We imagine chocolate scented anything is terribly popular around this time of the year (or anytime for that matter!). Below are some amazing Valentine’s Day soap Making ideas. <3 We’re feelin’ the love already!

Handmade soaps featured in this post were made by the following:

Great Cakes Soap Works

Misiuk

DeShawn Marie

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I wanted to post a quick announcement regarding our 7 lb product quantities on Cibaria Soap Supply.

IMPORTANT:

As of today, we are now selling 1 Gal product quantities instead of 7 lb product quantities. This will make it a bit easier to measure out, since now it is in a liquid measurement form. Also, you’ll get a bit extra product tossed in there… which never hurts!

We’re also still taking votes on our Soap Making Oil survey – What Addition Soap Making Oils would you like us to stock? Vote here!

Thank you,

-Cibaria Soap Supply

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This is your chance to voice your needs! Below, you will find a very important survey.  Cibaria Soap Supply invites you to voice your Soap Making Oil needs! Please select up to 20 items that you are currently buying or needing to buy, but haven’t been able to find on our store. We are especially calling upon our existing customers, as well as those who need to buy from us, but currently don’t because we don’t carry all of your preferred products.

If you are not planning on purchasing in the near future, or are out of our shipping proximity, we kindly ask that you refrain from voting in this survey, so we can keep the data as accurate as possible for our valued Cibaria Soap Supply clients.

Make Your voice heard! Your VOTES COUNT, as they WILL directly affect what products we add to our store!

Select up to 20 products that you’d like us to stock:

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Ultimately, this decision can’t be taken lightly, and it’s one that generally imparts a huge impact on our lives, as well as on our immediate family’s lives. Many Soap Makers that we’ve spoken with have gone from hobby soap makers to making soap as a full-time or even a part-time business. We reached out to our Soap Making friends and colleagues on Twitter and Facebook to find out what made them turn their hobby of Soap Making into a full-fledged money-making machine! While we know that most don’t bring in the big bucks as soon as they start out, we’ve found that quite a few figured they’d charge people for what they were already doing for free. A little extra income never hurt anyone, right?

Out of the bad economic chaos, many Soap Makers found themselves looking for work and when they couldn’t find any, they created their own. That’s exactly what @dreamingtreesw of Dreaming Trees Soap Works did.”We lost our jobs, and there was still no jobs out there, so we made our own and we haven’t turned back since”.

Other stories that we’ve heard are equally as admirable. Tami Thornton of Beehive Soap and Body Care says

“After helping my husband in his business for 30 years, I decided it was time to start a new challenge! So, after the children were basically out of the house, and Bachelors Degree was finally completed, it was time! Been in business about a year and a half now… and loving it!”

And a good amount of other Soap Makers were just happy that someone was willing to pay them to do what they loved, just as a few of our Twitter friends who shared similar stores.

Belonger Botanicals began “as soon as someone offered to pay for the product”.

It’s definitely a joyful experience when you realize that someone finds value in the things that you create. We talk to hundreds of Soap Makers per month, and we find that the joy and care that go into their products really do make the difference. Many people say that once you go “handmade” with your soap, you never go back! (to the store-bought stuff, that is!)

Day Three is another great example of a Soap Maker making the easy decision to turn their passion into a business. They expressed that they started their hobby became a business “when we realized that people actually wanted to give us MONEY for doing something we’d do for FREE!”

Now that’s passion!

We’d LOVE to hear your story and your thoughts! Are you considering turning your Soap Making hobby into a business? Did you already take the plunge!? Tell us about it below!

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I love jojoba oil! The benefits of this oil never seem to stop. We call it an oil, but it’s really a type of wax, called a “wax ester.” This results from fatty acids and fatty alcohol joining together. It’s all very scientific and delightful.

But I don’t care about the science, really. I care about the performance. What can jojoba oil do in your different products?

1. 1. It can add to the moisturizing benefits of handmade soap. Jojoba oil adds a quality to soap that is difficult to describe, but one word I can think of is “awesome.” The lather gets a rich, creamy feel to it, and the skin feels softer and smoother afterwards. I don’t recommend you use jojoba oil at more than about 10% in any soap recipe, as it will accelerate trace and make things difficult. This is where knowing that it is really a wax ester comes in handy—those molecules speed up trace, and can make the soap seize if you use too much. 10% is enough to see the benefits.
2. 2. It can enhance the performance of any lotion. Lotions will sink in deeper, as jojoba oil mimics our skin’s natural sebum. The oil sinks into skin quickly, but because of this, it does not feel very “glide-y.” Using jojoba oil in combination with a slicker oil, like avocado or apricot kernel oil, creates a synergy for the lotion: gliding on smoothly, and sinking in quickly. Fabulous.
3. 3. It can be used directly on the skin. Once again, because of its composition and our skin’s readiness to accept it, jojoba oil is a great choice for a facial cleansing oil. Some folks don’t want to use soap on their faces, opting instead for a cleansing oil. Combining a cleansing, astringent oil like castor or hazelnut with jojoba means the oil will clean the pores and then sink in to moisturize at the same time.  These cleansing oil formulas work with a hot, steamy face cloth. Massage the oil blend into the face, while running hot, hot water on a washcloth. Wring out the cloth, and slap in on the face. Steam the face until the cloth starts to go colder, then dip it in the hot water and steam the face one more time. After that, dip the cloth one more time, wipe off the excess oil, and rejoice.
4. 4. When used on the skin, the effect is near-immediate. This is just observational and not scientific at all. When I apply jojoba oil to my skin, I can see and feel a difference immediately. Because of this effect, I have chosen to use jojoba oil in my lip balm formulation. I want my lip balm to work right away, and I attribute its effectiveness in part, to jojoba oil.
5. 5. It is great for the hair, too. I use jojoba oil in a deep-conditioning hair treatment I make. Again, I don’t have science here, just experience, but when I put just a couple of drops on my hair when it’s wet, and allow it to dry, it makes the hair shiny but also adds to the body and curl. Try it. You’ll see.

What other uses do you see for jojoba oil?

Amy Kalinchuk makes and sells handmade soap in Denver, Colorado. She has written and published three books on soap making, including Making Soap in Your Own Kitchen, available at Craft e-Revolution.

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This is a great soap making recipe for beginners from this source.

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Ingredients:

• 6.5 oz. palm oil
• 6.5 oz. coconut oil
• 7.5 oz. olive oil
• 1.3 oz. castor oil
• 8 oz. water
• 3.1 oz. lye
• 1 oz. of fragrance oil or essential oil blend

Preparation:

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Here at Cibaria we’re committed to helping spread the word about Handcrafted Soap and how wonderful it is.

It’s a great community to be involved in, and we’re so excited at the prospect of helping talent be seen, and processes be learned. We have some wonderful things in store for Soapmaking Oil and Soapmaking Supplies in 2010!

• We’ll be adding new Base Oils and Butters will be added to our list of products! Stay Tuned!
• We’re going to offer FREE Webinars on how you can market your Soap Making Business, Soap Website, properly brand your products, and get your soaps out there! We’ll be showing you all of the juicy details on how to set up a true e-commerce site that is easy to run, and cost efficient to maintain. These will be ran by an enthusiastic Internet Marketing Consultant with years of experience!
• Contests! Yes, we want to make someone a winner. A winner of what? You’ll have to wait and see!
• …and Much More!

We wish you all a very prosperous and safe New Year! Happy 2010~!

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Merry Christmas from Cibaria Soap Supply !

Please Note that Our Facility will be closed on December 24th and 25th, as well as on December 31st, and 1st.

Soap Making Oil – soapmaking oil – soap base oil – soap carrier oil - soap fixed oil – fixed oil – carrier oil

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In the short time that I’ve been learning about soap, I’ve seen some absolutely amazing creations. Many people are making layered soaps with swirls, some are making layered soaps with top layers that are clear and glittery. Some soaps are made for specifically for the eco-conscious. Others just leave me amazed and hungry, due to their striking resemblance to food.

I’ve seen some of the photos that you all post online that show your extensive shelves of soap making supplies and materials, and it’s truly baffling! Most of you gals (and guys!) have a LOT of stuff! I never knew soapmaking was such an ‘extreme’ craft, but apparently it’s overtaken many kitchens, spare rooms, and even garages.

This leads me to the question of the day: What Soap Supplies can you NOT live without?

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Babassu oil or cusi oil is a clear light yellow vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the babassu palm (Attalea speciosa), which grows in the Amazon region of South America. It is a non-drying oil used in food, cleaners and skin products. This oil has properties similar to coconut oil and is used in much the same context. It is increasingly being used as a substitute for coconut oil. Babassu oil is about 70% lipids, in the following proportions:

Lauric and myristic acids have melting points relatively close to human body temperature, so babassu oil can be applied to the skin as a solid that melts on contact. This heat transfer can produce a cooling sensation. It is an effective emollient.

Why People Love Babassu Oil

Babassu oil has been used for centuries to soothe dry skin, and comes from the seeds of the Babassu palm that is native to the south eastern Amazonian region of Brazil.  Babassu oil is a wonderful emollient that is beneficial for both dry and oily complexions, because it gently moisturizes the skin without contributing to oil production. It’s especially helpful for eczema, itchy, dry and inflamed skin.

Babassu Oil is often overlooked as a natural skin ingredient by soap makers and health + beauty experts. This wonderful oil is definitely not one that should be absent in any soap makers base oil collection, because it fits such a broad range of  preferences.

Babassu Oil contains  glycosides, vitamins and minerals. It can also make a great massage oil. Use it in lotion bars, lotions, balms and of course, soap making. It saponifies easily and yields a mild soap with good lather. It can be used as a large percentage of the fats or as an oil added at trace.  Babassu oil is white in it’s solid form.

Babassu Oil draws the heat from the skin to initiate melting. This heat transfer produces a cooling effect on the skin, which is great for summer soap making. Babassu also forms a protective, soothing coat when applied and provides a pleasant, velvety feeling.

The name ‘Babassu’ comes from the Tupis (an Amazonian tribe), whereas its genus name “Orbignya” comes from the French paleontologist A.D.d’Orbigny who first discovered the palm in the early 1800’s in South America. The fruit of the Babassu palm forms several clusters that bear 500 or so fruits that look like small coconuts. Its principal product is a clear, stable oil that may be used in cosmetics and toiletries after refinement. The oil becomes a soft solid at room temperatures (below 24° C), but melts readily upon contact with the skin.

Like coconut oil, Babassu Oil can be used as a large percentage of the fats at the start of the soap making process or to superfat the soap at trace.

INCI:Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil

Suggested Babassu Oil Use Levels: Lotions & Creams: 3-5%, Balms: 3-10%, Bar Soaps: 2-7%, Hair Conditioners: 3-5%.

Cibaria Soap Supply sells 7 lb, 17.5 lb, and 35 lb quantities of Babassu Oil.

Click Here to View More of our Soap Oils

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