How Did You Start Making Soaps?

[melonie]

Hi All,

What prompted you to start this wonderful obsession? I'm just curious to know.

It all started for me when I went to a winery called Cave B in Washington in 2007. We stayed there overnight in a fancy room with little bars of GM soap. I used them and got hooked. And the rest, as they say, is history.

After my stay at Cave B, I did extensive research and found different instructions & recipes on the Internet, but was a little nervous at first to dive into making CP. So, I started out with M&P until I was more confident with myself and only started making CP a few months ago. Now, I'm more hooked than before. All I know is that I will make soaps for the rest of my life. What a rewarding hobby this has turned out to be for me.

Cheers,

Melonie

 

[holly99]

A few years ago my hands were super dry. I bought some GM soap at the health food store to help since the commercial stuff just aggravated it. I just loved the way it felt. So I picked up some books from the library to study up on soapmaking and was so intimidated that I thought I'd never make soap. A while passed and I started researching on the internet and now I'm positively hooked.

 

[melonie]

Hi Holly99,

Thank you for sharing your story. I know what you mean about being intimidated at first. For me, it's the whole lye thing. I pictured volcanoes exploding and slime oozing out of my pot. Took me a while. The first time when I had the nerve to try CP; I had a glass of wine, put on my gloves and goggles, took a deep breath and did it! Now, nothing can stop me from making my CP soaps :wink:.

Melonie

 

[honor435]

hmm, ive always loved smells, i was buying handmade soap from the co-op and french soaps online. Then i started researching online and bought a book, started out with hp, did many that way, then cp, i still do both. Oh, its so addicting and theraputic! I do sell some, and will be doing more craft shows, i have to, i have over 200 bars. yikes.

 

[JenniferSews]

I bought a book on clearance about soap making 6 or 7 years ago maybe? It sounded so complicated I never even tried. Then I was reading about the science of saponification in one of hubbys books. He's a scientist geek so everything he has laying around is about science and chemistry. I got the bug to try it right then and there for some reason. That was in July and I've been obsessed since!

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[xraygrl]

my twin girls have sensitive skin. I couldn't find anything in the store they could use without getting a rash/itching. I bought a neem soap from the health food store and used that and no more rash so after reading the ingredietns olive coconut palm etc, I decided to learn how to make soap myself. They were babies then, and now 12.5 yrs old. Never grew out of the sensitive skin.....but then again they do take after me....my skin is sensitive to.

 

[debsmad]

...

 

[soapbubble]

It's strange but I never even tried handmade soap until i started making it. :?

i liked chemistry in school and missed tinkering around w stuff. The soap we were buying from the store was soooooooo drying but smelled good, so i did some reading up in the library. dh hated the idea of using lye (he was a chemistry major) and after some "discussion" on it, we agreed he would mix the lye and i do the rest of it....

so far it's worked out...

 

[Deb]

The Old Man aka Dad complained that he couldn't find anything unperfumed like the 'grotty old yellow soap' his mother used to make. I asked how she made it. His response? 'You're in that medieval society, go find out. ' .....the rest, as they say, is history.

 

[IsItSoapYet?]

I love to hear what motivates other people. As for me, I have been buying handmade soaps for a few years, just for the luxury and also the skin on my upper chest and back breaks out when I am using the liquid body wash one can purchase at the store. Also, my little 3 year old son has had eczema since he was about 3 weeks old, and of course I have tried everything under the sun to remedy that and keep his skin clear and comfortable. I notice that his flare-ups are fewer and less severe when I am using my (very expensive!!) handmade soaps to bathe him and they get worse if I use anything commercially made, including the stuff marketed to be used on baby skin. So I decided to take the matter into my own hands - literally!- and bought a book with simple soap recipes, gave it a whirl and turned out the first batch about 6 weeks ago. Tried out on myself yesterday morning and on him last night at bathtime. I did well, my soap is really nice. No fragrance, a simple CP recipe and it seems to agree with both his skin and mine. Yay!! I made my second batch two nights ago - this one with EO's added, a little luxury for me! And I have a third recipe in mind to try as soon as I get a stick blender - St. Vinnies was closed today, and Goodwill didn't have any. Tomorrow......very pumped to make the next one!

 

[SilverMaple]

My husband's skin on his back and sides would get so dry in the winter it would crack and ooze. He'd lie awake at night itching. Lotions didn't help, prescription creams didn't help.

One day at a craft store I bought a soapmaking MP kit. It was fun, and even that cheap, crummy MP soap helped him a bit. I started doing research and came to realize how bad commercial soaps can be for someone with sensitive skin. I bought some higher-quality MP and his problems improved tremendously. Then I 'bit the bullet' and started making CP and HP and his skin is now smooth and itch-free. I didn't notice how dry regular soap made my skin until I started making soaps, either. I used to apply lotion dozens of times a day to my hands-- now, much less often. I don't break out anymore, and I'm not itchy after a shower.

Now I have my family and friends hooked.

 

[BakingNana]

I've purchased "lye soap" at various theme parks and from our local Cracker Barrel to use in my laundry room for years. I now have a granddaughter with eczema who is bothered by strong soaps and strong perfumes. On a whim one night I let her use a bar of my 'plain' soap and within a few days her legs were so much better and she wasn't itching. I figured since this soap was just lard and lye and people have been making it for centuries, I'd do some research on soapmaking. That was a year ago, and last month I finally had the courage to try CP. Just like everyone else, BLAMMO-bitten by the soap bug! I now have shelves in my basement stuffed with soap making supplies, umpteen EOs and FOs (I like stinky stuff), three handmade wooden log molds, a ton of oils and butters, and three yummy batches curing with enough plans for future batches to supply the entire country with soap!

 

[jennikate]

Don't laugh to hard at me but I got interested after watching Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe when He went and made GM soap. So after much research including library books youtube vids this and a couple other forums I am going to make batch 3 this evening.

 

[Gramma Judy]

I started because I belong to another forum and was there all of the time working on my candlemaking. I would always drift over to the bath & body side of the forum and drool over the soap pics. After five years, I decided I had enough drooling and decided to give it a try. No turning back. I still make candles, but I think I like soap more. I am also getting ready to do lotions and such. I am sensitive to so many commercial products and DH has such a horrible time with his fingers cracking in the winter, that I need to make something that will help us both out.

 

[ibariaSoap]

I began working for a company (Cibaria Intl) that started a division that provided carrier oils to soap makers... and to better learn about marketing to that niche', I decided it was time to learn to make soap!

 

[rob]

For me, it was mostly "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk (full of erroneous information), and my obsessive dislike for artificial scents (or, "stink", as i tend to call it). I didn't like that the only readily-available scentless soaps at the supermarket were, like, $3 each and totally lacking in character.

Been lurking here/occasionally posting for a few months, and i kinda feel like the odd man out over here. But, my soaps have been wildly popular with coworkers and friends, mostly thanks to the info i've found here.

So, um, thank you
-rob

 

[BakingNana]

Rob, I've heard Fight Club mentioned on this forum before. Now you really have me curious....gonna have to hit Blockbuster! 8)

You're spoiling your co-workers and friends with your wonderful soap!!!! I like stinks, personally, but lots of people (my sister for one, granddaughter for another) are sensitive to them or just plain dislike them. Nothing beats a well-made homemade soap -- stinky or not!!

Happy soaping!!

 

[alwaysme07]

I was reading a book about the old days and wanted to try making my own. Now every time I use store bought soap I itch like crazy and there is no stopping. I was so happy when I first used my soaps there no more running out of soap here :shock: . I'm making more later this week to keep the stock up. At first I was afraid of the NaOH, but now I walk really slow with it.

 

[rob]

Rob, I've heard Fight Club mentioned on this forum before. Now you really have me curious....gonna have to hit Blockbuster! 8)

You're spoiling your co-workers and friends with your wonderful soap!!!! I like stinks, personally, but lots of people (my sister for one, granddaughter for another) are sensitive to them or just plain dislike them. Nothing beats a well-made homemade soap -- stinky or not!!

Happy soaping!!

bakingnana,

you might enjoy the book more than the movie, but either way, there's lots of violence and grossness. it's ostensibly about guys who ight eachother as sort of a social support group, and who finance this by making soap out of ... well, i guess you oughta rent it.

thing that weirded me out is, the book mentions that "..this fat has a lot of salt in it, so we have to render the salt out. if you're soap is too salty, it'll never get hard..." funny thing is, i use salt in my soap to make it hard.

you're right; my coworkers are spoiled. i'm going back to my old job p/t (2 jobs...blegh) and i might start selling some of my soap there, depending on their insurance. i have to learn to mill the stuff prettier, too! but, once i'm *selling* soap, i won't be giving coworkers freebies as often...

=D
-rob