BIZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This week, I am going to be quite a soap-a-holic, wiping the sweat off my brow until Saturday morning. I've got several soap batches to make as well as batches of other Stella Marie products. Signage needs to be prepared and needless panic and anxiety will need to be quieted. When, oh, when will I be able to shake this day job?

So, I've picked a great time to begin filming the instructional hot process soapmaking video for The Soap Bar. That's right, folks, I'm going all out! You will get to see me as a real talking person. You've been warned. I'm getting the raw footage tonight and I'm hoping to finesse the mofo this week/early next week.

In house news - the deal is ON! We are hoping to close on August 14th or thereabouts. We can't wait to get the heck in there!

New Items

For peppermint lovers ...



... a limited edition Peppermint Twister Soap - in guest or travel size (about 3 ounces) ... very refreshing!

Next, be on the look out for the new cup cake liners I'll be using for many of my bath bombs. Aren't they perfect?



And finally, here are a few more books to add to the soapmaking library ... picked them up in NYC this weekend. I will be listing them in the resources section of the blog in short order.

Behind the Scenes

How is soap made? Several different ways. Methods range from Cold Process to Hot Process to Melt and Pour and there are variations within each method.

I use the Hot Process Method. Selecting a method is a personal choice - no one way is better than another. My reasons for using the hot process are more for practicality than anything else. When you make soap using the cold process, individual bars need to cure for several weeks. I simply don't have the available space! The hot process is similar to the cold process, but with HP, the soap cooks for about an hour or so after you mix all the fats and lye together. This creates saponification, a process that occurs naturally while CP soap cures. There are pros and cons to any method, however, I think that one person's disadvantage could be another person's benefit. I am a serious soap lover, so I can appreciate the fruits of just about anyone's soapmaking labors. Here is another hot process soap maker's beautiful work.

For a quick tutorial, please visit Hot Process Soap Notes by Gracefruit. She has summarized the steps nicely and concisely. She makes a pretty sweet hot process line.