Why did you become a Soap Maker/Artisan?

[Jnice999]

Just wondering what made you choose soapmaking?I haven't started yet (waiting for my supplies). But I love how creative you can be with soaps, and to be able to make something for my family to use everyday is pretty cool. I also have a 10mn old baby with sensitive skin so I already have a couple of soaps in mind for her. Oh and saving money is a definite plus.

 

[Lindy]

Due to allergies I have made my own bath products for years. I got into soapmaking for the same reason - I haven't ever been able to use commercial soaps. So I got into this last year and my skin has never been so good. I had planned on being in business for myself here on the Sunshine Coast but I had expected that to be teaching and selling my pyrographic art. Instead I am going into this full time and really excited about it....

 

[topcat]

I have always had skin problems.......dryness, itching and stinging....using commercial soaps, so I began using shower gels - helped a lot.

Then I made me some MP soap with lovely additives and was hooked on how wonderful my skin felt!!! After finding this forum it seemed such a natural progression to venture in CP soaping as well. I love that I can make something, be creative, that is 100% usable and everyone who tries it can only say good things about :wink:

Tanya

 

[surf girl]

I started making it because I wanted to make some Christmas presents. I kept doing it because it is a perfect amalgam of art and sensuality, science, and utility.

There is the visual aspect - shape and colour. There is the fragrance. There is the way it feels on your skin.

There is the math and the chemistry, the way you can concoct a recipe that will be more or less conditioning, more or less bubbly, creamy vs. almost translucent.

And there is the fact that it is a useful product that we all use every day, several times a day. That we can make such a practical product an exquisite pleasure to use is a wonderful thing.

So I think soap making is like gourmet cooking, or good architecture. It's a very appealing hobby in that way.

 

[pinkduchon]

I just love soap. I travel a lot and where ever I go I seek out handmade soap. My husband told me I should try and make it since I buy so much! So I did.

 

[Cattleyabubbles]

I made my first batch today this morning (early morning) in fact. So I say it's good therapy for someone that's stress out such as myself...

 

[starduster]

why soaping


Basically I was minding my own buisness when soap making crept up behind me wrestled me to the floor of the soap making shrine and told me You WILL soap.
It's been that way ever since and I wouldn't have it anyother way.
Mary :wink:
PS:Was there a life before soaping ?

 

[Jnice999]

Starduster you are funny lol!

 

[AshleyR]

I've always been very creative (anything artsy, I do!!) .... making soap is just another outlet for me!

I've also always loved handmade soaps. You can't find them much in my area (tiny remote town in Northern Ontario) so I decided to start making soap for myself.

About 3 months after I made my first batch, I got laid off from my job. Because I live in the middle of nowhere, it's been really difficult for me to find another one, so I'm starting to consider starting up a soap business, with funding I can get from the government (like Lindy!) It definitely won't be for a few months yet, but I'm really excited for it. I've been putting ALL of my time and money into soapmaking for almost a year now. To say I'm addicted is probably an understatement! LOL

 

[Jo]

Why I Love Soap

Once upon a time I bought some homemade soap at a craft fair, tried it, and was instantly hooked!! After that I made just a couple of batches for fun and enjoyed what I made even tho it wasn't as nice as what the pro's made.

Since then I've got a little grandaughter who seems to have some problems with dry skin, so here I go. I decided to get more serious and do what I can for my baby. I've read read read and I've got so much to learn, but I'm having a wonderful time.

I've learned so much from you all. Just being a part of this forum has helped me so much. I'm making my first silk soap tomorrow and adding a bit of sugar for better bubbles (I hope)..

Ya'll wish me luck.

 

[Lindy]

Jo - try using icing sugar - and make sure you post pictures - we love pictures!!!

 

[Chay]

I'm an esthetician, I've spent years studying and working with skin and skincare products. I knew what I did and did not want touching my kids skin so I made my own and eventually offered to my clients as well.

 

[starduster]

What an opportunity

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... php?t=6577[/url]
It has some extremely practical ideas.
Best of luck.

 

[ChrissyB]

I bought a tub of caustic soda at the local supermarket to clear a blocked drain, on the tub it said "perfect for making soap".
So I thought, wow, how do you make soap? On the label it said to go to the website for instructions, so I did that. The recipe was for a basic castille soap. So I searched on the net, and read and read everything that I could.
I should mention that I absolutely love soap. I love the texture of it. I love the lather. I love the way it feels in my hand. I love all the colours, and shapes.
I could stand for hours in the shops smelling this soap and that soap. When I was pregnant I love it even more. I used to carry a bar of soap around in my pocket so I could smell it whenever I wanted.
Now, handmade soap has opened up another whole new world for me. This soap is so amazing....so much better than the soap that I used to love.
I don't think I could ever give up my soap!!

 

[AshleyR]

Thanks so much for posting that link starduster!

And yep, I think it kind of is fate! LOL. I've always been very creative and aritstic, yet both times I went to college I took programs that had nothing to do with art (Social Work and Business!)

All of my friends and family have ALWAYS encouraged me to put my creative abilities to work (and in the back of my mind I've always known it's what I "should" do), so I am pretty happy that life just so happened to steer me in this direction.

I still feel "new" at this all the time though, so I'm going to take my time "jumping in". I'm having lots of fun though!

 

[sarathan]

I haven't started yet either (also waiting for supplies). I like the idea of using natural products for me and my family, that's the main reason. I don't know how creative/artsy I'll get with it since I'm not a very crafty person, but I'm still looking forward to it!!

 

[jcandleattic]

I had been making candles for 4 years, and it was just the natural progession of things. I had been to many many craft shows and there were always more soapmakers than candlemakers, and I thought to myself, I can do that. LOL
So I reasearched and read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on the year of 2003. When my brother passed away in October, by January of '04 I was ready for a distraction that candles just couldn't do anymore, so I started making soap. And as they say, the rest is history. LOL

 

[NMAriel]

To solve my 5yr old son's skin problems. When we moved from the tropics to the desert and his skin just went nuts. ALL commercial products (soap, shampoo, lotions, creams, jells.....everything, except petrolium jelly) made his skin red, burnt and chapped. I hated using the petrolium jelly becuase it's just gross, messy, and I think unhealthy to coverup the bodies pores. But it was the only thing that didn't make him scream and cry. I then met a goat farmer lady who gave me a bar of her homemade goat milk soap and a bottle of her goat milk unscented lotion, and I saw that he NEVER had an adverse reaction to her products. Thus began my journey in creating my own fresh goat milk soap and lotion recipes for him and our family. That was in the summer of 2005, and I've been addicted ever since.

 

[MikeInPdx]

I started making soap because my great grandmother did. It always intrigued me from a little kid on, and I finally got the courage to do it in my 40's.....now I'm totally addicted.

 

[kellistarr]

I had been making candles for 4 years, and it was just the natural progession of things. I had been to many many craft shows and there were always more soapmakers than candlemakers, and I thought to myself, I can do that. LOL
So I reasearched and read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on the year of 2003. When my brother passed away in October, by January of '04 I was ready for a distraction that candles just couldn't do anymore, so I started making soap. And as they say, the rest is history. LOL[/quote

Funny, I told my Aunt that I was making soap and she said "Why don't you make candles? That's the new hot thing right now." Well, who knows what I'll do next, but right now it's soap and I don't see it ever coming to a halt. It just seemed instinctive for me to make soap because I purchased so much handmade soap. I started getting really interested in what it was made of and started having a certain preference of how I expected the soap to look before I even received it. Then, I just started designing soaps in my head, You know, what type of ingredients I'd prefer; then I found mysef going broke over the amount that I was purchasing and decided I was going to make my own. Best thing that I ever did.

Now, my only problem if this is a problem, is that I still have the gazillion tons of soap that I purchased and the soap that I've made.