For the love of Maine- The Story of Shower Shots
We are at the hallway point between winter and spring which seems an ideal time to share our love of Maine and the story of shower shots. Shower shots are small nuggets filled with pure essential oils and topped with our flower confetti. They are simple, sustainable self care. Perfect for someone who is looking to add a bit of ritual and thought into everyday activities- like taking a shower.
When we started Dulse & Rugosa our focus was on our seaweed rich shampoo bars. I discovered the power of seaweed while searching for a long term solution to my chronically itchy scalp. Our shampoo bars are work horses and last a long time. We realized we needed to expand our product line to help that annoying bottom line. We have bills to pay.
We wanted a product that served many purposes. First, it needed to be of value to our customers. We also needed a product that fit our environmental standards. A product that’s a joy to create. Finally, our creation needed to reflect our love of place, the state of Maine.
Folks often ask how shower shots work. Simply place a “shot” on the floor of the shower. As the water hits it, it will dissolve. Quickly with a heavy stream of water or slowly under a trickle. As it dissolves, it melts and releases a specific scent. Aromatherapy in the shower.
We have a variety of scents, some to relax including lavender and feel better. Others to uplift including peppermint and sinus relief. PMS or Balance is our most quirky scent, when you most need it it can be quite powerful but if life is fairly balanced it can be a bit UH. We package all our shots as sustainable as possible in compostable not plastic bags. Individual shots are available as well as curated gift boxes.
The actual making of shower shots is production work. We are small assembly line. We use vintage shot glass molds and a lot of muscle power. Each individual shot is topped with a mixture of dry flowers that relates to the scent. Once the shots have dried out they are packaged and ready for sale.
Last summer in particular I noticed how pollinators loved our flower gardens. Many moments were spent outside simply watching pollinators in action. We don’t have to add dried flowers to our shower shots. Most companies that produce them do not. We do it simply because we love flowers and want to add a bit of beauty and love to your shower ritual.
We use a wide variety of flowers. We look for hardy species that can take the changing Maine climate. Wet springs and fall with dry almost drought conditions in the summer. Being able to reseed is an added bonus and we love sunny Calendula for its resiliency.
My favorite story from last summer is a customer visiting our sweet shop noticed all the bees in our front garden. He was memorized and mentioned he hadn’t seen so many bees for years. I encouraged him to sit in the nearby chair and simply observe. I often wondered while sitting if the different species would be able to share a blossom. They can giving me hope for the future.
We’ve noticed since Covid that our quality can be erratic. Occasionally a shower shot will “melt”. We’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out the problem. One easy solution would be to switch our packaging to plastic which would also save us money. This wasn’t even considered. After quite a bit of observing and tinkering we discovered that we sometimes get wonky batches of baking soda. Being super frugal we try not to waste ingredients but now if we see the baking soda is off we don’t use it. However, because of the compostable packaging, storage conditions, humid summers you might get a melty shower shot. Simply let us know and we will gladly replace it. You don’t have to toss the defective shower shot, use it as a toilet bowl cleaner. This is especially effective before company arrives.
Maine shops that support Dulse & Rugosa and sell our shower shots. I know I’ve forgotten a few and I’ll update as my memory from the summer kicks in. And word of mouth is by far the best way to grow a business, if you have a favorite store where our shower shots would fit please mention us to the staff. XXOO
Granite Hall Store in Round Pound
