Organic Pest Control - Pest Control Recipes

Eliminating Pests the Organic Way

We're all looking for ways to live in a more earth-friendly fashion. But when it comes to gardening, it's difficult to learn how to kill or prevent garden pests in a safe way. Organic pest control has made lots of headway, and we're lucky to have many more effective options to resolve this problem.

Remove Them by Hand

Picking off grubs and other insects by hand is a basic way to eliminate your pesky problem. You can also build many types of barrier environments which entrap the insects. Plugging holes is also critical. Snails can be caught hiding in damp places beneath rocks and towards the base of plants with straplike foliage. Simply searching your garden and adjacent areas for probable insect hideaways is one of the most effective forms of organic pest control.

Use Biological Control

Assist predatory insects such as green lacewings and dragonflies to feed on aphids and other pests that attack your plants. You can do this by placing a shallow bowl of water in the garden. Beneficial insects such as dragonflies will hover around water. Bacterial insecticides such as B. thuringiensis could also be used against caterpillars.

If All Else Fails

How to kill or prevent garden pests? Organic pest control procedures can be effective and the ingredients for some of the recipes are located in your kitchen cabinets. If chemical repellents are truly necessary, try to identify the least-toxic and apply using the manufacturers instructions. These include insecticide soaps, horticultural oils, dehydrating dust, etc.

Pest Control Recipes

Against Green Aphids and Mites - Mix 1 tablespoon of liquid soap and a cup of vegetable oil. Dilute a teaspoon of this liquid in a cup of water and spray on aphids and mites.

Against Cockroaches - Dusts of boric acid can be placed on cracks or entry points around your home. Bay leaves on pantry shelves can also help in warding off these critters.

Make sure that the chemicals you use are made specifically for the insects you are targeting.

When learning how to kill or prevent garden pests, there is a world of information on the internet. Organic pest control may seem more labor intensive at first, but once you spend a few hours creating a beneficial environment, you will be happier tending a safe, natural garden where you and your plants can thrive without the dangers of unsafe chemicals and pesticides.

African Black Soap and Age Old Ingredients

An amazing natural skin product that is available on the market today has been made in Africa for centuries. Black Soap is recommended for both the young and the old. This amazing product is traditionally made in west Africa, typically in Ghana, from secret recipes. Black soap is known by many names, but the most common is Ose Dudu (doudoun), which comes from the Yoruba or Anago languages of Nigeria, Togo and Benin. The soap is made from the ash of locally harvested plants and barks such a plantain, cocoa pods, palm tree leaves, and shea tree bark. Black Soap is NOT black and does not have a uniform color. Black Soap is so highly thought of, it is also used in African spiritual purifications.

Dudu-Osun soap which is the age-long African black soap made the traditional way by hand from pure natural ingredients and herbs from the tropical rain forest and savannah regions. Dudu Osun soap is specially formulated entirely from natural ingredients and herbs, this soap will have you feeling refreshed and silky smooth. Dudu osun is pretty strong too, it works fast for pimples but dries the hell out of my skin, that's why shea butter is good to use after.

This naturally made product is gentle enough for the tiniest babies. Another great use for this incredible skincare product is for hair care. It is often made today, as it has been for thousands of years, in various African countries by women working for themselves in Fair Trade business co-ops, where they are paid fairly for their work and enabled to build-up their communities.

Made from roasted cocoa (chocolate) pods, plantain skin extract and papaya enzymes. African Black soap has also been used to achieve beautiful skin. The soap has been used on an everyday basis in Africa for the treatment of rashes, ring worm, eczema and also as a natural hair shampoo to avoid itchy and dry scalps. African Black Soap and Raw Shea Butter are what we recommend for oily skin. It is also well known for controlling acne, treats eczema and psoriasis as well as balances skin tone and improves skin texture.

Suggested Uses: Treatment of rashes, acne, eczema, dandruff, body odour and much more. The African black soap helps keep the skin clean and helps against premature facial lines.

Use Natural Liquid Castile Soap for Safe and Wonderful Homemade Shampoos

Many of us look forward to shampooing our hair with visions of beautiful, shiny, bouncy hair as portrayed by the shampoos commercials we have become so familiar with. Little do we realize that the very shampoos that are giving us that lustrous look may at the same time be endangering our health. Fortunately, with just a bit of effort and liquid castile soap, we can easily make safe and natural shampoos at home that also give us wonderful results.

The most common chemical compounds in shampoos are the same ones that are commonly used in commercial detergents: straight-chain alkyl benzene sulfonates. Benzene is a chemical that is responsible for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), oftentimes the precursors to leukemia and many types of cancers.

Another dangerous ingredient found in shampoos is formaldehyde. Formaldehyde, which has also been linked to cancer, affects the eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin, and reproductive system. Formaldehyde can cause rashes, hives, and dermatitis and long term exposure can result in asthma and bronchitis. It can also cause permanent lung damage. Should shampoos containing formaldehyde come into contact with the eyes, the result can be corneal damage and, in extreme cases, even blindness.

Other common shampoo ingredients are citric acid, tetrasodium EDTA, cocamide, DEA, MEA, or TEA, Peg-5 cocamide, ammonium chloride, ammonium lauryl sulfate, glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium laureth sulfate.

Even shampoos advertising herbs as ingredients contain these harmful ingredients. Sadly, baby shampoo that has been trusted for generations also contains many of these harmful chemicals.

However, we can take charge of our health and avoid the risky ingredients in commercial shampoos by making our own shampoos. Homemade shampoos are easy to make and safe. They also help the environment and they are cost effective. Additionally, these shampoos can be customized for individual hair care needs such as dandruff, dry or oily skin, added sheen, luster, bounce, and highlights. All of the following recipes use castile soap - a natural soap made from olive oil that dates back to the 16th century.

Basic Shampoo

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
1/2 teaspoon sunflower or other light vegetable oil

Directions:

Mix the ingredients well, store in a bottle and then use as you would any shampoo. Be sure to rinse well after shampooing.

Shampoos for Dandruff and Dry, Itchy Scalp

Ingredients:

6 oz Liquid castile Soap
5 drops tea tree essential oil
1/2 teaspoon jojoba oil

Directions:

Same as above.

Shampoo for Oily Scalp

Ingredients:

6 ounces liquid Castile soap
5 drops lavender essential oil

Directions:

Same as above.

Shampoo for Dry, Color Treated Hair

Ingredients:

6 ounces liquid Castile soap
1/2 teaspoon avocado oil
1 teaspoon coconut oil

Directions:

Same as above.

Shampoo for Enhancing Blonde Hair

Ingredients:

3 ounces liquid Castile soap
4 chamomile tea bags
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

Steep the tea and water in a covered pan for 30 minutes. Strain and allow to cool. Mix with remaining ingredients then bottle.

Shampoos to Enhance Dark Hair

Ingredients:

3 oz liquid Castile soap
1 tablespoon sage
1 tablespoon rosemary
2 black tea bags
1/2 teaspoon Olive oil

Directions:

Steep the tea and water in a covered pan for 30 minutes. Strain and allow to cool. Mix with remaining ingredients then bottle.

These are just a sample of what you can do making your own shampoos. You can remain in charge of your health, while enjoying healthy and beautiful hair.

How To Make Natural Soap - Tips

You can learn how to make natural soap with minimal instruction. Adding lye to water and mixing it in oils is not that hard. After all, that is essentially all that soap really is, it's a mixture of lye and oils. The process gets complicated by many attempts to explain it in confusing detail with often conflicting ideas. Here are a few tips to remember to get off to a good start with soap making.

It does not take lots of odd components to make fine soap. Look for recipes to get started that contain just a few simple ingredients. It's difficult to best a mix that just includes coconut, palm and olive oils, along with the right proportions of lye and water too. What's more, wholesale soap supply outlets make it simple to get your hands on these. With just those simple parts, you can build soap that looks and feels like the most luxurious of soaps and all for not a lot of money or trouble either for that matter.

No exotic ingredients are required to make fabulous soap products. If the basics don't work then something is badly wrong and more work needs to be done on the process of making soap or the recipe is flawed.

One key factor in soap recipes is the percentage of lye. It's included in the term lye discount. Basically that means using less lye than would be required to turn all your oils to soap. And you really probably don't want to turn all the oils to soap. You likely want a tiny bit of oil still unreacted to impart that luxury feel. Getting the lye amount right is simple to do once you know how but it must be just right and not too high or too low either. Then there is the smell factor.

Many soap recipes when made into soap will be unscented even though you put exactly what was called for in the recipe you have. You put in the amount specified in the recipe and still get little or no smell. A shame, since that means you wasted the cost of the scent and still got nothing to show for it.

For essential oils in cold process soap, you'll need about 0.7 ounces of essential oil per pound of soap. That will be less for mint and spice oils and more for citrus oils. And most citrus oils won't work very well anyway. You can try citrus oil scents but only a few will endure the soap making process.

Use too much scent oil and it will remain free in the soap. Too little won't smell at all.

It is quite simple to learn how to make natural soap from soap making books and trial and error. Really the basics are quite simple. Moving beyond the basics to build soap to market through a soap business or to experience spa quality soap means more study and experience.

How to Make Herbal Soap

Today, everything is better when it is natural and herbal. Your skin deserves natural treatment too, so trying on herbal soap should not be a bad idea. The better news is that you actually can make your very own herbal soap in the comfort of your home.

Herbs are known for their medicinal, aromatic and skin smoothing properties. Including herbs in the process of soap making will make the soap intensely nourishing. It can also be used to treat skin conditions such as acne or eczema. Herbal soaps are soaps that are mixed with natural ingredients such as the juice extracts or chopped leaves or any other parts of a herbal plant.

Before anything else, you have to consider the herbal ingredients you are going to use. You have to know which kinds of herbs have the specific properties needed for your required result. These herbs should be picked at their prime stage of development and the most vital parts of the plant should be used. And of course, remember to maintain the highest quality ingredients.

You can now start making your very own homemade herbal soap once you've decided on which herbs to use.

The simplest and easiest way to make your own herbal soap at home is through the melt and pour method. This simply involves a plain soap base such as glycerine, ivory, castile or any other mild, unscented soap.

You will also need a saucepan or glass container that you can use as a double boiler.

Here is a sample of a basic herbal soap recipe:

Thing's you'll need:

Soap colorant
Soap fragrance
Soap mold
Vegetable oil
Glycerine soap
Sauce pan or glass container used as double boiler
Kitchen knife or grater
Dried herbs
Measuring cups
Measuring spoon
Plain soap (glycerine soap, or any mild unscented soap)

What to do:

1. Decide on what kind of herb you'd like to put on your soap. There are different kinds of uses for various kinds of herbs. Lavender can be used for its lovely scent, mint for its invigorating property and comfrey for its ability to soothe irritated skin. You can experiment with different kinds to find your perfect combination.

2. Coat your soap mold with the vegetable oil

3. Heat 1/3 cup of water to a simmer in the sauce pan

4. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoon of your favorite herbs into the water

5. Take the saucepan off the heat and submerge the herbs for 15 minutes

6. Cut the soap into small pieces and add this to the heated sauce pan

7. Pour the mixture into the soap mold as soon as the soap has melted

8. Let the soap stand at room temperature until it will harden

9. Take the soap from the mold

Now you've already made your very own herbal soap! See how simple it is and it only takes a few hours of your time. Go ahead, give your skin the natural treatment it deserves. Go and try making your very own herbal soap today.

Flea Removal - Vinegar Home Flea Remedies For Natural Pet Flea Control

So your pet has fleas, and you are worrying about having to spend tons of money on pet flea control products for flea removal. There are alternatives to the ready to use, convenient but expensive pet flea treatments commercially available in the market. Vinegar which is made of natural ingredients could turn out to be more effective than your usual chemical based flea remedies. The key reason being that these parasites hate the sour piercing stench of vinegar and its ingredients have proven to effectively get rid of them.

You can use it as shampoo for your pet. Instead of buying bottles of flea shampoos, it is more economical to make your own with vinegar and other ingredients. All you need is half cup vinegar, half cup dawn dish washing soap and fill the he tub up with warm water. The fleas will fall off into the water upon bathing. To totally ensure that the parasites do not stick to your pet, comb thoroughly after dipping it into diluted vinegar.

Mix water with vinegar, about one third cup into two pints of water and transfer the mixture into a spray bottle. Dispense by spraying on couch covers, bedding, drapery etc. But ensure that you do not over do the proportion of vinegar to water else your bedding and draperies disintegrate even before your flea removal plan sees results. For carpets, leave a bowl of vinegar in the middle of it overnight and you will be pleasantly surprised to find the parasites dead in the morning. And should you have very thick carpets, sprinkle salts over them, let set over night before taking action to clean the carpet. Remember to use a vacuum cleaner to clear all the carcasses too.

There are a lot more home remedies if you only care to look around, like cedar chips, lavender essential oils or even your very basic salt, all can double up as flea extermination purposes. Check with your vet specialist if you are in doubt and most would suggest natural home remedies in tandem with chemical based pet flea medicine for fast action. It is your prerogative whether use either or both for pet flea control, bearing in mind the long term costs associated with your choice.

The Natural Acid Mantel For Your Skin

The Natural way to put the pH balance back in your skin.

A little old fashioned- but it works!

Did you know that the proper pH balance of your skin is important and it affects how your skin looks and feels? Proper pH really helps your skin to have balance. You may be thinking, how can I get that balance? Do I have to buy a lot of expensive products and if it is natural, what do I use?

You will need 4 ingredients - oil, soap, water, vinegar or lemon juice and 8 steps. That is all you will need to have pH balanced skin. Some people use toners after they wash there skin to balance there skin's pH, but you may want to try the oil, soap, water, and vinegar method in order to see a dramatic difference in your skin.

1. Fill your basin with hot water

2. Oil up - apply your favorite oil and massage it gently onto your skin (almond oil or olive oil are two good ones to try)

3. Soap up your face with a good facial soap

4. Rinse your face with hot water 10 times

5. Drain the water out

6. Fill up basin again with hot water

7. Pour a small amount of vinegar into the hot water

8. Rinse again. 10 times

Voila! You now have the perfect acid mantel for your skin. It is properly pH balanced. You may apply your favorite moisturizer with this method, though you may not need any moisturizer at all. You see, oiling your face first, and then washing your face with the soap, will leave your skin more alkaline. Rinsing with the vinegar gives you a protective acid mantle on your skin. You need a balance.

If you do not want to rinse your face with vinegar and hot water, you can use lemon juice instead. Both solutions work just fine, because of their acidic qualities.

Your skin will be glowing! This treatment will also help with premature aging. Fine lines will be less noticeable and your pores will appear smaller. I really believe that Jesus Christ heals skin- 1 Peter 2:24. I also believe that He shows us what we can use on our skin to help us look our best. If you have blemishes, I know that the protective acid mantel applied at least two times a day, will do wonders for your skin. Remember to oil up, soap up, vinegar up, and you're done!

You can find vinegar and lemon juice at most grocery stores and you can use any facial soap of your choice. Almond oil and olive oil can also be found at many health food stores.

Soap Making Information - A Business and Alternative Career

Soap making business is a great alternative career for mothers who find corporate life too demanding to respond to motherhood. I should know because I know of friends who totally gave up their corporate careers because they would rather spend time raising their kids. And I am telling you, the rewards are immeasurable. Their children are healthier, smarter and more responsible because their mothers are there to teach them the right values.

Soap making business can be very rewarding but you also need to do your homework before you can achieve success. But you need not worry because I am here to help you establish this business with these very practical tips.

1. Don't get overly excited in spending. Always keep in mind that the lower your start-up cost, the more profit you will gain. In the beginning, opt for the simplest way of soap making to come up with a perfect your product. There is no reason to over spend because then you can rob yourself of higher profit.

2. Develop the perfect product before going public. Being homemade does not mean low quality. The process is very simple and inexpensive that you can experiment on all kinds of ingredients to find your perfect blend. Once you find your most exquisite blend, then you are ready to proceed with marketing.

3. Create a specialty and novelty product. After creating the perfect blend, you can further improve this by putting in your personal choice of fragrance and variant. You can even create soaps for specific skin types to make your product more saleable. Just by adding a little bit of other ingredients like oatmeal, shea butter, coffee or chocolate chips, you are already creating a specialty brand.

4. Be innovative in packaging your product. Think of packaging ideas that are re-usable. This will not only add value to your product, it will also create a very positive image to your market.

5. Maintain a repeat purchase client base. If you can, at the earliest onset of your business, it is best to create a database of your clients. It will also be ideal to have a website wherein your clients can avail of flyers, brochures, promotions and anything extra you may want to give them just to maintain contact with your clients.

These above tips have helped me maintain a profitable soap making business. It is my desire that whoever ventures into this fun and exciting alternative career will also find it worthwhile. So, go ahead and be bold enough to put into action your long overdue dreams of making your own business.

Marketing Handmade Soap

Making handmade soap can be challenging and also very fulfilling. Marketing handmade soap can be down right daunting. After you sell a few bars to family and friends, where do go from there? Craft fairs and Christmas bazaars are a natural choice, though they both have very limited seasons. If you make a commitment to a retail space, then you are truly taking that next big step. That step however could be financially fatal. Many crafters are not in a position to make such large commitment, especially at the outset of their endeavor. This is why finding a viable alternative to renting retail space is the single most important task you will pursue in assuring your crafting hobby turns into a successful small business.

The great equalizer in the world of small business is the internet, or so we were told. Yet there are thousands of small, and large businesses alike that have failed in the arena of ecommerce. Are there any lessons to learn from these failures? Is it possible for a small crafter to compete with the super retailers.

The main advantage of being a crafter is that you posses a product that is truly unique and it has ongoing demand from a very loyal customer base. I have had soap buyers spend weeks to track me down, just to get a bar of my soap that another crafter was selling at a fair. These customers are committed to buying products from local crafters because it helps local communities and supports local economies. These are the types of customers that the crafter should be targeting.

There are several outlets on the internet that target craft buyers. Some of these charge very nominal fees and are a great place to get your feet wet in craft marketing. You can list several items and let the market tell which products are likely to get the best response. One of the best sites is Etsy. If you haven't tried them, you should. They have a very loyal following and their overall business is growing every month. Because they have a great feedback system you can also see what items other crafters are having success with. This is great way to get ideas or new products. Please do not blatantly copy other crafters works. Use these new ideas you see to integrate with your own products.

The other site to get great ideas and market information from is Ebay. Their fees have gotten a bit outrageous lately so be careful as they can kill your marketing budget very quickly. For market research though, they can't be beat. I have discovered many of hot new fragrances for my handmade soap on Ebay. Stores start at 15.95. This is about as cheap as any ecommerce opportunity available today.

Savon De Marseille - When Did the Manufacture of This Wonderful Natural French Soap Begin?

Savon de Marseille, (Soap of Marseille), is believed to be the finest soap in the world and is renowned for its powerful cleaning abilities, as well as its suitability to people with sensitive skin, including babies, through to its hypoallergenic qualities. It can also be used for laundry and general household cleaning. It is composed of 72 per cent of fatty acid, resulting from the mixing of oils and soda-ash or sea salt and 28 per cent water. So, how did the manufacture of this wonderful natural French soap begin?

The origin of Savon de Marseille comes without doubt from Aleppo soap, which has existed for thousands of years. The method of manufacture originating in the city of Aleppo in Syria, and involving a basis of olive oil and laurel oil, spread throughout the Mediterranean basin in the wake of the crusades, passing through Italy and Spain, to reach Marseille.

Crescas Davin was the first Marseille soap maker in the 14th Century and in 1593 a man named Georges Prunemoyr opened the first soap factory in Marseille when demand began to exceed local needs. By 1660 there were seven factories in the city that used locally produced olive oil as a raw material, along with the ash from the burning of the salty marsh plant Salicorne. Production was almost 20 000 tonnes of soap a year.

In 1688 Louis XIV introduced regulations (Edict of Colbert) limiting the use of the name "Savon de Marseille" to soaps made in and around the Marseille region, and only from virgin olive oil. The quality of production was such that "Savon de Marseille" became a household name. At that time the soap was green coloured and generally sold in 5kg bars or in loaves of 20 kg. By 1786, 48 Marseille factories produced 76 000 tonnes, employing 600 workers and 1 500 loaned convicts.

Following the French Revolution in 1789, the manufacture of Savon de Marseille continued to expand and escalated to 62 factories by 1813. Soda-ash was then obtained from sea water through a process invented by Nicolas Leblanc. Toward the 1820s, new oils and fats were imported and passed through the port of Marseille, which encouraged more factories to appear throughout the region in places like Salon-de-Provence, Toulon and Arles.

Eventually, instead of the use of palm, copra, peanut and sesame oils, the factories turned to the much cheaper tallow, due to heavy competition form factories in Paris and indeed England.

In the nineteenth century, the city of Marseille with almost 90 factories, had a thriving industry that reached its pinnacle in 1913 with nearly 180 000 tonnes produced. In 1906 François Merklen was responsible for establishing the formula for Savon de Marseille: 63 per cent of copra oil or palm, 9 per cent of soda-ash or sea salt, 28 per cent of water.

After the First World War, the savonneries (soap factories) enjoyed the progress of mechanisation, and without losing the quality of the product due to the utilisation of former processes, production rose again to 120 000 tonnes in 1938. When the Second World War broke out, Marseille still represented half of the soap production in France but the following years were to see its decline. The soap was superseded by synthetic detergents and the factories began closing one after the other. Nowadays, only a handful of manufacturers remain in the region, but they still manufacture world beating natural soap.

Coconut Oil Soap - Can it Really Improve your Complexion?

One of the all time best natural skin care products around today is coconut oil soap. Although coconut oil is mainly used within soap for structural purposes, its added skin care benefits make it an element not to be overlooked by the cosmetic world.

Coconut oil is best known in the soap making industry for adding a luxurious lather and firmness to a finished product, but what are these hidden benefits to the skin that make it stand out to the consumer?

First of all, coconut oil soap contains important anti-oxidants that protect the skin from harmful rays like ultraviolet light and various forms of atmospheric pollution. It also helps prevent and heal many types of skin infections. Furthermore, coconut oil soap is exceedingly moisturizing as it literally attracts water out of the air and draws it to the skin. Oils with this particular attribute are called emollients.

There are countless shops these days that sell coconut oil soap as it is somewhat gaining in popularity. You must be careful, however, because almost all skin care products, including low end commercial grade soaps, have some percentage of coconut oil incorporated into them.

One ingredient that you really should keep away from your skin is tallow and lard. These are both animal fats prominently used in the soap making industry. Almost all companies, along with these harmful fats, will add a small percentage of coconut oil to their product in order to increase the lather. Some will even advertise their soap as "coconut oil soap" even though it does not nearly offer all the same benefits as the "real deal".

If you're looking for true coconut oil soap that has the potential to transform your skin, I recommend either creating your own or buying it from a reputable homemade soap company.

If you decide to try making it, which I strongly recommend, I can reassure you that it will be both fun and easy. In order to make coconut oil soap, allow the ingredient to take up only 20% of the total oils used. Add other natural skin care oils like sweet almond oil, jojoba oil and olive oil to complete the recipe.

An interesting aspect of coconut oil is that when too much is used, it can have a drying effect while the right amount produces a superb moisturizing product. Make sure that you don't let coconut oil take up more then 25% of the oils used under any circumstance.

The Benefits of Using Natural Soap Bars Over Commercial Soap Bars

Natural soap bars are suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin. They do not contain chemical additives like commercial soap bars which may include animal fats, alcohols, esthers (known carcinogenics), low grade oils, wax and fillers.

One of the many benefits of using a natural soap bar is that since they do not contain animal fats they cut down on the soap scum you will find in your shower and bath if you are using commercial soaps.

Natural soap doesn't strip your skin of it's natural oils which means your skin is left feeling softer and smoother compared to dry and itchy when using commercial bars of soap.

These natural soap bars are made with coconut, palm, sunflower, rice bran, castor and soya bean oils. They are hand crafted using the cold process method in which the ingredients are are mixed at a low temperature. This process retains all of the natural goodness of the base oils and essential oils. In the saponifiaction process large quantities of glycerine is produced. Glycerine prevents skin dryness and irritation with its moisturising properties. Commercial soap usually has the glycerine removed to make a harder bar of soap. You can feel the difference in our hand crafted home made soap by rubbing the dry bar.

Hand crafted natural soap has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

With natural hand crafted home made soap comes exciting fragrances as the wonderful people who make this soap have the imagination commercial companies lack when it comes to making beautifully scented soap bars with new and exciting scents.

The Secrets of Making Soap - Goat Milk Soap 101

You can make your own handmade natural goat milk soap! Making homemade soap takes work and making goat milk soap is a little more work because you do not want your milk to scorch, but the benefits are well worth the extra effort. Some commercial soap have chemicals that irritate skin, leave soapy build-up in the shower or tub and are just plain messy. These commercial soaps do not last long and leave a mushy mess. Do not be embarrassed by these soaps. You, your household and your guests may cringe or scowl upon using these messy soaps. After all, who wants to wash their hands in a pile of mushy soap?

When making homemade soap will not have these problems. You, the soap maker, control the consistency and contents of your own soap. Your natural soap is made just for you or for whomever you would like. If you like it, chances are others will like your natural soap too! Your natural goat milk soap can be mild, moisturizing, and good for just about any skin type. How do you begin making homemade soap with all of these great qualities?

First you need the proper materials, ingredients and knowledge. After that, you follow a good step-by-step homemade soap recipe that has been tested and proven to work. You would not begin cooking a meal without the proper cookware, appliances, materials, ingredients and recipe needed. So, use the same type of planning needed to make your own goat milk soap. Some soap makers keep soap supplies on hand to sell. You may want to check their soap supplies before starting. You can do it! You will enjoy the multiple skin care benefits and healthful rewards of making your own natural soap, as well as others too!

What type of materials will you need?

o A good scale that weighs in one-tenth ounce increments
o Stainless steel stockpot
o Wooden or heavy-duty plastic spoon
o Pyrex or plastic container (large enough to hold about twice as much milk as you will use)
o Plastic gloves and safety goggles
o Box to use as a soap mold
o Stick Blender (optional)
o Thermometer measuring between 50 - 150 degrees
o Plastic Wrap or Lid
o Towels

What ingredients will you need?

o Olive Oil
o Coconut Oil
o Lard
o Milk
o Lye
o Suggested additives are: food-coloring, dried lavender buds, ground oatmeal, pumice, skin-safe essential oil

Before working with essential oils, understand that they are potent chemicals that should be respected and used with care. Why? Essential oils are bioactive ingredients. They contain natural chemicals that interact with biological systems. Never use large amounts of essential oils externally, or internally. Never use essential oils straight. Essential oils must always be diluted in carrier oil, or soap, lotion, or other buffering agent. Finally, never use essential oils without knowing what their bioactive compounds are known to do. There are multitudes of great websites that explain what essential oils can do, including when and how to use them safely.

Now that you have the proper kitchen materials, ingredients and knowledge of the importance and care of working with essential oils, you should follow a step-by-step homemade soap recipe. The amount of ingredients you use will correlate to amount of soap you want to make. This homemade soap recipe includes the specific amounts of ingredients needed to make four pounds of soap! Now, that should be plenty of soap for you, your household and your guests! Goat milk soap can lasts long!

Again, making homemade soap takes work but with the right materials, ingredients, soap making recipe and knowledge, you will know how to make soap can do it! Have fun and enjoy making your very own handmade natural goat milk soap!

Lye, Or Sodium Hydroxide, Can Be Scary When Making Soap, But it May Also Be in Your Face Cream

Lye or sodium hydroxide (or NaOH), is needed for cold process soap, what this book and website is about specifically. Also known as caustic soda, it is a caustic metallic base. Lye or sodium hydroxide creates a strong alkaline solution when dissolved in water. It is used in many industries as a strong chemical base in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents and as a drain cleaner. Because Sodium Hydroxide is a common base in chemical labs, 45 millions tonnes plus are produced each year. Basically, lye is an electrolysised salt, a pure sodium hydroxide that is considered a solid; available in pellets, flakes, granules and as a 50% saturated liquid solution. I bought mine in 50 lbs bags, and this brand resembled salt crystals. Because it is hygroscopic and readily absorbs water from the air, it should be stored in an airtight container, which is also important in the case of a liquid spill into the sodium hydroxide, as it would start activating. A Lye or sodium hydroxide solution will leave a yellow stain on fabric and paper.

When I had my soap store, often people would ask if there was lye in the soap, because they wanted soap without it, like glycerin soap they said. We had to tell them that all soap has it, even the melt and pour/glycerin type bars. That the melt and pour that you can buy to make those clear bars, has already been through its oil/water/sodium hydroxide phase.

Because I know people are wary of lye, I've noticed that some soap makers avoid using that word when describing their soaps, in their advertising as well as their labeling. For instance, "naturally saponified" is used, which is legal.

I saw one website where the question was, "What does saponified mean?", the answer was "It is the traditional way of making soap from vegetable oil." When in fact, the traditional way of making soap was lye from wood ashes, water, and animal fats. There really is no traditional way of making vegetable oil soap, it's not old enough to be traditional yet. AND this answer dodges the 'lye' portion of an appropriate and correct answer.

There is also another type of lye called Potassium Hydroxide, which is used for hot process soap. This is also used to make liquid soaps, which may people prefer. Approximately 100 times more sodium hydroxide is made over Potassium Hydroxide. Because potassium soaps require less water to liquefy, they can contain more cleaning abilities (detergent-ness) than liquefied sodium soaps. So when that laundry detergent company states a newer concentrated formula, it means that they are adding less water.

As scary as this item is, it is also in a surprising number of household products. Drain Cleaner can be up to 95 percent lye or sodium hydroxide solution, and some of those anti-wrinkle face creams, they too have a small amount of lye. This creates a very minor burn action on your face, which in return, your skin adds fluids to the area in order to protect itself, plumps up the wrinkles, and thus, the 'appearance' of younger 'looking' skin.

On the internet, I saw an article, complete with images, on how to make soap from ingredients easily found in a grocery store. This included drain cleaner and those toxic room freshener liquid refills for the scent. Avoid doing this for a number of reasons: 1) drain cleaner also has a number of toxic chemicals in it to assist in cleaning drains; 2) using a drain cleaner you would not be able to measure accurately for a decent bar of soap; 3) using an equally toxic room freshener liquid as your scent could be hazardous as well, as not all synthetic liquid scents are for soapmaking.

Gosh, you'd be better off with store brand than a homemade soap like that.

Hypoallergenic Soap - A Buying Guide

As most of you may know, hypoallergenic soap generally refers to cleansing products that have few chemicals in them that would set off an allergic reaction. While hypoallergenic soap caters to the sensitive skin crowd, I would suggest that anyone, regardless of whether he or she suffers from common allergies, should be using hypoallergenic soap as it can better protect and soothe your skin. This will be especially so if you have a baby in the family.

While there is a higher price for such products, I strongly encourage the use of such soap for your face and skin care. However, some people may find that certain brands of soap, though stated as hypoallergenic, still do not suit their skin or their hair. It would thus be best to approach an authority on the issue such as a dermatologist should you value your health and beauty, but the majority of people tend not to invest the time and money to do so.

Therefore, I decided to pen this article to provide a form of aid for people wishing to select the right products for long-term use. I will be using 3 criteria I have chosen for the purpose of this article to better illustrate the process of obtaining the best hypoallergenic soap for your use.

Online Resources

Making use of online resources to research on hypoallergenic soap products is efficient if you know how to go about doing it. Official websites of soap brands are a good starting point to find out more about a certain soap product, and this may further allow you to get your hands on a list of its ingredients, which sometimes isn't found on product labels. (I will make further elaboration on how to evaluate a product through its ingredient lists in the "Ingredients" segment.)

A better way to evaluate hypoallergenic soap online would be to make use of reviews. For the purpose of obtaining genuine customer reviews, I would suggest going through Amazon.com. For those of you who do not know about Amazon, the site is an online merchant store which sells a whole variety of products that ranging from household items to electronic appliances. This resource allows you to get an idea of the top soap products in the market as well as what people think of them. Through a review system, satisfied (or unsatisfied) buyers are allowed to rate and comment on products they have used or purchased through the site. This allows you to sort the products by rating as well as gives you a glimpse of what most people think of the product.

Pricing matters

The natural health of your family is no doubt important and must be taken into account. However, this does not imply that you need to pay through the nose for a good hypoallergenic soap. In fact, you can often get a good bargain, even for high quality soaps. If you visited Amazon.com, then you probably already have a basic idea of how much a 3 pack of 3.2 oz hypoallergenic bar soap should cost. You should note that hypoallergenic soap tends to be a tad more expensive than normal soap but pricing should still be reasonable.

When you have found a suitable soap product, do not purchase it immediately. Look around and compare it to other products or see if it is sold someplace else to get a better bargain. This is especially important if you are using it on a long term basis because the savings you make could be significant. Finally, it is always helpful to go back to the product reviews. During my research on information for this article, I was going through the reviews of certain products on Amazon and found out that a US$2.89 Dial Basics Hypoallergenic Bar Soap, a 3.2 oz 3 pack, was nearly identical to a Dial Pure and Natural soap, but that cost several times more at about US$10. Moral of the story? It doesn't hurt to look at what others have to say.

Ingredients

I left the most important to last. That said, this should probably still be your last step in selection if you are trying to decide between 2 or 3 products after looking at the prices and reviews of a whole range of products. Information on the ingredients need not always be printed on product labels and the prospect of going through lists of ingredients to evaluate a product tends not to be terribly appealing to most. Therefore, I have left this to last, hoping that this can help you make a clear decision on which product you wish to purchase.

Fragrances and Colouring

These two should most definitely not be included in any hypoallergenic soap due to the high tendency that it could trigger allergic reactions. The one rule to be followed in the purchase of such soap products is to always look for natural ingredients, no animal by-products and no artificial additives, such as fragrances, dyes or preservatives. One possible soap to consider could be Pears Transparent Soap.

Oils

As abovementioned, natural oils are always preferred. In the case of hypoallergenic soaps, manufacturers usually use vegetable oils which can provide more nourishment in comparison to mineral oils. This is especially beneficial to those with eczema as it can reduce its symptoms. Vegetable oils also tend to be

Generally, you will see coconut, palm, olive, castor or even sunflower oil being used in these soaps. Luxury soaps may go as far as to include almond oil or cocoa butter. All these are almost the same and tend to be fine on the skin, the main difference being the scents that they will leave on your skin. However, if you are trying out a new soap using a different type of oil, I would suggest you apply the soap to the back of your ear and observe for any adverse effects for a day or two. This kind of skin test ensures that you do not damage your skin by accident.

Chemicals

Last but not least, this is a list of chemicals you should avoid at all costs, especially so if you have very sensitive skin. They usually wouldn't be found in hypoallergenic soap but it doesn't hurt to check before you use it.

Cocomidopropyl Betaine - skin irritation
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - toxic to organ systems and may lead to irritation of skin, eyes, lungs
Butylated hydroxytoluene - May cause cancer and toxic to reproductive organs, immunotoxicity

By going through a host of selection criteria, I hope that this gives you a clearer picture of how to go about choosing your hypoallergenic soap. Some people hold the belief that exposure to chemicals in normal soap or detergent allows the immune system to become more robust. However, there is certainly no scientific evidence to support this. In fact, most dermatologists encourage the use of products without these chemicals, in other words, hypoallergenic soap, because it is a safer alternative. With this "pseudo buying guide," I think that you are more than capable of selecting a soap or body bath that will not only be safe for your family's use, but will also be gentle on your pockets.

Rose Hip Oil - Making Homemade Soap

Rose hip oil is extracted from the seeds of a rose bush, grown wild in the southern Andes. It contains the benefits of vitamin E, A (retinol) and C. It is high in omega 3 and omega 6 linoleic acids. It has antioxidants benefits and is slightly astringent. It is commonly used in skin care products.

Rose hip oil has helped a variety of skin conditions including: dermatitis, acne, eczema, sunburns, brittle nails, scars, mature skin and wrinkles. It slows the skin's aging process by assisting cell regeneration and promoting the increase of collagen and elastin levels. Results vary with reduced wrinkles, faded scars, firmer, smoother and youthful looking skin. Its slightly astringent properties help, tighten and tone the skin, helping to provide a youthful appearance.

Rose hip oil is used in a variety of commercial and homemade skin care formulations: soaps, lotions, creams, and more. It is a suitable choice for products intended for the regeneration of new skin cells, maturing or damaged skin. It is commonly used at a ratio of up to approximately ten percent in soap formulations. This natural oil is a great, healthful, choice for many homemade skin care products! It is a popular and versatile natural oil!

There are different ways to learn how to make soap. 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! Learn with, easy, soap making instructions, find soap recipes, learn by doing with trial and error, find resources and more! There are different soap making methods, such as hot process soap making, cold process soap making and re-batching. Use the method you are most comfortable with or just use them all! You can find 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. So, get started, you can make YOUR homemade soap and enjoy the multiple, healthful, benefits of natural rose hip oil, today!

Soap - Uses And Benefits

Soaps are one of the basic necessities that human beings require for daily usage in order to aid them in cleaning and bathing. Soaps are available in the form of hard solid bars as well as in the form of condensed liquids and are the commonest means of washing and cleaning used in combination with water. While historical evidences go to prove that soaps were prevalently used since antiquity, the earliest specimen of its usage was found from the powder obtained form the Sapindus tree used by the ancient Indians. Moreover, engravings in Babylon obtained around the 3 rd century BC have also revealed the ingredients required to manufacture soap. Similar proofs have also been found in the Egyptian papyrus and in Roman history. The manufacture of soap is not a very complex process. Soap is formed potassium or sodium salts obtained from the fatty acids and they are recovered by means of the process of saponification which includes a reaction between lye and fat.

There are various reasons because of which soaps are considered to be ideal for the purpose of cleaning. There are two different kinds of molecules i.e. polar molecules like water and non-polar molecules like oil or grease. The soap molecules adhere easily to these polar and non polar molecules and thus aid in cleaning. Whether attached to skin or clothing, these soaps are efficient in removing stains from clothes and helping in removal of dirt from the skin and thus aiding in cleaning successfully. The hydrocarbon or fatty content in the water makes it suspend the oils and dirt accumulated and the ionic constituents in soap make it soluble in water. Therefore, by the process of emulsification the insoluble substances are removed by water.

The major means of creating soaps is by means of the cold process and hot process and it is necessary to keep in mind that in both cases the method of saponification is vital for soap formation. Apart from these, there are various other means by implementing which soaps can be manufactured. Different kind of vegetable oils like olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil etc are prevalently used by various soap manufacturers to create soaps and pure olive oil soaps are referred to as Castile or Marseille soap. Soaps are also formed from fats and one of the most common ingredients in soaps is sodium tallowate and it is a constituent obtained from beef fat. Hard soaps can be produced from the reaction between fat and sodium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide can also be used in soap formation.

The Difference Between Natural Soap and Regular Soap

A lot of people are completely unaware of the difference between natural soap and regular soap. First and foremost, anytime you can get a product that is natural and organic, it is a good idea to choose that product over any other. Simply having less ingredients is a step in the right direction. Even more important is the fact that natural soap is made from a chemical reaction between lye, water and oil. The lye is completely removed during the process of making the soap, but it is critical to the manufacture of the natural soap to begin with. There is no such thing as any type of soap that was made without lye. All natural soaps are made with lye, oil and water. The different types of oil you can use are almost infinite, as each type of oil has its own properties and will make the soap be slightly different from other soaps. This is what makes homemade soaps unique.

The problem with our soaps is that most of the conventional soaps that you buy in the grocery store or Department store are not soap at all. Rather, they are detergents, made from petroleum, like motor oil or gasoline. This is why so many people have problems with regular soap from the grocery store causing irritation of the skin and other problems. In some cases, individuals have extreme problems with these types of petroleum products and suffer from horrible irritation. The most common irritant in the soap is called alkali. This compound does not exist in natural soap and causes irritation and dry skin in many people. If you have ever felt that your skin was tight, itchy or flaky, it is very likely due to the amount of alkali in your detergent-based soap. Switching to a natural, organic soap will make all the difference in the world and will not cost you that much more unless you decide to buy one of the higher quality soaps.

One of the indications that you have a natural soap and not a regular soap is the high levels of glycerin that most natural soaps have. While many soap manufacturers extract the glycerin to use for lotions and other beautifying products, a high quality soap still retains all the glycerin, the compound which soothes and moisturizes the skin. Since glycerin pulls moisture right out of the air, your skin tends to stay moist and soft for an extended period of time, especially when compared with the detergent-based soaps. Other harmful ingredients that are included in detergent-based soaps are isopropyl alcohol, BHT and Tricoslan, which is very common in antibacterial detergent-based soaps. None of these chemicals are particularly good for your skin, making it a good idea to steer clear of detergent-based soaps and stick with natural soap.

With all the benefits of natural soap, it is not surprising that there is such a tremendous level of interest that continues to grow as people become more and more aware of the benefits of these natural products and the differences between natural soap and regular soap.

Goat Milk Soap Facts

Most people do not understand or are unaware of goat milk soap and its benefits. Day after day many people continue to use the same commercial soaps that are too harsh for their skin. They do not realize that there is a handmade natural alternative that could be much better for their skin.

Goat milk soaps are good for just about any skin type. Do you have dry itchy skin? Some people with dry itchy skin suffer with continual scaling causing an overall uncomfortable feeling. They can help dry skin sufferers. These handmade natural products are super mild, gentle and very moisturizing. Do you have oily skin, blemishes or acne? Are you looking for acne relief? Since this soap is super mild it does not irritate blemishes or acne but, instead, gently cleanses. Most commercial soaps and toners are too harsh and end up irritating blemishes and acne making it worse. Natural goat milk soap is sold to a lot of acne sufferers and they have great success with it!

Goat milk soap is so mild and gentle it can, even, be used on the face. Research shows that most commercial soaps are not buffered. This means that the pH of the commercial soaps are so far from the pH of the skin that it takes an average of two hours, after being exposed to these soaps, for the skin to return to its normal pH level. Goat milk is a buffer. This means it has a pH very close to that of human skin, so when you use soap with a high percentage of goat milk the pH of your skin does not change very much. Your skin does not take all of that time to recover. Some people have avoided using all soaps on their face because the facial skin is thin and very sensitive, but these handmade natural soaps offer an alternative to those harsh commercial soaps, even those that are specifically advertised as face products.

Commercial bath products can leave a soapy build-up around the tub or shower. They can leave a mushy mess for you to clean. This is not the case with goat milk soaps. This product lasts much longer than regular commercial soaps, using a well-drained soap dish. The longevity of this item is, also, dependant upon the ingredients and formula used by the soap maker. Some goat milk soaps may turn soft and only last a couple of weeks while others will last much longer. The extra care and boost of ingredients put into these natural soaps, by the soap maker, is proof of a high quality product that last longer.

These handmade soaps are available in a, four ounce, bar size and a, six ounce, liquid size. The homemade liquid soap is available in a, handy, pump bottle for easy use and storage. A knowledgeable and qualified soap maker knows how to combine specific ingredients offering multiple skin care benefits. Since these natural bath products are handmade, they can be customized to meet specific skin care needs. Goat milk soaps are healthful and nourishing for skin. They are becoming more popular everyday!

These handmade soaps are offered with fragrances derived from natural extracts or some have no fragrance at all. Some fragrances include: Lavender, Peppy Citrus, Orange Tree, Peppermint Coffee, Aloe & Oats and more. There is an unscented soap called "Au Natural". These handmade natural soaps offer distinct characteristics and are good for almost any skin care needs. They cleanse, moisturize, soothe and relieve dry skin, dry itchy skin, oily skin, acne, and more. Some consider these natural soaps as the best homemade acne remedies around!

These natural soaps are available in seconds and surplus. Seconds offer the same exact skin care benefits as the regular bar soaps. The only difference is that seconds have imperfections or minor flaws. Some of these flaws could consist of a slightly shaved edge, shop worn, a torn label, etc....Buying seconds offers a money saving alternative. Seconds can be purchased in bulk.

There is an unscented, Au Natural, goat milk soap is available for pets. It is extremely mild and gentle. This natural soap is so gentle, it can be used on pregnant, seizure prone and skin sensitive pets. Do not use harsh commercial pet soap. This mild and gentle pet soap has no residual effects, kills fleas, immediately, upon taking a bath and is a natural flea repellent.

Handmade natural goat milk soaps, for people and pets, are becoming more popular everyday! These natural, homemade, skin care products offer many, healthful, skin care benefits!

The Joy of Clearly Natural Soap

Instead of using soaps that contain harsh chemicals, preservatives, and perfumes, why not look into treating your skin...and the environment...to natural, pure, and healthful soaps and cleansers! They remove the dirt just as well, with the added benefit of smoothing and soothing the skin, providing nourishment, exfoliation, and healing; depending on the ingredients in the soaps you choose. Clearly Natural Soap is a terrific way to do this.

This pure organic soap contains no animal products, which is a boon to our ecosystem. Other ingredients you will NOT find in this brand of soap is all things artificial; such as artificial scents, colors, petroleum, or preservatives like sodium laureth sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate (ingredients that so many people are allergic to).

What Clearly Natural soaps contain, instead, are pure essential oils from mint, lemon and other citrus fruits, eucalyptus, ginger, lavender and so forth, to provide fresh and natural fragrance. To moisturize your skin and eliminate that dry itching you can get from harsher soaps, natural glycerin, aloe vera, and vitamin E are used.

Their formulas can be used by people with all skin types. The vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps to protect you from the harmful rays in the sun, and the aloe vera has a delightful soothing and healing characteristic that is wonderful for razor burn, sunburn, and any skin that has been abraided.

This product will not clog your pores, leaves no residue on your skin, is hypo-allergenic, will not remove the healthful natural oils from your skin, and is completely biodegradable. No animal testing or ingredients make it cruelty free, so in addition to helping your body, you are also protecting both animals and the environment.

The icing on the cake is that Clearly Natural soaps are affordable, available, and come in a variety of sizes, shapes, scents, and forms. The liquid soap is thick and luxurious, and comes in squeeze bottles or dispensers with pumps. You can get it with aloe vera or as a liquid glycerin soap that contains both vitamin E and aloe vera. And their bubble bath is divine!

Choose a pure and natural soap bar that has those same ingredients...or perhaps one that adds cucumber, to help clean and smooth your complexion. If you have a rash on your skin, try the glycerin soap bar that contains honeysuckle. The jasmine bar is great for dry and sensitive skin, and has a delicate scent.

But wait; there is more! Clearly Natural soap comes with lemon, to help lighten the skin, remove freckles and spots and lessen wrinkles. Their soap with green apple firms up the skin and helps to reduce blemishes. And the strawberry bar is perfect for those of you with oily skin. It gets rid of acne by leaning and filling the skin pores with salicylic acid, which is naturally found in your skin.

Natural Colorants For Handmade Soap

As a soapmaker, you'll notice that many soaps will naturally turn out different colors. For example, whenever I've added honey to soap, the soap has turned honey-colored. If it is important to you, like it is to me, that your soap is 100% all-natural, you'll be disappointed with many of the available soap dyes. Why? Because they contain the same chemicals used to color commercial soaps-namely FD&C colors (FD&C stands for Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics). These are also the ingredients used in food coloring. Some of the known side effects of FD&C colorants include:

 FD&C Red #40 causes lymphomas and tumors

 FD&C Yellow #5 (used in Dial soap) causes allergies, thyroid tumors, lymphomas, chromosomal damage, triggers asthma, hives, and hyperactivity

 FD&C Yellow #6 causes hives, runny nose, nasal congestion, bronchial constriction, anaphylactic reaction, bruising, allergies, and kidney tumors. 

 FD&C Green #3 (used in Irish Spring soap) causes bladder tumors 

 FD&C Blue #2 causes brain tumors

The only color-true natural soap dyesout there are annatto seed (orange), alkanet root (magenta), ratanjot (purple), spirullina, seaweed/kelp (all green), vanilla extract, coffee, cocoa powder (all deep brown), red and/or white wine (both make soap pink), carrot juice (orange), pureed cucumber (green), and tomato (peach). These colorants definitely hold up in handmilling and may stand up in cold processing. I also know for sure that beets (reddish-pink) do not work in coloring soap whether used in cold-processing or handmilling. Turmeric (bright yellow) and paprika (orange) can also be used to dye soap with pretty good results.

The only natural soap dyes that I know of made commercially are available from TKB Trading, Cranberry Lane, and Sun Feather Natural Soap Co. TKB Trading offers oil-based natural dyes: oil-based blue (from blue gardenia flowers), oil-based green (from chlorophyll--the stuff that causes grass stains), oil-based red (from beetles or "carmine"--this one is not vegan), and oil-based yellow (from annatto seed). Be aware that TKB Trading has a $20 minimum for orders. Cranberry Lane offers Ratanjot (purple) and Annatto Seeds (yellow). Sun Feather offers powdered natural pigments, which are made of pulverized minerals and plant material. Their offerings include: yellowish-brown (brown ochre), bright white (titanium dioxide), purple (ultramarine purple), earthy green (chromium oxide), earthy yellow (yellow ochre), bright blue (ultramarine blue), and earthy yellow (yellow sienna).

Furthermore, most all color in soap will fade over time. Ironically, reds are known for bleeding. Mineral pigments (and micas) are more likely to fade in the light than others. Do not use things that are not made for soaps, cosmetics, or food, such as crayons, candle dyes, or paint.