2009 November « GreenVanillaStore's Daily Notes

Archive for November, 2009

How to Read Your Labels: What Is An INCI

UTC03000000Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:53:50 +00005012pm09, · Filed under Consumer Safety Guide, Safe Consumer Guide, The Natural Consumer · Tagged how to read labels, what is inci

What is INCI?

You may notice the letters “INCI” listed under some ingredients. INCI stands for The International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients. It is a system for labeling and declaring ingredients.

The multilingual and multinational labeling requirements implemented by the European Union require a full declaration of ingredients on personal care packaging.

This labeling standard denotes all ingredients according to their Latin (Chemical / Scientific) designation. Those manufacturers following the INCI are therefore required to label their ingredients as specified by the regulatory board.

All companies selling personal care products in Europe and Canada are required by law to list their ingredients according to the INCI. All ingredients are listed by their quantity of presence, greatest to least, in the product.

Due to its full ingredient disclosure policy, the INCI standards strive to allow the consumer to make informed and healthy purchases, helping him/her avoid any ingredients to which he/she may be allergic.

Comments (2) »

Soapmaking Resources On the Net

UTC11000000Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:58:34 +00003404am09, · Filed under Make-Your-Own Cosmetics · Tagged how to make soap, soapmaking tutorials, soapmaking website links

Somebody who claimed to be the first soapmaker in Malaysia (which I think is quite a ridiculous claim!) actually proposed a MYR10k fee to teach my bro-in-law’s students soapmaking and it’s not even on making cold-process soap but melt-n-pour!

I do noticed that there has been an increasing interest in MYO soaps lately here in Malaysia. I was even approached by some customers who want to learn about the process of soapmaking. I’m a big fan of natural soaps and really love the luxurious feel of a good bar of ol’ -fashioned lye soap. Making your own soap is fun and satisfying and the soaps you made from scratch without the addition of SLS or other synthetics are the best luxury you can make for your own self. It’s an affordable hobby and the soaps you make can be given out as gifts to friends and family.

Next year, I’m planning to come up with my own handcrafted range of cold-processed goatsmilk and vanilla-themed soap for GreenVanillaStore.com made with olive oil, shea butter, cocoa butter and fresh goats milk scented primarily with real vanilla. Hopefully I’ll be able to offer these soaps by middle of 2010.

Anyway, for would-be soapmaking enthusiasts, don’t be tricked by anyone who’d charged you an exhorbitant sum of money for teaching kitchen-science. Soapmaking is not exactly rocket-science you know…if you can cook a decent meal, you can make a decent bar of soap . So, if you want to get started with soapmaking, you need to learn/know the basics first. Hope the list below that I’ve compiled for you helps:

SOAPMAKING RESOURCE,TUTORIALS & SUPPLIES - A great site to get started, plenty of STEP-BY-STEP instructions and guide with pictures, tutorials on soapmaking basics, ingredients explanation, plenty of tips and guidance. You can even contact Steve, the site owner if you need any clarification and assistance on soapmaking. Steve is very helpful and won’t charge you $10k for answering your questions To get started check out the site’s links: