I want to learn to make soap, a good for you bar soap, and here’s why-
I want it to be something with coconut oil and natural fragrance because I’m a girl & like smelling nice. I was given some handmade soap for my birthday this year. They’re fabulous. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get more once I go though the stock I have. Plus, if I can make my own it should save me a few pennies, right?
The cost of items such as deodorant, soap, and shampoo tend to be outrageous. The more I thought about it this morning the angrier I got. I’ve already got rants about what companies put into my food. Why not add a rant about the cost of soap and what they put into my personal hygiene products?
Most personal care products are designed to seep into your skin taking whatever chemicals are bonded together into your system. Long ranting aside, it’s no good over all. A lot of lipsticks contain arsenic. Yeah, that’s on your lips when you kiss your S.O. 99% of non-natural deodorants contain aluminum, which has been linked to breast cancer. And the list could go on.
As I thought about this, I was reminded of The Greatest Generation. The Greatest Generation, for those who don’t know, is my grandparents’ generation. The phrase was coined by Tom Brokaw to describe the generation of people in the United States who grew up during the Great Depression, fought & worked during World War II, and gave birth to the Baby-Boomers.
I grew up with stories of penny candy, working for a quarter a day, and how they never needed half what my generation (X or Y depending on what cut-off date you use) feels it needs. They’re right. I probably don’t need half of what I think I do, but we’ll save my “entitlement rant” for another time… or never.
I figure if my grandparents and however many generations before could survive by making their own care products or going without there’s no reason I can’t be crafty enough to do the same. So here I go, making another mini-goal for myself. I plan to wean my family away from the commercial products to more natural, potentially homemade, products that will be better for us and hopefully more cost effective.
I’d like my soap to be as natural as possible. Right now I’m having a problem finding a recipe for bar soap that can be made without lye or some pre-bought soap starter. I’ll find the answer; it’ll just take some time. I may even enlist the aid of some of my more eco-friendly, homesteading friends.
I’ll keep you up to date with what happens.
Cheers!
~Robyn
Fantastic! Eowyn and I just made our own deodorant (and soap) the other day. I agree, all the crap in our body ‘care’ products are ridiculous and disturbing when you see the ingredients. The one thing I am grateful for in this day and age is it is so easy to find out how to make things! Recipes abound!
That is one thing that I have had trouble finding, mostly because lye is a main ingredient not only in store bought soaps but also in home made soaps, even when it comes down to the older recipes. I’ll shoot you an email with the websites that I use for my references when it comes to OUR bath and body products.
Thanks! I appreciate that.