The first bar of my own hand-crafted soap changed my bathing experiences forever.
The first bar of my own hand-crafted soap changed my bathing experiences forever.
I had some pretty strong bathing preferences at the time, I'd use any soap as long as it was good old right off the supermarket shelf Safeguard. Safeguard was my soap, no if ands or buts. I liked the stuff so much I made sure I always had a good stock of the stuff on hand. I took no chances of running out.
I always had a couple dozen bars of Safeguard on hand.
You see, Safeguard had the best lather I could find. I like lather. Lots of creamy, luxurious lather.
I have an insatiable curiosity. I like to explore different things. I especially like to explore things that are creative and promote self-reliance. That's how I got into soap making.
I knew that people didn't always just go down to Ye Ol Store to get their soap. I had heard many stories of people making their own soap out of renderings and what have you in a big old pot in the yard.
I got thinking, "Hey Marv, if you end up on a desert island somewhere it might be a good thing if you at least knew how to make soap." After all, you never know who you might end up there with and you just might want to be able to offer them some soap.
So I began researching soap making and reading everything I could find on the subject.
I discovered that a lot of the "soap" you buy in the store isn't really soap. It's detergent. It's made from a high percentage of petroleum products, you know, the stuff gasoline, diesel fuel and the like comes from.
Seems that during the World Wars soap was very scarce. Most of it was diverted to the boys overseas. Then they discovered how to make detergent (copycat soap) from petroleum products. That was cheaper and faster than making regular soap and we then had cleaner soldiers.
You see true soap is saponified oils. Like peanut, palm, soybean, coconut, safflower, olive, vegetable, rendered fats and the like. Saponified is a fancy term used to describe the process oils undergo when exposed to sodium hydroxide.
Another word for sodium hydroxide is lye. Lye is used in soap making (and in detergent bar making) but there is no lye in the finished product. If you use bar soap or detergent, lye was used to make it. Both the lye and the oils have undergone a change and combined to make soap. They have saponified.
The mention of lye causes some folks concern. That concern comes from folks whose families made their own soap in the backyard before it was readily available in stores. When you talk to people whose family made their own soap they either have good memories of it or they have bad memories. The stuff either loved you or it took the top layer of skin off.
That's because old-time soap making was an inconsistent science using inconsistent products. You put whatever ingredients you had with whatever lye you were able to make (by running water continuously through wood ashes) and you lived with whatever you got.
Now days soap crafting is an exact science where consistent recipes are used with consistent results. We know what to use with what and what percentages.
We can make true soap that will make you want to live in the bath. Hand-crafted soap makes bathing a sheer delight.
I made my first batch a few years ago and headed for the tub to try it out. I never used another bar of Safeguard after that. I haven't used commercially manufactured soap since.
I offered a bar to my business partner who politely told me that she had her own soap preferences. Sound familiar? She agreed to try it. She was obviously humoring me.
That evening she called me on the phone and announced she had a new soap, "This is the most wonderful soap I have ever used!"
Next thing you know, she's a soap maker too.
You see, a commercially prepared "soap" with a high degree of petroleum base strips the natural moisturizing oils from your skin. Somewhat like gasoline cuts oils and carries it away. The stripped oils and the soil they contain are then washed off your skin. When you are done bathing you then have to add moisturizer to get the moisture back.
Hand-crafted soap lifts the soil from your skin leaving your natural moisturizing oils intact. Oil and oil blend together they don't fight each other or strip each other away. The oils from the soap ride on your natural oils and then when you rinse the oils from the soap away, the soil goes with it.
With your own handmade soap there is no stripped skin feeling. No stripped skin feeling, no need for moisturizer.
There is one little thing about making your own soap that I can't seem to get past but I'm not sure that I really want to.
You see, good homemade soap makes bathing such a delightful experience that you tend to stretch it out a little more than normal which means that the soap doesn't last quite as long as one of those hard old stripping bars you'd buy at Ye Olde Supermarket.
Anyway, just the other day I decided to make myself up some more soap because my supply was running lower than I like.
And I got to thinking, "Marv, you oughta make a video about making homemade soap and show folks how they too can make super nice soap.
Guess what! Here's the video!!
This video is from beginning to end Castile soap making. Castile soap is made from Olive oil and is considered to be the gentlest soap you could possibly have.
In this video I not only show you EVERYTHING you need to make your own handmade Castile soap but I cover a lot of soap making general information as well.
By the end of this video you'll know how to make your own homemade soap, in your own kitchen.
Making and using your own soap is very satisfying both in the making and in the using. Chances are you'll find it so rewarding you'll start buying soap making books and exploring all the soap making possibilities using different oils, adding fragrances, herbs and other sensuous touches - and there are a lot.
As with all my videos this video is covered by my incredible ironclad, completely unconditional guarantee...
If you do not think this video is worth what you paid for it or it does not meet your level of satisfaction in any way, you just let me know and I will return EVERY CENT of your money. Period. No if, and or buts.
For your copy of my "How To Make Handmade Luxurious, Never Use Store Bought Again Soap Using Items Found In Most Kitchens" video send $12 cash, check, money order, (free shipping in the US, contact me for non-US shipping) to:
Marv Walker
1411 Bruce Road SW
Conyers, GA 30094
Or for faster delivery order using your credit card or PayPal account click on the PayPal button below:
You will enjoy soap making, I guarantee it! Order your copy now.
Thank you,
Marv Walker
