Soap making Day!

This beautiful Sunday afternoon finds me sitting down to make a blog post before Monday rolls around and my week gets rolling. 
Sweet hubby and I came home after an early church service to the smell of chili bubbling away in my large Crock pot and a cherry dessert in my smaller one.  I took a quick walk outside in the cheery sunshine before sitting down to a pleasing meal.

Now that we've eaten and cleaned up the kitchen, I wanted to let my blog friends know what I'm going to be up to tomorrow.  It's soap making time!

I gathered up my soap supplies while out and about yesterday and plan to get up early in the morning throw laundry into the washer and then get busy with my soap making.

I usually make my soap the old fashioned way with just lard, lye, and water, but thought I would swap out half of the lard for a blend of coconut, olive, and canola oils this time.  I'm thinking the coconut oil will add a little more lather to my soap.  We'll see.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

I've got to go out to my storage shed in a little while and get my soap making supplies down so that I can get hubby to wrap my soap mold with plastic wrap.  He does such a great job that my soaps come out wrinkle free. 

Just follow this link if you want my step-by-step instructions for making your own homemade soap.


What do you have planned for the week, anything special?
But then every day is special, isn't it?
Hope you have a great new week!

Yikes ~ I turned my hair RED!!!

So what do I have in common with this cute little Smoke Tree in my front yard?

Both of our crowning glories turned RED lately!

I like hers much better than mine though.

I finally got up the nerve to put some color on my hair for the first time ever!

I wanted to use a more natural route so I bought this from Sally's Beauty Supply,

Reshma Henna.

 

I chose Natural Chestnut since I thought it was the closest to my own hair color.

You see, I didn't want to change my hair color, I just wanted to cover my silver strands.



Well, I did cover the silver,

with RED!

 

This is Monday, one day after my henna experience.

 

It kind of reminded me of a childhood dream of mine, to have hair like one of my favorite tv stars.

 

But that was a dream that I left behind many years ago.

 

 

I was very surprised with my new hair color and it wasn't a happy surprise.

So what to do?

Google How to fade henna.

 

I won't go into all the details but one treatment included the items below:

distilled water, raw honey, cinnamon, VO5 Kiwi Lime Conditioner.

 



Mixed up, it looked like a mess, but on the bright side it did smell nice.

Yes, I actually put that on my hair, TWICE!



I couldn't tell if it lightened the reds at all, so I tried some other things that I won't go into detail about but will say that one included Dawn dishwashing detergent...my poor hair!

 

 

I kept running across the idea of lightening colored hair with crushed vitamin C tablets mixed with shampoo.

 

So, did I try that?

Sure, I was desperate.

 

Here's the results after the first try.

I think the red was a little more subtle.



 

And here's this morning, after my third treatment.

 

The sun was barely awake (as was I) when my son snapped this picture for me, but believe me when I say that the Vitamin C treatment really made a difference!

 

I even read where some ladies have taken off layers of old permanent dye with this.

The good thing is, it didn't uncover my silver strands, but I've decided that I can live with them when they do make their reappearance.  They weren't that bad after all. :)

 

Now if I can just grow out this short, short haircut...I'm never satisfied, am I?

 

P.S. If you're interested in the Vitamin C process to lighten colored hair just Google:  How to Lighten Dyed Hair with Vitamin C.

 

Oh, and good luck!

 



Menopause talk

Once upon a time, when I was in my mid 40's, I went to my OB/GYN for my annual check-up.  She is the doctor I've gone to since I was in my early 20's and that was with me through the births of my three children.  She's a few years older than me, a doctor, and a FEMALE, so I thought she would understand the weird things I was feeling now in my 40's.  I explained to her about how usually overly-organized me would now walk into the kitchen and turn around three times trying to figure out what I needed to do to get a meal underway.

Know what she said?  "It's probably just empty nest syndrome."  And she wrote out a prescription for an antidepressant!  Empty Nest syndrome?  I thought, "Is she crazy?  My nest is FAR from empty!"  Needless to say, I thankfully never had that prescription filled.

I suffered on with my symptoms until time for my next check up and decided to try another doctor.  This time I went to a male physician.  When I told him about my spacy mind among other problems, he gave me what looked like a smirk to me (I hate smirks), and with pen poised over his prescription pad said, "It sounds like menopause.  I can write you a prescription for hormones."  He wasn't even going to check to see WHICH hormones might be low!  I knew I didn't want synthetic hormones anyway so I began a search for a Naturopathic Physician.  The closest to my little town were in Birmingham or Atlanta, 1 1/2 to 2 hours away.

So at that point, I knew I was going to have to take my well-being into my own hands.  Thus began my search for hormone/menopause information.  I spent hours and hours on the internet.  I checked out every book on the topics from the public library and the local university's library.  And from everything I read, I found the sanest and most help from this book that I found in my public library.

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause
by John R Lee, M.D.

It was a God send for me because I found myself in the pages of this book.  So after devouring every page I ordered my first tube of bioidentical Progesterone Cream and the real test/trial began.  This is the first cream I ordered because it was one of the ones recommended in the book.

 

Emerita Pro-Gest® Cream -- 4 oz
$25.29 from Vitacost.com

   It started out working great!  I thought I had found my fix.  My whirling mind settled down, my anxious feelings went away, I could sleep again!  Everything that had changed for the worse went back to normal.  But after a few glorious weeks...other things started happening.  I started having a heavy, oppressive feeling.  I became weepy, and I am not normally a crier. Thinking I must not be using enough of the cream, I used more.  But the new symptoms just worsened so I left the cream off altogether and all the old symptoms returned.  I knew the cream could help but I just wasn't sure what I was doing wrong.

 

 So back to the book!

 

I found out that if you use more of the progesterone cream than your body needs, it can have this effect on you.  Without having hormone level tests, I didn't know which one(s) were lacking, so it was trial and error for me.  Until finally, I found the right amount of cream to use and it was a very small amount that I really needed.  A four ounce tube will last me about six months.  Truthfully, it probably took me four months to work out exactly how much cream was just the right amount for me.

 

But now?  It's smooth sailing.  On days 8-30 of each month I rub in a small dab of the cream every morning and a little bigger dab at night.  On days 1-7 of each month I take a vacation from the cream.  That's it!  I know many women have trouble with hot flashes during this time of their lives, and I've heard great reviews of the cream lessening them and some even stopping them.  I've thankfully never had hot flashes so I can't be of any help there. 

 

I've been using the progesterone cream for several years now.  I sometimes leave it off a while to see if I still need it since I am now officially in menopause, but when I do break from it the old symptoms come creeping back in.  I would prefer to use nothing, but if I have to use something, I prefer this over synthetic hormones.

 

I now rotate the brands of progesterone cream I use.  My body always seems to respond better to products when I do this.  Here are a few other brands of cream I've tried with equal results.  Most are cheaper than the Emerita brand.

 

Vitacost has the Source Naturals 4 oz.  Bonus tube for $11.99 right now.

 

 

 

This mist is very different from the creams. It is kind of oily but smells good and rubs in pretty well and I've had just as good of results as from the creams. However, at $16.89 for one ounce, it is not near as cost-efficient.  I do still order it every once in a while when I want a change from the creams but it will last two months tops, even with the small amount I use. 

 

I really like the pump dispenser that the Life-flo Progesta-Care comes in.  It gives pre-measured doses.  However, I don't use the recommended dosage.  But you don't have to give it a full pump so it still works well for me.  I like the smell of the lavender one best.

 

 

And since I'm almost out of cream I've got this one ordered and on the way to me right now.

  I'm looking forward to trying a new brand.

I ordered it from Swanson Vitamins and it is $11.99 for 3 oz. 

I have to admit that the smell of several of the progesterone creams is not very pleasant to me, the Emerita (to me) is the worse with the Source Naturals coming in second.  Some people say the Source Natural smells like rosemary and when I think of it that way it isn't quite as bad.  But when using the cream I just thank God that I found it and think of the scent as the scent of healing.

Now you know there's got to be a disclaimer here:  I am by no means a doctor (other than Dr. Mom), I have no medical training and I'm not saying these creams will work for everyone, just that they work for me.  I suggest you find a doctor that specializes in natural hormone replacement if at all possible and work with them to balance your hormones.  If like me, you can't find a medical specialist to help you then read everything you can about hormone replacement before starting it.  Dr. John R. Lee, that wrote the book mentioned above, went on to write several other books on the same subject.  I have purchased all his books, including the one about Breast Cancer, even though I've never had and hopefully will never have cancer, and gleaned much, much helpful information from each book.  The Breast Cancer book is also a good book for preventive care in my opinion.

Okay, after taking off the italics and turning back to friendly chatter, I would like to show you my own current Menopause Survival Kit:

Evening Primrose Oil has lots of healthy benefits but I take it mostly because it keeps my joints oiled, limber, and moving. 

And that's it, that's all I take.  No vitamins, no herbs, nothing else.  Believe me when I say I've tried lots of them but keep coming back to the Evening Primrose oil and progesterone cream.  I think these two products combined with healthy eating, sensible exercise, and prayer, keeps me healthy.

I just want you to know that I've stepped out of my comfort zone to write today's post only because I hope to help someone else that might be going through some of the same problems I did and feel kind of hopeless. 

I also hesitate to add this next information because I don't want anyone to think, "Uh huh, there's something in it for her and she's just doing this for a kick-back."    But here is  a way to save $10 off your first $30 or more Vitacost order: 

1.  Visit www.vitacostrewards.com

2.  Sign up and enter my email address:

ahappyvalentine@hotmail.com

 

 

If you do this, I will get a $10 credit too.  But I added this not for the $10 I might get, but for you.  Hope you know that. 

 

Love ya'll!!!!

 

      Sherry

 

P.S.  Please leave me comments.  I want to hear about your experience during this exciting time of your life!  :)

 

Help for dry winter skin

Every fall and winter, as the weather gets colder, my skin gets drier.
It seems the older more mature I get, the worse the problem.

I'm so excited to have found help for my dry skin this year!
Believe it or not, I didn't find this idea on the internet.
I found it in my own little noggin!

Now I'm sure someone else has already thought of this but they didn't tell me about it!

Here's my cute little partner in my fight against dry winter skin.

 

This chubby little fellow that used to dispense the sweet honey for my morning oatmeal is now filled with vegetable oil.

He sits on my shower shelf waiting to help moisturize my dry skin during my nightly shower.

 

After washing my face with a washcloth and just plain water, I sqeeze a little of the oil onto my washcloth and rub over the rest of my body just like I would when using soap.

That's right - no soap used!

 

I get out of the shower feeling so clean and moisturized.

I just pat dry

and say,

 

Goodbye Alligator skin!

 

 

I need to insert a word of caution here:

 

Be careful of a slippery shower floor if you try this!

 

Another help for dry skin (that I did find on the internet) is dry-brushing my skin before showering.

You can find lots of instructions when Googling this.

I bought a natural bristle brush something like this one found at Drugstore(dot)com.

 

 

I got mine from my local Walmart for $4.00.

 

I think using the brush before taking the moisturizing shower helps but I have to admit I don't use my brush nightly.

Why?

For one reason, I forget about it until I get out of the shower.

But the main reason is because by the time I take my shower, I'm usually too lazy tired.

I just want to get my shower, wrap up in my fuzzy housecoat, and snuggle in for the night.

 

There you have it, my cure for dry winter skin.

It's working so well for me that I just had to share it with my friends.

Please let me know if you try it.

I'd love to hear if it works for you.

 

I hope you have a great day!

 



Homemade Face Powder

I accidentally found the perfect face powder for me when I wasn't even looking!

I found the idea on the internet (of course) for dry shampoo for dark hair and mixed it up immediately.

It was suggested to use a cosmetic brush to apply the shampoo to the hair roots.

I got to looking at my new concoction and thought, "Hm, that looks like it might be the color I need, and can never find, for my face powder."

So, of course I tried it and I fell immediately in love!

Want to hear the complicated directions and exotic ingredients of this miracle face powder?

Cocoa powder

and

Cornstarch

That's it!

I mixed half and half for mine and the color is perfect for me.

 And I can lighten it up in the winter when my summer tan fades by just adding a little more cornstarch and stirring it in.

It's also the best smelling powder I've ever had.

Who doesn't like a light chocolate smell?

(It goes great with my vanilla extract perfume.  : )

Here's a close-up look.

It looks a little dark in the picture but this a rainy day and I couldn't get the light just right.

My simple skin care routine is:

Wash my face at night in the shower with a washcloth and just warm water.

That's right, no soap.  It seems that any soap dries out my over 50 skin.

Then I pat it dry.

If it ever feels a little dry I smooth on a little dot of coconut oil, only on the dry spots.

Then in the morning I splash my face with cool water, pat dry and brush on my cocoa face powder.

Lastly, I follow up with a little rub of coconut oil on my cheeks and lips for a healthy shine.

I keep coconut oil in a little recycled glass container on the shelf in the medicine cabinet.

It's not only good for cheeks and lips, but also as a body lotion.

So there you have it.

Life can be simple

and

Life is good!

P.S.  I tried the face powder (as intended) for dry shampoo once and it worked great for that too!


This post is linked to:  Frugal Friday, Made by You Monday

A Pink Wash Day

I'm up early today.

I want to get a jump on my chores before the temperatures heat up.

And

It's wash day!

Two loads of laundry are already washed and hanging out in the bright early morning sunshine.

The good thing about the summery temps is that the laundry dries on the clothesline almost as fast as it would in the electric dryer, and it smells so much better.

It's got to be a good day when it starts off pink. I dressed in a cool, cotton flower-print summer skirt with a pink tank top and flip flops this morning.

My laundry soap is even pink!  I make it with Zote soap.

I'm loving it!  It has a light citrus scent and cleans the clothes so well. I've discovered that Zote is scented with citronella oil (but not too much).  Is it my imagination, or have the mosquitoes been leaving me alone more since I've been using my homemade detergent?

ZoteSoap.com

It's so easy to make!

Here's the recipe I use:

Powdered Laundry Soap

1/2 cup grated Zote Soap

1 cup washing soda

1 cup borax

I let my food processor grate the soap for me. Then I throw in the other ingredients and give them all a whirl and...

Voila!!!

Beautiful light pink soap!

I only use about 1 tablespoon of the soap for a medium size load of laundry that isn't very dirty but would use up to 2 tablespoons if it's a large and/or heavily soiled load.

Notes:  I've been asked where I got the Zote soap.  I found mine at a Kmart that was going out of business.  Since then, I've looked at other Kmarts along with several other stores, and haven't been able to find Zote.  If anyone knows where the soap can be purchased please let me know.

And another question I've had was about the embroidery piece on my clothesline.  I made it by cutting a piece of muslin to size, hemming it on the sewing machine, crocheting the edging and then stamping and embroidering the piece.  I fell in love with embroidery many years ago in my junior high home ec class. :)

I'm so happy to be joining in for Pink Saturday this week!  It's been quite a while since I've participated and I've been missing my Pink Day friends.  Thank you for coming by!

This post is also linked to Show and Tell Friday.

My quest for a Natural Shampoo continues...

I wrote about some of my homemade personal products in my Post for Women Only.  I also wrote about some of my ongoing experiments with homemade and natural shampoos.  Well, I thought I would update on what I'm experimenting (and having good results) with right now:

Kirk's Original Coco Castile Soap.

Here's the ingredient list:

Coconut soap, Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Coconut Oil, Natural Fragrance

This works much better as a shampoo for me than the baking soda did.  After doing a little online research I've come to the conclusion that we must have hard water and coconut soaps are much more effective in hard water.

Here's what's written on the back label of the bar of Kirk's soap:

Since 1839, Kirk's master soap makers have formulated this hypoallergenic skin care bar with all natural coconut oil.  Unlike other national brands, Kirk's Original Coco Castile contains no animal by-products that can irritate sensitive skin.  No synthetic detergents, like sodium lauryl sulfate, either.

Kirk's makes handfuls of rich creamy lather even in the hardest water.  Yet, it rinses with thrilling ease and no drying residue.  Skin is left beautifully soft and healthy.  Ideal for every member of the family, by the sink or in the bath.  Kirk's is biodegradable and never tested on animals.

I found my first bar of Kirk's soap at a Cracker Barrel gift shop while in Atlanta a few weeks ago ($1.49 a bar).  I've since found it at my local Walmart. Three bars for $2.97!  That's a great price for a natural soap. 

The soap lathered up wonderfully in my hair when I used it while staying at the hotel, but it wasn't as great in my own shower when trying it at home.  That's when we decided we must have hard water.  We have a whole-house water filter, but that doesn't help with water softening.

But I have found out that if I lather and rinse twice, that the second time around makes a big difference in the amount of lather.  I didn't have to use the vinegar rinse with the hotel's soft water, but my hair felt kind of dry and tangled at home without it, so a vinegar rinse it is!  It doesn't seem to make a difference if I use white or apple cider vinegar after using this soap.  Both leaves my hair shiny and manageable.

Of course, I can't find something I like and just quit on my quest, I keep looking around at what else is available.  And, after checking out Kirk's website, I found that even though the soap says "natural fragrance," it isn't 100% natural.  Here's how they explain that on their website:

What kind of fragrance do you use in your soap?

Kirk's fragrance is a special blend of mostly natural and some synthetic materials. Synthetic materials have been tested for product safety by manufacturer and approved by FDA.
If the fragrance is synthetic, why does the label say all natural?
Because 99% plus ingredients are natural and fragrance is mostly derived from natural materials.
 

But!  I've found that they do make a fragrance-free version of the soap and it's available at Vitacost for 99 cents a bar!  I have ordered six bars and hope they are as wonderful as the scented version.  By the way, I love the smell of the scented bars and will continue to use those too as long as I have no problems from the added fragrance.  It isn't a strong smell, just clean-smelling.







In defense of my much loved trusty homemade lard/lye soap, it is better on my skin than Kirk's or any other soap I've tried.  It doesn't leave my skin dry, just clean.  I have a bar in the shower and at my kitchen and bathroom sinks.  It's less drying than any liquid hand soaps I've tried, even liquid castile. 

Post for Women Only! ~ Part 1

The title got your attention didn't it? 
I hoped it would.

I've decided to get a little personal with my next few blog posts.

In my quest to do healthy things for my body, I've gradually moved toward using what some people call more natural or some might even call them somewhat Green products. I call them simple, homemade products more like my grandparents used.  It's been purely accidental.  I didn't set out to Go Green, I just love making things and found out that the things I make seem to be better for me than the stuff I buy at the store.  And they're usually a lot cheaper!

Bath Soap

I think making my first batch of homemade lye soap some ten years ago started all of this.

My homemade lye soap

I'm not sure now why I wanted to do it, but I'm so glad I did!
I've used my homemade soap for bathing pretty much exclusively since that first bar and my skin continues to thank me for it.   You can find my step-by-step soap-making instructions here.

Toothpaste

Next, came a make-over with my toothpaste.  After hearing that too much fluoride could be bad for me and taking a look at the ingredients of my toothpaste (sodium lauryl sulfate, saccharin, artificial colors...really !?!), I searched and searched for recipes for a more natural toothpaste.  After experimenting with a few, I finally came up with my own simple solution:

Pure Baking Soda!

Here's how I use it:

Put pure baking soda in a clean spice bottle.  Punch holes in the top.  Sprinkle some in my hand, wet toothbrush, dip into baking soda and brush.  The rest of my family doesn't share my excitement over this simple toothpaste.  They think it tastes nasty, but after about a week I got used to it and now I can't stand the taste of toothpaste.  I've used toothpaste a couple of times when away from home and all the foaming now makes me kind of queasy. 

Note: For people that think baking soda is too abrasive on teeth:  I've asked two dentists and several dental hygienists their opinions about using baking soda for brushing and they've all assured me it's very good for my teeth.  Oh and a bonus, after brushing this way my teeth feel like they were just cleaned at the dentist office.

Deodorant/Antiperspirant

My next personal product to replace was my antiperspirant   I never thought I could give up my sweet-smelling roll on.  After all wasn't that what was keeping me sweet smelling??  But after hearing the scary stories about what possible bad effects aluminum (antiperspirant's active ingredient) could have on the body, I tried switching to a commercial deodorant instead.  But the one I tried wasn't very effective and wasn't natural which meant it still had quite a few chemicals that I wasn't crazy about rubbing under my arms.  So I started searching for a homemade replacement.  After trying several recipes, I became the happiest with a very simple one. It's basically made from two ingredients: baking soda and cornstarch.  You can find my instructions here.

I must admit that there was an adjustment time involved.  During this time I would often (hopefully) discreetly sniff my underarms but didn't find a sweaty smell, just some natural wetness.  I didn't entirely trust my homemade version for the first year I used it though.  Meaning, I carried a bottle of store-bought roll-on antiperspirant with me if I was going away from home for more than one day, such as camping or to an amusement park.  I don't think I ever had to use that roll-on though.

I now dust on my homemade deodorant and boldly march out into the Alabama heat for whatever the day may bring.  I think the biggest test is after a day of gardening in the deep-south humidity, but after a quick sniff, I find it works at least as good as my old Secret.  I now prefer my homemade "secret".    BTW, I use the words antiperspirant/deodorant interchangeably when talking about my homemade version because it is a deodorant and under most circumstances an antiperspirant too.

Note:  This deodorant is also great to dust on any insect bites you might have.  It stops the itching almost immediately!  It's a temporary fix but feels good while it lasts.

Shampoo/Conditioner

Now for the last frontier in my quest to replace my commercial personal cleaning products, I turn to shampoo. ( I've heard some really stinky reports about the toxicity of "regular" shampoos and conditioners to my body.)  I'm still in the experimental stage of this one.  I've tried a few homemade shampoo recipes, including a homemade super-fatted bar shampoo, but haven't been happy with the results. 

I don't know what it is about my shampoo bottle, but I've held onto it with both hands...tightly!!!
But, finger by finger, I'm slowly letting go.  My first step was to switch from the daily use of my  lauryl sulfate-loaded shampoo to using a more "natural" commercial shampoo...every-other-wash.  So far, so good.  I was still shampooing every day, but only using the lauryl sulfate shampoo half of the time.

My next step was to skip a shampoo day here and there.  That was soooo hard for me!  I've shampooed and blow-dried my short hair daily for years and years.  I really didn't think I could skip a day and be presentable so I planned the off-shampoo days to coincide with my stay-at-home days.    Then came the next step: natural shampoo only...AND a BIGGY...skip TWO days of shampooing!  You know what?  My hair likes it!  Not only that, the second day of no-shampooing is now my best hair days!

My next step was to ditch the shampoos altogether and wash my hair with baking soda and follow with an apple cider vinegar rinse.  Uh-oh, back-up!  My hair ended up looking a little lot greasy from this combination. That was a few days ago.

Like I said, I'm still in the experimental stage with the shampoo but here's what I used today (which is the third day since my last shampoo!) and my hair looks better and feels very soft after today's washing.  I put about 2 teaspoons of baking soda in a 16 oz. squeeze-bottle (think catsup bottle), filled it the rest of the way up with warm shower water, wet my hair and squirted on about half of the contents of the bottle.  I then massaged this in just like I would with shampoo. Of course, there's no lather because there's no sulfates.  I rinsed that out and for good measure, squirted the rest of the contents on my head and massaged again paying special attention around my hairline ~ including behind my ears.  Then I rinsed, rinsed, rinsed.

Next, I have an old SoftSoap pump bottle in the shower that's half full of white vinegar.  I picked the bottle up and gave a couple of squirts of the vinegar into just the ends of my hair and worked it through.  I left this in my hair while I finished my shower and then rinsed it out.  (An added bonus: The run-off from these natural products during showering makes my whole body feel cleaner and softer.)

I blotted my hair dry with a towel after getting out of the shower then combed it with a large-toothed comb.  It felt great!  I let my hair air-dry for a while then gave my bangs a couple of squirts of my homemade hair-styling gel (a post for another day), and blow-dried just my bangs for lift. My hair is left feeling soft and healthy.

Here are a few pictures I went outside and snapped myself (not easy to do):

What surprises me most (well, besides all the gray hairs I see in these pictures) is the added wave my hair now has!  My hair has always been pretty much stick-straight with a few unruly twigs sticking out here and there.  But now I seem to have more of a wave going on!

So, the jury's still out on the shampoo deal.  I think I've still got a lot of experimenting to do, but I don't plan on going back to my lauryl sulfate shampoos.  And my "natural" shampoo also has a long list of ingredients with the second being sodium coco-sulfate. I'm not sure what that is and I would prefer ingredients that I could recognize.  So on with my quest!

I predict you are either interested or grossed-out by this post. :)  If you'd like to learn more about alternative ways to shampoo your hair, just Google "no poo."  (I kid you not, that's what it's called, and seems to be a new trend with lots of available information.)

I plan on several more posts of this type (maybe not as long as this one).  BUT, if this is not your cup of tea you might not want to read the others because I'm thinking about posts about my experiments with: homemade feminine-hygiene products, homemade cosmetics, natural health (hormone replacements), cooking from scratch, etc.

So, until next time...

P.S.  If you have any expriences with your homemade self-care products you would like to share, feel free to leave comments here! 


Post linked to:  Whatever You Want Wednesday

Making Soap

I'm so glad you dropped by to join me on my soap making day.  You can visit this post to find my simplified and printable instructions. (You might want to print the instructions out to follow along with while looking at the steps pictured below.) I promised a picture post the next time I made soap, so here it is!

First put on an apron that makes you happy because you'll have it on for several hours. 

Now prepare your soap mold. You can simply line cardboard boxes with plastic wrap allowing the wrap to hang over on every side.  That's what I did the first couple of times I made soap.  Then my sweet hubby made me this mold out of scrap lumber.  It measures 28"  x 10"  x 3 1/2" deep. The mold is put together with screws which makes it much easier when it's time to get the soap out.  The night before my soap making day, Neil covers each piece of the mold with plastic wrap.  He pulls the plastic tight and tapes it on before screwing the mold back together.  In fact, he has it on so tight that it looks like glass.  This will assure wrinkle-free bars of soap.  My first two batches had wrinkles because I just lined cardboard boxes with the plastic, and believe me I was not the perfectionist Neil is.

The next step is to gather your supplies. (Check your printed out recipe for the ingredients and needed supplies.)

Don your long sleeves and rubber gloves.  Put 7 cups of cold water into the glass jug and carry it, a wooden spoon, a spoon rest, and the container of lye outside (because of the fumes).  Set it up in a place that is away from children and animals.  I don't have to worry about little Maggie (below) bothering mine.  She runs at the first hint of a chemical smell.  (I found that out the first time I went outside with nail polish remover. :)  However, I still put the jug on a high table out of her reach.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the water while slowly adding the lye.  Make sure you stir all the way to the bottom of the jug or the lye will clump there.  Stir until the lye is dissolved. Note: The chemical reaction causes the water to heat up to almost the boiling point when the two are combined!

Now for the tricky part, the temperature of the lye water and melted lard need to be brought to between 96 and 98 degrees at the same time before combining the two.

I used an old-fashioned candy thermometer for my first batch of soap, but this is the type of thermometer I use now.  It's an instant-read type and is so much faster.  I have two, one for the lye water and one to use when testing the lard.  Neil had the bright idea to loop a stiff wire over the shank of the thermometer so it will hang over the rim of the jar.

At this point I hook the thermometer in place and cover the jug with a paper towel and rubber band (just to make sure no dust falls into it).  I like to make my soap in cooler weather so that the lye will cool off faster, speeding up the soap making process considerably.  I run out and check the temp of the water and stir it every 15 minutes. The outdoor temperature at this time is 38 degrees and the water is cooling off 10 degrees every 15 minutes.

When the lye water is down to around 110 degrees I put the lard in the stainless steel pot on the stove and melt on low heat. (The lard will cool down much faster than the lye water.) 

While the lard is melting I bring the lye water inside. The smelly fumes of the lye are almost gone now. The water is at the right temperature so I put the pot of lard into a sink of ice and water to speed up the cooling off process.
 

When the lye water and lard are both at the right temperatures I pour the water into a plastic pitcher. It's much easier (and safer) to pour the water from a handled pitcher than it is from a slippery glass jug. Carefully pour the lye mixture into the lard (pour in a steady stream) while stirring constantly with your wooden spoon. 

This is what the mixture looks like at this point.

This is where you get to put your patience into practice.  Stir the mixture constantly for 15 minutes, then stir the soap every 15 minutes until it thickens and traces. Tracing is when you let a few drops of the soap fall from your spoon back into the pot and it stays on top a few seconds before sinking in (see picture below).  The mixture will be about the consistency of cake batter at this point.  It could take several hours to get there.  I stirred this particular batch at 15 minute intervals for 1 1/2 hours before it traced.  Each batch seems to be different though.  Don't pour your soap into the mold too early or it won't get firm! Don't ask me how I know that. :)  Essential oils may be added at this point if you want scented soap.

Now pour the soap into your prepared mold(s).

Cover with cardboard and several towels.  (I also threw a rug over the top of the towels.)  Leave until the next day.

Now, go clean up that messy kitchen! Still wearing your rubber gloves, carefully wash all utensils in hot, soapy water.  I label all my soap making supplies and keep them only for that use because of the lye usage.

Soap may be hard enough to cut into bars in 24 hours.  If not, wait another day.  Unmold the soap. If you used a plastic wrapped cardboard box, lay a clean board or stiff piece of cardboard over the mold and flip over. (Make sure your soap is firm first though.)  Then remove the box and peel off the plastic.  Neil just removes the screws from my mold and takes the sides off leaving the bottom of the mold in place.

Using a sharp knife, we cut our soap into 42 bars, each bar measuring 3 1/2" x 2" .  The soap will still be a little soft at this point, so the less you touch it, the better.

I leave the soap on its base until it's hardened, then I let it air-dry at least three weeks before using.

And there you have it!  Beautiful bars of pure white soap that are so very mild to your skin.  

I know it sounds complicated, but it gets easier with each batch you make.  I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about my soap making process.  Just leave them in the comment section and I'll get back with you soon.  Thanks for stopping by!  ~ Sherry

This post is linked to:  Show and Tell Friday, Frugal Friday, DIY Showoff, Life Made Lovely, Take-a-Look Tuesday