Our Ingredients
THE ART OF FORMULATION
Every ingredient has a role.
Some come from the earth. Some belong to the quiet science of formulation. Some exist only to shape scent, texture, lather, softness, or stability.
We do not choose ingredients because they sound impressive. We choose them because they belong.
No excess. No noise. Just what the ritual needs.
FROM THE EARTH
Plant oils, butters, clays, minerals, roots, leaves, and flowers.
Argan Oil
Argan oil is a soft golden oil used in hair and body formulas.
It helps the ritual feel smooth, fluid, and lightly dressed.
Basil
Basil has a green herbal brightness.
It gives aromatic blends a clean, living quality.
Bergamot
Bergamot brings a soft citrus brightness.
It feels clean and lightly floral, adding lift without becoming sharp.
Black Pepper
Black pepper adds dry heat and quiet depth.
It gives warm blends a subtle edge without becoming loud.
Castor Oil
Castor oil is a thick plant oil used in soapmaking to support a dense, stable lather.
It helps the foam feel creamy and generous without changing the quiet character of the bar.
Cedarwood
Cedarwood gives scent a dry, woody base.
It settles low in a blend and keeps the ritual grounded.
Clary Sage
Clary sage feels soft, herbal, and slightly warm.
It gives a blend a calm, rounded finish.
Clove
Clove is warm and softly spiced.
It gives warmth to a blend without needing to feel sweet.
Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter is a firm plant butter with a smooth, comforting texture.
It gives solid hair care and body formulas structure, glide, and a softened finish.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil helps create a full, creamy lather in cleansing bars.
It gives soap and body care formulas a clean foam while keeping the wash simple and familiar.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus has a cool green clarity.
It moves through steam with a clean, airy feeling.
Frankincense
Frankincense has a warm, resinous character.
It brings depth and stillness to bath rituals, moving quietly through steam.
Ginger
Ginger brings grounded warmth.
It feels clean, dry, and steady, with a quiet sense of movement beneath the surface.
Green Tea
Green tea brings a soft botanical clarity.
It gives Freya its light, fresh character without making the ritual feel heavy.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil gives formulas a smooth, lightweight slip.
It is used in body and hair care for a clean, soft feel without heaviness.
Kaolin Clay
Kaolin is a soft white clay used to give bathwater and cleansing formulas a smoother, silkier feel.
It brings a quiet mineral softness without making the ritual feel heavy.
Lavender
Lavender brings a clean herbal floral note.
It stays close to the skin and gives the ritual a calm, familiar softness.
Magnesium Sulfate
Magnesium sulfate is a simple mineral salt used to give bathwater a clean, softened feel.
It adds a quiet mineral character to the soak and helps the water feel more settled around the body.
Mugwort
Mugwort has an earthy, green, herbal character.
It gives Ancient Mugwort its grounded feeling, muted tone, and quiet botanical depth.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil is a classic soapmaking oil used for a gentle, conditioning feel.
It gives cold-process soap a quieter finish and helps the skin feel comfortable after rinsing.
Peppermint
Peppermint brings a crisp, cool lift.
It gives the ritual a clear, misted edge without needing to feel loud.
Rose Geranium
Rose geranium brings a soft floral-herbal note.
It feels bright, green, and gently floral without becoming overly sweet.
Rosemary
Rosemary brings a clean herbal structure.
It gives hair and bath products a quiet green brightness.
Safflower Oil
Safflower oil is a light oil used in body butter for smoothness and spread.
It helps richer formulas move more easily over the skin.
Shea Butter
Shea butter gives formulas softness, body, and comfort.
In soap, it creates a more cushioned lather. In body butter, it gives the formula its rich, whipped texture and close-to-skin feel.
Spearmint
Spearmint is softer than peppermint, with a fresh green character.
It rounds out cooler blends and keeps them gentle.
Sugar
Sugar gives foaming body scrubs their first texture.
As it moves over damp skin, it offers a gentle physical polish before softening into lather and rinsing away.
Sunflower Oil
Sunflower oil is a light plant oil used to soften the feel of a formula.
It keeps the finish smooth, clean, and uncomplicated.
Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet almond oil is a lightweight oil used for softness and slip.
In bath bombs, it leaves the water feeling smoother. In body care, it gives the skin a simple, cared-for finish.
Tea Tree
Tea tree has a clear herbal character.
It gives hair care formulas a clean botanical sharpness.
Valerian Root
Valerian root has a deep herbal character.
It gives Put Me To Sleep its darker, quieter edge.
THE NECESSARY SCIENCE
The quiet structure behind texture, lather, stability, and use.
Some ingredients do not sound romantic. They are not there for story. They are there because a formula needs structure, safety, texture, preservation, or function.
This is the part of formulation that keeps a product usable, stable, and honest.
Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal gives Orianna its dark mineral character.
It is used for colour, identity, and the feeling of a clean, grounded wash.
BTMS-50
BTMS-50 is a conditioning ingredient used in solid conditioner bars.
It helps the bar glide through wet hair and leaves the strands feeling smoother, softer, and easier to move through.
Cetyl Alcohol
Cetyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol used to give structure and softness to hair care formulas.
It helps conditioner bars feel creamy and smooth. It is not the drying kind of alcohol people often worry about.
Citric Acid
Citric acid is the quiet partner to sodium bicarbonate.
When it meets water, it helps create the effervescence that lets a bath bomb slowly release into the bath.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cocamidopropyl Betaine supports a smoother lather.
It helps cleansing formulas feel softer in the hands and easier to rinse from skin or hair.
Cream of Tartar
Cream of tartar helps support the structure of certain dry bath formulas.
It keeps the product firm until it meets water.
Glycerin
Glycerin is used to support a soft, comfortable feel in water-based and rinse-off formulas.
It helps give foaming products a smoother texture and a more cushioned finish.
Hydrolyzed Keratin
Hydrolyzed keratin is used in hair care for a smoother, cared-for feel.
It helps the hair feel soft, fluid, and easier to move through.
Hydrolyzed Oat Protein
Hydrolyzed oat protein brings a soft conditioning feel to hair care formulas.
It helps the finish feel smooth, touchable, and clean.
Isopropyl Myristate
Isopropyl Myristate is used to soften the feel of richer formulas.
It helps body butter spread more easily and reduces the heavy, greasy feel that can come from dense plant butters.
LexFeel N350 MB
LexFeel N350 MB is used to improve slip and reduce tackiness in certain formulas.
It helps rich products spread more smoothly across the skin.
Panthenol
Panthenol is used in hair care for softness and manageability.
It helps shampoo and conditioner bars leave hair feeling smoother after rinsing.
Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sorbic Acid
This preservative system is used in formulas that contain water or may come into contact with water during use.
It helps keep the product stable and suitable for use over time.
Sodium Bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate gives bath bombs their soft, familiar fizz.
It works with citric acid to help the bath bomb dissolve gently into warm water.
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate is a gentle cleansing ingredient used to create a soft, creamy foam.
It helps foaming scrubs and solid hair care products rinse cleanly without feeling heavy.
Sodium Hydroxide
Sodium hydroxide is used in traditional soapmaking.
It transforms oils into soap through saponification. Once the soap is properly made and cured, no sodium hydroxide remains in the finished bar.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is a foaming ingredient used in bath and body formulas.
It helps create soft bubbles and a fuller lather.
Stearic Acid
Stearic acid gives creamy formulas more body and structure.
In foaming scrubs and body care, it helps create a fuller texture and a smoother feel.
Tocopherol
Tocopherol is also known as Vitamin E.
It is used in oil-based formulas to help support the freshness and stability of the oils.
Witch Hazel Water
Witch hazel water may be used as a binder in dry bath formulas.
It helps bring powdered ingredients together during production, then evaporates as the product dries.
THE SCENT
Scent as atmosphere, not decoration.
Some Bath O’Clock products are scented with essential oils. Others use fragrance blends to create a specific mood that cannot be reached with essential oils alone.
In every case, scent is treated with restraint.
It should sit close. It should not overpower the ritual. It should leave room for water, skin, steam, and quiet.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are aromatic materials drawn from plants.
We use them when their natural character belongs to the product: lavender for softness, eucalyptus for clarity, ginger for warmth, cedarwood for depth.
They are used carefully, not because more scent is better, but because the right amount can change the feeling of the ritual.
Naturally Occurring Fragrance Components
Some essential oils naturally contain aromatic components such as linalool, limonene, geraniol, citral, or eugenol.
When they appear in an ingredient list, they are part of the scent materials used in the formula.
Parfum
Parfum refers to a fragrance blend used to create a specific scent profile.
In Bath O’Clock formulas, fragrance is used to shape mood: soft florals, clean air, warm skin, bright citrus, or a small sense of ceremony.
Some moods cannot be built from essential oils alone. Parfum allows those moments to exist while keeping the scent close, balanced, and intentional.
The Art of Subtraction
What we leave out matters too.
Bath O’Clock does not build formulas around fear.
We do not need loud colour, glitter, heavy perfume, plastic exfoliants, or unnecessary filler to create a meaningful ritual.
We choose restraint instead.
No Excess
Every ingredient should have a reason to be there.
If it does not shape scent, texture, lather, water, skin feel, hair feel, or product stability, it does not belong.
No Glitter
We do not use glitter to make a product feel special.
A ritual should not need sparkle to feel considered.
No Loud Colour
Most Bath O’Clock formulas are made without added colour.
The focus stays on water, scent, texture, and the natural character of the formula.
No Plastic Microbeads
We use simple physical exfoliants like sugar where texture is needed.
The polish should feel clear, simple, and easy to rinse away.
No Unnecessary Decoration
No colour trails. No visual noise. No added drama for the sake of attention.
The product should feel calm before it is used, while it is used, and after it is gone.