I didn’t plan for a home-based business when I
expressed concern for natural-based baby-care products for my newborn;
I was still trying to wrap my head around becoming a mother in my
mid-thirties and how much the tiny person we brought home was going to
change my life. Having ended employment with the public school
system only weeks before and taking time off of freelance writing, I
turned my focus upon finding skin-care products that were people and
eco-friendly. I wasn’t satisfied with the products on the
market, as I found myself confused with the ingredients listed on
labels; scientific names containing ten-plus letters to each
ingredient left me feeling confused and not trusting what that
ingredient really was. A college friend of mine was
experimenting with soap making at the time and suggested I look into
making my own products, starting with soap; she expressed the
simplicity of the process and encouraged me that I could do the same
for my own household as she was for hers.
Four months into my research for creating my own
products, I settled into motherhood and returned to freelance writing.
I was also working part-time as a personal assistant for a toddler
with Autism. Motherhood and my part-time schedule took more time
than I had to offer to my writing, so I once again put my writer’s cap
on the hook to refocus where my energies needed to go, creating skin
care products for my little one when he was sleeping.
I secured a copy of “The Soap Maker’s Companion: A
Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques, and Know-how" (Cavitch,
S) from my local library and found online companies selling
melt-and-pour bases (the baseline of the work is complete, all one has
to do is re-melt, add any additional ingredients [oils, essential
oils, herbs], pour into a mold tray - a cardboard box lined with
parchment or wax paper - and wait for soap to set up), I decided to go
with learning the melt-and-pour process.
This was
easy for me at the time, especially being at home with an infant and
being unsure about handling sodium hydroxide (lye). So there I
was, trying my hand at soap making, unsure if this was something I
would want to do or enjoy after my first attempt. My first
thought was that if I were to invest money into a project that I
didn’t like after trying it, what would I do with the materials left
over after I had thrown in the towel? What money I was bringing
into the household was very limited, and I wanted to make sure every
penny counted when it came to spending - and I’ve not had the best
luck with saving or investing wisely most of my life.
I selected
and purchased, from two online companies, my first set of materials and
supplies to try my hand at making soap.
The Gourmet Rose website was my first stop for soap-base containing
ingredients which I didn’t find questionable - and the only site I could
find goat’s milk pre-made base that didn’t contain DMDM (a chemical
reported to cause cancer in lab rats).
Nature’s
Garden Candles was my next stop for mold trays
and a melting/pouring container used to heat the base over a heat
source; I still shop there for various molds I find appealing to the eye
that attract consumers to purchase my soap. Spatulas, spoons, and
measuring cups were secured from local department stores and second hand
shops. Once my ordered supplies and materials arrived at my home,
I took stock of what I had to ensure I had what I needed to get started,
and then I took my first step into the soap making world by creating a
mild, goat’s-milk-based soap gentle enough for anyone with sensitive
skin, and especially created for my child.
