Giving thanks to all of our customers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, blog subscribers and readers, family and friends. You're the best! Thank you for your support, friendship, comments and suggestions.

This is a very exciting time at You Scent Me. Our blog is steadily gaining new followers. At one point the view rate was up by as much as 200%! In other exciting news, we received our first recommendation at LinkedIn.

We now have over 600 followers on Twitter! We've received a few Follow Friday recommendations. According to WeFollow, we are ranked #15 as the most influential soapmaker on Twitter!

As you can see, there's so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Wishing you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

Glad I Didn't Throw Out My Old Thermometer

Yesterday I made a batch of CPHP (crock pot hot process) soap. The flashpoint of the fragrance I was going to scent the batch with was 200ºF. I pointed my laser thermometer at the soap as soon as it had finished cooking. It gave a reading of 160º. That didn't look right. I wondered how soap that hadn't had a chance to cool, already be below the fragrance flashpoint? I took out my old thermometer which has a probe, stuck it into the soap, and sure enough, it gave me a reading of over 200º!

Another soaping lesson learned. What has been your biggest lesson learned?

Soapmaking Timesavers

I’m a klutz. No matter how hard I try to line a soap mold, I can never get it right. I watched the videos on You Tube. I read the tutorials. I was still mold lining challenged. That’s why I was thrilled when Wholesale Supplies Plus came out with their silicone loaf mold. No more lining molds! I tend to make small batches (2 lbs; this way if a batch doesn’t come out right, I haven’t wasted too much precious soapmaking and fragrance oils), so this loaf is a perfect size for me. Best of all, it’s affordable -- $13.95.

My newest soapmaking timesaving gadget is one I learned from watching Anne-Marie Faiola’s Learn to Make Cold Process Soap DVD. In the DVD, Anne-Marie uses a laser thermometer to measure the temperatures of her oils and lye solution. The laser thermometer is a great soapmaking tool on so many levels. It’s a great timesaver in that since you don’t put the thermometer in either the soap pot or the lye solution, that’s one less item that needs cleaning! It’s great for those of us with vision problems who have a hard time reading those tiny lines & teeny numbers on traditional thermometers. (In the past, I got around that by using digital thermometers.) With the laser thermometer I like that I no longer have to put my thermometer in the soap pot or lye solution and wait for my digital thermometer to get a reading. As I said before, I’m a klutz. With my new "toy" I no longer have to worry about dropping the thermometer into the soap pot or lye solution. Laser thermometers can be quite expensive. eBay often has good deals. I got mine there for under $20, including shipping.

Got a soapmaking timesaver tip you'd like to share? Click on the word "comments" underneath this post.

What's Your Soap?

The laws surrounding soap labeling can be confusing. Soap can fall into three catagories 1) soap 2) cosmetic 3) drug

The United States Food and Drug Administration defines soap as
• The bulk of the nonvolatile matter in the product consists of an alkali salt of fatty acids and the product's detergent properties are due to the alkali-fatty acid compounds, and
• The product is labeled, sold, and represented solely as soap [21 CFR 701.20].
(Source: US Food and Drug Administration)

If a soap makes no other claims than its intended purpose, as a cleanser, then the soap is not a cosmetic under FDA guidelines and is not subject to cosmetic labeling laws.

Let’s say a manufacturer makes claims that a soap is moisturizing. Then the soap is regulated as a cosmetic and is subject to cosmetic labeling laws. It would have to be labeled with ingredients listed in International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients format (aka INCI). INCI is a system of naming cosmetic ingredients based on scientific names and other Latin and English words.

If a manufacturer makes claims that their soap will cure, prevent or treat disease (e.g. a soap that claims it treats eczema), then that soap is regulated as a drug.

If a soap is made of detergent(s), the FDA no longer classifies the product as soap, but rather as a cosmetic. Most “melt and pour” soaps would fall into this category. Cosmetic labeling laws would apply.

To avoid confusion, many handmade soapmakers list the ingredients in their soaps. It allows consumers to know exactly what is in their soap.

Look for the Label

I was on the phone the other day with a customer. She was interested in a particular fragrance and was looking for a local vendor so she could avoid high shipping charges. She joked that I should be ready for lots of business as she has a lot of co-workers. I joked back that I had to check if I had enough labels. She told me that it was okay, she’d buy the products without labels. I told her that I couldn’t sell her products without labels – it’s the law.

Cosmetic manufacturers must label their products. The label must include
1) the identity of the product - what the product is (e.g. body wash, lotion, scrub)
2) name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor
3) how much of the product is in the container. If the product is liquid, the label must show the net weight of the product in both fluid ounces and milliliters. If a product is non-liquid, the label must show the net weight of the product in both ounces and grams.
4) an ingredient list - The ingredients must be declared in descending order of predominance. The ingredient list should show the common name of the ingredient as well as the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) name. (e.g. cocoa butter, a common ingredient in cosmetics, would be listed as Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter)
Source: United States Food and Drug Administration website

(Note: Soap is sometimes exempt from these rules. We’ll discuss that further in a future blog post.)

My customer was surprised to learn about this information. While we were on the phone, she looked at a bottle of perfume she had recently purchased. Armed with this new knowledge, she was shocked that the only information on the label was the name of the company and the name of the fragrance.

Want more info on cosmetic labeling regulations? Check out the FDA's Labeling Regulations Applicable to Cosmetics.

New Fragrances at You Scent Me

Three new fragrances have been added to You Scent Me's lineup:

Energy - A FABULOUS blend of citrus including Grapefruit, Lemon and Lime, with hints of fresh Cucumber and Jasmine, and a touch of Pineapple, Blackberry and Champagne.

Lavender - a classic

Squeaky Clean - A clean unisex fragrance that smells like you just stepped out of the shower.

Self Renewal

I can't believe that summer's over. In New York City, it barely felt like we had a summer this year. It rained so much people joked about building arks. Temperatures didn't reach into the 90's until the middle of August.

Like many in the United States, we've been effected by the poor economy. Instead of a week's vacation, we opted for a more economical getaway, a couple of days at the Jersey Shore. While it was great to get away, I didn't think the mini-vacation was anything that special. That is until we got home. I couldn't believe how relaxed I felt! I'm not talking "light some candles and take a hot bath" relaxed. I felt like Oprah when she talks about renewal of spirit, lol. My brain wasn't racing its usual 1000 miles an hour thinking of all the things I had to put on my "to-do list." I knew this feeling wasn't going to last very long, but I was going to savor every second of it!

What do you do to renew yourself? Is there a special place you go? Share your tips by clicking on "comments" right underneath this post.