Why Natural Organic Skincare Is Better For Your Skin

Natural, Organic Body and Skincare

Shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, liquid soap, hand creams, facial cleansers and moisturiser, lip balms... we all have them in abundance in our homes and use them on a daily basis - but when's the last time you turned the bottle around and read the ingredients list? Even if you did, you probably wouldn't be any the wiser since many of these products consist of a concoction of chemicals, largely by-products of the petrochemical industry, heavily disguised under long complex names. Sadly, many of these chemicals do not have any beneficial effect on the skin and are included for other reasons - as an emulsifier, to bind ingredients together, to improve the texture or to give the product a longer shelf-life.

Whats more, some of these chemicals have been found to have potentially harmful effects on the human body and have been linked to skin irritations, adverse reactions in certain body organs and even cancer.

The problem by now is that so many commonly used skincare products contain these toxic ingredients - even some of those that claim to be 'natural', 'hypo-allergenic' or 'dermatologically-tested' - that it has become a minefield of misunderstanding for the average consumer.

So what is the answer? Firstly familiarise yourself with some of the nastiest chemical ingredients and make sure you don't buy anything containing these. Here are afew to get you started:

Sodium lauryl sulphate - a moderately toxic detergent which can cause skin irritation - found in most shampoos and toothpastes.

Parabens - including methy,propyl, butyl or ethyl - preservatives which are found in many products and can irritate skin, eyes and respiratory tract and are possibly carcinogenic.

Propylene/ butylene glycol - a petroleum-derived solvent linked with respiratory and throat irritation and central nervous system disorders, amongst others.

DEA- diethanolamine - acidity regulator e.g.DEA cocoamide - severely irritating to body tissues and eyes and possibly carcinogenic.

Bearing in mind that nobody really knows, as yet, what effect a daily bombardment by a concoction of these different chemicals may have on the human body over a prolonged period of time, it seems it would make sense to cut out or at least try to reduce your exposure to these toxic toiletries. Buying truly natural, organic products is the only way to ensure that what you are using is 100% safe and trustworthy and always check the ingredients labels. If you are reading such natural components as shea or cocoa butter, olive, sunflower or almond oil, beeswax, distilled flower waters and essential oils then you know you are on the right track! Remember that the purest, most natural products which are high in skin-feeding antioxidants and natural vitamins, often do not contain any preservatives and so will not be found on the shelves of your average shop, but there are plenty of on-line shops selling fresh products and at reasonable prices.

Herbal Remedies and Natural Supplements

Nature has bestowed an invaluable treasure in the form of herbs of India. India has ideally blended the science of ancient Ayurveda with modern scientific research and validation techniques for the herbal products to be at par with modern medicine. Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of life, has been using the herbal resources such as botanical extracts of roots, stems, leaves, fruits, flowers and barks for effective healing since ages. These natural products are born with the sole objective of providing consumers the natural yet powerful alternatives to mass-produced, synthetic chemical cosmetics. The natural cosmetics are made from plants, roots, herbs and minerals. These herbal products are made from the nature's resources which enhance the beauty of an individual.

The natural cosmetic products such as Lass Glow Pack - Facial Therapy, Bonheur Jasmine Cheese Soap (natural Handmade Soaps), Almond-saffron Moisturizing Lotion (natural Body Care), Natural Breast Firming Cream, Massage Oil, Rose Honey Glycerin Soap with Petals and many more products are available in the market. The herbal products do not harm the skin and they are also effective in treating the skin ailments. Most of the people, who use natural skin care products, generally make their own products at home from naturally occurring ingredients.

Lass Glow Pack - Facial Therapy is specifically designed to nourish, soften, hydrate and reduce the signs of aging for all skin types. Lass Glow Pack - Facial Therapy utilizes anti-aging products that are known for their cell renewal properties and anti-oxidant effects that will uplift your spirits and will give the skin a more youthful appearance. Lass Glow Pack - Facial Therapy is proven to show significant and measurable improvements in skin's condition within a few days of use. This therapy provides inner health and an outer glow to the skin.

Bonheur Jasmine Cheese Soap (natural Handmade Soaps) removes toxins and body odour and takes care of the other external skin problems. The fresh clean invigorating scent of Jasmine and Cheese energies the mind and soul while it's comforting lather gently exfoliates and cleans the body. Bonheur Jasmine Cheese Soap (natural Handmade Soaps) makes the skin look younger and healthy, brighten skin tone and provide radiance. Bonheur Jasmine Cheese Soap (natural Handmade Soaps) is made with natural oils, which have high glycerin content, Aloe Vera and Shea Butter.

Almond-saffron Moisturizing Lotion restores natural skin balance. It protects skin from sun, wind and pollution. Its fast absorbing formula helps to prevent and protect dry skin, leaving it feeling soft, smooth and naturally healthy looking. Almond-saffron Moisturizing Lotion (natural Body Care) cleanses, nourishes and treats your skin and helps to protect body from pollution and dirt. Almond-saffron Moisturizing Lotion (natural Body Care) is a smoothing way to replenish the lost moisture. It nourishes and moisturizes body and leaves a layer of protection on body surface. 

Homemade Soap Products - The Benefits of Using Natural Ingredients

You can make your own lye soap at home; it's not hard to do! All you have to do is combine fat with some sort of caustic agent, using water as your catalyst, and you have soap. 'Saponification' is the technical name for the chemical process between lye and fat.

And you won't need anything exotic to make your own soap; most of the ingredients you need may be as close as your grocery store. What will you need? For a basic soap, you only need water, lye, and some kind of fat and oil. For a more luxurious soap, you might want to add coloring dyes and scented fragrance oils.

You probably have water as close as your kitchen tap; some people prefer to use rainwater or distilled water in their soap. And what's lye, anyhow? It's chemical name is sodium hydroxide; it's a very strong base, so when you handle it. Make sure that you read the directions on the package of lye carefully, and following them scrupulously.

The first step is to dissolve the lye. Never pour the water into the lye; instead, pour the lye into the water. If half the water is ice, that's even better. Stir; as you stir, watch for the reaction. The lye can even boil the water; if this happens, stop stirring until the bubbling stops, and let the lye water cool down to room temperature.

So what about the oil? Just about any fat or oil can make soap, from plant oils to animal fats. Coconut oils will give a rich lather. Olive oil will yield fine, silky bubbles. If you use animal fat, make sure it' is clean, not rancid, has no salt, and is free of solid particles. You'll find tallow or lard will give you a denser soap.

When you batch starts to thicken, that's the time to add coloring and perfume oils. Pour the 'traced' soap into shape molds, and let it harden. It will have to 'cure' for one to three days, and then dry a bit longer before you can enjoy it.

Homemade, natural and specialty soaps are perfect truths for bath and body treatments. So if you are looking for a way to relieve your tension, forget about your bad day and just feel good, well treat yourself with some homemade soap products. They'll make your skin soft improve any skin conditions you have and help you connect with yourself.

Wheat Germ Oil - Making Homemade Soap

Wheat germ oil is extracted from the germ of the wheat kernel. It is dark amber in color with a thick consistency and has a heavy scent. When stored in a dark, cool and dry location its shelf life can be six to eight months. This natural oil is used in different ways.

Wheat germ oil can be used as a cooking oil, but it is often very expensive. It has been used in massage oil formulations to soothe, relax, and soften skin. It is, also, used in a variety of commercial and homemade skin care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, and more. Its benefits make it nourishing for skin.

Wheat germ oil contains the benefits of vitamin D, E and A. It soothes and softens dry, irritated, burned and sunburned skin. It promotes skin cell formation helping to heal scars and stretch marks. It helps to smooth rough, cracked and wrinkled skin, therefore contributes to diminishing the signs of aging. It contains antioxidants benefits and anti-inflammatory properties, as well. This natural oil is found in many eczema or psoriasis skin care products.

Lots of soap makers use wheat germ oil but this, natural, soap making oil should only be used at approximately ten percent in soap formulations. Most soap makers use it to, basically, add moisturizing and skin care nutrients to their handcrafted soap. It helps to soften, soothe and moisturize dry flaky skin, dry scaly skin, cracked skin and more. This natural oil should not be heated too much. It should be added in the soap making process, after the hard oils have melted. It is, usually, a good idea to use this soap making oil as a small percentage of base oils or as a super fatting nutrient at trace.

You can learn how to make soap different ways. You can take in-person classes or learn, at home, with an audio visual resource, such as a DVD. Either way can provide you with an abundance of soap making information! You can learn, easy, soap making instructions, find soap recipes, learn by doing with trial and error, find resources and more! There are different methods to making soap, such as hot process soap making, cold process soap making and re-batching. Use the method that is most comfortable for you, or use them all! You can have all of the information you will ever need to make homemade soap! Use a soap making kit, containing oils, molds and other materials to help you get started making soap.

You can make YOUR very own homemade soap and enjoy the, healthful, benefits of wheat germ oil, today!

What's the Difference Between Natural and Regular Soap?

Consuming natural or organic products is always the better choice if given the option. Your body performs better with organic foods, and your skin does better with natural soap. To help you make healthier choices, take a look at the key differences during the soap making process between natural and regular.

The ingredients are the first major difference. Through the making process, 'natural' soap is always a mixture of water, oil, and lye. Conversely, the regular types are detergent based from petroleum.

Other interesting finds in regular soap are isopropyl alcohol, BHT, and Tricoslan - an additive in much anti-bacterial brands. These additives are harmful to your skin. None, however, are found in natural soap.

The every-day effect on your skin is perhaps the most noticeable difference between regular and natural soap. Regular soap is often irritating to the skin, whereas natural soap has a soothing effect. Keep reading to find out why.

Alkali is the most common irritant found in regular detergent-based soaps. This substance makes your skin feel tight, itchy, or even sometimes flaky. Look at the label of the soap you're currently using to find out just how much alkali you're using.

After the soap making process, natural soap contains vast amounts of glycerin. This compound is fantastic for the skin - pulling moisture right out of the air. Glycerin makes your skin stay soft for longer, soothing and moisturizing your skin more that it would be by using regular soap.

Some people think that soap which is natural is much more expensive than regular soap. This is not true, for there is actually little difference in price between the two. If you want to bring the price down even further, consider making your own natural stuff at home.

Other people claim that buying natural soap is more inconvenient than buying what they are used to. Organic and natural products are increasing in popularity, however, and soap that is natural is not difficult to find. You can even shop for soap online, opening up a wide variety of natural products.

What Soaps to Use to Prevent Acne

If you are looking for the soaps that you can use to prevent acne from appearing on your face, you should spare some time to read this short article. In this article, you will discover the soaps that are best to treat your skin problems. Before using any soap for your skin, it is better for you to read this article first and educate yourself.

Here are 3 soaps that are recommended to prevent acne:

1. The first soap is tea tree oil soap that you can use regularly in your body and in your face. Tea tree oil soap is really helpful to soften your skin, open clogged pores, and maintain balance in your skin. It is also safe for sensitive skin and can be used regularly. This soap is recommended to be used before and after using certain homemade acne masks to keep your skin clean. Regular usage of this soap will prevent acne from spreading on your face.

2. The second soap is green tea soap. Green tea contains natural antioxidant that will keep your skin free from dirt, toxins, and bad substances. It will give you a fresh sensation in your skin. Green tea soap is a soap that is recommended to be used if you have problem with irritation, rash, and inflammation. It will also prevent acne from spreading on your skin.

3. The third soap is honey soap. Honey is known as a good soap with anti-inflammatory, anti-swelling, anti-bacterial, and anti-oxidant properties. Honey is safe to be used in sensitive skin and you can use this soap to prevent acne. It is also good for acne treatment.

Those 3 soaps are good for your skin because they have natural properties to keep your skin in healthy condition. It is suggested for you that you should replace your regular soap with any of those soaps in order to get maximum protection from acne. Moreover, there are some things that you need to know about soaps for acne.

Here are some things that you need to know:

- Regular soap often has harsh chemical components that are harmful for your skin. So, never use them to treat your acne because they will not work.
- Regular bar soap can cause irritation and aggravate your acne, so it is better for you to replace your soap with natural soap.

Another tip to remember:

When choosing natural soap, choose the soap that is well suited for your skin. That means the soap should not have any bad side effects for your skin. As many people have various skin types, you should observe your own skin for any negative effect.

Soap Making Technique

This is about the cold process of soap making.

The soap making equipment

For safely making homemade soap it is essential that the specific proportions of these soap ingredients are scrupulously followed.

It is highly recommended that you use a specialised software to calculate the proportions for each ingredient and to run it every time a new recipe is tried. There are many types of softwares for this purpose. There are even iPhones apps.

Some basic equipment must be used when preparing soap ingredients and making soap:

- an accurate scale;

- an accurate quick reading thermometer;

- a few small measuring cups;a stick blender to blend the oils with the lye mixture and start the saponification process;

- and soap molds.

Here is an example of the proportions for the various soap ingredients:

- 450 grams of vegetable fat;

- 170 millilitres of water

- 60 grams of caustic soda

The soap making process

Preparation of soap ingredients

Soap making requires water, caustic alkali and fats or oils.

It is very important that caustic soda is gently poured into water, and NEVER the opposite which will cause a kind of explosion and splash corrosive product on your body. The temperature of the water and soda mixture naturally rises up to around 190°F, or 90°C.

Therefore a glass (Pyrex) or a stainless steel container is to be used. Do not use a plastic container as it would melt due to high temperature. Please remember that aluminium is corroded by soda. Always use wooden spoons to stir soda.

Mixing the soap ingredients

Soda temperature must lower down to 95-105°F (35-40°C) and oil must be heated up to 130°F (55°C). After checking those temperatures with an accurate quick reading thermometer, slowly pour caustic soda into the heated oil. As soon as the two ingredients are mixed, you can use a stick blender to blend the oil with the lye mixture. While stirring the lye-water-oil mixture with the stick blender, you turn on the blender in short bursts. Blend for 3 to 5 seconds and then stir some more.

Once you start using the stick blender, you may see the oil turn cloudy and the soap mixture begin to come together. Keep blending in short bursts until the oil and lye-water are completely mixed together. This should not take more than 30-40 seconds.

Now you are nearing the stage called "trace". Using the stick blender enables you to reach trace in under a minute whereas if you use a wooden or a plastic spoon it will take 10 to 75 minutes for the same result.

Successful soap making secret

Trace is the term to describe the consistency or thickness, and the stage where the handmade soap mixture is ready to be poured into molds. Tracing is easily recognized. Using a plastic spatula, drizzle a small amount across the top of the soap mixture. If a mark or trail remains for a few seconds before disappearing again, your soap has traced. The mixture should have the consistency of liquid honey or pudding.

Your personal touch in your homemade soap

It is now the right time for you to add your own additives (essential oils, honey, milk, etc) before pouring the mixture into the soap molds, which you would have lubricated already with vaseline.

You may now cover the molds with a cloth and let them rest for 24 to 36 hours before getting hold of the soap. Indeed, saponification takes at least 24 hours to complete and, during this period, soap is still corrosive. You should be particularly careful to keep children away from it during this period of time.

After soap making

After this time, you can take the soaps off the molds, and rinse them to remove any excess of lye.

However, soaps are still rather soft, and you need to allocate around 6 weeks for them to be completely dry and hard.

Example of soap recipe

Various soap recipes can be found on websites about soap. For example, here is a very simple recipe:

- 450 grams of coconut oil;

- 700 grams of olive oil;

- 450 grams of vegetable fat;

- 600 millilitres of water;

- 223 grams of caustic soda.

Allergic Reactions to Commercial Soap

Have you ever wondered why your skin felt itchy after your shower or bath? Many people experience the same itchiness too but simply dismiss it without giving it much thought. Some people try changing the brands of soap and shower cremes, trying out one after another.

Most soap that you purchase at the supermarket is actually detergent with synthetic foaming agents added to form lots of lather when mixed with water. It is not able to moisturize your skin, as the glycerine of regular soap has been removed during the process of making the soap itself.

No matter how much you shower or lather, there would inevitably be some rough patches of skin around the heels, ankle bone, elbows, knees, and even the the finger tips, around the nails. Some types of moisturizers might help soften the skin for awhile.

There is a gawking difference between natural handmade soap and the regular commercial soap that you buy from the supermarkets. The drastic difference lies in the process of the soap making.

Commercial soap is made in huge quantities, using heat processing methods, as it is a faster way to make soap. The glycerin in the soap is isolated and removed as a by-product of the heat process, and sold separately as a highly expensive beauty product. As a result, the soap itself is devoid of glycerin. Fillers and synthetic fragrances are added to the soap to make it smell very nice. In fact, you can even smell it through the packaging! Though some commercial soap may contain essential oils, but these are ruined as chemicals are added to make the scent stronger. These chemicals and synthetic ingredients in the soap often cause allergic reactions to the skin, ranging from mild itchiness to severe dermatitis, psoriasis or eczema in sensitive skin.

Long term usage and constant exposure to these chemicals and detergent could sensitize your skin and destroy the natural protective layer of the skin, thus making the skin even more vulnerable to environmental stress.

In contrast, handmade soap is made in smaller batches using cold process which retains the natural glycerin inside the soap itself. When you use handmade soap made with natural essential oils and free from harmful chemicals, you will find that your skin texture will improve with regular use. The protective layer of your skin will be strengthened as it is nourished daily with essential oils. People who suffer from sensitive skin will find that their skin will be able to better endure environmental heat, cold and pollution. The natural essential oils would also strengthen and restore their immune system over time.

pH Testing - 3 Ways to Test Your Homemade Natural Soap

The most important aspect about making your own natural soap is to get the chemistry right. Not enough lye will create a soft bar that may never cure or take a long time to cure. Too much lye will cause a caustic bar, which would remove any natural oils from your skin to possibly causing red skin, or even burning, from little pockets of lye water.

I have always used phenolphthalein, (pronounced: fee no fah thay leen) a liquid that smells like nail polish remover. It usually comes in a dropper bottle, is inexpensive, and you simply allow a drop on the top of your soap. If it turns bright pink right away, then there is a high ph problem with your soap. If it turns pinkish after a new minutes, then this would be usual as the soap is still caustic and not fully neutralized. But if it has no color at all, this will indicate a pH normal bar - perfect.

I tried the litmus papers but preferred my phenolphthalein. Although many soapmakers swear by these. These test strips need you to wet a bar of the soap till there is some bubbles and place the strip on the bubbly part of the bar. After a few hundred bars of soap, you will have an expert eye and be able to tell by looking if there may be a problem. But in the beginning, I would test every slab.

The pH scale ranges from 1 - 14, and the aim for your soap will be between 6 - 10. Generally the numbers you will want for a mild soap would be 5 - 8. For a stronger hand soap, aim for 8 - 10, and for grating later for laundry, you'll want a reading of 10 - 12. Some soaps that test high initially will have lower pH levels later, so put it aside and retest in a couple of weeks. If you are using phenolphthalein, then the color you would be looking for would be clear for a mild soap, light pink for a hand soap, and dark pink for a laundry soap.

Some people use little electronic pH testers. They are considered more accurate and need to be buffered, or calibrated, before using. This method is also the most expensive.

Every so often, when not mixed properly, lye water will come to the top of the soap slab and look like harmless water or oil. This water is extremely caustic, be very careful when moving the slab around in the mold that none of this drips.

Liquid Soap Making - A Great Starter Soap For Beginners

The art of liquid soap making is probably one of the easiest ways to make your own soap at home. It's easy because melting down old pieces of soap, or even an entire bar is quick and simple. Liquid soap in it's simplest form is bar soap that has had water added to it, until you have nothing but liquid left. The only tools you will require are a pot, a measuring cup and a stove to heat everything.

You can also take it up a notch yet still keep it simple, by adding some fragrances to your soap or essential oils along with a bit of coloring. For the most part though, liquid soaps are usually put into a container where you use a hand pump and for the most part these are not normally see-through, so color does not necessarily have to be a consideration.

The first thing you do for liquid soap making is to take a bar of soap, or even old pieces, and grate them as finely as possible. When they get too small use a knife to cut them up, making sure to get it as fine as possible. The next step is to put the grated soap into a cup with measurements on the side and add water to equal the amount of grated soap.

The most difficult part of liquid soap making is the diluting process. If you use too little liquid then you may see your soap start to form a skin or it globs up in the bottle. If you add too much liquid then you won't see a good lather.

It's important to make sure you follow your recipe to the letter or you will run into problems. For the most part liquid soap making is the easiest of all the soaps that you can make at home. Knowing this, you will probably be fine and your recipe will work each time.

One of the most common reasons these days to use liquid soap is to help stop the spread of germs. With the recent flu scare, people in Mexico City started using anti-bacterial soap and washing their hand as often as possible. The result, besides helping to stop the spread of the flu germ, was a forty percent decrease in gastrointestinal problems. Nowadays it should be common practice for every sink to have some kind of liquid soap on the side for cleanliness as well as protection during flu seasons.

With liquid soap you can add any number of essential oils that also serve as anti-bacterial agents. Oregano and tea tree oil are both great for this, but there are also many others to choose from. You can even blend them with other essential oils for an even more pleasant smell and yet still have an effective product. One note of caution.

It is not advisable to use perfumed fragrances in combination with essential oils and still expect to have an effective product. You also need to take into consideration that if guests are using the liquid soap, and they have skin problems, then perfumed soap may not be to their liking. For guest bathrooms it is suggested that you stick to all-natural ingredients whenever possible.

One thing that recently has become very popular is liquid face soap. My favorite is goat's milk. A simple recipe is to reduce your water content by about eight ounces, then add 0.2 ounces of potassium hydroxide for every twelve ounces of goat's milk. This will cause the goat's milk fat to saponify. It's that simple and you will have a fantastic face soap that can easily be used on a daily basis.

The main thing to remember with liquid soap making is that it is the simplest technique around and probably the most foolproof. It's a great way to get started making soap, or introducing your children to the wonderful world of soapmaking at home.

For more information on Liquid Soap Making, visit our site at http://www.soapmakingguru.com/

Make a Cleaning Soap that is Eco-Friendly

Soap is generally for cleaning. Ironically, the components of most soap in the market right now can be another source of water pollution. Hard to believe that a cleaning soap may be damaging our environment? Right, but that is a fact.

Significant results about the truthfulness of this claim were found when tests were done on car washing detergents and anti-bacterial soap. As such, there is now a growing popularity in using soaps that were made out of eco-friendly materials.

Here is how you can make a natural liquid soap on your own. Just follow the steps:

1. Make the basic soap base. In doing this, simply add lye (use potassium hydroxide and not sodium hydroxide) into the water. The result will be an extremely hot solution so take extra care.

2. Heat the oils. You can choose all natural oils for soap making. Coconut oil and olive oil are some of them. Add the lye and water solution when the temperature of the oil being heated is at about 160 degrees.

3. Bring the mixture to trace by stirring for 3 to 5 minutes and then letting it sit for 5 minutes. This should be done continuously for about 30 minutes up to an hour.

4. Cook the paste either by traditional pot cooking or by using your oven but pot cooking is best recommended. This might need some patience as it could take some time, as long as 4 hours. Stir the soap mix every 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Test the mixture for doneness. Put some boiling water into the soap paste and stir it well. When the paste dissolves completely and produces a clear mixture then this is already done.

6. Dissolve the paste. Put distilled water to the soap base and bring to a boil. Stir it very well until the solution is completely dissolved and consistent. This can take a little more than an hour.

7. Make sure to neutralize it. Test the pH level of your liquid soap. Slowly put in the neutralizing solution like boric acid, constantly testing the pH level. Do this until the ideal pH is achieved.

8. Add the fragrance and color you desire.

9. Let the liquid soap solution rest and cool down.

10. Pour into containers.

Reminder: For best results, limit the formulation from 20 up to 25 drops of essential oil in every 250 ml liquid soap base. You also have the option of using oils with anti-bacterial properties but since there had been found proof that this can be harmful to the environment then best to leave it as natural as possible.

If you find the process not easy, as aforementioned, the process requires patience. Therefore, get your natural and eco-friendly soaps from trusted online suppliers. They have combined in their soap productions some beneficial vitamins and minerals that can add to getting healthier skin. With natural eco-friendly cleaning soap, you may not only get the cleanliness and skin nurturing you need; you are also helping in promoting a better Earth.

Common Mistakes in the Soap Making Process

Your first soap making process does not always give you the results you are looking for. A ruined batch of soap also means a loss of time, money and most of all, the ingredients. Doing a test before you proceed with your soap making is very helpful. Just like any activity, natural soap making is a trial and error method.

Below is a list of some common mistakes in the soap making process.

1. Making a huge batch of soap. In business, the motto is start small, think big. This also holds true for your soap making process. There is always a chance that the recipe you have never used before can create problems with your batch of soap. Therefore if you make a huge batch, many of those ingredients will be wasted. Try using two pounds as a safe test size. If it works, then there is a higher chance that your larger batch will come out perfect.

2. Changing multiple ingredients. Experimenting with ingredients in the soap making process is good as you progress in the activity. However at the start, it is preferable for you to use a recipe that has been tried and tested. Refrain from changing more than one ingredient at a time in a recipe if you do not know what each ingredient will add or take away from the soap.

3. Putting in too many additional ingredients. Soap making is indeed a fun activity and as you become familiar with the process, you cannot help but try experimenting with the ingredients. You are free to add whatever fragrance you choose; additives such as olive oil, essential oils, sodium hydroxide and coloring. However, sometimes, adding too many ingredients can become a disaster, as it can completely ruin your soap. For example, if you use too much fragrance in your soap, the fragrance will thin out the product and it will be impossible to repair the damage.

4. Lack of patience. The soap making process does not end within an hour after your soaps are done. Soap is best when you allow ample time for the formulations to sit. Natural ingredients could take a few months if they are not combined at the right temperature. You can label your soap by batches and number and check every now and then to make sure that they are still stable. Note how long the fragrance lasts and check to see if your soap shrinks from the wrapper.

5. Not writing down soap making instructions. The more you make soap, the basics will start to become very simple and you can do it automatically. However do not think that you can remember everything, especially when you start making many different kinds of soaps. Write it down and keep a journal that you can check out every now and then. You may even wish to separate your work into different categories such as liquid soap, or solid, whether you used a hot process and even compile lists of your soap supplies. After all, soap making is not the only activity you do around the house. This way, you will have a fantastic resource, that you can refer to anytime you need it.

6. Putting in fragrance without testing. You often make changes in your soap recipe and mostly on the fragrance. Fragrance oils are just one aspect of the basic elements of your soap and experimenting with them can be a lot of fun. However if you are not sure about what the fragrance can do to your soap, it is best to test it first. Test the fragrance oil in a small batch of soap before you decide to add it to your larger batch. Essential oils are expensive yet provide a beautiful scent to your natural soap, so be careful and do not forget to keep instructions for yourself. Soon you will have some great soaps that will not only smell terrific but provide effective skin care too.

African Black Soap - The Growing Popularity of This Natural Soap & How You Can Benefit From Its Use

African Black Soap has been becoming more popular with consumers in the Western world as it becomes more important to many buyers to use beauty products that are biodegradable and natural and because of its many great benefits.

For many years, this soap has been made from ingredients including palm oil, raw Shea butter and coco pods, found in various countries in West Africa, mainly in Nigeria and Ghana, but also in Mali and Togo. This soap is full of emollients and vitamins that work well for thorough moisturizing, gentle exfoliation and deep cleansing. Authentic soap of this type is a healthy addition to your health and beauty regime.

Depending on the locale in which the soap is made, this soap may contain different ingredients. For example, the type of soap made in the Nigerian region, known as Dudu Osun soap, contains wild honey, palm bunch ash, glycerine and lime juice in addition to the basic ingredients mentioned above. Dudu Osun is an excellent treatment for skin blemishes like blackheads from acne, and it is also useful in diminishing uneven tones of skin, like dark marks and spots. Honey makes Dudu Osun valuable to smooth and soothe skin, but if you have sensitive skin, this type of soap may be drying. You may want to apply lotion after you shower or bathe with Dudu Osun soap.

The soap made in Ghana, known as Alata Samina, is usually made from the skin of the plantain, which is an excellent source of iron and vitamins A & E. The plantain skin is dried gingerly in the African sun, and then roasted inside a clay oven. It is only roasted for a precise amount of time, to achieve the correct smell, texture and color. In some areas, they may use cocoa pods, the shell of cocoa fruit, rather than plantains. This soap is also excellent for treating acne, with its natural healing properties. Like Dudu Osun, it is helpful in treating a dry scalp, and it will make your hair clean when used as a shampoo bar. If you have allergies to nuts, African Black soap is perhaps not the soap for you as Shea butter is produced from a nut.

If you find African Black soap that is almost too black in color, it may have had artificial coloring added and likely to have been commercially made and include other impure ingredients. Organic soaps are usually browner in color, and they don't have a scent, unless it is added. After you bathe or shower with this soap, you will want to store it somewhere away from your tub or shower perhaps in a soap box as African Black soap may shrink, due to its glycerin content. You should also not be surprised if this soap comes apart after you have used the bar, since this is common with this type of soap.

In contrast to soaps that are cold-processed, African Black Soaps are made on an open fire, so it retains the burnt leaf ashes, which will add the soap's excellent exfoliating properties. The variations in color range from slightly dark blackish to brown. If you want to be sure that the soap you are purchasing is authentic, avoid added dyes, since genuine soaps crafted in Africa don't usually have them.

African Black soap is also marvelous for hair care. It is rich in glycerin, and works well as a conditioner. It will leave your hair quite light-weight and soft. The natural, gentle moisturizers can even add a bit of curl or wave to your hair.

What Is A Natural Pesticide?

If you garden and do not use commercial fertilizers or any substance that improves the growth cycle and especially manufactured pesticides, you are basically doing organic gardening.

You have decided to use nature to grow your plants, vegetables and fruits. It is certainly better for the earth and if you use natural insecticides, will cost less. Using natural insecticides will improve the quality of the vegetables and fruits that you produce and you will not add any man-made chemicals to your dirt or into the air.

This does not mean that you should not wash your fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them. You should continue this practice. You should also understand that more is not always best. There is a misconception about insecticides that if you use more the results will be quicker and last longer. This is not a good approach to have. You must examine the effects of anything you add to your soil or apply to your plants.

Do the plants react in a negative way? Is there wilting of leaves or discoloration? What harm could these insecticides cause to me, my family or our pets? If you ingest any of the insecticide what might the side effects be?

We must realize that not all insects will cause harm to our plants. Butterflies are beautiful creatures but gardeners sometimes do not appreciate their caterpillars. Honeybees can sting but without them we would not have our honey supplies.

Spider mites are the most common plant pest. They multiply very rapidly and can defoliate and kill plants. They are yellow or green colored and are very hard to see. One method of locating these pests is to tap a leaf over a piece of white paper. Look at the paper for very small moving objects. If you see them, these are pests that you want to remove.

Another very small pest is Shell Insects. Often these appear as a bump on a stem or a leaf. They stunt a plants growth and can kill a plant over time.

Mealy bugs look as though they had fallen into chalk and have a long waxy looking growth from their tails. They resemble a very small piece of cotton on the underside of leafs. You can remove them by washing but they will return. A couple of weeks use of an insecticide can rid you of these pests.

Natural Fertilizers

Soap, diluted liquid dish washing detergent, used in a 1 to 2% solution has been used as an effective spray for years. If you use this, remember that repeated use with a high concentration may cause damage to some plants. While this mixture is less toxic to humans and animals than other mixtures it might be less effective than other insecticides if you have an infestation of pests.

Neem oil, produced from the Indian lilac tree, and is used to prevent feeding and stunt the pest's development cycle.

Pyrethrum, produced from the Dalmatian chrysanthemum, is used in dust or a liquid form sprayed on plants. It attacks an insect's nervous system. Can be used in small concentrations to repel but not kill insects. It is toxic to fish but less toxic then synthetic pesticides to mammals. It breaks down easily when exposed to light and is used in many pet shampoos for flea and tick control.

Boric acid has been used for many years to control roaches.

Other more common pests are ants and wasps. These are pests that can cause allergic reactions and cause fear in children and adults. These have been attacked successfully with hairspray and soap solutions.

Cinnamon has been used in some areas to prevent ants from entering structures such as central air registers.

What ever natural pesticide you use, do so with caution and care. Examine the plants closely after each use and watch for a detrimental effect on your plants. Experiment with various natural pesticides until you find the one that works for you. The application of any insecticide should be in a safe manner and only at a frequency that is necessary to maintain a healthy crop of fruits and vegetables.

How To Make Organic Melt and Pour Soap

Want to make organic melt and pour soap? Yes, you can buy organic melt and pour soap bases to make your own organic hand made soap. The advantage of making and using organic soap is you know it's good for you and your skin and it doesn't contain any harsh, nasty chemicals.

First, find an organic melt and pour soap base. It should be easy to find a soap supply site selling this on Google. Just type in organic melt and pour soap base. Once you've found your organic melt and pour soap base (check the ingredients it contains first) you can start looking for organic soap fragrances and colors. The site where you found the organic melt and pour soap base may sell them. This way your soap will be truly organic.

Of course, if you just want the soap base to be organic, you don't have to worry about the fragrance and colors being organic and you can use soap suitable ones which will most likely be cheaper.

What kind of molds are you going to use? Do you want to make shaped soap, like hearts or stars, or plain bars of soap?

Once you've decided on your ingredients and have the necessary equipment (including safety equipment) ready, it's time to start making your organic soap.

Of course, it's really important to follow your soap making recipe so you know exactly when to add each ingredient but basically to make melt and pour soap you melt the soap in a suitable double boiler or microwave safe bowl or jug, then add the soap coloring and fragrance. Then you pour it into molds and leave it to set. Then you can unmold it. To unmold your soap, gently pop it out of the mold. If it sticks, try running some water over the base of the mold and then try to pop it out of the mold again. Once it's unmolded you can use it right away!

Once you've made a great bar of organic soap, you may never want to go back to using unorganic soap. So here's to your organic soap making success!

Safe Garden Insecticides - Using Insecticide Soap Spray

Soap can be used as a highly effective insecticide which is safe for your garden, your pets and your family. None of us want to spray toxic chemicals where they may be breathed or ingested by our pets and children, but sometimes we really need to do something to sort out all those garden pests.

One of the simplest methods of pest control is by utilising natural soap. It is completely non-toxic to us and our pets but does cause serious problems for insects and other garden pests. The principle is simple, just dilute liquid soap so that it is spray-able, and then spray affected plants.

But, there are a few key points to remember.

Never spray new buds, allow them a few weeks to toughen up first.
Respray after rain and at least once a week during times of peak insect activity.
Do not spray edible parts of plants for the few weeks prior to harvest.
Always test spray an area first as some plants are sensitive to soap sprays (notably cherries and maples).
Never use detergents if making homemade soap spray, as these can damage many sorts of plant.
Consider strengthening the power of your insecticidal soap spray by adding garlic or chili but again test this on a small area of any newly treated plants.

Using insecticide soap spray is an extremely economical and environmentally friendly form of pest control but it is not 100% foolproof. Remember to check plants regularly for new signs of attack and don't forget how effective simply removing pests by hand can be!

How to Earn Income at Home - Soap Making Business

Are you looking for a legitimate way to earn income at home? Tired of all of the home business scams? If so, there is a way to have your own home based business, by making homemade soap. If you think there is no work involved, in building your own soap making business, then you should stop reading this now. There is lots of work involved in building any kind of business, especially a home based business. Most successful business owners will tell you that they have been the toughest boss they have ever had! It takes, hard work, patience, dedication, skill, time, effort, money and smart business sense to build your own business.

When building any kind of business you will run into stiff competition. When making homemade soap your product should be of the highest quality. Most people can tell the difference between an average homemade soap and high quality soap.

Your soap should be healthful for the skin. In general, most people are beginning to use natural skin care products to maintain healthful, youthful, looking skin. One of these natural, homemade skin care products is natural goat milk soap. Natural goat milk soap can contain mild and gentle ingredients helpful for acne relief, acne scars, pimples, blemishes, eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, flaky skin, itchy skin, sensitive skin, oily skin and more! This homemade soap contains goat milk, which aids in the regeneration of collagen under the skin and helps keep skin very close to its natural pH level. It can help to reduce the signs of aging. It is a very popular, homemade, soap!

How can you have a soap making business? First, you must learn how to make soap. Making homemade soap is not for everyone; it requires, time, patience, dedication and skill. You should find a master soap maker that offers, step-by-step, soap making instructions. Some soap makers attend community events, teach soap making classes, give demonstrations, teach soap workshops and more. If you learn how to make soap, from a professional then you will ensure that you are starting at the right point, from the beginning. You can learn an abundance of soap making information from a master soap maker! Ask questions, get involved, make new friends, practice making homemade soap, repeatedly, and soon you can be on your way to soap making success. It is not easy building a soap making business, but it can be a lot of fun! You are the boss of your own company, so you will decide how hard you want to work.

Many commercial skin care products contain harsh ingredients, that can, actually, contribute to poor skin conditions. Natural goat milk soap can contain mild and gentle skin care ingredients beneficial for many different skin types. Many people are realizing the healthful benefits this homemade skin care soap can offer. The skin is the largest organ of the body. It matters what skin care products are used to maintain the skin's health.

As the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." It is possible to earn income at home by making homemade soap. Your soap making business success depends 100% on you!

The Olive Oil Liquid Soap For the Chemical Sensitive Skin

The soap we usually apply on our body can be divided into several types. The most common types are the two basic types which are the bar soap and the liquid soap. The bar soap is well known for its durability in the usage time but this type of soap has disadvantages compared to liquid soap. For example, the bar soap is not coming to handy when we need to carry it during a trip and also we cannot avoid that sometimes it will fall to the floor and get contained by the bacteria.

I would say liquid soap is the best option which is something that will help us on dealing with the needs of easy to bring soap. When soap is made in its form of liquid, it will be produced by using the non-harsh ingredients, the thickener agents, the artificial fragrances or the preservatives. This soap is also well known for the mildness it serves for the users and it can also be applied on the baby's skin as well. It is also considered as the soap which is very effective on cleaning the hair as well as the skin.

People who are very sensitive to the chemical substances need to consider using the handmade liquid soap. The ingredient that is suitable to be used to produce this kind of soap is the organic virgin olive oil. They should also avoid using the soap with the paraben as its main ingredient. Using the olive oil on the soap will also make the soap having the ability to deeply penetrate the skin and cleanse it very well almost without leaving the bad effects for the users. The olive oil based handmade soap is also providing the more mildness applied on the users' skin.

Soap Nuts - Replace Your Detergent With The Perfect Natural Detergent

Going green is the need of the day today, but there are many reasons that hold us from using green products, i.e. unavailability, inefficiency and pricing. But what about a product like soap nut that is natural, highly effective, convenient to use and reasonably priced. Soap nuts are the perfect replacement for commercial detergent. Read on to know more.

Going green has become a buzzword today. Yet ask yourself how many products you actually use that are truly 'green products'. The answer may not be satisfactory. The fact is that there are still not many viable alternatives for manufactured products, both in terms of effectiveness and in terms of cost. Where we are trying to take an initiative, there are bound to be many compromises. However, at times it is none of these reasons but plain ignorance, or unawareness or distrust in the efficacy of natural products. We are so used to using our regular manufactured products that the idea never occurs to us that there might be an alternative. It can make a huge difference though.

Let's talk about a product that you know very well, that you use almost on a daily basis. If plastic is the biggest culprit for land pollution then what is one of the biggest culprits for water pollution? Yes, we are talking about your detergent. Is there really a green product that can replace the detergent? The answer is yes. This natural green detergent is the soap nut. It is a small, round fruit that grows on trees, the pulp of which produces lather on rubbing with water like soap, which cleans anything you wash with it. Soap growing on trees? Yes, that's true. The truth is if we take some small steps towards it, we will find that nature has provided for everything. In fact humans have taken inspiration from the creations of nature to manufacture products.

Now, coming to efficacy, is it effective? Well, not only is the soap nut very effective, but at the same time very soft on your hands. Unlike harsh detergents, it will not leave your hands dry and hard. It is a better alternative to detergents for many reasons. One of the factors that is worth highlighting is that it is a HE detergent, that is required for front loading machines and works very well with them.

Now, how to use it, you cannot stock some fruits in your home and keep on rubbing them one by one on the clothes you want to wash, of course not. There are a hundred ways in which you can use them. The soap nuts dry up to become hard. They remain the same for years if stored properly. The outer shells of the fruit can be made into a powder, liquid or the soap nuts can simply be tied in a pouch and soaked in the water. The saponin, the substance it releases that is responsible for the lather and cleaning, is all that is required for cleaning and hence, any way you use it is good enough. Though, it works best with warm water. So, storing and using it is as easy as your detergent.

Finally, natural products are expensive or so you thought. Soap nuts, however are as reasonable as your detergent, or may be less than that also. So, you have a product that is effective, convenient to use, reasonably priced and 100% natural. Now, using detergents in spite of the availability of soap nuts can definitely be classed as unawareness or is it plain ignorance?

Tea Tree Oil Soap Is For Anyone Who Enjoys Using Natural Products And Wants Healthier Looking Skin

Tea tree oil soap is a natural anti-bacterial soap found as a liquid hand soap, face wash or luxury bath soap. Some hospitals use tea the soap for its powerful anti-bacterial properties. This type of soap is ideal for anyone who likes to use natural products and would like to have fresh, healthier looking skin.

Tea tree oil soap contains the essential oils from the melaluca plant. This plant is native to Northern New South Wales and is often grown in plantations so that the oil can be extracted from the plants leaves. It has been known for centuries that the essential oil from this plant is a powerful anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-septic agent.

This incredible soap works to maintain healthy skin by aiding in the shedding of old dry dead skin cells. This leaves the skin feeling softer and smoother making way for new healthier cells. The soap's essential oil balances the natural oils of the skin so that the skin is neither too dry nor overly oily. Tea tree oil soap may be used as an everyday soap or could be used specifically to treat medical or skin conditions such as eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, dry skin or acne.

This type of soap is known for its medicinal uses for many centuries, used extensively by the native Aboriginal people of Australia to treat skin conditions amongst other things. It's known for having strong anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties making it a very effective natural treatment for scabies, warts, shingles, ring-worms, jock itch, heat rash and athletes foot. It can even be used to treat cases of cradle cap in infants. Using the tea tree oil soap as an everyday cleanser can help to ward off any future skin infections. The tea tree oil extract also works to speed up the healing process.

For people suffering from eczema, the skin can be very sensitive to chemicals. The soap can be a great natural alternative, helping to reduce the itchiness of the skin whilst aiding in the healing process. Eczema can be a painful and irritating condition and tea tree oil soap will help to reduce the severity of an episode.
This type of soap is also great for soothing sun burnt skin. The healing properties of the tea tree oil help to reduce the inflammation and help to reduce the pain associated with badly sun burnt skin. The oil will also help to keep the skin hydrated and will help to promote the growth of new skin cells.

Another benefit is that the oil will help reduce shaving rash. Razor burn can be quite painful and annoying however the soothing and moisturising properties of the oil will help to reduce the effect if used during shaving. Applying some of the essential oil to the razor will also help to reduce the severity of shaving rash or razor burn.

This oily soap may also be used to prevent dry skin. Some tea tree oil soaps also contain coconut oil or palm oils which can have a moisturising effect. When used as an aromatherapy soap in which case it should contain a concentration of at least 5% tea tree essential oil.

Herbal Soaps - Homemade Soaps For Your Family

One of the best reasons to buy herbal soaps, is to get away from all of the chemical additives that damage your skin. The main reason the chemical additives are bad is that they dry out your skin, but for many people, including children, they often lead to rashes and other skin irritation problems. The main reasons for this is that commercial soap companies are using synthetic additives in their soap, and at the same time they are removing the glycerin from their product. This is one of the main reasons herbal soaps that are homemade are becoming more popular every day.

One thing that all consumers should do is look at the labels of the soaps they are buying, and look at the unhealthy ingredients that these companies are using. They attempt to give consumers the allusion that the soaps are beneficial and healthy, but in reality they are not. They have become very adept at cleverly deceiving the public.

Herbal soaps that are completely natural will over time restore your skin from dried out, to moist and healthy looking. It is important to make sure that the homemade soap you use is as natural as possible, and uses only natural ingredients.

Soaps that have been made using natural vegetable oils, such as olive oil or essential oils, date back to old Muslim times when chemists used natural ingredients, and when it comes to soapmaking, not much has changed since then.

Arabian soaps were colored and scented and were both liquid and solid soap. In more modern days soaps have been made mixing animal fats with lye. This leads to the question of, "is lye safe". The answer is yes, it's very safe. When you mix lye with your other ingredients there is a chemical reaction that changes the lye into a mild and pure form of soap.

There are many herbal soaps on the market. One of my favorites is Neem soap. This is a wonderful herb that helps to expel excess sugar from your body; one of the prime reasons for many skin disorders.

Neem also helps to restrain viruses from multiplying, as it binds to your skin cells. It prevents viral growth and this makes it a wonderful germicidal soap. It also has properties that are anti fungal, as well as antibacterial, and is one of the most recommended soaps for those who suffer with acne. Great for teenagers, and a great way to get them started off on the right foot when it comes to natural soaps.

Another wonderful soap is one that is made using turmeric. This has been traditionally used in medical practices for centuries, and is felt to be very effective in treating infections and boils. It's a wonderful soap for people who are diabetic. It helps to prevent bacteria in the skin as well as restoring skin to a natural luster.

Last but not least, one of my all time favorites is Sandalwood. It has a wonderful deep fragrance, most often used in aromatherapy, but it is also famous for making your skin feel lustrous, smooth and unblemished. I highly recommend this herbal soap for an overall feeling of well being.

Although you will find that herbal soaps are slightly more expensive than store bought soaps, the price difference is not that much, and when you take into consideration the benefits you get for those few extra pennies it is more than worth it.

Soaps such as lavender give you such a great relaxing feeling and rosemary mint soap gives you a great pick me up that it's hard to resist not treating yourself to these inexpensive luxuries. The little extra that you pay a month for a herbal soap is more than worth it.

Herbal Soaps are a very popular soap to make at home and soap making is becoming more popular every day. For more information on homemade herbal soaps visit our website Soap Making Made Easy.

How to Make Castile Soap

Castile soap coming from the countryside in Spain where it originally came, a mottled, white, hard and fine soap, purely made from soda and olive oil hails. This soap may be slow and less to lather, yet it is made abundant and rich because of its main ingredient, the olive oil.

They are a popularly soap known as castile soaps. They are gentle and an ideal first soap for the babies. As contrasting to animal fats, this soap is created completely from olive oils as this vegetable is among the highly used component in making soaps.This soap recipe is not complicated to gather and make. In fact, you can make two-pound castle soap through the simple instructions on making soaps.

To get started with your soap, you must complete the entire list of castle soap recipe first. You need 1.8-pound 100% olive oil. They must be pure. You also need one ounce of pearls of beeswax, as this will give the bar soap a silky grain. Aside from that, to complete your This soap recipe has four ounces of lye or sodium hydroxide and 10 ounces distilled water.

To begin the soap making process, dissolve the beeswax in an olive oil until the temperature reaches about 120 degrees. You may add the sodium hydroxide, stirring the mixture well. Then add this stirred mixture to the beeswax or oil mixture when this gets cool at 120 degrees.

Continue to stir the mixture until you can find no trace. After that, you may pour the mixture in a mold.

The castile soap recipe may also be added with additives. One instance is the dried chamomile. One fourth of a cup of this will add trace and fragrance to your new bar soap.

Other fragrances to add to your Castle soap recipe are the scents, oils and extracts of orange, eucalyptus, rose garden, citrus blend, rosemary and calendula. The pure olive oil that composes this type of soap makes its lather a little different than other soaps made of other ingredients. Usually, castle soaps are slimy than creamy and foamy.

Meanwhile, there has been a warning that castile soaps are high in alkalinity level. That is why the classic castle soap recipe is not suggested for washing hairs. The human skin has an acidic pH level of 5 or 6. The Castle soaps have 9 though some contain about 7. To avoid skin irritations and damage, you should ask the soap maker regarding the pH. This is a excellent soap its easy to make and has some excellent all natural characteristics. There are many excellent recipes out on the internet free of charge. The best way to inform yourself is to do the research and make and informed decision. I hope this article has given you the basic understanding to help you make just such a decision. If you would like other recipes visit my site listed below and get more information and products to help you become a well informed consumer.

Turning Your Soap Making Skills Into a Business

So you want to make soap for a living. So many people have asked me how to start a soap making business.

It's like any other business to a point. You need to decide on a name to begin with. Your name should reflect how you want the world to see you. Take your time with this. You will need a few backup choices too, in case the name is taken.

Take these names to your local business registry department. You can find this information in the phone book or from your city hall.

A name search will begin and this will take a few days to get the results. There are a few fees involved. One for the name search and another for the name registration.

Take your new business name and paper work to your city hall and apply for a business license. Depending on where you live, you may also need to apply for a tax number. All of this information will be available once you register for the business license.

Once you have all the paperwork you need, you will be able to purchase your ingredients and supplies through wholesale sources. This is important because it will bring down your costs.

Next step is all about how you will present yourself. Do you want to have a logo made? This sounds like an expensive luxury, but it sets you apart from hobbyists and gives you a professional image. You should sit down and figure out what you want this logo to represent. Is it all about your soap making or are you going to expand into other crafts too? You can get a logo made up easily for around $50. It's well worth it.

Once you have your logo made, or create your own, it's time to get your business cards printed. There are good deals all over. Shop around or print them yourself. You can pick up a pack of printable business card sheets and the templates are usually available on line or with an attached cd.

Be sure you have the proper home insurance to cover you and your equipment. You will need to talk to your insurance broker for details.

Once all of the paperwork is out of the way, it's down to the fun business and deciding on your business plan.

The business plan should be written out and over time will be revised several times. A business plan needs to grow and change along with you and you business. You need to be flexible; things don't always go exactly as planned. To me, this is a good thing. It allows me to grow and change with my experiences and I really hope you are able to take on this perspective. For some, this will be the most difficult part, putting everything down on paper. Most crafters and soap makers are dreamers. We like to visualize and strategize in our heads. Putting it down on paper seems so mundane, but it needs to be done.

You need to be creative and logical at the same time. Asking yourself some key questions will help you put everything into perspective.

Next time, we can look closer at those key questions we need to ask ourselves when we are writing up the business plan.

Explain the Manufacturing Process of Soap

Soap: In our daily life we use different forms of soap. We can't imagine a single day without the use of soap. It is an essential part of cleanliness in our civilized society.

There are three different forms of soap available in the market. These are Soap Bars, Detergent Powders and Liquid Soaps. Now we will discuss how these are manufactured in detail.

Bar Soap: The raw materials in bar soaps are fats, fatty acids and inorganic water-soluble bases. Fats are extracted from mutton tallow, beef, coconut, palm and palm kernel oils. After extracting the raw material it goes to a treatment plant to make it pure.

A continuous process makes it into a liquid form of soap. During the process glycerin is produced as a byproduct. The neat liquid soap then goes through a process called vacuum spray drying, to form dry soap palette.

In the final phase the dry palettes go to the finishing line. An amalgamator blends soap palettes with all other ingredients, colorants and fragrance. In a rolling mill and refining plodder the soap palettes are then homogenized and refined. In this section the soaps palettes get the desired texture. Then the palettes are cut into the bar size and in a press unit the stamping process is done.

Detergent Soaps: In the case of powder detergents three processes are used. These are dry mixing, spray mixing and agglomeration. Spray drying process combines all constituents into a thick suspension in a big tank. The thick suspension is then heated and lifted to the top of a tower by pumping it. At the top of the tower small nozzles spray the suspension with high pressure. It creates small droplets. These droplets fall from the top of the tower. When they fall, they pass through hot air. This converts the droplets into dry granules. These granules are then collected from the base of the tower and run through a screening process. This process makes all the granules uniform in size. These uniform sized granules are cooled and some enzymes, fragrance and bleach are added.

Using new and latest technology soap manufacturers now make high-density granules. In these granules percentage of air is very low, hence the granules can be packed in a smaller packet.

Liquid Detergents: To make Liquid Soaps two processes are used. These are continuous blending process and batch kettle boiling process. Added stabilizers ensure the stability and uniformity of the end product.

During the continuous blending process in a mixer dry and liquid ingredients are blended to make a stable and uniform mixture. In recent times, high-energy mixing processes have been introduced. In this process some stabilizing agents are used.

Packaging: Packaging is the final step of soap making. Bar soaps are first packed in single packs. Large numbers are packed in cartons. Detergent powders are packed in pouches, cans or bags. Good packaging can increase sales and hence soap manufacturers lay emphasis on good packaging.

Natural Cleaning Solutions In The Laundry

We do the laundry a lot more often than we used to. Today, it's not unheard of for people to pop two shirts into the wash a day (one from work and one from the gym). In the past, people wore things for longer so there wasn't as much for the laundry maid to do. "Wash day" came once a week, usually on Mondays when there was cold Sunday roast left over and nobody had to cook much so they could concentrating on the nightmare job of doing the laundry.

But just because you've got a modern washing machine with a wool cycle, a hot cycle and enough lights for a very small Christmas tree doesn't mean that you have to use fancy modern wonder ingredients to get your clothes clean. Do yourself and the environment a favour, and use natural laundry products to wash clothes like your grandmother (or great-grandmother) used to use.

If you must use commercial washing powder (and I have to admit that I do - in a hard water area, using liquid soap in the machine on a cold cycle has a tendency to gunge up the pipes and valves) you can get away with using less than the manufacturer tells you to use on the side of the box. Let's face it: who wrote the stuff on the side of the box? Who's going to make more money if you go through three boxes of powder in stead of two? Right. In practice, you can reduce the amount of soap powder per load to three-quarters what the manufacturers tell you to - or even half. You can also be kinder to the environment by using a brand (which, happily, is usually cheaper) that doesn't have oodles of whiteners, brighteners and fragrance. This means you will pump less goodness-knows-what into the water system. And remember that washing clothes in commercial powder is still better than dry cleaning.

If you wash in hot water or if the water in your area isn't hard (lucky you!), you may be able to get away with using liquid soap in your washing load. This doesn't mean a commercial liquid soap. Instead, save soap scraps and pour boiling water over them to melt them down. Once the result has cooled to a gel, it can also be used for soaking grubby clothes as a pre-wash treatment, as general maid-of-all work for cleaning floors, cleaning cars and spot-cleaning carpets. You can also use it as shampoo. You can also use soap flakes, which you can buy again, thankfully, if you don't fancy grating a bar of soap.

If you are in a hard water area, you can still use soap flakes or soap gel to wash clothes, but you will have to add a water softener. Borax is the classic water softener used in many natural domestic cleaning recipes.

Soap residues are responsible for making towels and blankets as stiff as cardboard. Thorough rinsing helps, as does drying in the open air. But to really make sure things stay soft enough to rub on sensitive bits of your body, use vinegar as a fabric softener. Put about half a cup per load into wherever fabric softener is supposed to be put in your washing machine, or else add it to the final rinse.

Essential oils are also popular additions to natural laundry products. Some oils not only add a pleasant scent but also help remove stains and act as disinfectants. Eucalyptus oil makes a great stain remover and is the key ingredient in Sard Wonder Soap (if you can get hold of this, it is fantastic for removing all sorts of stains). Tea tree oil is antibacterial. So is lavender.

Did You Bathe Today? With an All Natural Soap?

I've been an entrepreneur since I set up my first lemonade stand with a sign that said Free Lemonade, 10 cents! I knew Free sounded good but I also knew I had to pay Mom back for the lemons. And as most self employed business owners know, that remains the eternal question: Offering a product that people flock to like it's free while making enough to pay for the effort.

With our latest venture, we turned the tables on this theory. We manufacture line of handmade bath soap bars and bath salts and, at this time, donate all profits to charity. So we have the 'free' component of giving away the profit from our labors but the challenge of running a business that actually makes that profit.

While this may be a little different from your particular business, some of the strategies remain the same. I have been in sales and marketing for over 30 years, owning businesses online and traditional brick and mortar. Some basic principles remain the same throughout and that's what you want to concentrate on to be successful in your own venture.

Let's jump right in and talk about your product first. Product and Distribution must be determined before marketing can take place. Well established product lines and distribution channels will allow your marketing to guide itself. Advertising methods fit different products in unique ways and you must find the best fit for your product. But keep in mind, marketing your product, whatever it is, is the key to SUCCESS!

Having done some marketing in many forms, from cold calling to trade shows to online, I find now that a combination of all of these and many more work well. It's like not putting all your eggs in one basket. When one method is working, another might not be as they all go in cycles.

So we have a website, we promote it extensively and it includes a shopping cart for online sales. We also send a monthly newsletter to existing customers and prospects keeping them up to date on what we are doing and where the money is going each month. The website includes a blog that is updated frequently which keeps the website active for the search engines. Stats say that about 80% of people today search online when shopping locally. They search for locations, phone numbers as well as an easy way to shop without leaving home.

No marketing is complete without using social media. That's Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc. Again, this is where a very large percentage of people go everyday and you must be there among them not only for exposure but for validation.

We also utilize retail outlets in a brick and mortar environment. Soap is something people like to see and touch and smell. That helps tremendously with the sales process so we encourage it by having the products available all around the area. This often results in repeat sales online as people become familiar with the product.

The importance of Networking cannot be overstated. People do business with people they know especially when dealing with a personal care product. But I find this to be true when you are looking for a plumber or someone to work on your computer. Nothing replaces meeting someone face to face. Your location probably abounds in meetups and business associations. Just ask around and jump right in to get started.

Speaking of validation. Another great validation for your business is being published. A short e-book or full size, hard cover book can be seen as validating who you are and why someone should do business with you. Take a look at this unique but underused method of promoting yourself or your company. Or write an article like this to help others who are coming along the path you have walked!

History of Soap Making - Goats Milk Soap

The history of soap making began when the earliest recorded evidence of soap-like materials traced back to approximately 2800 BC, found in clay cylinders during the excavation of ancient Babylon. Approximately 2200 BC, soap formula inscriptions were written on the clay saying that fats were boiled with ashes, which are a way of making soap, but there was no reference to the purpose of the soap.

Approximately 1500 BC, ancient Egyptians used animal and vegetable oils, combined with alkaline salts to create a soap-like-substance used for treating skin diseases as well as for washing.

Around 600 BC the Phoenicians used soap for cleaning wool, cotton and textiles prior to weaving and dieing, instead of for human washing.

The early Greeks did not use soap. They washed themselves with blocks of clay, pumice, sand and ashes then anointed they with oil. Afterwards, they scraped sweat and dirt off using a curved bladed metal instrument called a strigil. Much later, in the second century AD, the famous Greek physician, Galen, recommended washing with soap as a preventative measure for certain diseases, especially diseases of the skin.

Bathing became popular in the Roman times. An entire soap factory was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii in 79 AD. The Romans exfoliated using abrasive substances like sand and pumice then scraped off the grime and dirt with sticks or a strigil. Luxurious scented baths and massages followed this exfoliation ritual, with perfumed oils.

By the 13th century when the soap industry was introduced from Italy into France, most soap was produced from the tallow of goats, with beech ash furnishing the alkali.

Moving forward in time, Great Grandma rendered animal fats to get oils, so she was limited to tallow or lard. We have all kinds of terrific oils to choose from, but the lard with some olive oil and coconut oil makes wonderful, basic, castile-type soap. Great Grandma, also, had to make her own lye; we have standardized lye available, commercially.

After researching the science facts; chemical qualities of different oils, the active properties of botanicals, the results of saponification and the physical properties of lather and bubbles, the result produced a mild and gentle, homemade, natural soap. This homemade soap is called goats milk soap.

Goats milk soap offers many skin care benefits, unlike commercial modern day soaps. It contains mild and gentle, natural, ingredients, unlike harsh "chemically manufactured" ingredients or detergents in modern day soaps. Goats milk soap leaves your skin close to its natural pH level, unlike harsh detergent type of soaps. Goats milk soap contains the benefits of vitamins A,B, C, D, E and K. Handmade soap experts confirm that goat milk is the ingredient that makes the difference between regular handmade soap and a miraculous luxury item!

Ingredients can be added to goats milk soap, such as oatmeal or aloe vera juice, to help contribute to their soothing properties. This homemade soap is great for all kinds of skin types including: dry itchy skin, dry flaky skin, oily skin, acne and sensitive skin. Harsh commercial soaps can, actually, contribute to poor skin conditions. Oil production, on the face, is often the skin's natural reaction against harsh chemicals in commercial soaps. Mild and gentle, healthful, goats milk soaps gently cleanses, softens, soothes, moisturizes and nourishes skin.

Learn from the history of soap. Get back to nature using homemade skin care products such as, natural goats milk soaps. You can have beautiful, healthful, skin the way nature intended.

All Natural Soap - What is the Secret Behind Black Soap?

Black soap originated in West Africa and has been used throughout history by different tribes and communities for cleansing, purifying and healing the skin. It is traditionally handmade by women through the blending the bark of different plants like shea and plantain trees with water and the most beneficial oils, such as coconut oil. These all natural ingredients stockpile the soap with Vitamins A, E and iron, while the shea provides the soap a natural sunscreen.

In my search for the perfect natural soap, I almost settled on black soap as the winner. It was an excellent cleanser and moisturizer for my skin. Yet, after a few weeks of use, I realized that what was lacking was the exfoliation that is detrimental to helping my skin look and feel smooth. Through even a light exfoliation, you can break down the dead skin cells thus opening your pores and preventing acne. Exfoliation is used in many anti-aging remedies because of its ability to reduce fine lines. Alas, my search for the perfect all natural soap continued.

I found my champion in Thailand, where another type of handmade black soap has made its way into mainstream markets. This time it is all natural black rice grain soap. Like black soap, black rice grain soap is stockpiled with antioxidants, botanicals and natural oils to help soothe, protect and purify the skin. It too contains an all natural sunscreen in the form of rice bran oil. What pushed it over the top however were its detoxifying and exfoliating abilities.

One of the primary all natural ingredients in black rice grain soap is charcoal, which creates a layer on the skin to protect it from free radicals, including pesticides, cigarette smoke, pollution and sun exposure. Way back in 1956, Dr. Denham Harman proved that these free radicals are indeed the primary cause of aging. This is because collagen, the protein molecule that keeps our skin looking and feeling supple, is most susceptible to free radicals. Black rice grain soap is instrumental in reversing the effects of free radicals by introducing antioxidants into the skin and giving free radicals the electrons they require for stabilization, stimulation of blood circulation and overall skin nourishment.

Since black rice grain soap is based in rice grain extract, it provides a gentle exfoliation to the skin, releasing dead cells and revealing fresh, new skin. The rice grains provide a natural scrub that is subtle enough that the soap can be used anywhere on the body without causing irritation.

The battle is over. I finally found a natural soap that can exfoliate, detoxify, soothe and cleanse my skin all at once. Black soap was unquestionably the runner up, but the best all-around natural soap product I could find on the market was the natural black rice grain soap.

Aloe Vera Juice Benefits - Natural Homemade Lotion and More

Aloe vera juice comes from the aloe vera plant, a short stemmed or stemless plant. This plant grows in regions that are dry and barren, with little rain or support for vegetation, such as: northern Africa, the Canary islands and the Cape Verde islands.

There have been many conflicting scientific studies regarding this plant. It is well known for its use as an herbal type of medicine. The juice from this plant is used in a variety of ways. It can be found in cosmetics, shampoos, lotions, sunscreens, soaps, face tissues and other household products.

Topical aloe vera juice benefits include:

- Anti-bacterial & anti-fungal agent
- Improves skin regeneration
- Soothes sunburns
- Reduces redness
- Reduces itching
- Helps improve eczema & psoriasis
- Softens skin
- Helpful for acne
- Reverses scarring
- Strengthens joint muscles
- Improves joint flexibility & movement
- Alleviates pain & inflammation of arthritis
- Rich in vitamins C, B12 and E

This juice can be found in many homemade skin care products including natural: homemade soap, homemade lotion, homemade face cream, homemade shampoo and much more. It helps to soften and soothe many different skin types such as: dry itchy skin, dry flaky skin, sensitive skin, sunburns and more. It can improve skin regeneration helping with wrinkles, acne or scarring. It can help a variety of scalp problems or scalp conditions. It helps alleviate pain and inflammation from arthritis, sore muscles and joints. There are a large variety of benefits offered in natural homemade skin care products. You can improve multiple skin care needs with the benefits of aloe vera juice.

This juice can, also, be used internally. Consult your physician before using aloe vera juice for any medicinal purposes, due to possible side effects. More of its benefits include:

- Detoxifies body
- Cleanses colon
- Detoxifies blood stream
- Aids in healing ulcers
- Helps digestive tract work smoothly
- Improves circulation
- Provides overall feeling of energy and health

With all of these benefits, no wonder this juice is so popular! Discover aloe vera juice and the benefits it can provide!

What Are the Benefits of Organic Coffee Soap Vs Your Soap?

What are the benefits of your soap vs Organic Coffee soap?

Did you know that the soap you may be using in the shower is harmful? Harmful ingredients like alcohol, AHA's, aluminum, animal fats, collagen, DEA, dioxin and fluorocarbons are just a few of the things that make up the soap you use everyday. Make sure your soap is made with healthy organic coffee and other natural ingredients.

Is Coffee Soap Good For You?

It is said that the caffeinated soaps are absorbs through your skin during your morning shower. Therefore, I would recommend Organic Soap. One of the benefits is reducing the risk of skin cancer. A study done on groups of hairless mice shows that, after severe exposure to ultraviolet radiation for twenty days, the mice that had caffeine applied to their bodies had less than half the number of tumors on the skin, as opposed to the mice that didn't get caffeine doses. The study showed that caffeine actually killed the abnormal cells that can cause skin cancer.

What else should you know about this soap?

Keep a bar close to your kitchen sink. It will remove odors from your hands. Onions, garlic and even the heat from hot peppers or even fish smells will be removed from your hands. If you don't have coffee soap around use some of the grounds from your morning coffee pot. The soap will help the smells of your garbage disposal disappear as well.

Can Coffee Soap Help with Cellulite?

Caffeine is present in almost all types of diet supplements and cellulite reducing products on the market. The caffeine helps blood flow to the skin and acts like a diuretic. Coffee soap should contain coffee grounds which helps exfoliating and the massaging process. By massaging and rubbing the needed areas this help breaks up the fat cells and decreases the lumps and bumps ever faster.

What else can this soap do?

Using the soap on your face can help get rid of small lines and wrinkles and also if you have rosacea, it helps by constricting the blood vessels thus keeping the flush of the cheeks at ease. If you don't have some coffee soap on hand you can use your morning coffee grinds. However the soap seems to work much better and helps add moisture to the skin with the Natural Glycerin and Organic Goats Milk, and fresh roasted organic coffee beans.

Pure Natural Soap Products

Spoil yourself! Wrapped in sleek and elegant packaging, sold in distinctive specialty stores in the finest areas as a nouveau and much desired gift item, we tend to forget that natural soap- like substances were used as early as in ancient Babylonian times probably using a very similar recipe. It's now not an unusual concept to consider these types of unscented natural handmade mineral soaps a specialty gift item for skin and hair care or hand and bath aromatherapy. You can buy these sometimes handmade organic soaps at a cost only slightly higher than regular mass chemically manufactured soaps.

You will find any combination of the following on the packaged product label of a true pure natural soap:
essential oils, castor oil, olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, glycerine, cocoa butter, shea butter, herbs, fruits, vegetables, baking soda, pine tar and clay

Read your labels carefully. Be wary of commercial soaps with labels deliberately listing a few natural ingredients added to promote their sale as a "pure" and "green" product.

The best quality soaps are made by a "cold pressed" method and contain only the highest quality ingredients. Although lye, a caustic soda, is always used in the production of all types of soaps, natural soaps are produced in such a way as to minimize it's abrasive qualities. Natural soaps contain oil, lye and water. The oil neutralizes the lye as the soap is carefully blended.

With all the caustic and irritant ingredients eliminated, pure soap natural moisturizers nourish the skin the way no synthetic manufactured soap could do and with no unnatural ingredients there will be no allergic skin reactions such as people experience with commercially manufactured soaps. Obviously it is very important to remember to read your labels carefully! Learn to look for only the wording "natural" or "herbal", and allow the label to ensure you the absence of dyes, fragrances, and synthetic chemicals.

Pure and natural soap can be made or purchased with a different variety of ingredients to enhance cleaning of the body, hair or home in liquid or bar form. There are also soaps available especially for children and pets or those with unusual skin conditions and hair types.

The products manufactured are totally pure, natural, and vegan - approved. They are soothing and have great aromas.

Here is a more complete listing of natural cleansing products for your consideration:

Handmade Soaps
Bath Salts
Bath Crystals
Candles
Gift Baskets
Gift Certificates
Soap Making Supplies

Soap Magic Review

Soap Magic is a wonderful toilet article that is not only stylish but, very handy. The small compact machine is specifically designed to give clean and germ free environment. The product is a unique easy to use hands free dispenser.

Just pour your soap, shampoo, home dish, moisturizer or sensitizer in the dispenser to get the exact amount of each product simply bringing your hands near. The amazing tool is based on the latest sensor technology it works well with all liquid soaps.

Features of Soap Magic:

· Soap Magic renders you the perfect amount every time Just waving your hand

· Works with all hand sanitizers, lotions and liquid soaps

· Can easily apply body lotion without messing up with the bottle

· Great in the workshop for cleaning up

· Welcomes relief

This hands free soap dispenser works like magic. The custom design of the product makes it user-friendly and can easily fit anywhere. The product is not at all complicated that even children find it quite simple. The interested customer can get it over the internet by paying a small amount that mainly includes the S&H charges of the product.

Now you don't have to waste your time shaking up the bottle to get the desired amount. The product will surely captivate your view in just first look and the rest will be performed by its smooth, clean performance. This simple but attractive machine is a revolutionary step to a healthy living without much tension. It is one of the best, safest hands free dispensers today.

Product Review: Foaming Hand Soap for Kids

Looking for a fun and natural way to get kids to wash their hands? Try Watermelon-scented Foaming Hand Soap for Kids from The Natural Newborn.

While the idea of foaming hand soap may not be new, it is popular. The Natural Newborn offers foaming hand soap that's not only got a great scent, but is natural as well. It's completely chemical-free!

It was a huge hit in my household, and my children both loved the scent. My youngest daughter especially loves it, and I now hear "I need to wash my hands" several times a day. This 3 yr old never willingly washed her hands this many times a day before we got this hand soap.

It's easy for both of them to use because of it's large pump, and they love the watermelon smell. It's great to know they are using a product that has absolutely no chemicals while creating a great habit.

The entire family loves the smell, and my daughter is constantly saying "smell my hands! They're clean!". It's making the whole bathroom smell like watermelons as well.

The Natural Newborn has several other items especially for toddlers, including foaming body wash, skin & body care, hair care items, and more. You'll even find products just for mom as well!

For details on the many natural items at The Natural Newborns, visit:
http://thenaturalnewborn.com