<a href="#">Don't Put That On Your Face</a><br>
Jeffrey Dorrian<br>
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<p><p>One of the fastest growing hobby businesses of the last 10 years
is soap making. If you were to "google" the phrase "soap making"
you would come up with over 1.6 million indexed web pages on
this topic. The process of soap making can be a tedious somewhat
dangerous enterprise, which begs the question, why? Why are so
many Americans pursuing a task our colonial ancestors were glad
to be rid of? The trial and error method of soap making was a
long and thankless task that sometimes left the maker with an
unusable commodity after many hours of hard work. Oprah relates
how as a child her grandmother tried to teach her how to make
soap and she declined not seeing the purpose in her young life.

<BR><BR>Have you ever looked at the ingredient list of a modern day bar
of soap? Common ingredients include DEA, Isopropyl Alcohol, BHT
and Triclosan. This is just a starter list. Can you imagine what
all these chemicals are doing to your skin? Most commercial soap
ingredients are petroleum based. This alone should be enough to
scare off the average soap consumer. The commercial soap making
process strips commercial soap of the best ingredient, glycerin.
This is then sold separately by the manufacturer as another
profit center for the soap company. Yet this is the main
conditional agent available in soap to soothe irritations and
protect the skin. Dermatologists across our country are doing a
brisk business remedying the consequences of the use of
commercial soap.

<BR><BR>Along comes the natural handmade soap maker. Making soap from
common kitchen oils, including olive, soybean and coconut oils.
In home based soap making the natural glycerin is retained in
the soap. I would venture to say almost any handmade soap would
out perform commercial soap as far as enhancing the natural
properties of the skin. This would include both moisturizing dry
skin, and cleaning excess oil from oily skin. Handmade soap is
good for your body.

<BR><BR>With a wide variety of fragrances now available to the handmade
soap maker the possibilities for great smelling soap are
endless. The most popular fragrances include lavender, vanilla
and the love or leave it fragrance patchouli. 

<BR><BR>Most soap makers I have talked to find soap making addictive.
They tell me the idea of creating a wonderfully utilitarian
product that one can use, share or even sell to the accolades of
others is euphoric. I must agree. One of the most exciting days
for me is delivery day from the fragrance company. Examining all
the new scents and imagining the newly possible fragrance
combinations, keeps me coming back to my soap making bench again
and again. I wish you many joys if you decide to venture down
the soap making highway. Find a good soap making book and take
your time. Don't be discouraged by set-backs, and check out some
of the many soap making forums for tips and ideas.

<BR><BR>About the author:<BR><BR>
Jeffrey Dorrian is the soap guy. Really, that is my website
<a href="http://www.thesoapguy.com">www.thesoapguy.com</a>. He has been making premium olive oil soap
for the past five years and now has customers in all fifty
states. "This is a true inexpensive luxury anyone can enjoy."
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