- good earth spa -

Why do people like handmade soap so much?

2023-02-13T15:43:00.002-08:00

As an artisan soap-maker, I believe that hand-made natural soap is far superior to commercially produced cleansing bars. Natural soap has a variety of benefits for the skin, the local economy, and the environment.

First, natural soap is less likely to cause a skin reaction because it does not contain harsh detergents. Many commercial soaps contain synthetic detergents that can strip the skin of its natural oils, leading to dryness, irritation, and even allergic reactions. Natural soap, on the other hand, is made from simple, natural ingredients that are gentle on the skin.

Another benefit of natural soap is that it contains glycerin, a humectant that attracts and retains moisture. Glycerin helps to keep the skin hydrated and can even help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Many commercial soaps remove the glycerin during the manufacturing process, leaving the skin dry and flaky.

Natural soaps also come in unique designs, with each bar being one-of-a-kind. As an artisan soap-maker, I take pride in creating unique designs that are not only visually appealing but also provide an additional sensory experience through the use of natural essential oils.

In addition, small-batch natural soaps support local economies and small businesses. When you purchase hand-made soap from a local artisan, you are supporting their passion and creativity while also reducing your carbon footprint by purchasing from a nearby source.

Natural soap is also better for the environment as it typically uses more sustainable and eco-friendly ingredients and packaging. Commercially produced cleansing bars are often wrapped in plastic packaging and may contain synthetic fragrances and other harmful chemicals that can pollute the environment.

Maybe you never put much thought into a common household item like soap! Choosing natural soap has many benefits for the skin, the local economy, and the environment. As an artisan soap-maker, I take pride in creating high-quality, hand-made natural soaps that are gentle on the skin, visually appealing, and supportive of local economies.

I remember the first time I made soap, and the feeling of accomplishment and joy that came with creating something beautiful and useful with my own hands. That's the feeling I hope to share with every customer who uses my soaps - a feeling of connection to the natural world and the artisans who create beautiful, useful objects from it.

Hemp Soap

2012-05-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

At the market last Saturday, a little girl came to my table, smelled each of my soaps one by one. She then proclaimed the hemp soap to be her favorite because it "smells like Nana's house" LOL! Making the hemp soap, I wanted more than a cannabis scented soap so this soap is loaded with hemp oils and hemp protein. It feels amazing on the skin and smells like your friend, Mary Jane. Enjoy!

How to Make Melt & Pour Soap Base (from scratch!)

2012-04-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, it’s not an impossible miraculous feat to make your own soap that melts easily, fluidly and fast, over and over again… and make it from scratch yourself! You can use my recipes (view on Youtube page; look in info box) and make your own real melt n pour soap. My formulations do not contain any SLS (nasty little detergent called sodium lauryl sulfate that penetrates the skin. It may cause dry skin for the average person but can be responsible for serious severe reactions, rashes and possibly even worse… like cancer-causing… read more here) My formulations are proudly made with zero detergents. The soap is easily meltable in the microwave. I usually cut into 1″ cubes and nuke them at 30 second intervals on HIGH. Then, it’s easy to color, scent and mold. Before you get started you should have some basic soap making knowledge and be familiar with lye safety. You should also come to this project with a few batches of cold process and hot process under your belt. So, lets get to it! Here is the video! Live Life Soapy! -Bonnie G www.GoodEarthSpa.com

Make Your Own Chalkboards!

2012-04-21T16:47:00.001-07:00

Yay! A new fun project that is super EASY! Check out how you can make your own chalk board! You never know when, where or why you would need a chalkboard but chances are you’ll want to have one at some point… Now, just watch and store away some extra random information in that brain you’ve got. That way, when you find yourself in need of a chalkboard, it will be easy peasy!

What happens when you mix lye and milk.

2012-04-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

This is a video I did on request! Observe the temperature changes when adding milk to a lye solution.

How to Make Beer Soap

2012-03-05T20:31:00.003-08:00

Beer is good for skin and hair. It contains lots of minerals and B vitamins and has been used in topical skincare for thousands of years! From ancient Egypt to be exact. Studies have shown that using beer on your skin can reduce sebum production and also has anti-bacterial properties. This is good news if you suffer from acne or oily complexion. Beer helps maintain the PH balance of skin. Since it's so good for both dry and oily skin, it's a complete hit for combination skin types. Beer, like wine, is rich in anti-oxidants. Beer is used topically to treat flaky skin, smooth rough texture skin and for clearing your complexion.

Live Life Soapy!
-Bonnie

The Tale of the Mermaid's Trove

2012-02-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

Mermaid's Trove is one of my personal favorite soaps that I make. I first made it, inspired by mermaids with ingredients from the sea. I wanted a sea-like bath experience with the salts, clay, scent and all. I hope you enjoy soap making videos. The first video is me chatting after making the first Mermaid's Trove.

This second video shows the soap making process while I make the next batch of Mermaid's Trove Soap.

Live Life Soapy!

-Bonnie
www.GoodEarthSpa.com

Friendship Soaps have been Swapped!

2012-02-25T08:58:00.002-08:00

I now have my friendship soaps that were made just for me! What a great feeling to smell, handle and use a soap that you know was made just for you.

Live Life Soapy!

-Bonnie

www.GoodEarthSpa.com

Make your own Laundry Soaps and Laundry Products

2012-02-24T16:36:00.002-08:00

Laundry is an on-going thing for a lot of people. Does it ever end? The answer, unfortunately, is NO! Laundry does not end. But you can cut out some costs and make a more natural laundry soap yourself, at home. Now, I have a couple of options to choose from. There is powered laundry soap. It dissolves well, cleans well and is great to have handy for all purpose laundry.

Note: You will find the actual recipes available in the information section below the videos on the Youtube video page.

Then there are people who prefer a liquid laundry soap. This is a slightly more advanced soap making recipe using Potassium Hydroxide. The first recipe is easier to make and takes less time. The KOH may be harder to find locally but I found the best deal over at Essential Depot. You can order either type of lye from them. Making the liquid laundry soap requires more time, patience and actual "hands-on" time.

Now that you've learned how you will make your preferred type of laundry soap, here are a few more tips for softening your laundry naturally.

How to Make Shiny Soap

2012-02-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Make your soap shine! Literally! You can make soap shiny! Shining your soap is easy and gives a nice visual effect to your bars of soap. It works particularly well with colored soaps but will work on any cold or hot process soap.

Live Life Soapy!
-Bonnie
www.GoodEarthSpa.com

Cardstock Gift Boxes

2012-02-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

Packaging small items (including SOAP!!) can often lead to mental blocks in a desperate attempt to think outside the box. Keeping costs low and creating an eye-catching presentation are all important on the list. In my quest to keep the creativity going and flowing, I came up with another paper craft to make small sized presentation-worthy gift boxes. Use them for anything small.

Thanks for stopping by!
Bonnie
www.GoodEarthSpa.com

Making Snow Soap

2012-01-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

You know how we are with using natural and abundant resources. When we got hit with 2 feet of snow I knew I had to make soap with it! I just finished making a small limited edition soap, with real snow, white clay and lots of sparkles! Scented in an ozoney snowy scent blend of fragrance and essential oils to smell like a northern blizzard.

How to Make a Full Milk Soap

2012-01-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

In soap making there are a lot of ways to put milk into a soap. Most often, soap makers will use part water with part milk in the liquids. Why not use full milk? The heat of the lye can scorch the milk (you’ll know this happens when you get a pot of deep orange lye milk). We want to avoid that in order to keep the beneficial nutrients of the milk in tact. It is easier to avoid scorching milk when part water is used; however, full milk soaps can be made. With a little extra attention to the lye mixing portion a full milk soap results in an extra creamy and silky feeling, nourishing bar soap.

Click Here to go to the recipe page.

Thank you for stopping by!
-Bonnie

How to Make Shampoo

2012-01-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to share one of my shampoo formulations. I'm getting lots of awesome feedback and buzz over this one. We've even been featured as the Weekly How to on RightThisMinute.com.

In addition to the awesome feature, the recipe is now published on Yahoo Voices.
Click Here to go to the recipe page.

Please enjoy the video tutorial on making shampoo!

Fixing Soap Crack

2012-01-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

Every soap-maker whose been around for a little while has had the unfortunate cracking of their precious soap. It doesn’t “do” anything “bad” to the soap. It’s just not as pretty. Depending on how bad of a crack problem you have… hehehe… you may be able to fix it right up with this surprisingly simple quick fix. If possible, do it right away, as soon as you crack it.

View ALL the Friendship Soaps

2012-01-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

You saw my posts about my swap with Elizabeth and then also my swap with Lori. While we were all busy making soaps for one another, there were 2 more pairs of soap makers participating. I put together this Friendship Soap Video. It's interactive and spiffy! ;)

After a short intro, you'll be able to click on any of the soaps to see how it was made, and who made it for who.

www.GoodEarthSpa.com

She's a Peach Friendship Soap Swap with Lori

2012-01-10T15:09:00.001-08:00

See last post... There was an odd number of us so I also paired up with Lori from The Hen and Her Chicks for another friendship soap. Lori likes fruity smells so I made her a soap called "She's a Peach!"

The soap I made for Lori:

The soap Lori made for me:

Thanks!
Bonnie
Good Earth Spa

Butter Up My Sweet Friendship Soap - Friendship Soap Swap

2012-01-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

I belong to an online group of soap-makers. We discuss things about soap. Probably things that would bore non-soapmakers to tears. Since soapmaking is a cottage industry, many of us work from home and for ourselves. We don't have co-workers like many people have in their workplace. So, we do like to gather online to swap notes, learn from one another and eventually, friendships form. We support one another, call and email one another. It seems like each of us specialize in something different so we have a lot that we can share with one another.

One of my soapy friends, Kim from Nature's Art came up with a really neat and fun project for us to do together. Many of us decided to participate, myself included. I paired up with Elizabeth from A Breath of French Air. We got to talking about things the other person likes, got to know one another and made a custom soap for each other. Check out our soaps made for each other.

The soap I made for Elizabeth:

I also made this into a soap tutorial. If you would like the recipe to make this soap yourself, please view the information on the youtube video page.

The soap Elizabeth made for me:

Paper Boxes

2012-01-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

I started making paper boxes in grade school. You never know when you suddenly need a box. I made these boxes for a school project years… um… decades ago ;)

It’s funny how certain things stick with you all your life. Now as a grown up and professional soap maker, I found a way to tweek this old project and revive it as a new soap box. Using the soap to measure, make a box that fits your bar of soap exactly. Get creative. Stamp your paper or put stickers on it with your own logo. Curling ribbon adds a gifted look. Of course, this method will work for anything you want to make a box for.

www.GoodEarthSpa.com

Gift of the Magi - A Christmas Soap

2011-12-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

Gift of the Magi takes you to a place in time, thousands of years ago when frankincense and myrrh were considered treasures worth more than gold. Enjoy the most fragrant, finest tradition of men.

Visit www.GoodEarthSpa.com

Scrub Me Green

2011-12-03T19:27:00.000-08:00

In the videos below I make and cut one of my soap scrubs. Scrub me green smells like green tea, is made with green tea and has green tea leaves and fine cornmeal throughout as an exfoliant. It has a very bubbly lather with a buttery feel. Perfect all purpose exfoliation and clean in one.

I chose a green tea theme because green tea is rich in anti-oxidants. Although I've been making this soap for years, this is the first time I made it on camera.

Scrub Me Green starts off with wonderful Organic Oils, Antioxidant Rich Green Tea and exfoliating natural corn meal with green tea leaves to scrub you clean... or green :) Then, scented in a beautiful green tea fragrance and organic shea butter is added in to create a moisturizing experience. No colorants are added to this soap. It's naturally green from the green tea and ingredients used. This is a super scrubbie scrub.

Available at Good Earth Spa Click Here

Organic Christmas Tree Snow Cakes Soap

2011-11-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

Little festive cupcake soaps designed to look and smell like snow on the bottom and Christmas Trees on top! What a cute little usable bathroom decor handmade soap!
Made with Organic Oils; 95% organic by weight.

Available at Good Earth Spa
Will be available on Thanksgiving.

Organic Brew Soap

2011-11-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

"Organic Brew" Soap is made from Certified Organic FishTale Wild Salmon Pale Ale (does not taste or smell like Salmon nor does it contain any salmon.) This beer is from a local brewery in Olympia, Washington.

This soap is made with Certified Organic Oils. I used Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic Coconut Oil and Organic Shea Butter.

Does it smell like beer? It smells a little bit like beer but will not leave you smelling like beer. It will leave you nice and clean :)

Perfect for beer lovers everywhere!

Beer is good for skin and hair. It contains lots of minerals and B vitamins and has been used in topical skincare for thousands of years! From ancient Egypt to be exact. Studies have shown that using beer on your skin can reduce sebum production and also has anti-bacterial properties. This is good news if you suffer from acne or oily complexion. Beer helps maintain the PH balance of skin. Since it's so good for both dry and oily skin, it's a complete hit for combination skin types. Beer, like wine, is rich in anti-oxidants. Beer is used topically to treat flaky skin, smooth rough texture skin and for clearing your complexion.

Good Earth Spa does not make any medicinal or cosmetic claims on any of their soaps or any other product. This information is provided as informational only.

Soap Makers Contest plus Contest for everyone!

2011-11-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

No Purchase Necessary!

Soap Buyer Contest Rules:

PRIZE: One 2lb Soap loaf, 10 Sticks Incense & your choice between Bubble Bath Salts, Fizzing Bath Salts or 5 pack Bath Bombs. You choose one scent for all. This is a matching set. Soap Loaf will be in my "Gentle Soap" Recipe.

1. MUST be subscribed to my youtube Channel.
2. Must comment on this video with your favorite all time scent and words "Enter Me"
3. Must be at least 18 years old (minors, have your parents enter for you.)
4. Open Internationally.
5. Winner selected by random name generator.
6. Contest is closed on November 24th Midnight 11:59PM PST (West Coast Time) (Thanksgiving Day, USA)
7. Winner will be notified by Youtube Message one day after announced. Winner to be announced within one week of the contest close date.

Soap Maker Contest Rules:
1. MUST be subscribed to my youtube Channel.
2. Must video respond with a video of you making soap.
3. Your soap must be made from scratch, no exceptions. From scratch means soap ingredients contain at the minimum an alkali and fatty acids (oil). I will not accept Melt n Pour Soaps, Milled soaps or any handmade soap that contains MP embeds or any other pre-made ingredient, unless you made it yourself, from scratch and specify that you made it. Example: Milled soaps are OK if you made the soap from scratch but not OK if you purchase pre-made soap base.
4. Soap Maker Contest is open to the USA ONLY. International laws may prohibit me from shipping raw beeswax or dried herbs/agricultural items. Therefore, only enter the soap-maker's contest if you reside in the United States.
5. By submitting your video response you enter my contest. By entering my contest you agree to my terms. I will be choosing a winner based on my own opinion. I am judging this contest and you agree that this is fair. My judgement does not imply that any one soap or soap maker is better than another. I will be judging objectively based on the criteria described below.
6. Contest is closed on November 24th Midnight 11:59PM PST (West Coast Time) (Thanksgiving Day, USA)
7. Winner will be notified by Youtube Message one day after announced. Winner to be announced within one week of the contest close date.
8. Must be at least 18 years old.

Judging Criteria Points (stuff I am looking for):
1. Best use of natural ingredients
2. Creativity Counts
3. Visual appeal of soap
4. Variety of ingredients used
5. Surprise factor!!! (stuff I never even thought of... "WOW" me)

Video Tips:
1. Describe/show the ingredients you are using
2. Describe the scent
3. Elaborate on your botanicals (folk medicinal uses, traditional uses, etc)
4. Describe the target market for your soap (dry skin, sensitive skin, etc who would most benefit from your soap?)
5. Discuss your soap making method
6. Shout-out to Good Earth Spa (optional) =)

GOOD LUCK!!!

WINNERS:

Mint Distillation

2011-10-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Mint is a wonderful herb used for headache, opening the airways, digestion, mental alertness and more. Mint contains essential oil in it’s leaves. I planted several varieties of mint this year and decided to distill them together for a mixed crop mint essential oil. Everything goes routinely well during the first mint distillation with my small still. Check it out!

Then something amazing happens during my second distillation using my copper still. Check it out!

Mint and all other green plants contain a substance called Chlorophyll.

Distilling Mint in my larger still. I get a bit of a surprise… Chlorophyll! I had no idea that this still had the power to release chlorophyll and that is a wonderful thing. Chlorophyll is a wonderful healing green substance found in plants. It’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, used for all variety of body odor and halitosis, used internally and externally. University Studies from Johns Hopkins and other Universities show promising indications that chlorophyll may play an important role in treating and healing cancer at the DNA molecular-level. It’s pretty exciting! I had no clue a steam distillation could release chlorophyll. I have some theories on why this still is special. While I do not know the exact reason why my still released the mint’s chlorophyll, I suspect it is due to the pressure of the steam. While all stills operate under a certain amount of pressure, each still design, pressure and function are unique.