My first attempt and so many questions.

[PrimDawg]

I haven't made anything resembling soap ever, so hope I'm not too annoying. Due to other circumstances I'm going to have to delay soap making for a bit but after research I figured out I have all the ingredients needed to make a shower lotion bar. The only thing I'll need to buy starting out is a mold, and maybe an exfoliant ingredient if I decide to try that.
I kind of got interested in doing this because of my husband. A couple of years ago he experienced some major health issues, it started with his skin basically turning against him. After too many doctors, he finally went to a naturopath and got things under control. He spends a lot of money on natural lotions and such to keep his skin healing so I thought I'd try my hand at making him a shower lotion bar.
There are 3 ingredients that I'm trying to figure out what benefits if any they would add to the mix. None of the books I've bought really address this.
Turmeric, Matcha powder and wine are 3 ingredients I'd like to incorporate, not into one bar.
I'd love to find a reputable source explaining the benefits or even hazards of certain ingredients.
Sorry for the newb questions, feel free to send me off to other sites if this isn't the proper forum.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Hello

A great place to start is the swiftcraftmonkey site - its run by a wizard of a woman who shares so openly and in a very approachable way. She has lots of FAQs and newbie crib sheets to lay a great foundation.

One tip about the mould - if you're not scenting it (and even if you are it's not that bad) you can use silicone baking moulds. The type for individual muffins and that sort of thing are ideal as you can make smaller test batches without buying anything new

 

[cmzaha]

The first thing I would start doing is looking up the ingredients in the lotion he is using. You say his skin turned against him, which is not very descriptive. Knowing the issue and knowing the list in ingredients his lotion would be helpful, and lend to a starting. Tumeric is not for everyone and neither is matcha, it is only good if you are not allergic to it. Doc had my daughter get Tumeric capsules, because it has been somewhat proven, to take for her rheumatoid. It made her deathly ill.
You can infuse Tumeric and the Matcha powder in oil and use that oil in the shower bar. Just watch the percentage of Tumeric because it can be every staining. In my opinion not enough can be used to give much benefit. Please put down a good shower mat because they will make a shower very slippery. A tremendous amount of thought needs to go into making a product for people with autoimmune problems, of course I do not know he is is an autoimmune and I am not prescribing.

 

[PrimDawg]

Hello

A great place to start is the swiftcraftmonkey site - its run by a wizard of a woman who shares so openly and in a very approachable way. She has lots of FAQs and newbie crib sheets to lay a great foundation.

One tip about the mould - if you're not scenting it (and even if you are it's not that bad) you can use silicone baking moulds. The type for individual muffins and that sort of thing are ideal as you can make smaller test batches without buying anything new

Thanks so much, I'd heard of that site but didn't save it so have been searching!

I have quite a few silicone molds so will start with those.

 

[PrimDawg]

The first thing I would start doing is looking up the ingredients in the lotion he is using. You say his skin turned against him, which is not very descriptive. Knowing the issue and knowing the list in ingredients his lotion would be helpful, and lend to a starting. Tumeric is not for everyone and neither is matcha, it is only good if you are not allergic to it. Doc had my daughter get Tumeric capsules, because it has been somewhat proven, to take for her rheumatoid. It made her deathly ill.
You can infuse Tumeric and the Matcha powder in oil and use that oil in the shower bar. Just watch the percentage of Tumeric because it can be every staining. In my opinion not enough can be used to give much benefit. Please put down a good shower mat because they will make a shower very slippery. A tremendous amount of thought needs to go into making a product for people with autoimmune problems, of course I do not know he is is an autoimmune and I am not prescribing.

I didn't want to get too far into his issues as it was a two year battle! Basically it came down to a gluten issue, further inflamed by a developed reaction to neosporin. One doctor told him to use aveeno which we later discovered means wheat! So he basically went just green veggies and chicken, beef and then fish. We finally figured out he can't eat gluten,or even use topical products containing wheat products. Also, certain preservatives cause issues.
He takes turmeric daily so no issue with that as yet. His favorite salves and lotions contain shea, coconut oil, and or beeswax.