New Bubble Bath Soaps

August 23, 2007

Hi,

We're back from another successful weekend at the Leamington Tomato Festival - or should I say, a successful day - since last Sunday was a washout - literally! It feels like it never stopped raining since.

Kim and I started a new line of bubble bath soaps. We hope this line compliments are growing line of bath and body soap. Read more under our "What's New" area...

We also bit the bullet and purchased a Honda "Super Quite" Generator. We found that on cloudy days our purple tent is dark, so you'll now see lights on even if we're in the middle of a field! This new generation of Honda Generators are "Earth Friendly" approved since they run at 1/4 power until something needs juice! Plus, they are rated at 48 decibels (talking loud is around 70 decibels)... I guess if you folks visit and don't notice or hear the generator - then it was the right choice.

Our bath products have been expanded to include a new bubble bath line that will compliment our existing soaps and facial whips. They are a unique and superior designer bubble bath, high concentrated yet we formulated it to be exceptionally mild on your skin! This coconut-based formula is rich in moisturizers and biodegradable. It can be used in the tub for mountains of bubbles or in the shower as a cleaning gel. Plus, when we add our cool line of fragrances, it's aromatherapy for your senses...

If you'd like to take a closer look just click this link:

http://www.yellowbellyfrog.com/store.php?crn=93

All of our soaps are made from a base of glycerin, so we thought a brief lesson into why are soaps are soft on your skin would be valuable...

What is glycerin, really?

Glycerin is a neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid which freezes to a gummy paste and which has a high boiling point. Glycerin can be dissolved into water or alcohol, but not oils. On the other hand, many things will dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into water or alcohol. So it is a good solvent.

Glycerin is also highly "hygroscopic" which means that it absorbs water from the air. Example: if you left a bottle of pure glycerin exposed to air in your kitchen, it would take moisture from the air and eventually, it would become 80 per glycerin and 20 percent water. Folks, that's why we keep telling you to put the soap on a wooded slotted soap dish - so as to NOT absorb moisture from the air...

Because of this hygroscopic quality, when diluted with water, our soaps will soften your skin.

Where does glycerin come from?

Up until 1889, people didn't know how to recover glycerin from the soapmaking process, so commercially produced glycerin mostly came from the candlemaking industry (remember, back then candles were made from animal fats).

In 1889, a viable way to separate the glycerin out of the soap was finally implemented. Since the number one use of glycerin was to make nitroglycerin, which was used to make dynamite, making soap suddenly became a lot more profitable!

The process of removing the glycerin from the soap is fairly complicated. In the most simplest terms: you make soap out of fats and lye. The fats already contain glycerin as part of their chemical makeup (both animal and vegetable fats contain from 7% - 13% glycerin). When the fats and lye interact, soap is formed, and the glycerin is left out as a "byproduct". But, while it's chemically separate, it's still blended into the soap mix.

While a cold process soapmaker would simply pour into the molds at this stage, a commercial soapmaker will add salt. The salt causes the soap to curdle and float to the top. After skimming off the soap, they are left with glycerin (and lots of "impurities" like partially dissolved soap, extra salt, etc.). They then separate the glycerin out by distilling it. Finally, they de-colorize the glycerin by filtering it through charcoal, or by using some other bleaching method.

Glycerin has lots of uses besides being used to make nitroglycerin (note: glycerin is not an explosive substance by itself. It has to be turned into nitroglycerin before it becomes explosive, so it's safe to use our soaps!). Some uses for glycerin include: conserving preserved fruit, as a base for lotions, to prevent freezing in hydraulic jacks, to lubricate molds, in some printing inks, in cake and candy making, and (because it has an antiseptic quality) sometimes to preserve scientific specimens in jars in your high school biology lab.

Glycerin is also used to make clear soaps. Highly glycerinated clear soaps contain about 15% - 20% pure glycerin. Because of their high glycerin content, the soaps are very moisturizing to the skin.

You'll find us in Amherstburg this coming Saturday and Sunday at Art By The River. Hope to see you there. This is always a fun show for us.

Did you know we do custom work? We just finished creating a "Canadian Flag" type soap for a customer that is visiting friends overseas. They thought it a great idea to include handmade gifts from Canada. We were asked to create the flag and of course, used Maple Syrup as the scent. It went over so well, the design might become a permanent part of our family of soaps.

If you ever need custom work - talk to Kim... I can't think of anything that is out of reach for her when it comes to designing soap!

Hope this newsletter reaches all of you in good health!

John Lein
The Yellow Belly Frog Company

Tomato Festival

August 15, 2007

Hope you like the new look of our newsletter! We redesigned it to make it easier for you to find the information you're looking for. Our new look displays the information we want to share with you in specific easy to read categories. Please let us know if you like the new organized look. We've also added a new area called "Back To School" which contains information about the soap making industry and / or information about the ingredients we use when making our soap. Kim and I hope you find the newsletter useful and informative.

We just came back from our show at the Blueberry Festival at the John R. Park Homestead in Harrow. I've never been before and it was a fun experience. We met many of our existing customers there, as well as, made many new friends. We keep hearing from you how great our soaps are on your skin.

Kim and I are in the process of creating and registering a new coffee scented soap. It should be available by early September. This one has been on our "To Do" list for awhile but, we've had trouble finding a good fresh coffee scent. We think you'll like this one (once it's available)...

We also redesigned our "Jonnie Girl" Soap Bar and should have an image up soon. Same great smell, just a new updated look.

What a great thrill we get when other companies want our product! Two more retailers are now carrying our product line. Although these retailers are a few miles away from us, it still a great sign our soaps are getting' around.

If you're in the area check out:

Dick and June's, Inc.
978-828-0111
30 Home Street
Beverly, Massachusetts
01915

and

The Vanilla Scoop
415-740-4268
936 Hogwarts Circle
Petaluma, California
94954

12 retail companies now carry our product line. Don't be surprised if you come across our soaps when on holidays or visiting family in other cities!

We have a new facial whip added to our increasingly popular line called "Coconut Cream". The name really describes the product best. If you've never used our facial whips before, we think you're missing out on a real good facial product. The sugar and jojoba beads work together as a gentle exfoliant and the special soap formula we use will keep your skin soft and fresh.

Since, we were at the Blueberry Festival, Kim thought it a good idea to make a new soap just for the occasion. So if you like blueberries, check out our new Blueberry Soap.

Although, the idea of adding essential oils into soap is not new, since we introduced them a few months back, they have quickly sold out numerous times. If you haven't tried them, make sure to include a bar when you order from us.

All of our facial whips have jojoba beads in them, so we thought it a good idea to share with you what exactly jojoba beads are made from and why we use them.

Jojoba (pronounced ho-ho'ba), is a botanical extract that is not chemically altered, not genetically modified and not tested on animals. Evergreen Jojoba trees are native only to the Sonora Desert of Mexico, Arizona and California. They can grow up to 15 feet in height and have a very long lifespan of 100 to 200 years.

Jojoba is structurally and functionally much different than any other botanical product. Its unique array of pure monounsaturated liquid wax esters, consisting of long chains of fatty acids and alcohols is very unlike the large branched triglyceride molecules of all other seed oils. The extraordinary oxidative stability and non-occlusive moisture control of Jojoba esters provides a highly safe and effective ingredient for skin and hair products.

These gentle exfoliating beads are the perfect alternative to polyethylene beads or ground shell exfoliants which can scratch or irritate the skin.

Come on out to the Leamington Tomato Festival in our hometown - Leamington, Ontario. The show runs from Saturday August 18 and Sunday August 19. We will be there somewhere between 10:00 and 6:00 (I think). You know where to find us - just look for our purple and yellow tent. Don't forget about our sky flags, if you're having trouble finding us...

In closing, keep in mind that you can order from us and not pay for shipping if you select "Hold - Do Not Ship"... This can save a few bucks and all you'll have to do is drive down to Leamington and we'll have the order ready!

Hope this newsletter reaches all of you in good health!

John Lein
The Yellow Belly Frog Company