Many years ago I worked as a Purchasing Agent for the state of Ohio Division of Prisons. We were converting an old TB hospital into a minimum security prison for older inmates. One of my co-workers would come in to work on any random morning and announce, “I made bread this mornin’ !”
I was newly married and did indeed wish I had time to make bread somewhere between my full time job at the prison and my part time job as resident at “The Gathering Place”, an activity center for former mental patients – (and no, I’m not making this up – Athens, Ohio where my then husband was attending medical school – we were poor, newly married and the housing situation was free in exchange for 15 hours per week).
Turns out my co-worker bought frozen loaves of bread dough and popped them in the oven – little did I know that I could “MAKE” homemade bread too!!!
Here’s my point: Handmade soap is a bit like homemade bread. You can buy pre-mixed soap, add essential oil, and some color and say, “I made soap today”. That’s not what I do. I use the method called the cold process method of soapmaking. It involves a lot of chemistry, measuring, heating oils, working with dangerous sodium hydroxide (better known as lye) and being very patient. Creativity is an added bonus if you happen to be blessed with that too.
A lot of people have asked me if I made glycerin soap, and I don’t. Why? because this soap is a very long and involved process which requires alcohol (the kind you drink) and sugar mixed together at just the right moment. I would venture to guess that very few soapmakers make their own glycerin soap – again, the melt and pour soap-making industry provides those who want to “make” soap with basically a kit – a little like a cake mix or boxed muffin mix.
Additionally, glycerin is a natural by-product of cold process soapmaking. When you buy a bar of truly homemade soap the soap contains glycerin which is a humectant (holds moisture to the skin). Our wonderful commercial soap industry removes the glycerin from our soap so that they can make money on that too – secondary market product too. Keep in mind that these commercial soaps contain lots of detergents, chemicals and, in most cases, animal fat.
Soap is NOT a cosmetic. Therefore, the labeling of soap does not require that all ingredients be divulged – that’s why you will never know what you’re really washing your body with when you buy commercial soap.
Okay, gotta go -preparing for Whole Foods on SAturday.
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