Come in and browse my shop
http://soap.etsy.com - I personally make everything all my goodies!
♥ Etsy made me feel loved:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-success-stories-soap-1386
All soaps are shipped wrapped individually with info on the label. Read on for "About Me."
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Inventory Update and News ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
► Currently SOLD OUT soaps and other products (some are temporary) OR CURING
---- I'm discontinuing some of my lavender or patchouli eo blends due to availability (and sourcing) of those essential oils.
• Velvet Cafe - permanently sold out but I may mix a v 2.0
• Vetiver
• Flutter
• Tiare
• Monster Orange (discontinued as I like the tangerine scent toned down - contact me if you you'd like a made-to-order of this scent, 7 bar minimum
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62697600/7-big-soaps-handmade-cold-process-blue, 3 week turnaround to ship)
• SEDUCTION - sold out and discontinued - too bad, this was one of my fav patch blends too.
• Mango Dreams (I've opted for Pineapple Yuzu as my "tropical fruit" through the rest of 2011)
• Orchard Mist (done for 2011, likely will be back Spring 2012)
• Mojito (done for 2011, likely will be back Spring 2012 although maybe in a slightly different color)
• Mystic (discontinued) - but it has evolved into Midnight Mystic!
• Romp Through The Woods (done for 2011; discon'd while I evaluate prices of patchouli eo)
• Pineapple Yuzu (OUT)
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2009/open-studio-tour-soap/ post serious clean up before the pic was shot.
I personally make my cold process soaps from scratch starting with my own blend of non-hydrogenated food-grade oils (olive, soy, coconut, sustainably harvested non-habitat palm and/or rice bran), resulting in a gentle soap with retained glycerin (its one of the natural by products of the soap making process) and completely cured. In various bars, I may also use rosemary oleoresin (an anti oxidant), mineral pigment (for color, I don't use dyes), annatto seed extract for yellows to oranges (if you're familiar with Mexican food, it might be more familiar as achiote), coconut charcoal (for black color), oatmeal (as noted), honey (as noted - only in my Hello Sweetness bars), and/or other botanicals like dill weed, tea leaves and coffee. In some bars, I also use clays (Green French, Rassoul and/or kaolin white). Unless otherwise noted, each bar is scented with essential oils and/or body-graded fragrance. Each soap is unique & comes wrapped (pictures show examples only, actual packaging changes periodically to suit my mood, but tasteful always.
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2009/open-studio-tour-soap/ post serious clean up before the pic was shot.
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------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME -------------------------------------------
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I'm a former lab-rat-turned-desk-jockey-turned-professional artist and Chief-Soap-Maker. Wait, I'm the ONLY soap maker! ;) I sold my first bar of soap to the public well before Etsy was created but this site has allowed me to giddily expand my soap line-up. Years of working in a lab make soap-making easier, but my personal history and tastes (and sometimes allergies) provide the creative force behind my products and scents. I have suffered from a life-long skin sensitivity to various commercially-made products, including clothing dyes, laundry softeners, facial soaps and similar products. Because of this history, I'm careful about the colors I use in my products: mineral or other skin-safe pigments (no synthetic dyes) sparingly. I PERSONALLY make my products (no help, alas). I also personally test all of my products, all of which either I or my family and friends use on a daily basis. My products have not been tested on animals (except me!). All of my products are cruelty-free and downright pleasure-giving!
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------------------------------------------------ WHY HANDMADE SOAPS? ------------------------------------------------
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Handmade soaps are made from natural oils and retain glycerin which is made during the soapmaking process (it's released from the oils). I PERSONALLY make my soaps, from start to finish. My soaps do not contain artificial foaming agents found in a lot of commercial products which can be overly stripping.
Why is everyone excited about glycerin? It's a humectant (hygroscopic) which basically just means it attracts moisture and keeps it close to the skin. Because of this premium property many commercial soaps remove the glycerin produced during the soap-making process, diverting it to more expensive cosmetics. Recent studies suggest the mechanism for this, so at least this long use seems to be justified! Yay, so glad all my scientific training comes in handy. ;)
I personally test (read: on MY skin) a slice from each batch before it's released to the public.
VEGAN OR NO? Except for my Hello Sweetness soap (scented with honey) and sugar scrub, all other products are vegan (scrubs made with USDA organic unrefined sugar from a local company may be requested).
► ► ► all created in a pet- and smoke-free environment & all materials handled with nitrile gloves
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A WORD ABOUT "NATURAL"
Please note, the term "natural" is unregulated, which means it pretty much can mean something different to what you might expect. Nor does that label synonymous with "safest" - for example "peru balsam" has been identified by the Mayo Clinic in a list of substances implicated in sensitivities and/or allergies. I use the what I consider the SAFEST ingredients possible and sometimes that means a material usually found in nature is made to provide a safer source, free of contamination, such as lead. Unless someone is making their own lye from leached wood ashes, ALL solid bar soap made from scratch uses a strong alkali (usually sodium hydroxide) which is made commercially. It may be "nature-identical" but don't let anyone tell you it's not man-made. It (or potassium hydroxide) is required to convert oils into soap + glycerin and none of it is left over in the final soap product, BUT it is added in initially. So while there is soap made from natural oils and fats, there is not any 100% natural soap - it's a processed and person-made item. This is true even if someone is making their own lye from rainwater and ashes and titrating it to determine its strength, which presents its own dangers (unknown strength of lye which is crucial to making soap properly and for safety reasons).
The FDA has banned use of naturally-harvested pigments due to potential and frequent lead contamination. Pigments are rated lip and eye make-up-safe or only skin-safe, not to be used on the eyes or lips. Please also be aware many plant extracts may contain naturally-occurring chemicals which may be harmful - it is always important to ask sellers to provide a specific ingredient list, including of botanicals used. Some essential oils may not be suitable for use in lip balms (there is a special grade called FCC for food / lip grade eos).
Bottom line - ask people what they mean by natural specifically, if you're concerned. Just, please, do not make assumptions one way or another when seeing the word "natural" or "pure" ("pure what?") or similar marketing term.
OK, I'm off my soap box - drop me a line if you'd like to chat about this.
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More About My Crafting History
My interest in all things creative started young. Most of my memories of my creative life have blurred over the years but for some reason my beginnings in serious crafting stuck. For many years I was a hardcore yarn enthusiast - I started crocheting when I was about 5. My aunt gave me some yarn and an entire set of crochet hooks. My parents kind of tolerated my creative side as long as it didn't interefere with my studies and my aunt continued to provide me with supplies for holidays and birthdays. From there, I taught myself to knit by reading a little part of knitting instruction books every time I was in a store which had them. I saved some gift money and bought one pair of needles and I'd rush back home to try to knit. Anyway, I've come a long way since then but after I graduated from college, didn't have time for a long time to do anything creative. A few years back, I decided to get back to what was important and although I still don't knit or crochet very much any more, I've come back to full-time creating, mostly with my painting and secondarily my soaping but here and there I create in other ways. I've recently discovered my table saw - I've always sucked at wood-working to the dismay of my Dad who is an excellent woodworker and who couldn't understand why my school project had so much putty in the end. Perhaps it was from inhaling all of the solvents in working with acrylics in the same class (which ROCKED except for the enviromental aspect, in retrospect). But as lame as I am with woodworking, I made the soap beveler I use to bevel my soaps and one of my cold-process soap molds all by myself.
OK, slightly off track. Anyway, since etsy has been so user-friendly, I've expanded from my initial intention to just list my handmade soaps ~ I'm very glad to have found the site and for the great connections I've made in this community. I also paint!
► TAKE ME TO THE STORE
http://soaps.etsy.com
► DRY SKIN CARE:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/soap?section_id=5007977
►Aluminum-free vegan DEODORANTS:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/soap?section_id=5007974
►LIP CARE:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/soap?section_id=5007990
►PERFUME OILS:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/soap?section_id=5007993
►SOAPS MADE FROM SCRATCH:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/soap?section_id=5007945
►DUDES:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/soap?section_id=5008005
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♥ SISTER SHOPS
♥
http://soaps.etsy.com (the visually more creative side with high-quality soap base)
♥
http://handmadesoap.etsy.com (supplies for soaping and general crafting)
► New Releases and random pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/handmadesoap
Etsy made me feel ♥'d:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/spotlight/article/etsy-success-stories-soap/1386
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2009/open-studio-tour-soap/
► JOIN MY EMAIL LIST ~~~ AddMeToYourEmailList [!at] bathinginluxury.com
For more about my Etsy activities (as handmadesoap, soaps), please read my Store Policies page.
