Poking around looking at soap molds and bases. The melt and pour soap base options are more varied than I remember them being when I was making soap some years ago, but it's nice to have more options. I did read a bit on lye soaps for making your own base, but that's a learning curve I really don't have time for -- certainly not this year.

The spelling/word choice (e.g., "our" vs. "are") are rather abysmal on this site, but they do give a nice little description of the differences between the major suppliers:

http://www.bulkapothecary.com/categories/soap-making/melt-and-pour-soap-bases.html

There are some great soap molds out there I'd definitely like to play with -- I still have my old soap molds but some of them are warped and need to be retired. They definitely earned their retirement though :D

I already have the cellophane for wrapping them for sale as well as for home use -- my MIL changed to a different method for wrapping the boxed candy so I ended up with several rolls of cellophane and duroroll (looks the same but doesn't shrink wrap). Oh, and still have a lot of skinny ribbon for tying them shut, too.

I do a little soapmaking now and then. Nothing fancy, just the melt and pour stuff at this point. oakmouse does the real thing :) But I do like being able to control what's in my soap - no dyes, no weird chemicals, no artificial scents. I still have some veg glycerin-only and veg glycerin/coconut bases left, but when I have a spare coupon for JoAnn's I sometimes go to see what basic supplies I can pick up that usually aren't on sale.

Well, when JoAnn's sold out of the old bases (last time I bought bases from them, because of the clearance sale), they replaced them with ones that have chemicals in them. I forget which ones since it's been a few weeks since I looked at them in the store, and the information isn't available online at their website. But I do know it was enough that I wasn't willing to buy it. I still have some supplies so I haven't been in a hurry to try the traditional soapmaking methods or look for clean melt and pour soap bases. Then I got an email from gwynt_y_storm's lady this morning, asking what to look out for in soap bases, as she's thinking of trying out soapmaking... so I figured I might as well post what I have here, as well as sending it to her in email.

Grrrr. First site I go to for soap bases has 100% veg. glycerin, it claims. Says it's the best on the internet. Cruelty-free! Sounds good, right? First ingredient is: Propylene glycol. Apparently an organic compound, manufactured by the hydration of propylene oxide... not safe for cat food or for estrogen creams if used post-menopausal women, but considered acceptable for moisturizers, food, tobacco products, and antifreeze, among other things... I suppose the substance itself may not be hugely unhealthy, but the methods for making it, and what it's made from, aren't good for the environment.

The second ingredient is Sorbitol. Yes, that's a type of sugar. btw, the web site says the soap base is alcohol-free, but both of these ingredients are considered types of alcohol. I think what they mean is there are no alcohols of the type that will dry out your skin... sorbitol is a moisturizer. Then glycerin is listed, then Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Myristate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Triethanolamine, Water, Titanium Dioxide. I just don't feel like looking up all the other stuff, sorry. Although I can tell you the last one is a whitener, for an opaque soap.

Now the site also has a clear base: Palm glycerine, Saponified palm oils (palm stearic acid, sodium hydroxide and vegetable oleic acid), purified deionized water (sodium hydroxide is also known as Lye -- a typical soapmaking ingredient, and used in most traditional soapmaking recipes). That one sounds a bit more reasonable. You can find it at GoPlanetEarth

Searching.....searching....sigh......

So, here is some stuff that either I've found or has been sent to me (bunnyjadwiga of course sent me the mappae clavicula site - she's awesome on research and resources, especially herbal and medieval health and medicine stuff).

--Two Medieval Soap Recipes from Mappae Clavicula. (Hey, ellid, there's lots of dye recipes there too, above the soap recipes)

--Cierra Candles
They have several different bases, and if you click on "ingredients" in the first paragraph at the top of the page, they list all the ingredients for all of the soaps. The sorbitol they use is from berries, interestingly.

And for those who just want to buy it already made: Clearly Natural Soaps looks like one of the good ones. And when you're shopping in a store, for people trying to get healthier soaps, look to avoid sodium lauryl sulfate and most especially, parabens (I prefer my hormones to messed with as little as possible, thanks).

And for those who want to try an alternative to soap for cleaning, there's always baking soda (mineral): Baking Soda for Personal Care

So, no perfect answers here on soapmaking, as most anything you buy will have something in it you may or may not be keen on. And short of growing the oil plants yourself and making your own oil, etc., there's always transport costs, etc. Although on that front, if I want to buy homemade soaps instead of making my own, I like to buy from other local soapmakers -- yes, they still had to ship in the supplies, but considering the way most large businesses handle distribution these days, I suspect some fuel is saved by doing this.

Also, a lot of the crafters around here wrap their soaps in paper instead of plastic, and sometimes in nothing at all -- you just buy a bunch of bars and they stick them in a paper bag, or you could bring a used plastic bag with you to the fair, or... whatever works for you. At home I don't wrap the soap I make. I put down a layer of soaps in a container, then a piece of paper (cloth would work too), then the next layer of soaps.

Hmm, maybe I should suggest soapmaking as a project for the local herbal guild. Or maybe the cooks guild will want to try it... I like group experiments sometimes. "Safety in numbers" when learning something new, but also an opportunity to hang out with friends.