Soapy Hollow

Sugar-based surfactant development gains ground, riding on the success of growing demand for APG
(excerpt from Doris de Guzman’s excellent overview on the future of carbohydrate based surfactants. Read Doris de Guzman’s green chemicals blog for the latest news on green surfactants)

Growing demand for alkyl polyglucoside (APG) – a non-ionic surfactant made from [...]

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the [...]

Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace
December 10, 1815 – November 27, 1852

Contributed by Dr. Betty Toole
Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace, was one of the most picturesque characters in computer history. Augusta Ada Byron was born December 10, 1815 the daughter of the illustrious poet, Lord Byron. Five weeks after Ada was [...]

The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010, (H.R. 5786) passed by the House of Representatives into committee, is starting to look like it is going to be a reality, not in small part due to the lobbying of very large cosmetics concerns who would like the House to stop artisans from competing with them. You can [...]

Contributed by Ruth Esteves at Sirona Springs Handmade Soap.
Soapmakers often get asked about the use of lye in their soap. The fact is that lye (sodium hydroxide) is indeed used to make soap. While in many minds, “lye soap” brings up images of grandmas and washboards and red, red hands, anyone who [...]

Recently a bill has been proposed in Colorado, the ‘Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act‘.  Hearings on the bill begin in March.
The bill would prohibit the sale of “…any personal care product that contains a chemical identified as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity.“  On the face of it, that sounds logical. I mean, who [...]

The final installment of a list and brief definition of commonly used ingredients in cosmetic formulations.