Hi! I feel like I already know some of you. I've spent the last week reading through the "What soapy thing have you done today?" thread. I'm up to page 273, and yes, I started at page 1.
A bit about me (can this be edited later? ): I recently (May 31) quit (dummy, dummy, dummy!) a good job for health reasons and already feel so much better with so much less stress. But the bills still gotta get paid. I am getting a small retirement benifit, but it ain't near enough. Have absolutely no desire to go back into a 9 to 5 job, so started a couple of unofficial businesses. One is an online garage sale and the other is soap.
I started soaping about 10 years ago when I figured out how much I was spending on 'soaps' and skin 'care' products and even prescriptions that DID NOT HELP my increasingly dry and cracking (even bleeding), but oily skin. One day, at the hardware store, I saw a display of Grandma's Old Fashioned Lye Soap. I'm sure the cashiers thought I was going to drop a bar into my purse, I spent so much time reading the label. 'Moisturing, cleansing, safe enough for washing dirty mouths? I bought a bar and have loved all natural lye soaps ever since.
So far, I've played with all lard, lard and coconut oil, olive oil, lard and olive oil, and a combination of all three. My favorite 'go to' is the lard and coconut (80/20 apx). I've experimented with fragrance oils and find them unpleasant (headaches, itchy skin, stinky house). I used unscented soaps until I finally tried essential oils ( boy are those expensive at the herb store!).
I finally found (don't remember where, but I've jiggled it a lot so does it matter after so long?) a recipe for honey and oatmeal soap (CP) that has been my ONLY body soap since.
June 1, 2017, I started watching Youtube videos. OMG, is that addictive! About June 2, I found some soaping videos! Been watching quite a few of those, but almost always end up with questions like "why is her soap pouring so smoothly?" Then a few weeks ago, I started noticing more often mention of the Soap Making Forum. And now here I am!
In the last two months, I've made several batches of CP honey oatmeal (some with vanilla FO that doesn't bother my sensitive nose, some with a vanilla extract I made from an organic vanilla bean, some with store bought vanilla, and of course one with no scent cuz I blended too long). I've also retried olive oil (don't care for it myself, but know others swear by it). And I'm experimenting with cheap (food coloring) colorants and today started several (as in 10) infusion experiments using what is in the cupboard.
14 batches so far, in two months. And I've only sold 1 so far. It was of course a bar leftover from an April batch. Doggone curing times!
Now I've found hot processing! And Wordpress!
Oh My Goodness! I seldom talk this much! Or write this much!
Hope I didn't bore anyone. And hope to have something worthy of posting very soon!
Loving what I've seen so far at Soap Making Forum!! And hoping to learn and share in the future!
A bit about me (can this be edited later? ): I recently (May 31) quit (dummy, dummy, dummy!) a good job for health reasons and already feel so much better with so much less stress. But the bills still gotta get paid. I am getting a small retirement benifit, but it ain't near enough. Have absolutely no desire to go back into a 9 to 5 job, so started a couple of unofficial businesses. One is an online garage sale and the other is soap.
I started soaping about 10 years ago when I figured out how much I was spending on 'soaps' and skin 'care' products and even prescriptions that DID NOT HELP my increasingly dry and cracking (even bleeding), but oily skin. One day, at the hardware store, I saw a display of Grandma's Old Fashioned Lye Soap. I'm sure the cashiers thought I was going to drop a bar into my purse, I spent so much time reading the label. 'Moisturing, cleansing, safe enough for washing dirty mouths? I bought a bar and have loved all natural lye soaps ever since.
So far, I've played with all lard, lard and coconut oil, olive oil, lard and olive oil, and a combination of all three. My favorite 'go to' is the lard and coconut (80/20 apx). I've experimented with fragrance oils and find them unpleasant (headaches, itchy skin, stinky house). I used unscented soaps until I finally tried essential oils ( boy are those expensive at the herb store!).
I finally found (don't remember where, but I've jiggled it a lot so does it matter after so long?) a recipe for honey and oatmeal soap (CP) that has been my ONLY body soap since.
June 1, 2017, I started watching Youtube videos. OMG, is that addictive! About June 2, I found some soaping videos! Been watching quite a few of those, but almost always end up with questions like "why is her soap pouring so smoothly?" Then a few weeks ago, I started noticing more often mention of the Soap Making Forum. And now here I am!
In the last two months, I've made several batches of CP honey oatmeal (some with vanilla FO that doesn't bother my sensitive nose, some with a vanilla extract I made from an organic vanilla bean, some with store bought vanilla, and of course one with no scent cuz I blended too long). I've also retried olive oil (don't care for it myself, but know others swear by it). And I'm experimenting with cheap (food coloring) colorants and today started several (as in 10) infusion experiments using what is in the cupboard.
14 batches so far, in two months. And I've only sold 1 so far. It was of course a bar leftover from an April batch. Doggone curing times!
Now I've found hot processing! And Wordpress!
Oh My Goodness! I seldom talk this much! Or write this much!
Hope I didn't bore anyone. And hope to have something worthy of posting very soon!
Loving what I've seen so far at Soap Making Forum!! And hoping to learn and share in the future!
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