerous things: dishes, laundry, and even your scalp and hair.

There is a slight difference in the method for making laundry and dishwashing liquid (which is more concentrated) as compared to a scalp and hair cleanser.

Today, I'm going to show you how to make your own hair and scalp cleanser with nothing more than a few freshly picked ivy leaves and some water.

Did someone say sustainable, planet-friendly effective hair and scalp magic?

Ivy Leaf Picking Tips

  • Select leaves that are growing up (and not along the ground)

  • Select healthy looking leaves

  • If you are picking leaves from someone’s garden, remember to ask first

  • Bring a small scissors to cut the leaves instead of tearing them off

Batch Size

I usually make a liter at a time (to last about a week), but feel free to make a smaller batch (which will also allow you to leave out the preservative and use regular tap water instead of distilled water)

For a 1 liter batch, you'll need:

  1. Handful of fresh-picked ivy leaves (enough to fill about a third of a container that holds 1 liter)

  2. Demineralised water

  3. Broad spectrum preservative

For a use-the-same-day batch, you'll need

  1. Small handful of ivy leaves (enough to fill about half of a container that holds 200 ml / 16,7 fl oz)

  2. Tap water

Method

  1. Inspect leaves and discard any unhealthy looking specimens.

  2. Place leaves in container (do not pack them tightly, just drop the whole leaves into the container)

  3. Boil water

  4. Pour freshly boiled water over leaves

  5. Cover container and allow to steep until the liquid reaches room temperature

  6. Strain (and use same day if you made a single use portion). Otherwise continue with the next 6 steps below.

If you are making 1 liter:

  1. Weigh the strained liquid

  2. Weigh out appropriate amount of preservative and add to liquid.

  3. Stir to thoroughly incorporate

  4. Check pH (this infusion measured pH 6.0)

  5. Adjust pH if necessary (I generally add a splash of herb-infused vinegar to function both as pH adjuster and hair-shine booster)

  6. Bottle

I used phenonip as the preservative for this 1 liter batch.

How To Use the Ivy Leaf Hair Cleanser

  1. Enter shower

  2. Wet hair

  3. Apply about 100 ml of liquid (for short fine hair -- you may need more if your hair is longer/thicker)

  4. Massage scalp and hair lightly (as you would if you were using a shampoo).

  5. Allow the liquid to sit in hair for about 4-5 minutes (while you finish showering)

  6. Rinse hair

  7. Do a 'squeak test' on your hair. If it doesn't feel clean enough, repeat steps 2 and 3.

  8. Dry and set as usual

No Lather I Gather?

We’ve been taught for generations to equate lather with cleansing, but it is possible to cleanse thoroughly and completely without any lather or sudsing action.

This cleanser may foam up beautifully when you shake the bottle, but it goes on like water and rinses off like water.

Doing a squeak test will reveal that it really cleanses your hair. I’ve experimented a bit with how much it can handle, and can attest that this latherless cleanser even removes my pre-poo hair oil treatment with a mere 2 applications. The secret to optimal cleansing action is letting the liquid sit on the scalp for about 4-5 minutes after massaging and before rinsing off.

Enjoy!

Do Tell

If you decide to give this cleanser a try, I’d love to hear your feedback!

Find More Information

About Saponin Synthesis and Function (LINK)

Saponins and flavonoids in Ivy Leaf extracts (LINK)

Saponin content of ivy leaves (LINK)

Triterpenoid biosynthesis and engineering in plants (LINK)


If you prefer lather in your hair cleanser, then maybe the book below is for you.

Rosy Salt for Shower Shakers

Lise

There doesn’t seem to be any limit to what you can use rose petals for.

Pictured: my latest addition to my current summer-themed shower shaker: Ground (dried) wildcrafted rose petals mixed with salt. It doesn’t even take a lot of rose to bring about this gorgeous pink color.

This perfectly pink ingredient could in effect be used solo as a body scrub, or add additional ingredients to make a more sophisticated scrub with botanical powders and a combination of salts.

It would also work well as the basis for a classic exfoliating body scrub in a fragrant oil base – packaged up with a little spoon.

Replace the salt with sugar and you have an equally fabulous ingredient that could either be used to bake cookies, or used as a sweet rose lip scrub, or a luxurious rose body scrub.

Do Tell

Do you use dried rose petals in your skincare products? What is your favorite way of using them?

Psst: The book below uses loads of different botanicals for bath products.

Hair Rinse with Fresh Herbs

Lise

Here’s a peek at an infusion about to happen that is going to become a quick and easy hair rinse featuring a few fabulously fresh herbs. Nettle and horsetail are both great herbs for haircare, and the cleavers made its way into the pot because it just jumped straight up into my basket while I was out collecting herbs.

Working with fresh herbs this way is a real summer treat and easy to incorporate into a daily routine if you have access to fresh plants. Happily, I live near a park and also have generous neighbors with fabulous gardens.

These are so easy to make and can be varied according to which herbs you can source, what’s in season, and what you like!

Pick only what you need for a smallish pot of tea (about half a liter). If you don’t want to add preservative to the hair rinse, only make enough for a day or 2 and remember to store the liquid chilled.

Here’s how I made this hair rinse

  1. Place selected fresh botanicals in heat-tolerant container

  2. Pour freshly boiled water over the herbs

  3. Allow to steep for 10-20 minutes

  4. Strain

  5. Add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

  6. Bottle

Use as a final rinse for the hair. Simply pour a generous amount through the hair after washing - or even without washing first.

Enjoy!

PS: a fresh herb hair rinse is a perfect after shampooing with your own solid shampoo bars. The book below shows you how to make your own.