Selkie & Henna, a heavenly blend!

This past weekend I had kind of a crazy thought: what would happen if I mixed up my Fire Genasi Herbal Hair Color with Selkie Herbal Detangler rather than just water or chamomile tea? Would it make it easier to rinse? Make it a little less drying? I had roots that needed doing, so it was the perfect time to experiment.

Tsavo was kind enough to photobomb my carefully arrange product picture.

To start, I added 1/4c Selkie and then warm distilled water until I had the mud how I wanted it. The Selkie did seem to make the mud blend up a little easier, and gave it a silky consistency it hadn't had in the past. The aroma didn't change much, but the Selkie did give it more of a woodland herbal smell on top of the smell of chamomile, ginger, and the sweet-hay smell of henna.

 Then put it on the warming burner on the stove to keep it warm. Nearly instant dye release!

And after just a few hours? Wow! Selkie definitely didn't hurt dye release, and if anything, encouraged it! Keep in mind, that Fire Genasi is a more dilute henna blend, so this isn't even 100% henna and it produced dye release like this.

Beautiful custom hair fork by https://www.etsy.com/shop/SiriusHairtoys
Full disclaimer, this picture is old as it was cloudy, but the color turned out the exact same!

I LOVED the results! The Selkie made the mud easier to apply and easier to rinse out. My scalp and hair were less try than they normally were after I henna, and there was no impact to dye uptake. I still got my amazing copper-red color.


This experiment was definitely a success and I'll be continuing to add Selkie Herbal Detangler to my Fire Genasi herbal hair color from here on out. The great thing is that you could add this to any of our Herbal Hair Colors & Conditioners, or even your own henna blend!

Selkie Herbal Detangler Gets an Upgrade!

It's hard to believe that it's almost exactly a year from the day that you, my wonderful customers, made Selkie Herbal Detangler a reality though our Etsy Fund campaign! You raised nearly $1,500 to bring this amazing product to market and also allow me to purchase a much-needed filling machine. It's hard to properly illuminate just how amazing that machine is and how much it's improved the process of filling many, many bottles and pots of salve.

A couple hundred bottles later, I'm happy to call it a success. People really love it!

While everyone unanimously enjoyed how Selkie worked and left their hair feeling amazing, there were some customers who felt like the smell wasn't all it could be. Here's a review that encompasses a sentiment we've heard off an on over the last year:

I took the feedback to heart and made some adjustments to Selkie.  So what did we change?

• Greatly reduced the amount of fenugreek and increased the amount of slippery elm. The main culprit of the scent people thought was a little strange was the fenugreek. The amonut of marshmallow root stayed the same. It's these three ingreduents that give Selkie its slip by virtue of their mucilaginous compounds.  They also naturally soften hair, provide natural plant protein, add shine, and soothe an itchy or dry scalp.
• Rebalanced the ratios of the essential oils. We had a few, though not many, reports of some cats liking Selkie a little too much because of the catnip essential oil. While catnip is still a component of Selkie, we dropped the amount to make it a little less alluring to most niphead cats. We've rebalanced the essential oils overall so while the scent will still be herby and clean, it will be a little less sweet and a little more crisp. 

What DIDN'T we change?

• How amazing Selkie works. While the ingredients were rebalanced, each ingredient listed is still present, making Selkie as effective as it always was! It still is made from: Distilled water, Marshmallow root, slippery elm & fenugreek seed herbal infusion, Aloe vera gel, Apple cider vinegar, Argan Oil, Borage Oil, Camelina Oil, Vitamin E Oil, and the essential oils of Catnip, Cedarwood, Lavender, Lime, Petitgrain, and Sage.
• The sizes. We still offer a 1 oz bottle, an 8 oz bottle, and an 8 oz soft refill pouch. The mister bottles are still amber glass, the soft pouch perfect for saving on shipping.

Thank you Discount

So if you loved how Selkie worked, but weren't totally sold on the smell, I would encourage you to give it another try! As a thank you to all the wonderful customers who provided their sincere, constructive feedback, enjoy 20% off through 7/22/2016 with the discount code

SelkieShine

As always, please let me know what you think!

What are customers saying about Selkie?

Lots and lots of awesome things!  

Longhairs are finding that they get the most use out of the larger bottles, and it both gets out tangles and lets them wear their hair down more.

Others love the scent and the natural ingredients

And it's a hit with both kids and parents alike!

Don't forget you can pick up Selkie in a 1 oz Sample Size, an 8 oz Full Size, and an 8 oz Refill Pouch. 

Selkie Herbal Detangler now in the store for general sale!

At long last, after a crazy and successful Etsy Fund Campaign to fill a sea of bottles, Selkie Herbal Detangler is available in the store!  You've also been so very patient (okay, that's kind of a lie, isn't it?) and I'm so excited to have this for you!

There's three sizes:

The bottles are made of amber glass, making it durable as well as blocking UV rays that would harm the herbal infusion, oils, and essential oils within.

1 oz Sample Bottle

For purchase here, this is a perfect sample for trying out Selkie.  It's also a handy little bottle to tuck in your purse, gym bag, travel suitcase, or diaper bag!  Refill it over and over with our awesome soft refill pouch.

8 oz Full-Sized Bottle

For purchase here, this is a great size to keep in the bathroom.  It's big enough to hold quite a lot of Selkie, but still small enough to fit comfortably in your hand.  Refill it over and over with our awesome soft refill pouch.

8 oz Soft Refill Pouch

For purchase here, this is a great way to make the most out of your amber glass Selkie bottles.  It also weighs nearly half of what the 8 oz glass bottle does, so you save on shipping costs too.  Have your own mister bottle?  Awesome, you can load it right up with this refill.  If you want a Selkie label for your own bottle, just leave a note in the Message to Seller in checkout and we'll include one for free!

Directions

Yes, that's actually my hair in the sun after a good session with Selkie!  You'll love the softness, shine, and of course, lack of tangles!  Also, I discovered how hard is is to take a picture of your own hair while kneeling in a bunch of flowers.

Shake well. Mist Selkie onto either damp or dry hair. Gently detangle first with the fingers, then with a wide-toothed comb, starting at the ends of the hair.

Ingredients

Every ingredient in Selkie is vegan, hand-blended, and certified organic. So what’s in it?

Distilled water, Marshmallow root, slippery elm & fenugreek seed herbal infusion, Aloe vera gel, Apple cider vinegar, Argan Oil, Borage Oil, Camelina Oil, Vitamin E Oil, and the essential oils of Catnip, Cedarwood, Lavender, Lime, Petitgrain, and Sage

• Distilled water– Ensures that Selkie has no mineral buildup and allows for a pH neutral start.
• Marshmallow root, slippery elm & fenugreek seed herbal infusion– These three ingredients give Selkie its slip by virtue of their mucilaginous compounds. They also naturally soften hair, provide natural plant protein, add shine, and sooth an itchy or dry scalp. 
• Aloe vera gel– While well-known for its benefits to skin, this third mucilaginous ingredient provides deep moisturizing effects to the hair and scalp as well. In addition it helps restore pH levels and has both emollient and moisturizing properties, meaning that it smooths the cuticle and attracts and seals in moisture.
• Apple cider vinegar– The mildly acidic nature of this helps balance pH of hair and also helps to remove buildup. ACV encourages the cuticle of the hair to lay closed, making hair shine and tangle less. 
• Argan Oil– Sometimes called “Miracle Oil,” argan oil is extracted from kernels of Argan fruit by crushing. It is swiftly taking the place of other natural oils for hair protection and treatment. Argan oil contains tocopherols (vitamin E), phenols, carotenes, squalene, and fatty acids, making it both light and great for brittle hair.
• Borage Oil– Sometimes known as starflower, borage grows wildly in many parts of the world. Borage oil is extracted from the seeds of the plant, and its essential ingredient has been found to be gamma linolenic acid, commonly known as GLA, which is an essential fatty acid that provides a replenishing effect on the skin and hair, and is able to restore moisture and elasticity where it had previously been lost. 
• Camelina Oil– Known as the “gold of pleasure” to Europeans not long ago. Rich in natural antioxidants, Omega-3 fatty acids, tocopherols, and high in vitamin E content, Camelina oil is truly under appreciated. 
• Vitamin E Oil– Our natural Vitamin E oil is obtained by vacuum distillation of vegetable fats derived from non-GMO soy sources. It prevents rancidity and it acts as an anti-oxidant. This particular Vitamin E oil has been verified and tested GMO-free from crop to finished material. 
• Catnip Essential Oil– A stimulant, catnip can increase blood flow to the scalp, encouraging growth. It’s astringent properties help tighten muscles and skin, helping to reduce shedding in some cases. Catnip is also reputed to assist in reducing split ends. 
• Cedarwood Essential Oil– Excellent for both hair and skin care. It balances oily skin, soothes and helps to heal skin rashes, and reduces oil in hair and skin. 
• Lavender Essential Oil– Enhances hair growth by stimulating the scalp. The name “lavender” is derived from the Latin lavare, meaning, “to wash” and was known as one of the seven polyvalents (effective against many toxins). 
• Lime Essential Oil– A bright scent, lime is antiviral, astringent, and bactericidal. It is at once a cleansing and moisturizing oil, helping with dandruff and scalp buildup. 
• Petitgrain Essential Oil– Made from the leaves and twigs of this amazing tree, it is antiseptic, antispasmodic, a natural deodorant, and nervine. Use in a hair oil will leave hair and scalp fragrant (petitgrain has woody, citrus and floral notes all in one!), while soothing and preventing bacterial and fungal growth.
• Sage Essential Oil– A scalp soother and astringent, the herb is of ancient repute, valued as a culinary and medicinal plant – called herba sacra, ‘sacred herb’, by the Romans.

Ethics

The only animal Selkie was ever tested on was me.

Enjoy Selkie, and I can't wait to hear what you think about it!

Selkie Campaign Orders Shipped and Refill Packs

First thing's first; all Etsy Fund Campaign orders have been shipped!  That was 86 packages going out in two weeks on top of our normal day to day orders.  I'll be getting my lovely postal worker a giftcard for Christmas!  If you haven't received a shipping notice, please let me know.  There were a handful of orders that weren't processed because between the time a pledge was made and the card was charged at the end of the campaign, something was not working (like the expiration date on the card had passed).  Etsy has reached out to these people, but please let me know if they haven't contacted you or if you'd like to arrange for your order yet. 

At the outset of the Selkie campaign one of the things I had promised was that if the campaign did well, we'd look past just Selkie in the 1 ounce and 8 ounce sizes to soft refill pouches.  We smashed past our goal, hitting 250% of what we hoped for, and so I set out to make Selkie refill pouches a reality.

The lovely and amazing HennaSooq helped me get the spout pouches and I had high hopes that the vacuum sealer I used for veggies would work on them.  Well, it did.  For exactly one pouch and then the ancient thing broke. 

I ordered this pronto because I'm starting to fear angry mobs if I don't get Selkie up in the shop in a hurry:

And it works like a dream!  I've made up and labeled several refill pouches.  The only thing left is to take product pictures, edit those, and get the listings up.  I'm hoping tomorrow or Thursday at dead latest.  

The best part is that the refill pouches (which hold 8 ounces of Selkie, and so will refill the big bottle once or the little bottle eight times) weigh HALF of what the glass 8 oz Selkie bottle does!  That makes shipping costs so much more reasonable, while also reducing waste and making that amber bottle go as far as possible. It also means that if you already have a favorite mister, or you're across the pond and don't want to pay to ship a big heavy glass bottle, you can get a refill pack and use a bottle of your choice.  If you'd like a Selkie label to go on your bottle, just let me know and I'll happily include one for free.

But my heat sealer came with an unexpected surprise: the packaging.  It's a thing of wonder and too good not to share.  The font seems to beg for an '80s synth track, the star bullets, the lens flare on the handle (which is not reflective in the least in person), the sentence structure.  Beholed my IMPULSE SEALER for when you NEED to seal something RIGHT NOW! (I'm sure some chastity belt company was very sad that this name was already taken.)

See the green tub behind the sealer?  That's my shipping tote with the orders going out first thing in the morning.  They're all packaged, labeled, have postage, and are all ready to go.

So, bear with me just a little longer.  I promise I'm working my tail off to get Selkie up as soon as I possibly can :)

Selkie Shipping Starts Next Week!

We made three big batches of Selkie last night.  The entire kitchen smelled divine!  The first batch is also bottled, labeled, and ready to go.  We'll start packing orders on Sunday, and will continue to to filter out the Selkie orders with our day to day packing. 

Keep in mind that orders ship on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only!

There's one tiiiiiiiiiiiiiny hangup where the earliest orders aren't allowing me to generate shipping labels through Etsy.  Etsy labels are much, much faster for me to process as I talk about here, and I've already contacted Etsy to see what they can do to re-enable labels on these orders.  Worst-case I do them the old way, but it'll be slower.  I'll keep everyone posted :)

New labels arrive!

Selkie

Our Selkie labels are back from the professional printers! Created on oil and water resistant paper, these will hold up to wet hands and drips. We have all of our materials now, too, so look for an update on Selkie production starting soon!

Moondust

Our Moondust jars and samples had gotten updated labels awhile ago, but the refill bags were still out of date.  The new labels bring all aspects of this product together!

NB Avatar Labels

Back here we'd talked about our new shipping labels and how one of the things I missed was having the logo on them.  We've had circular labels created that match the NightBlooming avatar.  Look to find them on your packages and pinning together the tissue paper wrappings that many of our products come in!

Our filling machine has arrived!

A fairly large and very heavy package arrived late last week!  It looked as though it'd been dropped by air onto our front porch. 

After some unpacking I was tickled to see the results of the Etsy Fund Campaign:

I was surprised that it was as compact as it was, which was perfect.  It's also light enough that I can carry it around by myself, despite the solid metal base. After unpacking, I did some very minor assembly and then went through the process of checking the mechanics and followed the directions for tuning and lubricating the machine.  Testing will come soon, but it's amazing to have the machine here and all set up!