Intro - DanaR

[DanaR]

Good evening!

My name is Dana. I am 33y/o, married 13 years, no human children, but we have fuzz-baby (cat) named Yuri, who is 11 months old.

At this point I am interested in making soap, but I haven't done any serious readying for it, like purchasing a scale or immersion blender!

My husband is terribly allergic to scents, so my sole reason for wanting to make soap is to ensure that we have some on hand that he can use. Plus it sounds like fun! Because of his allergies and our small house, I highly doubt that even MAKING scented soaps (with FO and maybe some EOs) would bother him, even if it wasn't for him to use!

Just to see if he would like homemade soap, I purchased a sampler pack from a seller on Etsy (soap ends). He immediately said that the package was scented... but the smell was from the rose clay bar, which didn't have added scent. That bar has Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Canola Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, and Rose Clay. I'm not sure which one he's reacting to, so I think that means I'll need to stick with simpler soaps. The other bars are: Unscented with Avocado Oil, Unscented Goats Milk and Olive Oil, and Goat's Milk Honey and Olive Oil.

Anyway, at the moment I'm poking around, looking for ideas and learning! We still have two of the purchased bars to go through, and if those seem to both his allergies, I'll look into buying from another shop with a more basic bar, maybe something for a baby.

Time to head off to work, nice to "meet" you all!

 

[Genny]

Welcome to the forum

Did he actually have a reaction to the soap you purchased or did he just say that he could smell it? Sometimes people get it in their heads so badly that they're allergic to all scents when in reality they're not. I have a Sister In Law who is like that.

 

[whistlernatural]

I have seen that often as well, Genny... one of my business partners has quite a few allergies and once she gets in her head that something smells even remotely like something she has an allergy to she won't go within 10 ft of it. Her daughter also has a very serious nut allergy, so we stay away from any ingredients with nuts. Needless to say, we have had a few interesting discussions - we are yin and yang, so actually make a good team

Have you tried just a plain liquid castile soap for your husband?

Lisa
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http://www.whistlernaturals.com

 

[DanaR]

I am sure it is some of that very thing. He is very "scent shy"; he has gotten so sick in the past from lotions, perfumes, laundry detergents, shampoos and conditioners, etc. that he would rather not take the chance.

Anything that smells "strong" he is wary of. Because he has been avoiding strong smells most of his life, he now simply finds strong smells to be off-putting and unpleasant, even if he isn't allergic to them. When we were first married that used to bother me, and I missed my scents. But now I'm used to it, and find I can pick up on scents much easier and also find a lot of them unpleasant, especially if they are "fake" smelling.

Lisa, we have a great "natural" liquid dish soap that we are fond of, but he prefers solid bars in the bath. We used to buy a castille soap (Kirk's, I believe?), but the store doesn't stock a lot of it, and they are rather expensive.

I am really looking for something to "create" and gift away the excess. We love to cook, but aren't big sweet-eaters, so mass quantities of cookies just won't cut it.

Can anyone point me to a recipe that might be mild and easy enough for a first try? I wouldn't be opposed to a liquid for the sinks.

 

[Hazel]

Hello and welcome!

There are some recipes in the Share your favorite soap recipe section and in the Soap Making Recipes & Tutorials section. You could browse through these and see if anything sounds interesting to try. I want to mention that you should always check a recipe in a lye calculator since typos can and do occur.