Soapmaking is my first calling... I love the way I feel like a "mad scientist" in a laboratory mixing up the sodium hydroxide and weighing and measuring all the ingredients... then watching the chemical reaction take place when the soap comes to "trace" and then goes through the "gel phase" when it turns from oil and lye into something you can bathe with... amazes me every time!
Lotion on the other hand is more like mixing up a recipe for cake batter or something... there's no "magic chemical reaction" or waiting period before it can be used. Just mix up some wonderful ingredients, add an emulsifier and Tah-Dah! you have lotion! I like the fact that my lotion feels wonderfully soft but not greasy, that it doesn't burn chapped skin like the "store bought" stuff does, because I don't add any alcohol to my lotions, just water, oils, emulsifiers and essential oils.
Some of the "potions" we make at Southern Heart Soaps, lip balms are my favorites... blend some beeswax, some olive oil, maybe a bit of cocoa butter and some honey and pour this liquid into a tube or pot... and within a few minutes you have lip balm that nourishes chapped or dry lips like no other.
I love making this stuff, love the fact, that to me, the "mystery" of the cosmetic industry has been revealed... and really isn't that complicated... just a few quality ingredients measured carefully and mixed correctly and you have soap or lotion or lip balm!
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