Let's start out with a little about me:
My name is Robin, I'm 23 years old and totally addicted to soap (but you may have already guessed that last part). I came across the realm of soap making a few years ago when I was more interested in making candles. I guess I've just always been crafty! Anyways, I was living in California about to move to Oregon (just for the hell of it, really) and was thinking about selling my candles at the local farmer's market in the small town I was moving to, but they had some pretty strict guidelines as to the types of crafts allowed to sell. Something about how you had to use at least three different items and it had to end up completely different than when it started out. It also specifically forebode selling melt and pour soaps, and mentioned only soap from scratch. That was the first time I'd ever even heard of from scratch soap, so of course I have to do what I always do - research!
I have to admit, I was pretty intimidated about the whole process once I'd looked it up, and lye sounded downright scary! So I never pursued that outlet, I even stopped making candles or any craft, really, as I was living in the smallest studio EVER that didn't even have a stove, just a hot plate that couldn't even boil a pot of water (that's when I waved goodbye to my canning plans, but that's a completely different story).
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| Luna says "hey" from tiny studio! |
Last summer I moved to Washington (I was tired of Oregon) and got a real apartment. I was pretty busy with school and a full time job working at a hotel, until I got fired and then I was busy with school and looking for a job. I didn't end up getting back into the crafting scene until this past February.
Financial aid decided to be really annoying and I haven't been able to get any money for school so I've been down right BORED! I wanted to make a Valentines day present and one thing led to another and I discovered BATH BOMBS! Researching bath bombs led me to a WONDERFUL forum (thanks, Debbie May) that talks about all kinds of homemade bath and body stuff (wow, this is a long story!) All of the crafty-ness got me thinking of making soap (melt and pour, of course, because lye is scary!) but found melt and pour soap wasn't what i was looking for - it just seemed too easy, it just didn't take up enough of my time and I wasn't happy with the look. I basically wanted the look of cold process without the lye.
I was pretty bored and I was just browsing the forums one day and I learned YOU CAN MAKE SOAP OUT OF WINE! This concept was so intriguing to me that I decided to learn more about from scratch soap. The more I read the more I loved, so I just took the plunge - I bought lye and some crisco, gloves, goggles, utensils, containers, and something to act as a mold; I already had coconut oil on hand and a couple essential oils, all I needed was a little courage! After that first batch of soap, that moment when the whole concoction emulsified, reaching trace! I was hooked! I made a second batch that same day.
The rest is history. I've made a total of 9 batches of soap, some more successful than others, and I don't plan to stop any time soon!
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