Friday, February 15, 2013

Water Lily soap

In the beer soap rebatch post a month or so ago, I said we were experimenting with another soap that was made the same way.  This is how it turned out:

We scented it with a fragrance called Aroma Tonic - a duplicate of an apparently discontinued Lancome fragrance.  It is a wonderful scent and we wish we could get our hands on more of the fragrance oil, which also seems to be discontinued.

We called the soap "Water Lilies" because it reminded us of the Monet painting of the same name.

See the resemblance?

These little play times are a lot of fun, unfortunately this is a once and done soap.  Tina has what is left of this batch for sale over at her website.  

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Soap .... What is it good for?

I recently got this comment from a customer, Jayne in NYC, on my Lancaster County Soapworks Facebook page:
"Wow! what is in your Happy Wanderer soap? It is the first thing I've tried in months that has calmed the flaming rosacea on my face! I love it!"
Both plantain and jewelweed are said to be soothing to the skin and although we make the soap specifically to soothe poison ivy and mosquito bites, they are both said to be important herbs for deep cleansing and healing many skin conditions.


The question prompted me to check on them again and I appreciate it because I really never thought about all the many things that the soap could be good for. The essential oils that we add, tea tree and lavender have both been called "medicine chests in a bottle," so they would offer healing as well.

After I explained the above to her, she wrote further to explain what had happened:
"I guess it is just the right combination for what has been ailing me! I can't say the rosacea is gone for good, but my skin has been so inflamed for the last six months as stress is my main trigger. I had been keeping the soap around in case of poison ivy, etc. which one doesn't run into in Manhattan very often; I wish I had started using it sooner! When we ran out of our other favorite LCS soaps, I grabbed the Happy Wanderer for the shower, and my face responded almost instantly. The red patches are more now pinkish than fire-engine red, and nothing itches anymore. It's WONDERFUL!"
It is so nice to hear from folks who have found that our soaps, besides smelling good and cleaning well with those marvelous suds, actually make a difference in the condition of their skin.

My own husband has made me promise that I will never stop making soap.  He suffered with very dry skin all his life until he started using our soaps and he doesn't ever want to go back!