i.e., The Unfortunate Failures
Most experiments don’t lead to immediate success — but there’s always a whole lot of leftovers.
Learning how to make soap only from Early English publications has been a fascinating journey in learning just how many ways I can take expensive ingredients and turn them into desiccated lumps of spicy lather-fails.
The process of experimentation means I end up with a lot of finished soaps — or “wash balls” — that either don’t line up with the historical descriptions or are laughably weird. And while I can learn a lot by using these test versions myself, I do eventually need to have my shelving back.
Interested in helping me clear out my storage and get tangible evidence that failure is one of the weird joys of this research? I typically sell these individual fail balls (and the ingredient list associated with each) for $1 each, random selection; contact me if interested in a larger number and/or a shipping estimate.
Want to learn more about my experiments? You can find my ongoing write-ups here: Regarding soap.
Historically “Inaccurate” (and related safety warnings)
While I have a lot of fun recreating these recipes and I hope you enjoy them as well, here are some important reminders:
- Some historical ingredients are poisonous, difficult to source, or actually illegal to source, so most products I develop aren’t fully historically “accurate.” If I can’t omit the ingredient or find a reasonable alternative, I won’t be selling it.
- These products are created for entertainment and educational purposes only, in small batches in my studio and kitchen (and, therefore, under non-sterile-factory conditions where cross-contamination is possible). The safety of these products has not been determined; I self-test everything I sell, and I don’t sell things I don’t love, but keep your own safety in mind first.
- Because I’m trying to recreate recipes that may need to have adjustments to processes or ingredients for safety reasons (or because I’m trying to work out how to actually follow the directions I find), everything I make here has to be considered, baseline, historically inaccurate. Don’t rely solely on my ingredients lists as a historical source; if you have any questions or want to dig into what I may have changed, feel free to drop me a line!
Katherine Crighton 