New Products – Scrub and Soak with Hops!

ser·en·dip·i·ty

/ˌserənˈdipədē/

noun

the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

Here is the back story of the Very Hip Hop Body Scrub and Soak.  This is the beta name and label, I’m taking suggestions, but I thought it was a nice little pun. 

In the later part of June this year, I was struggling to care for my 94 year old mother.  I had put nearly everything on hold to put out the daily fires with her caregiving.  One day I received a phone call and I’m not sure why I made the choice to answer the call since the area code was outside of the 805, but I did.  It turned out to be Jessica from Sow a Heart Farm in Fillmore.  We had a nice conversation about something completely unrelated to this story.  I had never heard of their regenerative farm and I was curious to know more about it since I love farming, food, animals and pretty much anything to do with nature.  During this conversation, which went sideways many times (in a good way), Jessica mentioned that they grew hops. This is the serendipity moment and I’m going to digress a little, you can always skip down to the scrub/soak details below if you wish.

Flash back to the late 70’s, my first “real” job was at the Olympia Brewing Company in Tumwater, Wa.  My duties included distributing financial reports to all the head dudes.  It was pretty cool because I got to walk to all parts of the brewery (even kinda secret places) to drop them off in their respective departmental offices.  My monthly treks included trips through the brewing area with the big copper kettles and the bottling area (think Laverne and Shirley) and the smell of hops, malt, barley, always permeated the air.  In fact, the whole immediate area that surrounded the brewery at times was a very hoppy place, ask anyone that lived there back in the day.  

Around that same time, beer was entering the personal care industry in the form of shampoo. Called Body on Tap, the commercials promised thicker and more luxurious locks which led to a “let’s add some beer to your hair” DIY craze at home.  The claim was that the B vitamins and other nutrients in beer nourished your hair and gave it more body and shine.  I was fascinated by beer at this point, the brewing process and I was attempting to make my own beer at home.  A failed batch that didn’t carbonate well offered an opportunity to try out the hair care game. I did see some benefits of rinsing with beer, however the smell lingered and honestly I was far more interested in drinking it! 

Ok, time travel with me again to maybe last summer, I was taking hops for relaxation and insomnia in supplements, enjoying hopped up kombucha and reading about spa treatments using hops.  Additional research netted information about the following benefits –most of which I have absolutely no scientific evidence to support:

• Helps with hot flashes, there is a flavonoid that mimics phytoestrogen
• Shows promise to support the immune system through anti-inflammatory properties
• Improved mood and help with depression, hops have a bitter resin which acts on the GABA transmitters in your brain, see link to a study on that below*
• Supports sleep and regulation of your circadian rhythm, more of that GABA – brain nerdy stuff, but you get it by now, it’s got sedative properties

My personal experience with hops is that they have the ability to calm and help me sleep more soundly. I think beer is the ultimate “study” here, who doesn’t feel relaxed after a beer?!  Even non-alcoholic beer has been shown to have similar effects.  I made a mental note that this could be a really cool thing to blend into a body scrub and epsom salt soak.

Okay, we have arrived back at the present moment!  I noticed that Sow a Heart Farm peeps were harvesting their hops on Instagram and felt it was time for me to pursue this project.  Since I was familiar with hops, I knew their Cascade hop variety would supply a nice citrus punch along with the chill factor to a scrub.  I cleared my schedule and drove to the farm the next day. Having access to local, organic hops had to be a rare find.

First, the farm is freaking adorable. We arrived to find relaxed (of course!) volunteers in front of a historic looking farmhouse separating the cones (hop flowers) from the stems and leaves.  The hops were so aromatic, it was intoxicating just inhaling their essence. 

After speaking with Kim at the farm, it seemed the sun dried cones – as opposed to freshly harvested – would probably work the best to make an infused oil.  The first batch of oil turned out exactly as I expected it would (that almost never happens) and when I smelled it I knew exactly what essential oils I wanted to use with version 1.0!  

What’s in the scrub?  Here are the essential oils I blended with the hop oil, which is made from a blend of cold pressed, not chemically extracted, almond oil (from California); olive oil (from California); and grapeseed oil (currently looking for a local source, but this batch is from Italy) and epsom salts.

• Tangerine – Cleansing, purifying and uplifting
• Bergamot – Known as liquid Xanax in the essential oil circles, it’s calming, and helps balance mood
• Lime – The energizer bunny of the citrus fam, is uplifting, energizing, focus
• Copaiba – Love the benefits of this oil, the CBD of the essential oil world, known for its anti-inflammatory, pain relief, brain health benefits
• Lemongrass – Detoxifying, helps nourish skin issues, antimicrobial

What’s in the soak?  Just fine ground hops, epsom salts and the above essential oils. A nice way to wind down after a long, stressful day.

The result?  A nice blend of relaxation and stimulating aromas.  These days it can be difficult to start the day with a relaxed, yet focused outlook.  After a brief trial, I believe the scrub helps with that.  I also see some interesting benefits of the hop oil on my skin and I have more plans to develop additional scrubs and products.

What’s up with the name?  This is a “beta” name and label.  I just couldn’t wait to share this with you all.  Influenced by my son’s musical creations and taste (I do listen to and enjoy Hip Hop), I thought it was a cute pun – I think it is a very hip idea for using hops.  It was met with somewhat of a cricket moment when I asked my boys… This particular “flavor” – I wanted to call it Tangerine Dream.  A quick internet search resulted in a branded strain of weed, oddly enough for sativa.  If you are familiar with cannabis then you know that sativa is a blend of relaxation and focus.  Hmmmm maybe I am on to something here.  In any case, when I can’t find the right word typically I make one up. I came up with Zengerine for this version since Tangerine is the main and most prominent star of this scrub/soak and it is intended to promote a feeling of Zen.  

If you have ideas about what to call this product line or creatives for the labels, I want to hear them, drop me a DM or an email to kim@north-bone.com.  I’ll send you a free scrub or a soak if your suggestion makes it to the final round and past my family committee. I welcome private label or wholesale inquiries at the same email.

Thank you so much to Sow a Heart Farm, you guys rock – we love your vibe and produce and the HOPS!  You can find them weekly at the Ojai Farmers Market on Thursdays and Calabasas on Saturdays.
Follow them on social media:  @sowaheart on Instagram and Facebook or sowaheart.com

The scrub and soak are making their debut at the 3rd Anniversary Party at my happy, crafty place, The Craft House 805 in Moorpark on August 26/27th, there is a VIP party on Friday, August 26th, tickets are still available.  I am honored to be a part of this crafty community, I have many products for sale there and I also regularly teach Art-strology Workshops where we combine crafting with learning about how the stars and planets affect you and our lives here on earth.  The next workshop is on Wednesday, August 24th at 6:00pm on the Houses of AstrologyFollow them on social media:  @thecrafthouse805 on Instagram and Facebook or thecrafthouse805.com

References:
*Humulone Modulation of GABA Receptors and Its Role in Hops Sleep Promoting Activity: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7591795/