Soap Making Success

Back from the Conference

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:59:44 +0000

Well, I’m back from the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild conference safe and sound! It was a fabulous conference full of fun, information, fellowship and soap talk. The range of soapmakers from beginner to advanced, from young to not-so-young, from west to east coast was truly amazing. It is so wonderful to have an organization like the HSMG supporting our craft and our industry. It’s so hard to focus on “real life” when you come back from one of these events – I just want to spend all day in the kitchen making soap and trying the new things I learned!

I’ll be putting together a full report in a day or two…stay tuned for all the fun details!

Back from the Conference originally appeared on About.com Candle & Soap Making on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 17:08:26.

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Making Soaps with Clays

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:52:17 +0000

I recently made a batch of shaving soap that came out really great! That batch motivated me to make a couple of other batches of soaps with clays. I love using a bit of Rose Clay for a color swirl. Clays are wonderful, natural colorants, with great properties all their own. I love the silky creaminess of the soaps…and the super clean feeling they leave.

Making Soaps with Clays originally appeared on About.com Candle & Soap Making on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 21:59:58.

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Open Question: It never ceases to be interesting riding the public T.?

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:04:15 +0000

I get on the bus. i make a bee line to the back and sit next to the window.

I look down at window.

there on the frame of the window sits a dime with spit on it.

I say to my self, “Hmmm, do i dare to touch this spit to get the dime??? I think NOT! lmao

Just out of curiosity, grant it, i know that you wouldn’t do it for a dime. but if it was a 5 dollar bill would you go fishing for it?

hey, i say… that’s what soap and water is for.

how about you?

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Open Question: Is normal citric acid edible?

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:27:46 +0000

I am making sherbet using citric acid, icing sugar, jelly crystals and baking soda but is this citric acid from Auzzie soaps okay 2 use?

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Open Question: I like watching soaps(soap operas), i would watch this serial called ‘boston legal’ and liked it?

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:08:03 +0000

what i liked mostly was the conversation people had.. you see am not that good at English and am told that watching a lot of soaps will help.. so am looking for serials where there is a good deal of INFORMATIVE conversation.. in other words stuff that makes sense.. and the language should be relevant to the today’s culture.. can you please list some shows/soaps/serials that i can probably start downloading off the web and watch…

Help greatly appreciated.

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Open Question: Can someone help me? (want to die).?

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:18:50 +0000

I’ve been really depressed this year. I have been diagnosed with depression, a close friend of our family died, and my grandfather passed away. Along with that my father and I have been fighting about my grades. When my mother and I lived away from him for two years I had gotten straight A’s and was very happy, but then we moved back in with him and now my grades in my freshman year have been wavering.
He always seems to be in a pissed off mood when he comes home and I’ve started to become afraid of him again and it’s caused me to lie about my homework. My mom is afraid of him as well and lies like me about somethings we feel we can’t confide in him with. When we do get in a fight and I cry I usually run to my mom for comfort or to my room where I scream and try to let out all the pain I’m feeling. When I do this my dad calls me manipulative and tries to force my mom not to help me stop crying.
However when I lived away from my dad for two years I got along with him better and not so well sometimes with my mom. My mom (who was as fed up with him then as now) went onto a match.com site and met a man from France who very quickly wooed her and asked her to marry him. My dad and I found out and made her stop but then soon after she met up with an old college friend in the army and did the same thing over the internet with him. We stopped that as well but because of that experience I saw my dad cry for the first time.
Now I live with both my parents and have never been so unhappy in my life.
I once tried taking my life a couple years back and had to be hospitalized for a week, and now those feelings are coming back.
I’m so confused because my dad keeps saying he loves me but then makes me cry (one time he washed my mouth out with soap because he yelled at me for spilling milk and I got angry and told him to shut up) and this week went two whole days not talking to me. He’s still pissed off because I lied to him again but he stresses me out and he doesn’t understand that I’m having a rough year this year. I’ve tried SO hard in the past to make him happy by playing on sports teams, making beta club, going on a people to people trip to represent America, and then making straight A’s the last two years for him, and now when I’ve been struggling with depression, high school, and recently moving, he expects me to still be almost perfect. I feel like crying but I don’t want to leave him again because I don’t want to see him unhappy, but then again if I leave with mom he’ll hate me even more and say I’m just like my mother(my mom has some mental problems so he calls her crazy).
I really have been considering taking my life but I feel like I’m complaining over nothing and I’m just sucking up to everyone to excuse myself for not doing better in school.
I really need some advice because I’m sick and tired of crying and feeling suicidal…

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Open Question: My shower anxiety is back?

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:04:30 +0000

I posted a question about this probably a few months ago, I seemed to have conquered it but now it’s back with vengeance.

A lot has happened since my last question, I don’t use the same shower anymore, I use a totally different bathroom.

About a month or maybe two ago, I made a verbal agreement with my parents that if I were to get a special showerhead (nothing specific, just handheld and not lo-flow, I have longer hair, and a standard showerhead doesn’t get my hair 100% clean) that I would use the shower in my bathroom, which I didn’t use originally, because it had a lo-flow head that didn’t get the soap out of my hair at all. Anyway, about a month ago they got me a really nice showerhead, and installed it. Now, I use the shower in my bathroom.

Now that that’s out of the way, I had some adjusting anxiety (I’ve suffered with anxiety basically my entire life up to this point) at first, but got over it and I got to the point to where I’d get in, shower, enjoy it, and get out with ease. Now lately, for maybe the past 2 weeks, I’ll walk into my bathroom slowly, get my hair all brushed, set my clothes down, get out everything I need for the shower, walk over, turn the water on, and I’ll start shaking. When I do get in, I’m okayish for the first few things, then I’ll suddenly get really shaky, my vision will blur, I’ll get a bit dizzy, and I have trouble breathing, which is all part of me being anxious. It’ll make me rush, so I’m not all the way clean, I’ll about slip and fall trying to hurry up, I’ll drop things, etc.

When I scare myself into rushing, finish, and get out of the shower, I’m shaky for a bit but then I’m perfectly fine, and I get mad at myself for rushing and freaking out.

When I get nervous, I immediately start telling myself I’m okay (usually in my head, but sometimes I’ll catch myself speaking out loud) and then I’ll tell myself to slow down, and I’ll peek my head out the curtain to get some cooler air and to look around, then I’ll continue, but sometimes it doesn’t work. It’s the dizziness that scares me, I’ll end up backing up into the backwall of the shower, or leaning against the sidewall and just sit there silently panicking.

For me, it’s getting ridiculous, because I know that nothing can harm me and I know that I’m not doing something I’ve never done before. But it’s really getting to me.

At one point I thought it was claustrophobia, but opening the curtain a little bit didn’t help very much. I also kept the bathroom door slightly opened to keep the bathroom cooler, so the steam wouldn’t make it hard to breathe, but no luck.

I need to stop panicking, I love my shower, and I would feel bad if I would scare myself into not using the shower, because my parents probably paid $ 50 for my showerhead.

Can I have some ideas on how to calm myself down?

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Open Question: Good soap for very dirty hands?

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:01:07 +0000

I need a good soap for cleaning gross mechanic hands. GoJo seems pretty “meh.” Or maybe if you have any good tips for getting hands clean…that would be nice, as well. I know with GoJo it works pretty slick if you don’t add any water until after you rub the grime out of your skin, but that actually doesn’t do as good of a job as needed. I know they make fingernail brushes, but those like to remove skin after a while.
Thank you for answers. I work on jet engines, GoJo works but only to a certain extent. I think the baby hair brush is an excellent suggestion. Thank you. This could all be avoided if I would wear gloves, but I have no dexterity whatsoever when I do.

The engine oil trick sounds interesting, but my job would not go with that at all. Thank you, though.

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Getting Ready for the HSMG Conference

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:09:59 +0000

I’m getting ready to head to the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild conference in Portland, Oregon! I’m a speaker this year – and am going to be talking about the qualities of soapmaking oils and how to formulate your own soap recipes. I’m really looking forward to it!

The conference runs three days, with classes and presentations held during the day and parties sponsored by major vendors like Bramble Berry, Wholesale Supplies Plus and Essential Wholesale. Dinner on the last night is the Annual Awards Banquet where soap awards are given, and the location for next year’s conference is announced.

A variety of speakers, both from inside and outside the handcrafted soap industry, are scheduled each year, covering a wide range of subjects of interest to soamakers. Topics usually include various aspects of cold process and soap making, soapmaking, marketing, promotion, websites, labeling, and a smattering of business concerns. It’s an amazing thing to be surrounded by SO many people who love the art and craft of soapmaking. I’ll be blogging about the conference throughout the week…look for more news!

Getting Ready for the HSMG Conference originally appeared on About.com Candle & Soap Making on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 20:48:58.

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Open Question: Hungry but no appetite?

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:10:37 +0000

Okay so I get starving and I’ll go get food but then i’ll take a bit and it tastes funny or I’ll smell it and it makes me not hungry. It’s weird. No eating disorder. Usually it’s the exact opposite. I’m always hungry and can’t stop eating, but everything tastes bad or makes me sick. Meat makes me weak. Milk products make me want to throw up. Certain fruits and veggie tables make me want to gang. Bread feels funny in my mouth. Water tastes funny( sometimes metallic sometimes gritty – depending on which faucet it comes from). Just looking at any chocolate or bread like sweets(i.e. cakes, pies, etc.) makes me lose all craving for food. I tried chicken broth for a while but now it just doesn’t taste right either. Ice cream and candy is my weakness! I love it – but now i went from a huge bowl to a few bites making me sick. Candy sometimes i can handle depending on the type. I would thing food allergy would be obvious – like with the milk – but it’s EVERYTHING. And it’s not like severe side effects – it just tastes funny or something else along those lines :/ Even the foods i used to love ( oh like those frosted animal crackers or pringles) taste HORRIBLE. I can stomach some things like apples – actually that’s all i can stomach. Anyways, it’s like i’m BORED of food. It’s bland and unappealing. Is it possible to that lazy that i just don’t want to chew anymore? I mean it’s hard to swallow this stuff. It’s like someone’s shoving something down my throat that i think is horrible. Maybe a texture issue? I have a lot of ocd issues too. Like I have to drink out of a clear glass or I can’t leave my drink in the room alone otherwise i have to pour it out. Same with food. Can’t leave it unattended – i have a fear of bugs and eating them. Sooo lol. I also can’t let utensils or anything touch stuff like counters of let it hit anything on its way out of the cabinet or it’s ‘dirty’. Same with my hands if i feel like i touched something contaminated – germ – x. Soap won’t cut it. Has to be germ – x. Probably unrelated to my eating issues but maybe it’s just my ocd getting worse? I know my phobia of insects, reptiles, and snakes cause a lot of issues lol ( especially things like centipedes, maggots, worms, – anything that has a body like a snake). So no spaghetti.I know a few weeks back taco bell closed down because of maggots being in the drink machine so mayeb that’s why. But i was fine until a week ago. I just drank nothing but water. This is just a theory I just want to know lol. Don’t focus on just my ocd issues though maybe it’s something I can fix easily because I don’t think it’s healthy to lose 10 pounds in like 8 days. It’s gets worse each day I don’t want to be stuck in a hospital with everything thinking I’m anorexic or something when i feel disgusted with food. Helllllp. xP
no nuts. I hate nuts lol. They have ALWAYS tasted funny to me. And it’s not anorexia. It can’t be. I have body image issues like everyone else, but I’m lazy and don’t exercise. I don’t purge or anything like that. I mean it’s impossible. As for ocd that might be it. But it’s not like i think ewwww like i normally do. idk. Ever since i found a fly in my drink when i was a kid i’ve been like this lol. SUCKS! I just poured a glass of soda and i had to rub the cap to get rid of the ‘dirty’ feeling i get because the part that goes towards the open part of the bottle touched the counter, but if it was the other way i’d still have to do it because the ‘dirty air’ touched it. I have to rub lmao. All-organic in this family and in this town pshhh. That’s not going to happen. Gotta love americans and their disgusting eating habits and their lack of will power to change their comfort zones.No meds. I need sleeping pills but no such luck ye

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