Natural colorants

One thing I really like experimenting with is color. There are hundreds of man-made colors out there - bright, pastel, anything ... But as you know - here at 7 Elements we just love working with all-natural ingredients instead. So here is what we use:

1. Clays. Clays have wonderful properties and are great for the skin, body and health! And what's not to like about the idea of having the coloring element that actually helps taking care of various skin conditions.


Pictures: Blue and Red Argiletz clays. 

Here is our Lavender soap with blue clay

2. Natural pigments and micas. Very shiny, bright and come in various colors! In cosmetics they are used mainly in mineral make-up to add shimmer and color

 Pictures: Emerald and Copper micas 

3. Kitchen drawer colors. Yes, there is lots of of hidden "spice" in 7 Elemets soaps - like Turmeric powder in Grand Bazaar; cocoa powder in Caramel soap. I always knew there was lots in common between cooking and soap-making! 

This is a very exciting area - studying properties of various spices and plants including them in products formulas in actual form (dried herbs, powdered spices) and as essential oils of course!

 Pictures: Paprika, Turmeric and Cocoa powders

4. Surprising ingredients. 

These are new comers in 7 Elements colors basket. But they are definitely not new in the world of natural skin care! How about some Spirulina - this superfood is as good in soaps as it is in your green smothies! And another dramatically_looking ingredient yet to be tested is Charcoal! 

To be honest, many times I just opt for plain - let the oils, butters and other pretty things decide how the final product is going to look like! 

This is by no means a complete list of natural colorants, just a brief overview, attempt to show that there is always an alternative. "Alternative to what?" You may ask. Well... actually in non-sustainable world it can take lots of chemicals to get a flawless white color or pleasantly looking caramel... I am not even talking about reds and blues... 

So why again should we use something that was created by man to compete with "products" that Mother Nature has been making for thousands of years?! 

Love,

Anya

The Story of Cosmetics

Love this video - simple, clear and at the same time quite inspiring! It goes in line with what I personally believe in and asriring as 7 Elements. An absolute must if you haven't seen it already.

www.storyofcosmetics.org

www.safecosmetics.org

New soaps!!

I know I am not going to get "The Best Blogger" award this year :) To be honest, I've been just focused on my full-time job - Mommyhood :)) and enjoying it too much!

I've been doing small batches of soaps and shampoos, but I am happy to announce that 7 Elements is now officially back! Last week we managed to do some lovely silky shampoo (by "silky" I mean with real silk!), body butters and new amazing soaps!!

Here is my personal favorite as I had lots of fun planing and making it.

It fragranced with natural essential oils - two types of mint - spearmint and peppermint, eucalyptus and lemongrass and packed with oceanic salt. This type of soap is called the SPA soap as salt is well-known for its beauty properties and helps to smooth the skin.

This raw beauty deserves a proper photo-session, for now I just wanted to share a little "preview".

Another newbie - Oatmeal, Milk and Honey

Look at this antcent beauty secret_recipe_soap :)) We used organic honey, organic oats and goats milk powder to create it - only good things for the skin! I also love the notes of bitter almond in it's scent.

Now... the hard part is... to wait!! Both soaps are curing right now, and I just can't wait!