Antipruritic Soap?

Something that is antipruritic is something that inhibits itching. Normally, when I think of an antipruritic, I think of antihistamines like Benedryl; corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone; local anesthetics such as Lanacaine; or a counter irritant such as camphor.

Tonight, I was totally and happily amazed to find out that a soap that I had made worked just as well! My husband and I were enjoying a warm evening on our patio until little black bugs started biting my arms. I went inside and suddenly started itching terribly! It was awfully intense and I started looking for something that would relieve the itch other than scratching myself raw.

When I lived in the Midwest, I would use Calamine lotion for itchy bites but I couldn't find any in the house. On a whim, I went into the bathroom and grabbed up a half-bar of my Botanical Soap with Aloe Vera. I vigorously rubbed up a lather on both of my arms and rinsed it off. Immediately, the itching went away! I was sooooo excited!

Botanical Soap with Aloe Vera

I waited for the itching to return, but it never did! I'm not sure why it was so effective against the itching but I'm extremely relieved it was! The ingredients in this batch include coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, cocoa butter, lard, vegetable shortening, aloe vera oil, aloe vera juice, rosemary, fragrance oil, mica coloring, and sodium hydroxide (lye).

Perhaps it was due to all of the aloe vera that I included ... or just the natural composition of the soap itself ... which created the antipruritic properties? I'd have to be a chemist to figure it all out. It's just something very wonderful to know ... and to have on hand!

Debate of the Decade: Bar Soap vs Body Wash

When I went back to work and started making lots of money, I didn't have enough time at home to continue making every thing from scratch. I started using Body Wash and a pouffie nylon thing. In fact, quite a lot of things changed because I was just too tired or didn't have time. After graduating with my AAS Paramedic and staying at home to volunteer in my community, I had much more time to again make things from scratch. 

Me, at an accident scene. (I certainly needed a shower after this!)

I started making homemade soaps. YUMMY! Out went the nylon pouffy thing and in came my hand-crocheted soft cloths and lovely soaps made from natural oils and botanical ingredients. 

 

All natural Oatmeal & Honey soap

So... lets have the great debate! In one corner, we have the fashionable bottle of body wash. In the other, the rustic, handcrafted bar of soap. Opening the plastic bottle cap, I can smell delightful scents wafting upward from the plastic bottle of body wash. Hmm... "plastic bottle"... wonder how many of these things end up in land fills? How long does it take to recycle, and at what cost? A major concern, lately, is that plastic bottles may also leach chemicals into the product they carry, causing us to be exposed unnecessarily to toxic carcinogens. Looking at the ingredients of my previously favorite way to get clean, I notice that water is the main ingredient. This causes weight and volume meaning more energy and cost involved in transporting body wash to the consumer. The more transportation, the more pollution to our environment.

The average person goes through more than 200 bottles of liquid soap in their lifetime. 

Now, in the other corner, we have the traditional bar of soap, but not just ANY bar of soap. This is a handcrafted, natural, artisan bar of soap made with ingredients such as coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, palm oil, lard, sodium hydroxide (lye), essential oils, and earth mica (coloring). It smells deliciously fresh! My favorite is scented with Lilac. This bar of soap weighs 4.5 oz as opposed to the 24 oz bottle of body wash. The packaging for the soap is a simple, handmade, paper cigar band with the soap-maker's logo. If allowed to dry properly between uses, the bar of soap lasts as long or longer than the 24 oz bottle of body wash. The handcrafted bar of soap does not impact the landfills at all. It's lighter so it's much cheaper to transport. It's ecologically sound and healthy for our bodies and the world we live in. It makes your skin feel delightfully refreshed and clean without that dry itchy feeling that so often occurs after using a body wash containing unnatural, synthetic, petroleum-based ingredients.

As for the ingredients on the bottle of body wash, here is a list on the back of the last body wash product I used: Water, sodium hydroxypropl starch phosphate, sodium laureth sulfate, cocomidopropyl betaine, lauric acid, petroleum, sodium cocoyl glycinate, glycerin, sodium lauroyl isethionate, fragrance, hydrogenated soybean oil, cocos nucifera (coconut fruit extract), nonfat dry milk, gycine soja (soybean) oil or helianthus annuss (sunflower) seed oil, sodium chloride, steric acid, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, DMDM hydantoin, tallow acid or palmitic acid, sodium isethionate, BHT, tetrasodium EDTA, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, etidronic acid, methylsothiazolinome, Red 33, Titanium Dioxide, Yellow 5.

Phew!! I had to put on my bi-focals to be able to read all the tiny print! Let's do some further research. When I google some of the above ingredients to see what they're all about, I found some pretty disturbing information. To be honest, some of the ingredients can be identified as healthy ingredients such as a couple of the oils but it's the super long words that give me pause, and there are a lot of them!

Just of few of the strange-sounding ingredients in the body wash I used to use ...

DMDM hydantoin - a preservative that releases formaldehyde which may cause joint pain, cancer, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, dizziness, and insomnia

Sodium laureth sulfate - Used in car washes, garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and 90% of personal-care products that foam. Eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, skin irritation, and death.

Tetrasodium EDTA - a preservative that’s made from the known carcinogen, formaldehyde and sodium cyanide.  It is also a penetration enhancer, meaning it breaks down the skin's protective barrier, going right into your bloodstream.

Need I go further? I would a whole lot rather be sudsing up with something that will nourish my skin, protect it, and attract moisture naturally with a fragrant, handcrafted artisan bar of soap than to apply a pretty-smelling carcinogenic cocktail to my skin!

Chamomile Neroli Handcrafted Soap with Avocado Oil

All Natural Botanical/Vegan Soap with ground Yucca, scented with Rosehip and Jasmine

Muddy Soap ... Oxymoron?

Someone once asked me if I had any "Dead Sea Mud & Sea Salt" soap for sale. I didn't but had been thinking about looking into making some because of the known benefits of Dead Sea Mud. So... I purchased 100% Dead Sea Mud and began formulating a soap recipe for it. 

If you don't give it much thought and you're looking at different scents and types of soaps, it might seem very odd to buy a soap with mud in it. :) After all, isn't that why we take showers and baths ... to rid ourselves of dirt? The oils of handcrafted soap are chosen specifically for their moisturizing and healing properties, but, why put mud in soap?

Dead Sea Mud is unique in that it contains more than 12 different substances and minerals than any other earthy mixture used for health purposes. These minerals are very good at enriching and nourishing the skin. They are derived from the Dead Sea in Israel, which is the earth's lowest hyper-saline lake. The lake is so salty that you cannot sink!

People have recognized the medicinal value of Dead Sea Mud & Salt for thousands of years. Containing the same minerals that the skin is composed of, these minerals are readily absorbed to rejuvenate the skin, help relieve skin problems, aid in internal bodily processes, and soothe arthritic pain. 

Combined with the pure oils in handcrafted soap, Dead Sea Mud and Sea Salt make the perfect combination to help heal skin ailments and to ensure that the skin stays supple and healthy.

Handcrafted soaps heavy with salts can be a little crumbly so I decided to incorporate the Sea Salt in a white soap swirl throughout the naturally colored tan soap which contains the Dead Sea Mud. Sea Salt is also richly sprinkled on top. The bars are lightly scented with a blend of "White Tea & Ginger" and "Flowering Herb", which has a luscious, fresh scent! This is a nice, smooth bar of soap ... lathering richly while providing great skin therapy!

These are now for sale on my Etsy Shoppe.

Guest Soap Bars

I thought I would share how my Guest Soap Bars look when I get ready to package them. This is an order I was working on today ...

She selected Chamomile Neroli, Victorian Rose, Oatmeal & Honey, Patchouli, Eucalyptus Spearmint, and Rosehip Jasmine. Each have a little cigar band with my logo, "Sonoran Scents from the Heart", and identification on them. 

Next, I put them into individual cellophane bags, tied with pretty, colored, curly ribbon. Each little Guest Soap Bar is 2.5 x 1.75 x 0.5 inches and weighs 1.25 oz. All are made with very fine oils and butters such as olive oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, aloe vera, cocoa butter, shea butter, & palm oil the cold process way.

These soaps are perfect for trying out handcrafted bars of soap without buying the whole bar! It also helps immensely to see if you like how the soap-maker scents their soaps.

Some other great uses for Guest-Sized Soaps are for Spa Parties, Baby Showers, Wedding Favors, Stocking Stuffers, and Birthday Parties! They make a caring, personalized gift that can actually be used and enjoyed by the receiver.

Right now, I'm offering a free sample of Guest Soap Bars, your choice, in my Etsy Shoppe, when you pay shipping!

Back to Nature

The last few days I've not felt well at all. Today, I've decided to just drink juiced fruits and vegetables. It seems that when I'm not feeling my best it's then, instead of before that I get serious about chucking overly processed foods and get back to wholesome ones. I'm really loving the carrot and apple juice I am sipping! I don't want to throw away the dry pulp that was strained out, so I'm thinking about some healthy baked gluten-free crackers, biscuits, or muffins...

One of the things I really like about making my own soaps is that they are also part of turning back to nature. Manufactured hand soaps, especially, have gotten so far away from anything you'd really want to put on your body if you took the time to look at the ingredients or researched to see what the chemicals did to your skin! The big thing seems to be antibacterial everything! Lets prevent super-bug infections from getting us! AAaaaahhhhhh! Lets put antibiotics in mouthwash, face wash, hand soaps, deodorants, lotions, sprays, household cleaners, ....!

Our bodies are so marvelously made! When it's healthy and supported with things that lead to a good immune system such as proper rest, nutritious food, sunlight, temperance, spirituality, clean water, fresh air, and exercise, it can fight off infections, viruses, and illnesses on its own. 

Sometimes, in our zeal to step in and make things even better, we block the bodies self defense systems already in place. There are good places for disinfectants, antibiotics, sterilization, personal protective equipment, and such like, but soap manufacturers have gone way overboard putting antibiotics in soaps and household cleaners!

One antibiotic in particular, Triclosan, an active ingredient in many antibacterial products, has proven to be a double edged sword. After continued use of products that contain Triclosan, the bacteria is disabled, but eventually develops a resistance to it. There are other adverse reactions Triclosan has, such as when it is exposed to chlorinated water, producing chloroform, a possible carcinogen. When exposed to sunlight, it forms dioxins, known to disrupt endocrine glands. Knowing this, do we still want to rub it all over our hands, hoping to kill all the nasty germs? The trade-off just isn't worth it! It's much better to wash your hands properly with natural soap and water the old-fashioned way!

It isn't a good idea to strip your hands of all bacteria, anyway. Doing so also strips your skin of the protective, natural flora and good bacteria that are needed to protect you from a nasty infection if there is a break in the skin. 

So, its back to nature! Too much of a 'good' thing might not be good at all. The natural soaps which are made with just plain and simple, wholesome ingredients like olive oil, lard, coconut oil, palm oil, and such, mixed with dissolved lye makes a very fine, natural soap that will not destroy your skins natural flora. It will, however, help wash all the bad germs down the drain and nourish you skin!

An old Irish blessing for you ~

May you have love that never ends,

Lots of money, and lots of friends
Health be yours, whatever you do
And may God send many blessings to you!

Obsessed With Soaping

Who, me? Obsessed with making handcrafted soap? Yup! Late at night, with earphones in my ear, looking intently at my laptop, my husband used to quiz me, "What are you so interested in? Don't you want to watch the blow-em-to-shreds-war-movie with me?" I would turn the laptop so he could see someone pouring lye water into a large bowl of oil on YouTube. He would get this look on his face like I'd finally slipped off the 'edge'. :)

Now, my husband just accepts it. If I start carrying jugs and buckets of oil into my kitchen, he knows I'm going to be creating another batch of soap soon. I LOVE making soap! Getting boxes of supplies in the mail is like a very special holiday! As I sniff the fragrance oils, I get visions of swirls, layers, decorative tops, special colors, or maybe a new technique I want to try, dancing in my head!

This is something only a dyed-in-the-wool type of soaper can understand! Going online, I find many others who share the same passion and get to see their beautiful creations they've made. I want to share mine as well, but just haven't mastered the video technology to get videos of my work online, yet. I'm still working on that aspect.

Working with your own homemade soap is so joyful and I'm learning the different ways to expand it into my home in other healthful ways. Tonight, I discovered that I'd completely run out of dishwasher detergent. So.... I decided that tonight would be the night I made my own dishwasher soap/hand soap from my bar of Pure and Natural Soap!

Here's how that all turned out ~

First, as 8 C of water heated in my stainless steel pot on the stove, I grated one whole 4.5 oz bar of my Pure and Natural soap, which is a natural soap made only from olive oil, coconut oil, and sodium hydroxide.

Next, I added the soap gratings to the very hot, but not boiling water.

This was optional, but I decided to add 1/2 t tea tree essential oil to the liquid soap since it's so great at germ warfare.

I whisked the mixture together, at first, then used my stick blender. This blender has so spoiled me! I remember the 'old days' when I made handmade soap and stirred and stirred and stirred .....

 

Now, the whole batch just needs to rest for 8-12 hours, stirring ever so often. Tomorrow, I'll put it into individual Mason jars. If you're following along, make sure to give your liquid soap a gentle shake before using it.

On Etsy, I've seen some really cute ways to display your homemade liquid soaps! There are even little aprons you can buy to dress up your soap bottles. Take a peek and enjoy!

Isn't this cute! I love old-fashioned things! You can find that, here.

This lovely little dish soap apron can be found on this Etsy page. Crafters and Soapmakers make our world a much lovelier place! Mass marketing may make items cheaper to buy for the majority of the populace, but they do nothing for making a home uniquely and creatively comfortable. There is so little variation of anything at Walmart. On Etsy or in your own home, if you are creative, can be found very unique and artsy products found no where else on earth. 

Soapmakers find that each batch of soap has it's own personality. It will never again look exactly the same because of all the variants. We really don't want it to. Part of the draw of making or purchasing handcrafted soap is for the uniqueness of the colors, designs, and scents. Its this that has totally drawn me in, loving to turn lose my creativity, making a batch of soap that's not only extremely healthy for what its used for, but its a new artistic delight each and every time its un-molded and sliced!

Cutting the "Mantra Swirl"

I quickly pulled the lid off of my soap mold this morning and this is how it greeted me! It's so pretty and smells so sweetly tropical! I pulled the tape away from the parchment paper and eased it up out of its mold.

I really like the Mantra Swirl design on top! I'm hoping that the green didn't bleed too much into the yellow to obscure the design inside! Inside my house, the teal green color looks more blue. It's actually a very beautiful deep teal/blue/green color. I'll see if I can capture more of the true color outside.

Here, I'm measuring the 14" loaf of soap into 1" increments on both sides, then carefully slicing each one. I wish I had a fancy soap cutter, but I just can't get one right now.

Oooh! I see a pretty inside swirl! This is the fun part ... getting to see the inside as well!

The entire loaf has been sliced. It's so fun to feel the firmness of the fresh soap, see that it swirled well, that the colors remained true, and the essence smells sooo good!!

 This is a shot from the other side. Ooops! Haven't washed my soaping dishes, yet. I've actually found they wash much easier if the soap is totally allowed to saponify before washing.

The finished soaps outside! "Tropical Paradise"! This has been very fun! I'm hoping everyone else that's joined the July Soap Challenge has/is enjoying it as much as I have! Till later! ~