August 2010

Hello and welcome to Karramandi.

My passion for making soap started with the need to find an alternative to sitting in front of the TV watching programs. I did a search on Google for ‘hobbies’ and a sponsored ad said “Learn to Make Your Own Lip Balms”. I was intrigued; I always use lip balm. I clicked on the website and discovered kits for making soap too. I bought both and couldn’t wait for them to arrive.

Four days later the box arrived and with instructions in hand, I melted the ‘Melt & Pour’ soap base in the microwave and poured it into my mold. Ten minutes later I popped the soap out of its mold and ran into the front room to show hubby. He was duly impressed at my effort but told me he wasn’t washing with a strawberry fragranced soap. With that in mind I did the exact same thing with the lemon fragranced soap base.

Next on my list was the lip balm, again I melted the petroleum base in the microwave, poured the mix into pots and hey presto… lip balm!

Having made all the soap and lip balm base into product I was keen to learn more so I signed up to a class run by the supplier which was within easy travelling distance from where I live.

It was a two day course. The first day we were shown the cold process method of making soap but we didn’t get to have a go. Our main focus for the day was Melt & Pour. After making lots of varieties of patterns using various colours and fragrances, I went home completely enthused. The second day was all about different bath products that could be made. Notably bath bombs, bath melts, bath fizzies, sugar scrubs and bath muffins.

After lots more practice I got my soap, lip balm and bath bombs certified as safe for skin as is required in the UK by law and I was on my way.

It wasn’t long before I started making soap the cold process way. I was amazed that by mixing a vegetable oil with a chemical I could make a hard bar of soap which was 100% natural.

Up until this point I’d only used synthetic fragrance oils in my products. I had heard of essential oils but was a bit afraid of using them. I enrolled onto a course and qualified as a therapist (aromatherapy, reflexology and crystal therapy) in 2005. These courses taught me about essential oils, their properties and how to mix them to produce a blend which both smells good but has benefits to skin and health as well. I also learnt about various skin conditions and how essential oils can help psoriasis, acne and eczema. The essential oils aren’t a cure but mixed within the products I was making, they could help to calm some of the symptoms of these conditions. With all the knowledge gained from these courses I set about making products which were natural.

At this time I also started making creams and lotions. When I was 100% satisfied with the products, I had them certified and my business was launched. Since then I’ve had other products certified including vegan lip balm (natural petroleum-free), bath oils and salt scrubs to name a few.

All Karramandi products are suitable for vegetarians. The only time preservatives are used is when a product would be dangerous without. Creams and lotions contain water which, without a preservative, would be a perfect environment for harmful bacteria to grow. With the very small amount of preservative used, this bacteria is eliminated making a product which is safe (as certified by a toxicologist in a laboratory) and kind to skin.  All preservatives used in Karramandi products are paraben-free.

I look forward to being of assistance in the future.

Yvonne Hands MFHT