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“What’s the deal with homemade soap? I mean, sure it’s cute and all, but do I really want to spend extra money on soap that I use once a day in the shower?”
When I first started thinking about making homemade soap, I was doing it because I thought I could make it cheaper than what I was buying it for at the store. (We go through lots of soap in my house… and I’m not sure why, it’s not like my boys are super clean). I began researching the process of soap making, pouring techniques, colorants, essential oils, fragrance oils, etc. I watched at least 1000 hours of YouTube videos. And then I started making soap for my family and fell in love.
One of the first things I noticed was that the quality of all of our skin had improved. I have a teen and a tween in the house and they haven’t had much acne (remember not being very clean?). They remember to wash their face maybe three times a week. Maybe. I made them an activated charcoal and lavender facial bar and their face gets the occasional pimple, but nothing compared to their peers. (By the way, I’m still perfecting my facial bar recipe so they aren’t available for sale yet).
As for my own skin? Let me tell you a story about a time that a white girl from Nebraska who went to the beach with her friends for 8 hours while in California. My BFF and I ended up with sun poisoning (who knew that was even a thing?) and were violently ill for 48 hours. Putting on clothing felt like I was wearing barbed wire (and we won’t even talk about wearing unmentionables). The result of that fight with the sun? My upper arms were destroyed. I’ve always had freckles, but now the freckles were huge and had multiplied like bunnies. And my normally smooth arms were now completely covered in bumps. I tried everything over the counter I could find. I even tried some weird Pinterest concoctions (I should do my own episode of Pinterest fails). Nothing worked. I had consigned me self to the idea of no tank tops or sleeveless dresses for life.
And then, after three weeks of using only my homemade soap, I was drying off after a shower (literally the only time I get to myself, right moms?) when I realized my upper arms were completely smooth. Zero bumps. I could not believe it. After 20 years (ahem, 20 +years), my arms were bump free. I made everyone feel them. And although the guy at the grocery store was a little weirded out, I had made my decision. No more store bought soap for me. And as an added bonus, I love making soap so it’s been a win win.
When people hear that I make soap I hear two primary things:
- What do you think the biggest difference is between homemade soap and soap you can buy in the store?
- I have (fill in the blank skin abnormality), do you think homemade soap will help?
As for the first question people ask: the biggest difference between homemade soap and store bought soap is ingredients. With store bought soap you get what you get. You don’t get to have much say in what ingredients are used and they use a lot of detergents to make big bubbles. If you have a question about an ingredient, its not like you can ask the clerk from Target. Store bought soap needs to have an extended shelf life, so they are made with preservatives. My brother, who has been a life long user of a specific brand of store soap, FINALLY used a bar of soap I made for him. He said it lasted longer than his store soap and was the only soap he had used that didn’t “make it feel like it was peeling my skin off”. He is now both a believer and regular user.
As for the second question people have: with homemade soaps, you can ask the soapmaker about the ingredients. You can ask them why they chose the ingredients they did. You can ask them to help you find the best soap for you. And most homemade soaps are free from preservatives and detergents. You can f
Looking for a soap for a bridal shower? You can have them custom made by a soapmaker. Need a soap with no colorants or fragrance? Ask a soapmaker. Want unique gifts to give to your friends that they will love? Hand crafted soaps make great gifts!! #homemadesoapisbest