A fond farewell, and a brief lesson in soap making

It's time to say goodbye to one of our favorites: Bamboo Lotus soap. This wasn't our choice, and honestly, the decision wasn't a hard one because there's no other option.

We'd hoped to offer you the last of our Bamboo Lotus soap with a fond farewell, however, soap has been flying off our shelves at an unprecedented rate (looking at you, Creosote. Didn't I just make you???), and the last of it has already found its new home.

Soap making can be a fickle thing. Sometimes if the stars aren't aligned just so, or if the soap Gods are feeling especially curmudgeonly, the best laid plans dissolve. This time though, it's neither of those things. Fragrance makers will occasionally change up their formula, without warning or explanation, and that formula is no longer suitable for cold process soap making--the process we use. One of the components in our Bamboo Lotus blend recently went through this change, much to our horror.

Here's a brief lesson in soap making: some ingredients used in soap, often fragrances or essential oils, cause soap to behave very badly. This can look like hard lumps in an otherwise silky batter, called "ricing". Or, when the fragrance is added, the beautiful liquid batter turns solid almost immediately. This is called acceleration, seizing, or soap-on-a-stick.

As a seasoned maker, I can usually work around these difficulties, and have a few tricks up my sleeve. But not this time. I've tried every known trick, and some creative solutions, but to no avail. Bamboo Lotus soap is officially retired. Our candles, lotions, and body butters are still available, they've been unaffected by this change.

All that being said, this leaves a hole in our soap line, and we want to replace it with something just as great. Fielding suggestions now! If you have any ideas, drop us a note, and we'll keep you posted.