Stoked on Soap

The title says it all! I am, simply put, stoked on soap. For years I have used soap everyday (almost) in the shower completely oblivious to where it came from, what it is made of and how it is made. It was always somewhat mysterious to me. I remember back in my elementary school days when I learned that soap was made from animal fat during the colonial period. I almost refused to believe it. How on earth could something that smells so lovely and gets you so clean come from animal fat??! It didn't make sense. Surely the soap we use today must be made some other way...right??

I must admit that I never looked it up until this past February, 3 months after I turned 26. Maybe it was because when I turned 26 I reached that magic number where one's brain is finally fully developed (though just the other day someone told me it's at age 30 now. Thank God, because honestly, at 26, I'm still as confused as ever. You would think fully developed brains would reach enlightenment - I can only hope). I must say, entering my late twenties was met with some resistance but the rapid rate of personal growth during this stage of life is very encouraging.

When I turned 26 I started to question EVERYTHING, but mostly started to have questions on the topics that interested me the most: health, nutrition, sustainability and environment. Why do we use dryers during summer when it's hot out? What is in that Crest toothpaste? How is lotion made? What is sodium lauryl sulfate? Is it good for my skin? What is wax? What makes my candle blue? What in my shampoo is softening my hair? Is my conditioner going into the ocean after it goes down the drain? Among these many questions was the simple question: what is soap? Soap. So basic. Everyone is familiar with soap. Some use bar soaps. Others swear by only using liquid soap while in the shower. Personally I was a Dove soap bar kinda gal. The bars lasted a long time and got the job done. My friends would tell me "I only use liquid soap. Those bar soaps are so harsh on skin!" I always wondered how they knew that. What evidence did they have - what facts did they know? Or...who told them?

So I set out on a personal journey to educate myself and explore the basics of my life, the most common items and habits that we all take for granted and never really stop to think about. Like all people before us, our generation has grown up learning about life from previous generations. We were taught to brush our teeth everyday and to go to the store and buy more "toothpaste" when we ran out. Most of us under 30 probably think that people have always brushed their teeth throughout history. I bet a lot of people don't know that toothpaste wasn't widely manufactured and distributed until the early 1900's. We go to the grocery store and buy Pantene ProV or Head and Shoulders because that is what our parents taught us to do. We don't think about what is even in the shampoo, such as sodium lauryl sulfate. SLS is a foaming agent in shampoo and many people don't know that it is suspected to be toxic to the body and carcinogenic.

The more and more I questioned, the more I learned and consequently the more I rebelled against many common household products on the market. I decided to attempt at least once to make everything myself, not only so that I knew how it was made, but also so that I knew what ingredients should go into the product. After toothpaste and shampoo and deoderant, I moved onto soap and was astonished to learn that there are numerous ways to make soap and unlimited combinations of oils, herbs, plants, and just STUFF (organic and inorganic) that can be mixed together to create a beautiful and prized bar of soap. I saw the creativity in soap-making and was energized to start experimenting!

I officially made my first 5lb batch of cold process soap last weekend and ooooohhh, does my living room smell GREAT! Like peppermint. Everytime I enter my apartment, I am filled with that sweet satisfaction of self-sufficiency and independence! I can't wait to make my next batch of soap, and even more - to use a bar from my first batch in the shower next month!! Aaaaaaa dare to question. Dare to be, simply put, STOKED ON SOAP :-D