It's 2016!

Dear Osmosis Customers,

It's been a looong time since I've updated this blog.  It took me a couple tries to get the password right!

Looking back at my old posts, it appears I first posted in 2009.  At that time I had been perfecting my formulas over a year and was getting ready for my first Craft Show.  Seven years have gone by and I haven't missed the annual Mayo Clinic Employees Craft Show for six of them... even though I came close a couple times!  Remember the year my supplies came the afternoon before the show and I pulled an all-nighter?  Remember the time(s) I forgot to register for my table and had to wait on the stand-by list? And last year.  Last year, I didn't have as many choices for you because we were in the middle of moving.

This year.  This year, I just can't.  I have to say no.  We are in the middle of renovating our new house and the kitchen is gutted.  And life.  I have two teenage boys who have kept me busy since school started.  I had hoped for a reprieve at the beginning of November, but it didn't happen.  I thought I could take my supplies to someone else's kitchen and make it there.  I just can't.  There isn't time.  It took me until just today to concede.  I won't be at the Craft Show.

I'm sorry.

I know there are some customers that look for me each year at the Craft Show.  If you need your Osmosis, please reach out to me by email.  I do have a small stash left over from last year.  I will work out a deal with you if I can!

I will keep my eye out for a good Craft Show in the Spring and see what I can do to get some product together by then.  I'm praying this kitchen reno will be done by Christmas!

You can reach me at osmosis4lips@gmail.com

With Warm Regards,
Sara

What's New Fall 2012?

There are a few changes I've made this year to what I'm offering at the craft fairs.  Here's the run down:

• The ingredients list has been revised to comply with INCI 2nd edition guidelines.  This mostly impacts the name used for Vitamin E (tocopheryl acetate) and the names used for colorants.
• I've created a new vegan formula and have changed Relief to this formula and also added Lavenilla.  Both of these use essential oils.  You'll know they're different by their green caps.
• Spring has been changed by using a different colorant.  It is now a almost nude, sheer pink with no sparkle.
• Summer has been removed from the line temporarily to be redesigned.
• Shimmer has been added to the line.  Shimmer just adds sparkle, but no color.  It works great over other colors of any lip product you use.  For this reason, it is unscented.
• Pink Poppy has been replaced by Cupcake.  Cupcake is sheerer and more pink than coral, but has lots of sparkle.  It has a frosting flavor.
• Stellar Bronze has been added to the line.  It is a sheer chocolate brown with lots of sparkle.  It has a hazelnut latte flavor.
• Sweetener (stevia) has been removed from all of the colored glosses.
• The new limited edition flavor this year is:  Pina Colada!!

If you've recently bought Osmosis lip balms or glosses and have questions, please feel free to send me an e-mail at osmosis4lips@gmail.com

Trying Something New

For my birthday in September, my dad made me a wooden soap mold and my husband bought me some lye (sodium hydroxide).  I had put out a request because I had been dreaming of trying my hand at cold-process soap making.  In making lip balm, you often find recipes for other bath and body products because the ingredients work for all sorts of fun things.  I had some supplies left over from last fall's mad rush of Osmosis orders and decided making soap would be a good way to use them up.

I've made liquid soap in the past and could have done that again, but I still have a little bit of soap paste left in the fridge, so I thought I'd give bar soap a try.  Knowing a smidge about the oils I had to use, I decided to add a 25% base of coconut oil.  The rest of the recipe was made up of shea butter, jojoba oil, and cocoa butter.  I ran it through the lye calculator and ta dah, I had my recipe.  I decided not to use colorant or do anything fancy since I'd never tried this before.  After watching videos on lye safety, I gave it a whirl... using my handy dandy stick blender (a bday gift from Mom a few years back).  I poured it in the mold and wrapped it up in a towel and left my house for the weekend.

Now I have to say it's a good thing I left my house for a few days because my minimal patience would not keep me from peeking at my soap every couple hours.  As it was, it was the first thing I did when I came home!  I promptly unmolded it and sliced it up.  And yet, I had to be patient once more.  Unlike my liquid soap which is ready to use as soon as you are done making it, bar soaps need curing time... 4-6 weeks of curing time.  So. Hard. To. Wait.

Here we are 5 weeks later and I am so happy to say that I've given one of the bars a home in my shower.  There was a little learning curve with using the bar soap... It's been soooo long since I've used a bar of soap in the shower that I about forgot how to do it.  I just stood there holding the wonderful thing in my hand for a while.  Happy to report that I figured it out and the soap did its job and cleaned my skin without leaving it feeling all stretched and dry.  My definition of successful soap!





I have a plan for most of that batch of soap and it's going to be shipped off somewhere special soon.  Since I won't be keeping it all and it takes soooooo long before I can use it, I thought I'd better get started on a new batch.  This time I thought I'd get creative.  I used 50% olive oil as the base and added some coconut oil and cocoa butter (the last of last year's supply).  I decided to split the batch and do a layer of color.  I used a bit of iron oxide from my lip balm supplies (the base color for Winter).  This batch went to trace much faster than I expected and became thick too quick!  I managed to get it into the mold and then promptly left my house for two days.  Good planning on my part!

Away from my soap, I visited Dad and convinced him to throw together a soap cutter for me... since my first attempt at slicing soap wasn't so straight.  My Dad rocks at throwing together stuff made from wood.  He had me set up in no time and my new cutter was the first thing I unpacked when I got home.  I quickly unwrapped the soap and pulled it out of the mold.  (Hubby helped the cause by photo documenting my big reveal.)








The results are okay.  There are definitely signs that it was too thick when I poured the colored part into the mold.  I had also sprinkled some jojoba beads on top of the soap thinking they would be pretty sprinkles, but alas, they seemed to have melted.  I also see that I have a smidge of soda ash on the outer edges... oh well.  Next time I'll try mixing at a cooler temp and see if that goes better for me.  It smells yummy though... cherry blossom.... one of my few favorite florals.  This soap is for me.   It'll be a loooonnnnngggg time before I can try it though.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Other than the links listed above from Bramble Berry and Soap Queen TV, I have also been reading about soap making in these books:

All three are available at the library!

Why Osmosis?

I love my Osmosis lip balm!  I should... it's the recipe I made just for me.

There were very few lip balms and glosses that I could use which didn't leave my lips feeling drier than when I put it on.  Is it a conspiracy from big business to keep you coming back for more and more and more???  Some people think so.  I can't say it worked on me though.  It just kept me looking for the perfect lip balm.  I had so many almost full tubes of balms that didn't work, that I was able to decorate my Osmosis Christmas tree with tissue wrapped tubes.  From trying so many different kinds, I figured out on my own that those with petroleum ingredients were the ones that bothered me the most.  I gave up Chapstick a looooong time ago.  Recently, Karley at Chic & Green did one of her famous What's in it Wednesday posts on Cherry Chapstick.  Go check it out!  You'll be surprised at what you learn.

A note on how long my Osmosis lasts me:  I have a tube of Honey Butter Balm that I use in my bathroom at bedtime and in the morning... basically just after I brush my teeth.  I just got to the bottom of my tube and I've been using it since the beginning of last summer.  In addition to that tube in the bathroom, I have a tube in my desk drawer at work and a tube in the car in the winter... I've never used up these tubes.  I throw away the one in the car as soon as it's warmed up too much outside to leave it in there any longer.  I also have a tube in my purse which is mostly used for kid emergencies.  Aside from religiously using lip balm morning and night, I really don't put much on my lips the rest of the day.  This hasn't always been the case... Osmosis is just that good... for me.

Closet Hippies

I have no pictures for this post... don't want to show you the proof. ;)

Part of being in this lip balm business is doing research.  Now I can't say I've done tons of serious research, but I spend time online and find that I pick up bits of knowledge here and there.  Some would warn to be careful with just bits of knowledge... and I agree.  I am not writing this post to influence anyone.  Influence would require some major education and research efforts.  I will share that through the course of gaining these bits of knowledge, I have tried some things I would have never even thought of before.

This past month I attempted to make my own laundry detergent.  Why?  Well, I don't really know how to answer that question.  I found this post and found it intriguing.  I didn't jump right in an make it though.  I found lots of other recipes online and compared them and read the comments from those who attempted to use the detergent.  I finally decided to give it a try.  It was a combination of the mad scientist in me and my frugal nature.  This has nothing to do with chemical awareness or being green.

I bought 2 gallons of distilled water... probably could have used tap water, but I'd need the jugs anyway.  Plus who knows how the different minerals in the tap water would affect it... not that I don't use tap water to actually wash my clothes!
I bought a bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap and grated half of it with the cheese grater.  I like the smell of this soap.  It just smells clean.  I decided against using bath soap like Ivory.  Some bath soaps have added ingredients that just are not necessary and really aren't meant to be used on clothing... the things that help moisturize your skin, for instance.  The laundry soap has some added ingredients, too, but they are in there to help with laundry issues.  There is another laundry bar soap called Zote.  I could not find that brand at my local grocery store, but I'd be willing to give it a try as well.
I already had borax, so I bought a box of washing soda.  I learned from some of my research that washing soda is not the same as baking soda, but both come in a yellow box from Arm & Hammer :)
Even with buying the water, this all came to less than $6.  Minus the water, these supplies will last quite a while and who knows how many batches I'll be able to make.

I used my big canning pot to heat 1 gallon of water and the grated soap to a boil.  After the soap melted, I added 1 cup each of the borax and washing soda and kept stirring it with a spatula until it all of a sudden boiled up.  I removed the pot from the heat and then added the other gallon of cool water to it while stirring.

While it was still warm, I had my husband carry it to the garage where we tried to fill the empty gallon jugs without making too much of a mess.  Let's just say I need a bigger funnel.

We filled the two jugs right up until they bubbled over a bit.  I used the little bit that was left in the pot to wash the pot and my utensils and then I was done.  Super easy.

I was so excited to try it I did as many loads of laundry as I could :).  I am very pleased with how all the clothes came out.  I enjoy the scent despite not being a big fan of perfumes.  The scent is very subtle and very clean.

I imagine I'll need to be diligent on pre-treating stains and I'll need to add oxiclean to the whites in order to get some optical brightness in there... nothing I shouldn't already be doing!


And then...
About a week later, my husband announced he would be needing antiperspirant on our next trip to the store.  I was still pretty excited about the laundry detergent experiment and I since I had this recipe for deodorant already bookmarked, I offered the idea to him.  See, he's really not a sweaty person, so for the day to day stuff he really doesn't need antiperspirant.  He has also mentioned how aluminum is connected to Alzheimer's disease which concerns him. Aluminum is the active ingredient in antiperspirant... another tidbit of information.  Deodorant leaves out this ingredient because it's purpose is just to keep you from getting stinky and it doesn't keep you from sweating.

Just like the laundry detergent, I read through all the comments before I attempted it.  And I may have done a search on natural deodorants and anti-microbial essential oils.  My husband is not a big fan of tea tree oil ever since I mentioned it's link to enlarged breasts in pre-pubescent boys.  So I found that cedarwood essential oil is also microbial (and Dr. Oz may have mentioned its usefulness for acne as an alternative to tea tree oil, too.)

Now I use the term anti-microbial lightly.  Like I said, I have not done extensive research but only have a limited knowledge.  Microbes tend to include bacteria, fungus and whatever other nasties there are.  I tried to explain to my kids that the stink in their arm pits and shoes is from these little nasties having a party and eating too many beans.  Anyway, the coconut oil used to hold the recipe together is also anti-"nasties" and as most know, baking soda is a natural deodorant.  The corn starch is a soft powder to help absorb some of the sweat that will be happening since there is no aluminum.  All in all, the recipe really seems set up to do the job!


Some more tidbits:  Coconut oil is solid resembling Crisco when at room temp or lower.  In the summer, it's pretty much liquid.  Because of this you may need to keep your deodorant in the fridge.... refreshing!  Essential oils have very strong fragrances.  At first whiff, my husband thought his cedarwood deodorant smelled like a musty basement... think cedar lined closet.  The nice thing about cedarwood essential oil is that the strong scent disappears rather quickly leaving the very calming scent attributed to it by "those in the know" about aromatherapy.  If you don't want to use corn starch, you can apparently sub arrowroot powder.  If you have sensitive skin, the link includes instructions to lessen the baking soda.


How it's going:  Hubby got over the basement smell and has to admit that he has not been stinky even in the summer heatwave.  He does wish he didn't have to go to the kitchen to put it on.  I've been using the leftovers on a spoon and have to say that I really like it.  I used it a few days and then when I went to work I decided I'd better use the regular stuff, but I noticed that even though it's an antiperspirant I still got the same amount of moistness, but without the powder to help absorb it, so I'm giving up the antiperspirant, too!

So between the homemade lip balm, soap, laundry detergent, and deodorant; my husband wonders if the neighbors know they're living next to hippies ;)

SLS-Free Adventure

About two months ago I was running low on my favorite Herbal Essences so I put it on my grocery list.  Low and behold, my trusty mega super mart did not have that particular flavor anymore!  So I decided to wait and see if I could find it at another mega super boutique.  No such luck.  Good thing I wasn't totally out yet :)

It didn't take too long before I needed to take a serious browse down the haircare aisle.

Don't you dislike being in the haircare aisle?  So may products to choose from and not a clue where to start.  Not to mention the fact that there are always people in that aisle.  There are people who know what they want and they really want you to get out of their way.  There are also people, like me that day, who clog up the whole aisle with there grocery cart while they read the back of every bottle of shampoo.

So there I was, reading labels, trying to remember what I've read on the internet about chemicals in cosmetics.  I knew I wanted to avoid sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS).... not just because it gets picked on by everyone.  Over a lifetime of shopping for shampoo a person starts to realize what really works and what doesn't.  I prefer to wash my hair every other day.  Not every shampoo out there works for that.  I narrowed it down to shampoos that use ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) verses SLS.  The ones with SLS I would need to use everyday because my hair would be oily on the second day.  The ones with ALS at least got me through the second day with minimal greasies.  So there I was in the haircare aisle looking at the back of all of the shampoo bottles for ALS.

Now over the past couple years I've been reading quite a bit about chemicals in cosmetics.  In the course of this research I learned that in Europe they don't even allow SLS/ALS in their products.  There are reports that these harsh surfactants contribute to the formation of cancer cells.  There are other reports that refute this.  I don't know which is true and I'm not letting that contribute to my decisions.  What I do know is that SLS/ALS are very strong surfactants.  They are very, very good at their job.  Unfortunately for our skin and hair, they can do too good of a job and strip your body's natural oils and wash them down the drain along with the dirt and grimies.  (find more info about sulfates here)

My first experience with dropping the sulfates was when I switched to my homemade liquid soap.  I noticed that this past winter, when my hands and skin would normally be crying from the dryness, my skin was holding up quite well.  They dried out the most when I was at work... using the bubbly, sulfate-filled soaps.  I have also been using the homemade liquid soap on my face and body with the same results.  After using, I don't feel like I have to run to the bottle of lotion before my face cracks!

So, back to the haircare aisle... While reading the bottles, I found a line called Organix that said it was sulfate free.  The thought occurred to me that maybe this is the way I should go since the switching my soap was going so well.  The shampoo was a bit more expensive than what I would normally pay for shampoo, but I thought it was still worth the try.  I chose the Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy Shampoo because I have straight-ish hair and it's best to just go with what you have. (I thought it smelled good, too.)  


The first thing I noticed... and I think everyone notices... is that there just aren't that many bubbles (this is true of my liquid soap, too).  I figured this would be the case since the sulfates really make things bubbly.  I took the amount I would usually take to do my whole head and it just did the front part of my scalp.  I had to squirt some more to get the back of my head down to my ends.  Without all the bubbles, it's harder to tell if you gotten all the hair.  I have noticed that since that first time I don't need two squirts of shampoo to accomplish the job... I wonder if it just had a lot of junk to clean off my head!  I used my usual conditioner.  Note: The smell of this shampoo does not linger in my hair.  


After drying, the first thing I noticed was how soft and fluffy my hair was.  It was not super straight like I thought it would be given the name of the shampoo.  This disappointed me a bit.  I also noticed fly away hairs.  You know the ones that give the halo effect?  This annoyed me a bit.  I squirted some hairspray on to smoosh them down and went on with my day.


A wonderful change since using the sulfate free shampoo has been that my hair doesn't get oily fast.  I could go three days between washing if I wanted to!


With the flyaways still annoying me, I ventured to try another product by Organix to try to smooth them out.  The Rejuvenating Cherry Blossom Ginseng Shine Spray sadly did not do the trick.  I found it drying and strong smelling.  I think it could double as perfume.  That's a little bit of money I won't get back.


Despite the flyaways I have kept using the shampoo.  Since switching, I have noticed less hairs going down the drain and/or into the trash and/or all over the bathroom floor.  (LOVE this!)  I have also noticed the halo flyaways are getting longer too... as is the rest of my hair.  I wish I had thought to measure it before I switched shampoos so I could give you some numbers.  My hair grows quite slowly, so this is a super bonus!


So I now have these thoughts about the fly away hairs.... I believe that all of those hairs were damaged and broken from using the harsh sulfate shampoo.  The same shampoo that has dimethicone in it to smooth all of the hairs giving me a sleek, shiny hair-do.  All this time I thought my hair was healthy and I see now that it is damaged.  I am hoping that by sticking with the sulfate free shampoos that my damaged hair will soon be replaced by the new healthy hairs growing.  In the meantime, I'll be trying different things until I get those hairs to lay down.


Just last week, when I was back in the haircare aisle... I found another line of sulfate free shampoos called RenPure Organics.  Attached to the bottle was a rebate card refunding the full purchase price.  Naturally, I couldn't resist and decided to give it a try... it was only going to cost me a stamp, anyway.  I picked up i love my hair / Body & Shine Shampoo - I thought maybe this would be better at taming the flyaways.  I have used this three times.  I love the smell.  The scent stays with my hair, unlike the other one.  It seems to bubble a little more.  Sadly, the flyaways are still there... yet still getting longer... eventually, they'll just lay down.


Note:  I did not get these products to review them, nor am I being compensated by anyone to write my opinion.

Update & Thank You

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted on the goings on here at Osmosis.

When I last posted, I was wavering on where I wanted Osmosis to go.

I had a lot of fear and anxiety.

I had made a commitment to do the winter craft shows.  I wanted to see if anyone came back for more.

My table at the Redeemer Holiday Bazaar November 13, 2010

I had 2 craft fairs in November.  The first was the Mayo Clinic Craft Fair on November 6, 2010.  This was my second year selling at this fair.  You can see how last year went here.  I had a prime spot for my table...  one table away from the entrance.  I had people coming and going.  I'm sure this affected my sales and feel blessed by my location.  I sold a whole lot more than last year!  Last year I sold about 50 tubes and this year I sold 113!  I had at least 5 people come specifically looking for me... I felt so honored!  It was a great day.

The second craft fair was a Holiday Bazaar held at Redeemer Lutheran Church.  I like to have a small show after the Mayo Craft Fair because I anticipate having plenty left over and hope that I can sell my stock at the second show.  What I didn't anticipate was actually running out of certain flavors at the first fair!  I needed to RE-stock the Honey Butter, Florida, Cookie Dough, Agave Sugar, and Winter.  I sold about 50 tubes at the Holiday Bazaar in addition to taking a few orders.  Again, there were return customers!

For the holidays, I again offered the limited time fragrances of Fall Spice and Cherry Soda.  Cherry Soda did very well, but Fall Spice didn't.  I may not bring Fall Spice back again next year.

I introduced a few new items at this year's shows.  There is a new flavor called Relief.  Relief is the only lip balm I make with essential oils.  Relief has rosemary essential oil along with a cherry flavor.  It reminds me of Carmex.  Rosemary essential oil has a medicinal scent to it which reminds some of Vick's Vapor Rub.  You can read more about Rosemary essential oil here.

Pink Poppy and Barely Blush Colored Glosses

Barely Blush and Pink Poppy were two new colored glosses I introduced.  These colors are more sheer than the original "Seasons" colored glosses.  Barely Blush is just that... barely a blush of glossy color.  It is flavored with vanilla.  Pink Poppy is sheer coral gloss inspired by my dear friend Josie Blaine.  It is flavored with cherry.  Barely Blush was a hit at the shows!

Glosses have clear domed caps.

Also new this year was my labels.  I decided to drop the No.1 and No.2 I had used previously to distinguish the balms from the glosses.  I now have my Osmosis logo on each tube.  I have transitioned to full size labels on the balm which have room to include the required FDA warning on them.  I plan to transition to full size clear labels on the colored glosses by next year's craft fairs.

Again, I am committing myself to participate in winter craft shows.  I got discouraged last year when I did not have customers seeking me during the course of the year.  I now know that some people just hadn't run out yet!  I also understand that it is much easier to pick up some Blistex while in the check out at Walmart.  My prayer is that I will continue to have return customers.  Of course, anyone can order, any time of year, through my Artfire shop using PayPal.  And don't forget that Osmosis is a great gift for your friends, family, teachers, etc.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this small business endeavor.  I am so thankful for a husband and sons who support me by corralling themselves downstairs when I'm in the "lab" and for running for all of the things I ran out of, or forgot, when I was at the fairs.  I want to thank my mother-in-law, Joyce, and my sister, Holly, for helping me at the Mayo craft fair (for the much needed potty breaks and supplying me with food).  I want to thank my friends for stopping by my table to cheer me on.  I want to thank the customers that have returned because they love Osmosis.  You are the reason this small business still exists.

Wordle

You can make one, too!  http://www.wordle.net/

So Many Thoughts

I know it's no secret, but I've been hesitating with Osmosis. I have not been promoting and expanding like someone who is excited about a business.

Osmosis started purely on faith. I felt God gave me the recipes, the names, the contacts, and the suppliers. He made it so easy for me! It was exciting and it was a gift.

Have you ever received a gift and later decided to hide it away to "keep it safe"?

We have been in the process this summer of moving our boys to separate rooms. All of a sudden we realize how much "stuff" we have. So many things are on boxes on shelves in unused rooms... put there to "keep them safe." For example, I have a Tracy Barbie Doll that I keep in the dress she came in and never played with her hair... all in the name of keeping it safe (I thought she'd sit on the table next to my wedding cake!). My husband has toys in immaculate condition and carefully put away... "to keep them safe".

How can we get joy from not using things and hiding them away in a box? Soon you find whole rooms in your house with all of these things.

We are now at the point where we need to decide what to do with these things. Do we keep the dolls (even though I have only boys)? Do we let the boys play with the classic GI Joe or do we sell it? Or do we stuff as much as we can in the little cupboard under the stairs?

I have been keeping Osmosis safe. I am afraid of sharing it with others because I don't want it to be ruined. I don't want people to tell me it isn't good enough, that I've labeled my ingredients wrong, or that they've broken out in a rash since using it. It's a slippery slope and I'm stuck in a pit just worrying my gift away.

I follow two blogs regarding cosmetics. One is my angel and one is my devil. They both sit on my shoulder and one encourages me and one discourages me.

Now you may ask why I bother to listen to the discourager. The discourager has a great deal of knowledge about the ingredients in cosmetic products and the scientific research determining which we should avoid. She once had her own line of cosmetics/skin care products. But, she also points out all of the failures of the cosmetic companies and unfortunately, I don't feel I can live up to her expectations. She would expect me to stop making Osmosis because I am not able to prove the safety of my product.

The encourager also knows a great deal about ingredients in cosmetic products because she owns a business that supplies ingredients to small soap and cosmetics companies. She reads books about positive business role models and shares what she learns and how she runs her business. She has an open mind about the science that is used to determine what is good for us and what is bad for us. She would expect me to keep trying.

Somewhere between the thoughts arguing in my head is God's voice telling me which way to go. Why is it so hard to hear Him!

*** ***


As I waiver back and forth, I have had a couple orders come in from new customers. One requested one of each flavor! Regretfully, I have not been a good customer service rep for myself. I have put off making the Osmosis and have made the customers wait (sorry Paula and Cindy!) I did finally open the lab last night and powered through the order. This time I tried an assembly line approach.

Here you see the oils and waxes waiting to be nuked.

Here you see them after nuking and adding the butters.

After that, I had to take one at a time to finish them off and pour them into the tubes. I'm surprised I had not thought of this before. Maybe that was God's voice helping me out.

After the balms, I took the same approach to the colored glosses. Here are the micas and oxides for Spring and Winter prior to adding them to the gloss.

I also took some time to try a new color. I've tried a coral and rose(?). These colors are mixed to be a little sheerer than the Seasons. Maybe they'll get a name in time for the craft fair in November.

(Did she just say craft fair?) Yes, I'm planning to do the craft fair again this fall. I have made that decision. I'm going to at least give that another chance and see if I have any return customers. So no final decisions yet on the status of Osmosis. I, of course, will keep you posted here if there are any changes. In the meantime, please pray for me to follow God's leading and enjoy your Osmosis!

SOAP!

Over the holiday weekend, I packed up all my supplies and headed to my mom's so we could attempt making soap for the first time!

This is not your ordinary cold-process bar soap... oh, no, I must be different!

We made liquid soap!

We used the Soap Queen's Castille Castor Soap Recipe. And followed her instructions from the e-book offered at Bramble Berry. I also consulted this book which was loaned to me from a friend (who will for sure be getting a sample of the soap!)

Mom took some pics of me in my lye-handling get-up:

The recipe is quite simple, however a lot of time goes into making liquid soap. A lot of time standing in the kitchen. A lot of time stirring, stirring, stirring. A loooonnngg time cooking.

I think we decided we won't do this again until Autumn, when we can let the cool breezes into the house. But, then again, we certainly would make more if we ran out!

So far, we've loved the soap for our hands and mom even washed some dishes with it and they came out squeaky clean. It does behave a little differently than what we've come to call soap these days. It does not get super bubbly and foamy. That's okay, bubbles and foam are not what clean your hands! Bubbles and foam help to dry them out!

I am looking forward to testing this soap over the next weeks! I can seriously foresee offering liquid soap at the craft fair this fall!