Why do you think soap is so special to you?...

[AnnaO]

... OK I'll be first ...

.... many many moons ago, perhaps around 1967 or 1968 or so, when I would have been maybe 2 or 3 years of age, I was given as a Christmas present a set of Avon soaps.

There were 3 soaps in all, and although my memory is somewhat hazy I do know for sure that they were shaped into kittens. And I fell completely in love with the teal/turquoise coloured soap of the three.

In fact I loved it so much I talked to it all of the time and carried it around with me for several months. To me it was a real kitten, and at the time it was my very best friend!

So much so that i was inconsolable when I saw it eventually dissolve away when it was finally decided that enough was enough, it was soap, and that it was about time to bathe me with it

So to be honest I think that's where my zeal for soapmaking originates... part of me wants my little turquoise soap kitten back!

 

[MarisaJensen]

When I was little I would always ask to spend more time in the tub or shower. I love feeling clean, smelling good, and I just loved soaps in general. This continued as I got older and I would search for the nicest and prettiest soaps to have in my home. I was a regular at L'Occitane , L*USH, and N@ples Soap. Eventually it became too expensive and I realized that some of the companies were't listing their ingredients and some where adding sulfates.

It wasn't until I met my hubby that I realized how allergic he was to all my store bought soaps and I decided to start making our own soaps without the nasty ingredients. Within time his skin got better and we just fell in love. Since then we have been making soap and most of our bath and body products. I love the ability to create exactly what I want, how it will feel and how it looks. I get great satisfaction when I'm making soaps and body items.

 

[jblaney]

I have always been very creative and my creativity used to be in baking. Elaborate cakes and fabulous Christmas cookies were my favorite. Everyone told me I should make a living doing it, so I enrolled in baking classes and it was great...until I become too ill to go to class. I discovered I was very sensitive to wheat and can't eat it...along with many other food sensitivities. Soap making allows me to still be very creative, but it won't make me sick. I'm still sensitive to coconut oil and some fragrances make me a little ill, but overall I really feel it let's me express my artistic side and I'm happier for it.

 

[IrishLass]

Anna- was your soapy kitten one of these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/361015028638?lpid=82

Or one of these? https://www.etsy.com/listing/111525607/vintage-avon-furry-purry-and-scurry?ref=related-1

I honestly don't know where my soap-making zeal originates from. Soap-making is just something I happened to have stumbled into as I was busy making other things like perfume and body butter, but once I made my first soap, there was no going back for me. I was hooked like I've never been hooked on a hobby before. It's been almost 10 years now and I'm still hooked! I can't say that about many of my other hobbies, though (porcelain doll-making, oil painting, ceramics, etc....).

I guess I find soap-making so appealing because it's able to satisfy my creative side without filling up my house with useless trinkets. It's nice to be able to put all my creative energy into something that can be used for a good purpose instead of just sitting around looking pretty and collecting dust. lol

In regards to fond childhood memories of soap, I have fond childhood memories of when I was about 2 or 3 years old when my grandma would wash my hands at the sink before eating. I couldn't wash them well enough on my own and so she would 'help' me. I just loved the feeling if her soapy hands washing mine (I miss my grandma).

Another childhood soapy memory dates back to kindergarten and washing my hands in the bathroom before snack-time. The liquid soap that they had in the dispensers had a very distinctive smell, and for whatever reason I really liked it (probably because it meant that snack-time was next, lol). Anyway, it wasn't until I made my own liquid soap for the very first time just a few years ago (with 65% olive oil) that I smelled that very distinctive smell again, and I was immediately transported right back to my childhood. I'm convinced they must've used an unscented olive oil-based liquid soap in those dispensers, because my unscented olive oil-based liquid soap is exactly what that kindergarten soap smelled like.


IrishLass

 

[AnnaO]

Irish Lass - my memory is so hazy, but I resonate more with the second link I think.

The colour was a deep teal/turquoise though, darker than in the picture.
I would so love to replicate the original colour in my soaps !

Thank you so much for the links though! I shall now commence a search of 1960's Avon kitten soaps!
(Oooer I feel sooo old ! )


Thank you so very much for posting those links

 

[AnnaO]

When I was little I would always ask to spend more time in the tub or shower. I love feeling clean, smelling good, and I just loved soaps in general. This continued as I got older and I would search for the nicest and prettiest soaps to have in my home. I was a regular at L'Occitane , L*USH, and N@ples Soap. Eventually it became too expensive and I realized that some of the companies were't listing their ingredients and some where adding sulfates.

It wasn't until I met my hubby that I realized how allergic he was to all my store bought soaps and I decided to start making our own soaps without the nasty ingredients. Within time his skin got better and we just fell in love. Since then we have been making soap and most of our bath and body products. I love the ability to create exactly what I want, how it will feel and how it looks. I get great satisfaction when I'm making soaps and body items.

Oh Marisa, I do so love the way your soap making earned you the love of your man! That has made my day!
Personally though I think it was my ability in home brewing which won me mine, but that's another story...

 

[Ruthie]

When I was a child, I would sit on the back steps at my grandmother's house and watch her make soap. That was as close as I was allowed to get, of course, for safety reasons. But ever since then I have wanted to make soap. I also agree with IrishLass in that I have to use my creativity, but don't like having a bunch of trinkets laying around. Soap making is the hobby that fills that need. And it can also provide gifts for others as well as giving to those less fortunate. Also I hope by the time I retire, it will be at least self-supporting, if not adding a bit of income.

 

[neeners]

I had a milk goat, and I couldn't bear to throw away any milk (stuff not for human consumption). I started making soap to prevent that, and now I use soap as a way of making a keepsake out of something that's perishable. I no longer have my beloved goat, but the memory of the good times we had lives on in the soaps I made from her milk, and now every time I make soap, I think of her.

 

[JustBeachy]

My favorite grandparents lived on a small farm. Great down to earth people, who grew up and lived a simple and full life. Grandpa taught me to hunt, fish, carpentry. (also to spit, cuss and fight, haha) Grandma taught me to make stuff. Pickles, sourkraut, kolaches, etc. and also how to make lye soap.

While Grandpa gave us grief about learning the "women's chores", my parents wanted us to learn and experience all of things they had to offer. Most of the stuff stuck around. I don't hunt anymore, can't stand the cold. But I fish, make some great poppyseed kolaches and love making soap.

 

[KatieShephard]

I've always loved the idea of "creating"...making something out of nothing. The fact that I can make something, with my own two hands...that's very fulfilling. And the bonus is that it's useful and that I can be artistic about it with the colors and scents and swirls...

Plus...I feel like a mad scientist/Breaking Bad bada$$...this just feeds into my little ego

 

[navigator9]

Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money, so I always made doll's clothes, houses, etc., and other things that I wanted, by hand. Back then, it was out of necessity, and little did I ever imagine that it would eventually grow into loving all things hand made. I love to make hand knitted things, bread from scratch, I made and sold jewelry for a while, I do some woodworking, I sew, I garden......working with my hands is what I love best. My best friend always laughs when we're shopping and I see something I like and say, "We could make that!"

When my girlfriend went to Europe and brought me back a bar of olive oil soap, I fell in love. I started to research what it would take to make soap from scratch, and I've never looked back. I really love that the soap I make is uniquely mine. I loved working on my very own recipe, batch after batch. And I love being able to introduce people who've never tried handmade soap, to the experience of what really good soap can be. Soap is something we all use every day. It doesn't have to be utilitarian......it can be amazing!

And you guys!!!! I can't believe those Avon soaps!!! Isn't it funny that we can remember something like soap from that long ago? Little did I ever imagine that the 3 bears soaps that I loved from the 1950s (it had to be before 1955, because of the house we were living in then) could still be around. I don't remember talking to mine, Anna O, but I did play with them like they were toys, and lo and behold, thanks to this post, I found them. I remember them vividly, the box had three beds printed on it, so when you put the bears in it, it was like you were putting them to bed. I can still remember what they smelled like, like it was yesterday. Thank you for this post, I've thought about those soaps at times over the years, it's funny the things you remember.....but I never imagined I'd see them again. Here they are.I can't tell you the memories this picture brings back to me.
https://img1.etsystatic.com/034/0/6709322/il_340x270.616413099_pzsk.jpg

 

[DWinMadison]

For me, it's the intersection of several roads: It's where simplicity, stress relief, creativity and faith all meet. I started soaping (along with carpentry, gardening, canning/preserving etc., each in season) on a personal back-to-basics/survivalist Quixotic quest. Soaping works nicely in the colder months when it's no fun being outside. I find that focusing on things that engage my mind and hands together brings me a great sense of peace...The world gets shut out and sometimes hours pass before I realize it. I call it "soaping zen." And it's the entire process too: scavenging for the best price on supplies; looking for or building molds, stamps, etc..; selecting colors and fragrances, researching new techniques. I like every step. As for the creative outlet, I'm sure we all share that. You just wouldn't choose to do this if you didn't get a rush our of cutting into that mold to see how it came out! Finally, I have found this to be an excellent extension of my faith--a unique way to bless others. There's nothing like placing a few bars of custom soap in someone's hands and seeing the joy it brings them.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

For me, it was partly necessity - the products targeted at men are pretty woeful. Coupled with the move from England to Austria, where I went from knowing the products to not really being sure what was good and what wasn't. Then I stumbled upon a guide to making coffee and walnut soap but as I wasn't sure how The Admirable Lady would find it (she's not a big coffee fan) I looked in to how soap works, which brought me here.

I wanted to make soap that actually did something worthwhile, not just a load of marketing rubbish. The Efficacious Gentleman was born - products that I would be happy to use.