Store bought versus Home Made

There is a large amount of information about the advantages of homemade soap over the
commonly available commercial products.

Homemade soap retains all of the glycerine which is produced as a by product of the soap making process. Glycerine is widely used in the cosmetics industry and is frequently removed by the large manufacturers of commercial soap for sale to that industry. Glycerine is a natural moisturizing agent and accounts for many of the benefits of handmade soap.

Most of the homemade (or handcrafted) soapmakers, use natural vegetable oils in their recipes.
These oils are more expensive than those used by the large commercial manufacturers; but, the resulting soap is superior in texture, moisturizing properties and cleaning ability.
Chemicals, detergents degreasers and the like are absent from homemade soaps. While these compounds will clean your skin, they also remove the natural oils and dry the skin.

The first and foremost advantage of natural handmade soap is First, do no Harm!
Handmade, natural soap has no harmful, or potentially harmful chemicals. To illustrate some of the advantages of handcrafted soap over mass produced commercial soaps, lets compare two soaps or beauty bars “Dove” and 'Lever 2000'. On the back of the soap package, the ingredients are listed, in order, by the quantity of that ingredient in the product, with the largest quantity listed first.

For Dove these are:

Sodium Tallowate Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, microcrystalline wax, Sodium Palmitate, Lauric Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Water, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, olefin sulfonate ,Titanium Dioxide (Cl 77891).

For “Lever 2000 “these are:
Sodium tallowate, sodium cocoyl isethionate, sodium cocoate, water, sodium isethionate, stearic acid, coconut fatty acid, fragrance, titanium dioxide, sodium chloride, disodium phosphate, tetrasodium EDTA, trisodium etidronate, BHT, FD & C blue no. 1, D&C red no. 33.


Notice that sodium tallowate is listed first in both of these soaps. This soap compound is the natural result of combining sodium hydroxide (lye) with beef tallow.

Tallow has been used in soap making for about 5,000 years.

Also, tallow is considered by some to clog pores, cause blackheads, and increase eczema for those individuals with sensitive skin. The attractiveness of tallow for mass producing soap is that it
processes quickly, produces a hard bar of soap, is cheap and plentiful. Pioneers on the American frontier had few, or no, alternatives to the use of animal fats for making soap .Today, there are many vegetable oils which are better alternatives.

Sodium cocoate is listed in both sets of ingredients for our example commercial soaps. Sodium cocoate is the result of combining coconut oil with sodium hydroxide (lye) Nothing controversial here. Coconut oil is a main ingredient in many quality soaps. Sodium palm kernalate is listed next .This soap compound results from the combination of palm kernel oil with sodium hydroxide (lye).
Beginning to see a pattern here? No Lye, No Soap! This is just as true for the manufacturers as it is for the homemade soapmakers. Anyway, back to sodium palm kernalate. This is an excellent soap compound -- white in color, very hard, and excellent lather. Unfortunately due to the destruction of the Rain Forest I, personally, have stopped using Palm Oil until I can find a sustainable source.
Stearic Acid is listed in both sets of ingredients. Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid usually derived
from tallow or lard and sometimes palm oil. The use of stearic acid can contribute to a harder, more long-lasting bar of soap.
Titanium dioxide is a neutral, very white powder used in combination with other colorants. It is not considered to be harmful.

And now for the bad guys!!!

If Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive had stopped with the ingredients listed above their soap would have been merely cheap; and, for the most part questionable only for their use of tallow.
But read on.…


Tetrasodium EDTA - Synthetic preservative - can be irritating to the eyes/mucous membranes.

Sodium cocoyl isethionate - synthetic detergent. Technically, an anionic surfactant, meaning it reduces
surface tension, making water 'wetter'.

Sodium isethionate - synthetic detergent. Technically, a moisture absorber, surfactant and anti-static agent.

Trisodium etidronate - A preservative. Possible irritant.

BHT - (butylhydroxytoluene)
Synthetic antioxidant to keep oils in formula from going rancid. When ingested, implicated in tumour formation and liver enlargement in rodent tests. Sometimes used as a food preservative.

Disodium phosphate - Buffering agent, used to adjust pH.

Sodium Laurdyl....cheap foamer used in the auto industry to clean car motors.

Microcrystalline Wax.....A type of wax from petroleum products used to harden soap.

Etidronate......chelating agent used to soften water and soap to prevent soap scum. Aggravates skin problems particularly eczema.
The Dove soap commercials!! Now you know why their beauty bars don’t leave soap scum on the mirrors!!! Are you willing to have this chemical on your skin? I don’t know about you but I would rather clean soap scum off the bottom of my tub than have this going into my blood stream!!

Olefin Sulfonate......Man made plastic like chemical used as a hardener.
Known to cause birth defects and reproduction/ fertility

And now our soap!!! You will be surprised!!

Coconut Oil.........grown on trees and totally safe to eat!!
Great for moisturizing and produces a good thick lather even in cold water!

Olive Oil.......great in salads and grown on Olive trees...a wonderful unsaturated fat!
A very good moisturizer because it attracts external moisture and holds it close to the skin. It forms a breathable film to prevent loss of inner moisture.

Canola oil.......grown in our prairie provinces and a great oil to cook and saute.
Contributes protein and moisturizing qualities.

Cocoa Butter......We all know its in our chocolate ladies!!
Cocoa Butter lays down a protective layer that holds moisture to the skin making it a great skin softener.

Neem Oil....another oil that grows on trees and is indigenous to India.
This is great oil that is used to treat dandruff, oily skin, and skin diseases such as scabies. Great mosquito repellent!!

Castor Oil....a vegetable oil from the castor bean
Acts as humectants by attracting and retaining moisture to the skin. Great for shampoo and any skin care.

Shea Butter.....ivory colored natural fat extracted from the seed of the African shea tree.
Also known as African karite butter it is an awesome moisturizer. Helps to heal cracked, dry feet and leaves the skin soft and supple.

Grapeseed Oil.......extracted from the seeds of grapes, typically wine grapes.
Loaded with anti-oxidants and possessing regenerative and reconstructive qualities makes this a great oil for aging skin.

Avocado Oil......also grown on trees...native to Mexico, Caribbean, South and Central America
It contains protein, amino acids, and large amounts of vitamin A, D, and E. They not only moisturize but also heal. They enable the Avocado Oil to regenerate cells, soften tissue and heal scaly skin and scalp.Great for aging and sensitive skin!!

Did you notice one common factor in all the ingredients in the homemade soap???

You got it!!! Yes.....they are all natural oils!! Most of these are oils you use to cook!! That means they are as healthy for your insides as your outside!!

There you have it! .......You Decide!!!

Beeswax

Just recently I had a lady come into my booth at the market and offered me a box of beeswax!!
I have to tell you I was pretty excited!! I buy it for about 20.00 a pound at the health store so a whole box was a God send!!

When I picked it up I was shocked at how dirty and lumpy it was!! I had no idea and this was the first batch of virgin beeswax I had ever seen!!
You can see from the pictures what I mean but look how beautiful it is now!!!

I goggled it and discovered that you melt it in water...let it cool ..... the wax rises to the top and hardens and all the debris sinks to the bottom of the pot!!

Easy peasy right??? Wrong!!

The easy part was heating it to melting in the hot water....
I had no idea how hard it was to get out of the pot!! It was stuck!! The water on the bottom was sealed in by hardened beeswax!! It was like a vacuum.....!!
My DH and I poked at it with a fork, a sharp knife, we tried pounding it with a meat tenderizer , turned it upside and wacked the bottom....no luck!!! Now all the dirty water was back on the beeswax!! I was ready to toss my stockpot AND the beeswax out the door. Argh!!! Finally after much sweat and vein popping exertion we managed to loosen one side and it slid out!!
I must say it was beautiful....until I turned it over!!

There was still a lot of dirt and debris on the bottom so I cleaned the stock pot....beeswax is extremely difficult to get off of anything!!
NEVER.....I repeat....NEVER pour melted beeswax down your drain!!

So I broke the big slab of wax into pieces and threw them back into the pot a second time.
Once it was melted I poured it through a sieve lined with cheese cloth to get all the dirt out and then poured into individual molds.
I now have some really nice beeswax that I can use for my soap, lip balms and creams!!
Victory at last!!

Save a whale ...use jojoba oil!!!

Jojoba oil is more commonly known as a hair care ingredient, but it is primarily a natural skin care products that also provides benefits to the health of your hair.

Although natural products are generally more beneficial than their synthetic equivalents, it is important to understand that this is not always the case, and that the benefits of the natural substance have to be evaluated in terms of what they, themselves, contain, and how these ingredients benefit your skin.

It is not enough to simply descry the synthetic ingredients of most commercial skin care products, and state blandly that 'natural is best'. This is not always the case, and you must either prove the statement or not make it. To do that you should investigate the substances that the natural products contain and the make the case for them.

In the case of jojoba oil, we first have to qualify the term 'oil'. In fact, it is not an oil but a wax. Technically it is a liquid wax in structure, and once it has been hydrogenated it very closely resembles the solid wax obtained from the sperm whale, spermaceti. In fact, this is where it finds its most important applications and the case for it being used as a skin care product.

At one time, the wax and oil of choice by the aristocracy and the glitterati of the day was spermaceti and sperm oil. However, since the sperm whale has been declared an endangered species, jojoba has taken its place, and because of its relatively low price relative to that of sperm what extracts, it is available to the masses.

It contains the long-chain alcohol and esters and the unsaturated fatty acids that characterized sperm oil and spermaceti, and that are so good for your skin. The same type of materials characterizes coconut oil and other natural products that are beneficial to your skin. There are many synthetic cosmetic preparations that contain the same alcohols and acids, but they are also likely to contain emulsifiers, mineral, oils and surfactants which can be damaging, and at worse leave routes open into your skin for bacteria, viruses and carcinogens.

Jojoba oil is closer in nature to natural skin oil, or sebum, than any synthetic oil developed, and if you had a choice to make between the synthetic alternative and the natural substance, which would you opt for? The closest natural substance you can find to your own skin oil, or a synthetic equivalent that could contain substances that rupture your skin cells?

The choice is yours, but before making it just think again on the sperm whale and on yourself. Its own oil never did it any harm, and your own skin oil never did you any harm, so why choose an unnatural mixture of oils (some may be natural) and synthetic chemicals over the real thing?

Using jojoba oil may not save the whale, but it might help, and it will certainly save your skin.

Casa Chic

This amazing resort now have my soap in their exquisite bathrooms!!!! How exciting is that???
I created a beautiful custom blend of coconut , mango peach and other tropical fruits , added a swirl of kelp that smells just like the ocean!!

Smells good enough to eat!!! Yummy!!!

Jan 30, 2010
Myth # 1
One myth I would like to put to bed forever is that you have to let soap cure for a minimum of 6 weeks BEFORE you can safely use it.
Not true!!

Soap that has sat for about a week is fine to use. It won't last as long because curing the soap releases the water and makes the soap harder and of course a hard bar will last longer than a fresh soft one. One way to get this fast and to get your soap to market quicker is to put the soap in the mold and put it in a warm oven overnight. Most of the water evaporates while the soap is saponifing and it is ready to use the next morning. I have done this many many times and I always test my soap BEFORE taking it to market so I know it is ready to use. A lot of soap makers will argue that point but I say experiment with your own recipes and test , test , test!

Myth # 2
Fragrance oils are all synthetic and full of chemicals.

First off let me just say...there are fragrance oils and THEN there are fragrance oils(FO).

Check your sources...ask questions. Have the company e-mail you a list of their ingredients and how the oils are made. There are really bad FO out there and there are really good FO out there.
What does "all-natural" mean?
Fragrance blends designated "all natural" are derived completely from the constituents of essential oils and other plant materials (using steam distillation and fractional distillation). They are 100% free of any synthetics, including phthalates, parabens, sulfates, glycols, petrochemicals, and solvents.

They are more expensive but well worth it! After all what is the point of having a good home made soap with all natural ingredients if you are just going to load it down with inexpensive chemical laden fragrance oils?

Well, here I am joining the world of online bloggers!! Is that what it is called nowadays???I want this blog to be a source of enjoyment and useful information....and maybe you'll have a laugh too...after all laughter is good for the soul.
There is so much on the net that is is useless, false, scary, doesn't work no matter how you switch it around or even when you put your own spin on it....and that is only about SOAP!!!

I am a soap maker and I also make a lot of other interesting things...bath bombs, face cream, belly butters, baby bum cream, baby powder etc...you get the picture...right?? I do have a web site that showcases all our products....did I mention my husband makes awesome soy candles??....he actually spends time in the kitchen to do so!!......and yes!!!... we ship all across Canada!!

First off it is quite by accident that I actually became a soap maker...not even sure if that is the political correct title for some one that makes soap but nevertheless it is self explanatory.Anyway, I have my dear husband that I can thank for that.....
This is a little bit like cooking and maybe that is why it is so addictive for me and yes!!....
I am hopelessly addicted to soap making AND cooking!!

One of the first things Ted did when I first arrived( well, not the FIRST thing but he did notice the products I was using!!) on the island was go through my arsenal of hair products and explain SLS and Dioxin etc....I had no idea it was so laden with chemicals....yeah I know they are everywhere even in what we eat but if you are really serious about your health you really must start looking at what you put on your skin as well as what you eat!!.
Our skin is our biggest organ and eventually whatever you rub on your skin finds its way into your blood stream so you want to be sure it is safe !

I never really thought about it so much as I did with the food that I ate but it makes sense!!
I became a label reader!! Now I scan a label and if I can't pronounce I don't buy it!
I do not trust big companies with my best interest because big companies have no conscience!
They are "bean counters"!!

I bought my first bar of home made soap here in Duncan a year after I moved to the island. After one shower I was hooked!! It really does take away "the dry legs"!! I was cursed with dry legs and scaling skin and from the first time I used the homemade soap my skin felt soft and moisturized!!

I have to be honest....there are a lot of really good soap makers on this tiny little island and I loved trying every one!!

As I mentioned I love to cook and to me it was like another exotic recipe!! I had an insatiable curiosity about soap and how it was made. It has always held a fascination for me.I wanted to make my own!!
And so I set out to make my first bar of soap.........

After spending almost three years on the island we are now off on another adventure!
Of course I am a very accomplished soap maker if I do say so myself!!
I absolutely LOVE it!! My customers love it and I am proud to say we sell to several retail outlets all across Canada!!

Back to my adventure.......sorry...our adventure.....!!

We are moving back to Ontario and I plan to open my own shop!! I have everything planned and God willing I will have the cutest soap shop/ tea room around!!

It is very exciting and but just want to wiggle my nose and be there already!!I hate moving and packing and we are both suffering from inertia right now.....another move ...another trek across country (that part I'm looking forward to!!)setting up house and shop.......!!!