Sea Kelp (Laminaria Digitata) is hand-cut in small quantities from crystal clear Atlantic waters, and added as an infusion to Aromantic of Forres base products , creating a gentle shampoo that will leave your hair healthy and lustrous.
In 2012, my partner, Bob, and I set off on a road trip round Ireland, mainly to investigate the seaweed bathhouses in Sligo. We took a wonderful detour from Galway out to Inishboffin Island (very like Colonsay except it’s a mere half hour from the mainland, passenger ferry only….otherwise so similar – surrounded by sea, sand, rocks, seaweed….)
The hotel in which we stayed had seaweed baths and treatments on offer (hence our trip) and there I had my first sublime experience of entering a candle lit room and immersing myself in warm water beneath the floating fronds of fucus serratus.
Take care if trying this at home. Hot water brings out the plant’s alginate properties, releasing a gel-like substance, and this can make the bath slippy…..
The great thing from my point of view is that the seaweed can be re-used (within about a maximum of three days) and then put on the compost heap, or even straight on the garden as an organic fertiliser. Perfect!
Seaweed – a fully renewable natural resource. Collected from the west coast of Colonsay, nearest land 2,560-ish miles away in Canada, therefore growing in seas subject to the full-pelt pounding of Atlantic storms (a bit like being stuck in a constant rinse-cycle in the washing machine); what could be better/cleaner/healthier for adding to some cosmetics, or even just for using in my own bath? Harvesting by hand in small quantities makes it sustainable – it can regrow in 8-12 months.
So I began my quest to combine a seaweed infusion with good quality detergents and make a gentle, nourishing, replenishing shampoo…….
