Category Archives: Soap&Week

Soap&Weak

The sea of Tvåla & Tvaga

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
05
July

Fresh salty sea, is there anything more cleansing for the mind? I love the smell of the sea, something that was a challenge to capture and do justice to in soap form. This soap should feel fresh and refreshing in the way that a deep breath along the sea is. In a way, the scent of the sea is also a bit like a delusion or perhaps a wish for what the sea smells like. The Sea came about after a meeting with our fine customer Skärgårdshotellet on Hönö and a wish from them for their own scent to have on their hotel soaps. You can't go to Hönö without being inspired by the sea and I immediately felt that I wanted to create a soap to include in our range that really smelled of the sea. The name Havet immediately felt right when it came to me. So definitely with a safe calm that leaves the viewer in their own imagination about what sea it means. I envision a salty stormy sea, inviting but kindly awe-inspiring at the same time.

The collaboration between us and the Archipelago Hotel on Hönö is something I am very proud of. The fact that the Archipelago Hotel chooses to offer all its customers our genuine handmade soap locally produced in the rooms is something that must be classified as world unique. The hotel is sometimes called the seaweed hotel because of the high presence of seaweed in their kitchen and when I learned that the seaweed used also comes from the islands, it was such a map, the sea should contain seaweed. In addition, the mineral-rich sugar seaweed contributes with fantastic skin care properties and adds an extra note to Havet's scent. The sugar seaweed we and the Archipelago Hotel on Hönö use is harvested by Ten Island Seafarm, a super lovely company we have had the honor of getting to know through this.

It was really fun to create the scent for the Sea and I was challenged to get the right balance. Citrus against herbaceousness balanced by umami and mint. The scent often comes into its own best in the warmth of the shower and is really refreshing. The soap is based on my original recipe consisting of organic oils such as cocoa butter, shea butter and avocado oil. It is created to be really good in the hair as well and is suitable for all hair types. The sea lathers really nicely in salt water so feel free to take the Sea out to sea this summer.

The Sea - A soap for those who love or long for the sea!

Tips, Soap & Weak

Dry skin? Soap & Wash says, -Switch to good soap!

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
09
Tue

We can almost promise it's that simple. What we call bad soap, often the conventional most available, is in the vast majority of cases dehydrated and composed of substances that together really should not even be called soap. The skin is covered by its own fat, sebum, which forms the skin's biome and as long as it is left relatively undisturbed, the skin protects us from attack by viruses and bacteria.

Strong degreasing agents that bad soaps, both solid and liquid, consist of wash away too much of the skin's sebum and leave nothing new. You're left with dry, itchy, sensitive skin that needs lubrication, but often the damage is already done and it doesn't really matter how much you apply. The skin ends up in a bad spiral and is not allowed to recover from the frequent exposure to the bad soap.

By bad soap we mean soap that is not made from saponified oils, but simply consists of highly greasy substances topped with other synthetic harsh chemicals. This kind of soap comes in all forms and is sometimes called shower cream, shower oil or shampoo.

So our tip is that if you feel your skin is out of balance, change your soap! Here we recommend our most mildly cleansing soaps to switch to. Enjoy clean, moisturizing lather!

Read more about the chemistry of soap and what we think bad soap is here.

Soap&Weak

Fabulous, Soap & Wash

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
27
Jan

Fabulous is a given lathery companion to me but the origin is a bit of an unhappy love story. It all started quite a few years ago when my aunt Kerstin was traveling in India and bought me soaps as a gift. What lovely natural soaps, I remember one with narcissus, one with rose and then the soap with a capital T, a sandalwood and vetiver scented piece. Didn't look like much to the world but lathered like the creamiest and the scent that spread in the hot shower is otherworldly. Warmly woody, slightly horny and at the same time gently powdery. I fell in love and knew that this soap will forever be a favorite and difficult, perhaps impossible to be without. After a while I felt it best to order a bunch so I have, but am met on the manufacturer's website that it has been taken out of production. I emailed desperately but there was not a single bar of soap left. My shard I had left at the time was maybe 5mm, you see the situation was getting desperate. The idea of creating the scent and soap myself was not a desire but a must! I labbed for a while, and had my little Indian soap shard as a reference and frantically tested different sandal, cedar and vetiver oils. After a while I was defeated - I couldn't get the scent right. My analysis is that the sandalwood the Indian soap maker used was something that is not available here. I dropped that ball for a while but found my test soaps in a drawer later and was completely amazed. Wow what a scent, it's fabulous I thought and the rest is history!

The scent is quite interestingly built up of damp, slightly resinous vetiver rising alongside dry woody notes of cedarwood atlas. All balanced by amyris wood which provides more of a balance board for the two to stand on, a safe woody foundation. The reason why I was not immediately enamored after my labbing is that vetiver in particular, in soap form, needs some time to bloom and become more mature elegant in the scent. The scent of Fabulös also enters a new dimension in the heat of the water when you lather it, then it comes into its own, I think.

Fabulous is enriched with exclusive rosehip seed oil, an incredibly luxurious nutritious oil that gives luster and vibrancy to the skin. To cream up the lather a little and make the soap suitable for shaving, I have added kaolin clay. This makes the razor or knife glide perfectly and also makes the lather transportable so that it can really be shaved with. The fact that Fabulös is really oily and feels extra moisturizing is thanks to the combination of my original recipe consisting of lovely organic oils and rosehip seed oil.

Lather and enjoy! /Anna, soap maker

Christmas, Tips, Soap&Weather

Soap & Soap's Christmas gift tips

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
28
Nov

The most wonderful time of the year is here, and it's time to start thinking about what to give as a Christmas present to your loved ones. We at Soap & Wash are completely convinced that soap is the Christmas gift of the year every year, it can never go wrong with something that: everyone needs, is a good environmental choice and gives many moments of everyday luxury. We in the soap gang have collected our best Christmas gift tips here. Have a merry and fluffy Christmas and don't forget your present for yourself! If you can't find the products in our online store, just email butiken@tvalaochtvaga.se or write to us on DM over Instagram and we will help you.

Castelbel - Gentlemens club "My Christmas gift tip is the gold soap from Castelbel - Gentlemens club with a lovely scent of mint and moss. This luxurious soap offers a creamy lather that contains a 24k fine gold powder. I absolutely love this gold shimmering soap that will have the Christmas spirit sprinkled with gold lather. So all the gentlemen out there please share this gold nugget with us ladies. Merry soldery Christmas!" - Ann

Wonderful
"Lovely! The cardamom always makes me feel happy & energized. To me it really smells like Christmas!
The scratchy soap warms up in the shower and the almond oil moisturizes the skin after a
long day out in the cold."- Charlotte

Prima Bi & Flors Honey
"A wonderful soap with a scent of lavender that fills the whole bathroom with a luxurious
spa feeling. Prima Bi is really smooth & cozy with its large amount of beeswax & honey.
The honey used in the soap, from Flor's farm on Gotland, we also have in the store.
Fantastically good in tea or yogurt!"- Ronja

Kanu bath salt & bath oil
"I get incredibly cold during the winter months and therefore love to take a bath that warms, helps you unwind and softens tense muscles. The combination of bath salts & bath oil from Kanu gives a bath that both moisturizes the skin deeply & exfoliates dead skin cells. The oil really lingers on the body after the bath which I love in dry winter days. To more easily navigate the scents, I recommend using the scent 'Lavender' for a herbal calm, the scent 'Green Tea' for the home spa feeling & the scent 'Rose' for a romanticization of everyday life."- Angelica

Skina
"My Christmas gift tip for you soap people is Skina, our self-made dishwashing detergent in solid form.
I love washing dishes with Skina as the lather becomes so lovely, creamy & fluffy. It has
such a lovely scent of black pepper, grape & rosemary. In addition, it is gentle on your
skin & the environment. The best part is that you can also use it to wash clothes & for
all-purpose cleaning. A great tip with Skina is to wash your sneakers with the soap - I can
promise you that they will be like new!" - Johanna

Shampoo soap - Starter kit
"My Christmas gift tip is to give a starter kit for washing your hair with soap! There are many who
are curious & want to test so perfect to give as a Christmas gift. An experience & also good for
the environment! I am very fond of Anna's Eco's balm cake so such is given, just
grape & argan is my favorite. As a shampoo soap, I recommend Ekendahl's shaving clay, it is so wonderfully lathering, volumizing & suitable for all hair types. As an alternative to it, I recommend our own Fantastic, a real favorite both for the hair & the whole body."- Anna

Soap&Weak

Soap & Wash's Golden Rapeseed - A soap made from Swedish rapeseed oil

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
28
Oct

Golden, nutty smelling and silky smooth - cold pressed organic rapeseed oil is something out of the ordinary and I knew as soon as I came across a bottle that I had to make a soap made from 100% Swedish rapeseed oil. The thought that we have such a perfect beautiful oil completely produced in Sweden but no historical or contemporary production of soap on the oil, could not be released. The world needs an ecologically pure rapeseed oil soap, so now Tvåla & Tvaga puts rapeseed oil soap on the map.

The road to launching Gyllene raps has been long, fun and sometimes bumpy. It all began when I started making handmade soap ten years ago and when I started experimenting with different oils. What a plethora, what a range of quality and how different the soap becomes depending on the oil! This is still something that fascinates me enormously, how different oils and fats can make such different effects in soap. In my original recipe, I chose to add a lot of rapeseed oil, partly for roundness in scent and for softness to the lather. I found Bärby Östergård's claim-labeled rapeseed oil in an organic food store near Tvåla & Tvaga in Haga, where I also made the soap. At first, my production was very small, but soon I needed to turn directly to Bärby Östergård to buy larger quantities. Bärby Östergård is run by Bengt and Inger and the farm, which has been in Inger's family since the 1600s, is beautifully situated in Bohuslän. The couple's passion for the sustainable and authentic really permeates everything and Bärby Östergård's rapeseed oil production is now one of the country's few KRAV-labeled rapeseed oil producers. I was immediately captivated by Bengt and Inger's commitment, love and drive and began to really understand what a huge difference there can be in rapeseed oil, in how the rapeseed is grown and pressed. Rapeseed has been cultivated in Europe since the 14th century but has mostly been used over the years as animal feed and lamp oil. The non-organic version contains high levels of the toxic erucic acid and my understanding is that it has dragged down the reputation of rapeseed oil and that it is still hanging on today. But the fact is that the organically grown rapeseed and its oil is absolutely fantastic both as food and in skin care, packed with essential fatty acids.

I decided to make a pure rapeseed oil soap on 100% Bengt and Inger's rapeseed oil started working in 2014. At the time, no one made a similar soap, which was puzzling to me until I started test soldering and using the soap, -it becomes incredibly soft and slimy, almost difficult to use.

The project was put aside and so were my test batches of soap. After moving to the soap factory in Kronhusbodarna in 2017, I found a piece of pure rapeseed oil soap from 2016, slightly yellowed but still wonderfully fragrant. Those in the know know, but if you fall over a piece of soap, it must be tested. There is a strong force that governs that operation, surely a law of nature. My goodness, what a soap, creamy yet fluffy lather, lovely scent and nice feeling on the skin, -this really brought out the skin care properties of rapeseed oil. Even looser and softer, but still very pleasant to use. The code was cracked and soap made from rapeseed oil needs and benefits from storage, longer than usual. Thinking immediately of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean olive oil soap making, the fact is that rapeseed oil and olive oil have a lot in common. The fatty acid composition of the oils is similar and therefore soap made from the oils is also similar, and it has long been known that olive oil soap benefits from storage. I think it's time to refine rapeseed oil and create a soap to be proud of, in the same way that man has done for thousands of years with olive oil. A dizzying thought, but who knows what the history books say about the Nordic rapeseed oil soap in 4000?

In March 2022, my soapmaking colleague Charlotte and I started the production of Gyllene Raps and my assessment is that at least 6 months of storage does the trick. We have followed the soap's lather development and storage process month by month and it is with great pride that I can now offer the world a pure Swedish rapeseed oil soap. It is a little softer than our other soaps, does not lather the most but with the right soap dish and will it becomes a favorite for the whole body. For me, Gyllene Raps is much more than a piece of cleansing soap, it stands for simplicity in a really difficult question of sustainability. Just being able to have direct contact with those who process a crop into oil that we can process into soap is magical and I am convinced that we need to work more like this in everything we do to protect our earth and us as humans.

Lather up and enjoy! /Anna

Soap&Weak

2 years as a soap maker at Tvåla & Tvaga

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
23
Mar

Charlotte has now been working full-time as a soap maker for two years, so we're curious to know how it feels. Here's a little interview with her.

Hi Charlotte, Soapmaker at Tvåla & Tvaga!
2years as a full-time soapmaker, how does it feel? "It feels a bit unreal. Time has gone so fast but at the same time it feels like I've been working on this all the time. I've been a soap lover for many, many years and it's a love that only grows.The second year as a soap maker has in many ways been more fun than the first. You've learned from your rookie mistakes, gotten into the habit and really gotten to know the soapmaking process and it's not at all nerve-wracking to make anymore. Instead, it's easy to go into a focused state and just make soap. It becomes quite meditative and very calming."


How do you become a soap maker? "My love of soap led me to apply for a job at the Haga store when it opened up five years ago. At the time, I was just a hobby soapmaker and had been making my own soap at home for about ten years. Now I got to know soap from all over the world and also Anna's own artisan soaps while working full time as a shop assistant. Then I got pregnant and soon after that Anna did too and when I came back from maternity leave Anna was on maternity leave and I got to try to fill in for her in the soapmaking shop. What a dream! It quickly became the most fun thing I've ever done and it still feels strange to call it a job when you have so much fun every day."


What is the most fun thing at work right now? "When Anna comes up with new recipes that I get to try to make for the first time... To be involved and really test the limits of the soap and make soap in a way that has not been done before."


How long does it take to get a T&T soap from oils to soap on the shelf? "A few hours. And at the same time several weeks. Making the soap itself is just one small step in the whole production line. It takes an hour or so to weigh everything, melt the oils, and measure the fragrance, lye, and overfatting. Mixing the soap batter together and getting it into shape is a snap. It then needs to be saponified for a few days, and then stamped and placed in a tray to mature for a few weeks. The finished soaps are packed into their stylish boxes, then they are ready for the shelf.
What is your favorite raw material? We work with really luxurious raw materials. But as always, the green, silky avocado oil comes first, closely followed by the red rosehip seed oil."


What soap would you recommend to someone who has not tried T&T as their first soap? "Magnificent. It is liked by most people and is suitable for both hair and body. It has a refreshing scent of sweet coriander and fresh lime. The extra shea butter gives a really creamy lather."


What makes a soap a shampoo soap? "Here's a difficult question. Most craft soaps are fine to use on hair. In our own range we usually recommend Magnifik or Fantastisk. They lather well and care for the scalp. Fantastic gives volume and suits a thinner hair, while Magnificent is a little heavier and suits damaged or curly hair. But I like to have both Fabulous and Dreamy in my hair too, so dare to try!"


What is the most common question you are asked by customers in the soapmaking shop? "What a soap is made of. It's always fun to explain and show some of our luxurious ingredients. I've made a tray where you can see ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter, rapeseed oil and avocado oil. It's so cool when a customer understands that it's that good stuff that becomes soap."

Soap&Weak

Soap & Wash's soap maker and CEO, Anna

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
08
mar

Hi Anna, CEO and soap maker at T&T!
You are back more on site and above all back in the soap making after your maternity leave, how does it feel?"Absolutely incredible! Both so fun to be on site again, see my fantastic staff in action and meet you good customers again, oh so fun! Then this with making soap again, so wow! I understand why I got hooked on soap making 10 years ago."

So it's 10 years now since you started Soap & Wash? "Yes exactly! Or at first the company was called Melissa, that's what I bought and needed some time to work out the name T&T, which then felt right from the first moment."

How did you decide to start a soap shop? "I've always wanted to run my own business and in retrospect I can see that I've always been drawn to scent, both in perfume and food. When I moved to Gothenburg from Gotland at the age of 19, I got a job in a shop where we sold soap, skincare and other things. I was quickly fascinated by how many people came to buy soap, and a lot of soap at that. It was the French goose egg soaps we sold then, as now, that were so popular. To become a good salesman, I started testing them and other natural soaps myself. I studied to understand the difference between good and bad soap. Suddenly I got the chance to buy the shop because my boss was going out of business, I said yes and decided to start a pure soap shop filled with natural soaps from all over the world."

If you compare Soap & Wash now with then, what is the biggest difference? "That I've gotten older and have a sick soap collection, haha, no but the biggest difference is the size of the company. Back in 2012, I worked all by myself for 3 months until I hired Ida for a few holidays a month. Now we are a total of 7 employees, located in two premises and I have Charlotte employed as a full-time soap maker. The range is even more specialized and we offer in the Haga store a very, unique very wide range of craft soap. One nice thing, though, is the similarity in my view of my business and of soap. I love to see the company in the bigger picture and have always tried to find new ways and approaches. The love and fascination for real soap is exactly the same. I really can't get enough of good soap and as long as the conventional in my world bad still looms, we have a lot of work ahead."

What are you most proud of when it comes to soap? My original recipe! The base of many of our homemade soaps. A really quite crazy recipe, which if you study soap chemistry a little, should not be so good. But I didn't give up and cracked the code, the result if you ask me is really good soap. Hard and durable, creamy lathering and extremely moisturizing. Then my good soap gang of course, so wonderful people I get the honor to work with. It means a lot!

Liquid soap is still largely dominant in the market, do you think that solid soap will ever again take over? "Absolutely, I am convinced. Anyone who has used a good hand soap knows what a difference in experience it is. Since we live in a time that inspires sustainable choices, the good solid soap is the winner."

Good and bad soap, can you explain the difference?
"Good soap in our world is soap always made from saponified oils and which may retain its natural glycerin created during saponification. This way you get a naturally mild surfactant that can never harm the skin or the environment. Bad soap can take many forms, but the common denominator is that if it is not made from saponified oils and does not contain natural glycerine, it will dry out and be generally unpleasant."

How do you know if a soap is good or bad? "If you really want to make good soap choices, it's great to learn a bit about the INCI language, the international language for ingredients on cosmetic products. Then always look for "sodium" followed by something you know as oil. For example, "sodium olivate" means saponified olive oil."

What is your favorite soap? "Of mine, clearly Dreamy. And then I can't be without an Aleppo soap called Syrian Nights, smelling of musk, saffron and amber. Magical!"

What challenges do you face ahead at Soap & Wash? "If you ignore the horrors we can't influence, it's probably actually a lack of space. The soap factory is actually small for us, but I've decided to work hard there for as long as possible!"

Speaking of the soap factory, how many soaps do you make per year? "This year the goal is at least 20,000, in 2021 Charlotte made 15,000 all by herself. I think that's impressive, especially considering that we make 44 at a time."

Soap&Weak

Soap & Wash's original recipe

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
25
Oct

Magnificent, Lovely, Wonderful, Fantastic, Fabulous and Dreamy are all made with the same base. A recipe that Anna, CEO of Tvåla & Tvaga, developed in 2013 after a year of thinking. The goal was to create a soap that was really oily and moisturizing, held together nicely and consisted of luxurious organic oils. See Anna tell us more here.

Soap&Weak

Soap & Laundry soaps

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
Outside the soap factory in Kronhusbodarna
01
jun

All the soaps we make are organic, palm oil free, vegan and really rich. The customization areas on the page are how our soap maker intended the soap to be used when she created it, but of course all our soaps are suitable for the whole body. Maybe Dreamy will be your favorite in your hair or Fantastic your face wash? Lather and enjoy!

Soap&Weak

Soap & Laundry soap making

Posted on by Anna Stengärd
18
May

Every working day, between 44-528 soaps are produced in the soap factory. We love to keep production small and meticulous so that we can preserve the sense of genuine craftsmanship in each soap. Here you can read how our production works.

First, the oils are measured. If it is our original recipe that is to be manufactured, cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, castor oil and avocado oil are measured. Oils are made up of fatty acids and all the different fatty acids come with different properties for the soap. For example, palmitic acid is the largest component of coconut oil and it is what makes the oil firm in texture and also makes soap made from the oil similar.

Our happy soap makers Charlotte and Anna. Right now, Charlotte is responsible for all production while Anna is on maternity leave.

We work at low temperatures to preserve the goodness of the oils, so slowly the oil base melts until it is homogeneous. While the oils are melting, water and sodium hydroxide are measured out and the lye is mixed. It is then placed in a cold water bath to bring it down in temperature as the chemical reaction generates lots of heat.

Sodium hydroxide is a strong corrosive and should be handled very carefully in its pure form. However, it is a natural chemical and completely biodegradable. Sodium hydroxide is corrosive due to its high pH value, but in the finished soap there is absolutely no corrosive left, everything in the sodium hydroxide is reformatted into soap and glycerin. We use a chemically produced sodium hydroxide to guarantee 100% purity, but the substance can be found and extracted from nature from ash wood, which is how the base for soap was made in the past.

In the meantime, the oil is weighed and the fragrances are measured and mixed. When everything has reached the same temperature, the lye is mixed into the oil base, and immediately soap and glycerine begin to form. We stir and also use a hand blender until the soap mass is formed. Then it's time to add the superfat and fragrance. We use different superfatting agents for different soaps; the oil lubricates and changes the feel of the solder. The fragrances are designed to be enchanting and give a sense of luxury and well-being when used. When the soap mass is ready, it is poured into molds. We have chosen to have molded soaps, and get to work in a different way than if we had made soap loaves. Once the soap mass is in shape, it is packed under blankets to take advantage of the heat generated during the saponification process. The heat is needed for the molecules to really bond with each other and completely change shape into soap and glycerine. The soaps sit there and soak for a couple of days. Then it's out of the mold, stamping and down in the tray for maturation. They are allowed to mature for 4-6 weeks, then they are packed in their stylish packaging, end up on the shelf and then maybe at home with you?

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