Abigail Tyrrell on Creating Spell Soaps
I, Abi Tyrrell, queen of all things Plus Size Lingerie, recently moved home. Like many others, had the joy of discovering the previous owners lied about everything and the house was falling down around my ears. So, for the first 10 months I had been in a building site with no place to sew or workshop.
While not being able to sew (or expose my expensive fabrics, satins, silks to a building site. I though hard about what I could make in my kitchen, the first area to be rebuilt.
And SPELL SOAPS was born! Question time!
OK. Why are these feckers so expensive when you can get a scented soap bar off Etsy for £2.50?
As an Aromatherapist (FHT), I use only therapeutic grade essential oils. No chemical copies ever! This is the real deal, making these ingredients more potent, longer lasting and way more effective as a treatment. Plus mot chemical copies cause alerigic reactions. Many people claim to be allergic to lavender because its a chemical copy in their laundry detergent but its most often because its a copy, not a real essence. Beware of with “scents of” – means yep, copy.
What’s the difference between a chemical copy and an essential oil?
The answer is Phenotype. The best explaination of phenotype was portrayed in the movie French Kiss. Kevin Klein is trying to demonstrate what makes the difference between good wine and mass produced box wine. So, he has Meg Ryan first taste the wine, then sniff a box with all things that in the land that the grapes grow on. Then taste the wine again. The second time she can taste rosemary and earth and… well watch it for yourself.
Modern chemistry cannot copy a good sunny year in France or a wet one in Norfolk. I know because my ex-husband (PHD Chemist) was employed for a while to try. The problem is everywhere you grow is different. Everyday the weather is different. Farmers use different nutrients, plant different crops next to each other… That cannot be copied which is why when you open a bottle of French lavender essential oil and a man made copy or “scented fragrance” they are wildly different. One will hit you so hard in the olfactory that’ll knock your socks off. The other will make you (or at least me) sneeze and eyes itch. Chemical copies don’t have depth. And they also have NONE of the healing properties.
So purchasing a “good” grade of essential oil costs more to produce. And just like the price of eggs, fluctuates with the markets. I don’t use cheap diluted oils because they just don’t work. The oils alone, before any other ingredient is added, or the packaging, or anything else can be fully half the price of the bar. Not a lot of profit, but one hell-of-a soap.
What’s SLS Free?
SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate ) is a synthetic surfactant that helps boost lather. Unfortunately, many people experience skin irritation or dryness after using products with SLS. Lauryl sulphates are also connected with water pollution. That long lasting lather is very long lasting and requires a lot of counter chemicals to remove from drinking water. The foaming agents also seep into rivers and ground water and then can re-lather or foam and leave scum on the surface of streams and lakes. Its unhealthy for fish, and local wildlife. Also, you wouldn’t want it in your well water either. Which is why I have chosen to use a mild, low lather SLS free crystal soap base that is also biodegradable, 100% Vegetable Base, and Paraben Free.
So, where’s the MAGIC?
Each type of soap has been created with an end effect in mind and based upon the idea of D&D spells. Healing Spell uses all the best antivirals, antibiotics, and anti-fungicides to keep your skin healthy. Perfect after-sun to reduce the effects of a burn. Mana Spell (aka Focus Pocus – no one can agree on the name.) has a blend of concentration enhancers and anti-anxiety oils. Perfect for those days when you fell you just aren’t “with it” or have an exam. When you need a little extra brain power.
As a psychologist (BSc Hons), I’m a great believer in the power of intention and to that there is an Affirmation or “spell” tucked into the wrapping of every soap. Each soap is inscribed with a bind rune in the Viking tradition symbolising the properties to be invoked: protection, healing, confidence, wisdom… One can activate the “spell” by reading the affirmation before your first use of the soap. Or use the affirmation to meditate on how you want to move forward in your day. It’s there as a little ritual to remind yourself self care is OK. That’s it. You make your own magic.