Interview with Brooke @ villainess.net

Welcome to our first exclusive intereview with Brooke of villainess.net, maker of Wicked Bath Products. She makes a gorgeous selection of soaps and other bath stuff “for the bombshell deep inside every villainess.” =)

TSGM: Hello Brooke! Thank you for granting us the chance to learn about soaps and how you came up with your own bath product line. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hobbies? Interests?

Brooke: Heh, I’m interested in… Soap! Ok, so that’s not the only thing on my mind (although sometimes, it does seem to demand all my attention). I’m actually a writer first. I’ve been a big book nerd since kindergarten (man, you should totally see my “library,” the physical size is overwhelming sometimes), and spent some time majoring in English before I started soaping. I’m really pleased with this entrepeneurial trend in my soapmaking because it lets me do creative enjoyable work while my writing simmers in the background. I’d like to move into editing and publishing someday, but for now I’m enjoying hanging around the fringes of the zine scene. The DIY ethic of these independently published lo-fi volumes really appeals to me because it cuts to the heart of the writing and the message without getting tangled in the red tape and politics of a large publishing house.

My other interests have a simliar independent leaning. I’ve started container gardening this summer, and I’d like to dabble in aromatherapy. I do all my own webdesign (though I pull my brother in on graphics
sometimes), and I’m growing increasingly fond of webstandards. The idea of designing such that your site fluidly adapts to any browser - the total accessiblity concept really appeals to me. I used to listen to the
Smashing Pumpkins relentlessly - I had nearly every release available (there were just a couple singles from Japan I was missing), but these days I’m listening to a slightly more mellow mix of stuff like Edith Piaf, Tom Waits and a smattering of Big Band themes.

TSGM: What led you to create your own brand of soap and bath products?

Brooke: Well, I started soaping because my brother got me this neato how-to book. He figured it was something I’d find interesting at least, and I found it absolutely fascinating. Once I realised that you could design a bar of soap to exactly meet your needs, it could be exactly what you wanted without having to compromise on fragrance or quality… The creative potential totally inspired me, and after a month or two of reading my imagination was just overflowing with ideas for “alternative” type bath products. Urban
Decay, Manic Panic, and Hard Candy amongst others have proven that not everyone’s looking for delicate-girly cosmetics. I figure it’s high time that a bath line meet that same need.

TSGM: On your site, I read the terms “ova-lacto vegetarian” and “vegan”. What exactly do they mean?

Brooke: Ova-lacto refers to eggs and milk. So, ova-lacto vegetarians don’t eat meat, but still have omelets and ice cream. Most of the vegetarians you encounter are ova-lacto vegetarians (just don’t let anyone muching on fish and chicken try and tell you they’re vegetarian). Vegan means absolutely no animal products. It’s the logical progression from ova-lacto vegetarianism, just a bit more hardcore. Vegans won’t consume or use anything that exploits animals. This includes wool from sheep, wax and honey from bees, eggs, milk, gelatin (derived from bones and hooves), leather and a handful of other products. Veganism is sometimes
inconvenient since our society has thoroughly integrated animal products.

But when it comes to soap, there are so many nutritive vegetable oil alternatives that there’s just no reason to still use lard (pork fat) or tallow (beef fat).

TSGM: That’s so interesting. What kind of ingredients do you use?

Brooke: It’s funny because sometimes when I’m whipping up a particularly yummy batch of soap, I’m struck by how absolutely edible most of my ingredients are. All the soaps start with a blend of vegetable oils and sodium hydroxide - this is what makes the actual “soap”, that cleans away dirt and lathers all fluffy and fun. After that, anything goes! My favourites are the ones that have melted chocolate, or smooth cucumber puree. Ooh, and the ground almonds and oatmeal. And then there’s lemon zest, fresh ginger, coffee, green tea, calendula blooms… I could go on, but I’m starting to get hungry!

TSGM: I agree! That sounds yummy and very wholesome. Where do you make them? In the kitchen?

Brooke: Yep, right there in the family kitchen. My favourite time to soap is in the afternoon when no one’s in my way (family pets all underfoot, brother graffiti-ing my soap notebook, no one leaning over the soap pot “Is that trace?”). Then I’ve got access to the sink to rinse out my containers, and big wide counters to spread out my molds and ingredients. Of course, I make sure to cover up the counters first (dude, if I managed to permanently damage my mom’s counters…).

TSGM: No, you woulddn’t want to do that! How long does it take to make one bar of soap?

Brooke: Let’s see… I can make a batch in about an hour. And then it takes 24 hours in the mold before I can cut it. And then, it needs to cure for about 3 weeks. Curing let’s all the excess water evaporate, so you’ve got a hard long-lasting bar of soap. So, figure it takes 3 weeks and a day to make a bar.

TSGM: For those with sensitive skin, are there any chemical dyes in your soaps?

Brooke: Nope! I’m not terribly hung up on colour for soaps. Which is odd considering that colour is high priority everywhere else in my life - everything from toothbrush to toenails and undies gets carefully colour coordinated (deep red if possible). But when it comes to soaps, I’m happy to settle for “earthy” colours because chemical dyes kinda freak me out. Heh. The FD&C (food, drug and cosmetic) dyes available to
soapers are the very same super-colours they use to turn red ketchup a vibrant shade of purple, chocolate syrup into Hulk green, and yellow butter a nice bright blue. I figure if these dyes can do that sort of damage to the colour wheel… Then no way is that something I’m eating. Or lathering into my skin. My soaps are loaded with botanicals, clays and minerals for their various healing properties anyways, and these almost always lend some colour.

TSGM: Yes, the dyes do sound rather yucky. Do you list the ingredients on each product for people
with allergies or the just curious?

Brooke: I list all ingredients, all the time. I’m a big fan of full-disclosure and public information acts. I’ve been a label reader since I was 14, because I can’t eat dairy products, and won’t use caffeine, aspartame, saccharin or gelatin. It’s incredibly frustrating to eye a potential purchase and just wonder if it’s loaded with
caffeine or animal products, because there’s no ingredient listing. People should know what kind of
products they’re using, right?

TSGM: Absolutely! I applaud your listing the ingredients and putting so much thought into your products. With that in mind, what is your philosophy behind Villainess bath products?

Brooke: You know, I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about that. I guess I’d say, the whole idea is that healthy wholesome bath products, don’t have to be earthy, herbal or plain. I’ve spent a lot of time in health-food stores, looking for specialty foods for my sorta-vegan diet, or prowling for soaps, shampoos and cosmetics that didn’t irritate my skin. And, I’m a suburban gal. I like golf-course lawns, shopping at Target, and SUVs. Burlap, honey, and earthshoes do nothing for me. So even if I found a health-food store
product that didn’t leave my skin dry and itchy, it wasn’t neccessarily a fragrance I really wanted. Or, it wouldn’t lather like my favourite (but drying) body washes. So yeah, my philosophy is that you really can have it all. All the glitz and glam and non-toxic goodness.

TSGM: Brooke, you are one talented lady! We wish to thank you for your time and for granting us this
interview.

Hey girls, if you’d like to know more and try out these yummy bath products for yourself, go visit Villainess.net. Try these tempting pages: Luxury Suds, Bath Basics, Scrub ‘n Smooth, Bath Bombs, and Steals & Deals. If you’d like to write to the “soaper” herself, send her an email.