Book Review- Pure Soapmaking by Anne-Marie Faiola

As I mentioned, in my review of Soap Crafting , it's really easy to get enthused about books about soap making by the Soap Queen. In fact, when I got this in the mail well..

I might have completely lost my cool and acted like a kid on Christmas morning who got just what they always wanted.


Why?
First- this is a gorgeous book. Hardcover over a wire binding, so it will look good on your bookshelf, and lay flat when you're working from it. The inside is beautiful too. Lots of great color photos of both the finish products and the steps to make them.

But that's not what makes this book pure gold for anyone interested in soap making.

This is the Soap Queen. She runs one of the best blogs and shops for soap supplies, this is her whole profession and life. The science and art of soap making.

For beginners- the science is explained in very clear terms, so you can understand the chemical process of soapmaking. She goes into great detail in an easily readable nearly conversational format about

• why some oils are better than others
• why you only want to use small amounts of specific oils
• what superfatting is
• how to find and use soap calculators to figure out the amount of lye for the types and quantities of oil you are using
• how to safely make soap and handle lye
• what kind of equipment to use
• how to choose good molds
• how to identify trace
• overview of types of ingredients like scent and colorants
• how to design your own recipes

In that fantastic introduction, one of my favorite things was the exploration of colorants which had fresh and old bars of soaps that used various colorants and showed how they faded or muddied. My other favorite part is the step by step introduction to cold process soap making which includes a simple recipe for a lemongrass scented soap. Every step is written out clearly and concisely by someone who has taught soapmaking and knows all the questions you might have.

The first chapter of recipes is Pure Simplicity soaps.
This starts with very simple, straight-forward recipes including a pure castile soap, then starts adding additives like oatmeal, then a two-color soap, after that, swirls and piped whipped soap. As you work through this chapter, you'll learn a lot about what you can do with soap. Favorite in this chapter- the honeycomb soap for it's clever texture and fantastic ingredients.

The next chapter is Pure Beauty
These soaps are gorgeous. Just as nourishing as the soaps in Pure Simplicity, but they are fancier, require more steps, and will impress the heck out of anyone you give them to if you're making them as gifts. This includes layered soaps, beautiful ring effects, embedding soap with soap for a specific look and other effects. It also has a lot more ingredients that provide a wonderful decorative look, scent and feel such as coffee grounds to provide extra scrubbing power for gardener's hands or tomato paste (!) in a soap full of rich oils with a peppermint scent. Favorite in this chapter- The coffee swirl soap, because it's beautiful and it's coffee!

The last chapter is Colorful and Creative
Anne-Marie does this incredible thing where she creates these works of art in soap form, and can actually explain how she did it in a clear, non-scary way that makes you think "Oh! I can do this!" and she's wild for color. If you got Soap Crafting, you got to see that.
This chapter has swirls, layers, embeds, funnel pours create rings, or in the case of the negative funnel pour soap, big beautiful spots, It ends with a yin-yang symbol soap. The best thing about this chapter is the step by step detailed photos which take the guess work out of it so you can focus on the joy of it.

Just an absolutely beautiful book and an essential one if you plan to get into soapmaking or if you want to take your soapmaking to the next level.

Like Soapqueen on Facebook - lots of tutorials and recipes!
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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Soap Crafting

Anne-Marie Faiola is The Soap Queen, with videos, websites, a store and all sorts of soapy goodness going on in her life. So a soap book by her is something to get enthused about, because you know it will be carefully written with great projects and good, solid recipes and safety instruction.

The beginning covers safety when working with the chemicals involved making soap. Okay, chemical, because the major safety issue is working with lye. She explains how to work with it safely in a non-scary way that will help you feel confident about using it. It also explains the difference between types of soap crafting, from making hot or cold process soap, rebatching and using melt and pour bases. There is a vocabulary section that explains the terms used in soap making. This section also covers some of the ingredients, supplies, colorants, fragrance and the equipment you'll need.

Then the recipes- the recipes are for cold process soap, and it's so far beyond those bars you can buy in the store that it's a completely different product. Using oils you can buy in a lot of different places for specific features in a soap, and having gorgeous swirls, whirls and stripes of color that turn the soap into a work of art.

The recipes focus on ingredients with amazing color techniques. Castile soap, soap with yogurt, beer, coffee grounds and clay, using techniques to make the soap look like stained glass, tie dye, marbleized techniques and high and low contrast effects.

It's spiral bound to lay flat, and the photos are in full color with lots of photos to show how each coloring technique is done. The recipes are well-written. While a lot of soap books that involve color use aren't good for beginners, this one is good for many levels of soap crafter. From the absolute beginner to someone confident in soapmaking who wants to learn new color techniques and recipes.

Like Storey on Facebook for recipes, crafts and chances to win books from them!

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

First Snowfall 2012

Yesterday morning was the first snow in Anchorage, AK.

SNOW. In September.

While on our way to the last Spenard Farmer Market and the Alaska Women's Show, we spotted some geese who were taking it in stride.

Look at those cold feet. BRR.

It was just a light dusting, it last through the day in the shade, but when the sun came out, and it did! It melted and made puddles.

So that's the earliest first snow in quite a few years. I grumbled a bit at this sign fall was ending quickly. Dad just said with his 50 years of experience in Anchorage "I knew it would snow. It was cold enough, and raining, Plus you could smell the snow on the air."
---
The Alaska Women's Show is a typical sort of big show with a theme. Local businesses and other businesses with a strong focus on women's products and services were there. My daughter loves these shows, we pick up ball point pens for the whole year, pads of paper, she likes spinning all the prize wheels she can. We sample products and just have fun! It takes place at the Sullivan Arena, and my husband usually finds a seat on the mezzanine and just waits listening to music on his iPod. He abhors the crowds at these things. TG spun one wheel and won a coffee cup which made her day. Her favorite part was stopping at the Superstar Pastry Booth for a cup cake. They use a European cake recipe and an Italian butter cream frosting. You can choose your cake, filling, frosting and toppings. My favorite is a super vanilla concoction of  vanilla cupcake, Bavarian cream filling and vanilla butter cream. She gets creative, and it's always chocolate.

 We also picked up some reindeer sausage from a local company I've always liked.

After that, we went to the last day of the Spenard Market. We have a lot of summer farmers markets, and a few winter ones that sell mostly root veggies, meats and eggs through out the year. The Spenard Market is my favorite though, it has this strong indie community vibe. We went mostly because it was the last day, but also in hopes a local soapmaker I like was there. They sell very inexpensive soap ends and we use soap ends for most of our day to day soap needs. They were, and we bought the last bag of soap ends they have, a couple bars of soap, and some "Manly Man Elbow Grease", it's an all natural salve with a woodsy scent. I got it both for the psoriasis my husband has and more for my ankles. A lot of the time that I'm online or reading a book, I tuck my feet up under me, and my ankles have rough patches of skin because of it. They get better if I use the right kinds of salves on them and I have high hopes for this one. We also got some of their shampoo bars to try and found out where we can buy their soap ends through the winter. Then TG who wasn't sweeted out yet tried some gourmet marshmallows and got herself a package of Key Lime marshmallows to have later. Yum! Fresh marshmallows without the time it takes to make them!

Then we came home, and I worked on some beading for awhile. It was a very nice, very busy day with a lot of walking. And there was SNOW!

How to make super easy guest soaps

Guest soaps are expensive, and regular bars of soap aren't very pretty. Here's a really easy way to make guest soaps on a budget. Regular guest soaps also don't look very nice after they've been used a few times.

You will need:

• Soap
• a sharp knife
• demitasse cup

The soap I used is a locally made soap. A lot of times soapmakers will sell "end cuts" which are cuts that aren't as pretty. The ones used were round. So to start, I cut them half. End cuts will usually include several kinds of soap in different colors which look wonderful together. 

Then it's just as easy as slicing off thin pieces. I liked my ceramic knife for this because it's the sharpest knife I have. You don't want them so thin they curl, but you do want them small. I found that cutting straight through with a sharp knife was neatest for the soap I used. That means putting the knife on top of the soap and pushing it through, with harder soaps, slicing might easier.

This is what the looked like after they were all cut. The ends that weren't sliced are going to be used in the kitchen for hand washing by my family.

Arrange them in a demitasse cup or a tea cup for an extra bit of fun.

If you're using regular rectangle bars of soap, you can cut them in half lengthwise, then make little squarish shapes and pile them on a dessert plate. This will also work beautifully with glycerin soaps.

I like the Kleenex Hand Towels for guests because it's a nice clean option instead of shared guest towels. The box can be stood up so the towels come out of the top or laid down as shown in the photo above. They also can be decorated easily with paper or even just wrapped in an embroidered cloth hand towel to fit your decorating scheme.

Join the 14 million people who have already joined the Clean Hands campaign by using Kleenex Hand Towels, and click here for savings and more! 
 I was selected for participation in this campaign as a member of Clever Girls Collective.

Farmer's Market and Photo Jewelry

This European photo bead bracelet has 4 photos each of my children. It was so easy to put together and you can find more information on BellaOnline Beadwork.

The Spenard Farmer's Market-
We have a lot of local farmer's markets on Saturdays. So many that I know we haven't made it to all of them yet. Out of the local markets we have been to, my favorite is the one in Spenard.

It takes place on Saturdays in the summer here in Anchorage, under the windmill that's in the parking lot of what is arguably Alaska's most well known bar. Saturday nights the place is jumping with young adults all dressed up to party and dance. Saturday during the day it's laid out with tents and tables for various vendors. I've seen this market grow a lot in the last few years.

The reason it's my favorite is the vibe. Each market has it's own feeling. The Spenard market feels like a neighborhood party. There's a hippy feel to it in some ways too. Lots of crafters have tables and booths. You can buy starts for your garden, cheese, honey, and all sorts of things.

When we got there, the first thing we did was get TG a bottle of blueberry kombucha. I would have taken a photo of her drinking it, but by the time I was going to, it was gone. She loves kombucha.

Then we ran into John, who owns Bosco's Comic Book store in Spenard. Since it was kid's day, he was there with leftover Free Comic Day comics and a big Death Star to destroy.

While TG was destroying the Death Star, Michael and I hit up Denali Dreams Soap Company. My daughter had pointed out we were out of soap. William, TG and I all use locally made soaps all the time. My husband uses Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Liquid Soap. So we've been using his soap for the last week. Since we are still pretty tightly budgeted, we bought bags of soap ends from them. Soap ends are the end cuts that just aren't as pretty. They bag them up and sell them for less than half of the cost of their full bars per ounce of soap. They also had a newer product. Soap shreds, the fine trimmings from bars, like a colorful soap confetti. The bags of these were 1.00 a bag, and we picked up 4 bags to use for soap crafting. Since they were giving away samples, TG picked up a blueberry one for herself.

Then TG and I decided it was lunch time. There were a lot more options than last year! I decided on Hawaiian BBQ.

Yum! My husband said he wasn't hungry, I think he took a look at all that food and knew I'd never finish!

I also grabbed a musubi roll for William which is in the fridge now until he comes over later.

TG decided on tacos. Her tacos were messy and tasty. Meat, cilantro, onions and tomatoes.

There was a bowl of sidewalk chalk on the table. Nobody had done any drawing yet, but she grabbed a piece. Michael said "I know what she's going to do."

He was right.

The last thing we got before we left was quail eggs. If you haven't cooked with quail eggs before, they are incredibly beautiful and tiny.

Some new favorite things

Recently, I complained on Facebook about the effect the cold weather + regular water aerobics in a salt water pool was having on my skin. Deb Keller of Thistlewood Manor sent me a couple of lotion bars. It's amazing how much difference they are making. The issue with lotions was they were evaporating too fast so they needed constant reapplication. The lotion bars, straight after showing off the salt water, are wonderful. They are made of good things like olive oil (my Uncle Lamar swore by olive oil for cold weather skin care), coconut oil and beeswax, they are the right size/shape for a lot of travel soap containers, they don't spill or get messy in my gym bag and I'm not all over itchy anymore. Check out her blog (linked above) for a great eggroll recipe, and her shop (hopefully she'll add a couple lotion bars!) on Etsy. I also love her shampoo bars for the gym.

soleRebels shoes- I don't actually own a pair YET. Hopefully soon. They were spotlighted on France24's Green is the New Black. Founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu runs an amazing company. The shoes are made ethically using fair trade, artisan materials like hand-loomed organic cotton and small farm- free range leather, the soles are cut by hand from used truck tires. The company employs it's workers at 3 times the normal wage in that area AND pays for schooling for the children of employees. They are shipped in cinch sacks, also made of hand-loomed cotton so they aren't paying for shipping a lot of air in boxes. Since the sacks are re-usable, they don't contribute to waste with cardboard shoe boxes and really, the more I find out about this company, the more I like it. They are also willing to customize colors since the accents are loomed by hand.

Marian Call's song Good Morning Moon. This cheerful track off her most recent album is one of the happiest songs I've ever heard, it's catchy, hopeful and just wonderful. It's refrain includes the phrase "Who's to say we're falling if we miss the ground?". I want to cross stitch that on something.

North Pole Coffee - The Black Gold. Wow. Really, this is one of the best coffees I've ever had. Picked up a bag at the grocery store last week, and I'm savoring it and hoarding it like it was gold. It's low acid, and dark roasted to nearly black, the beans are oily and the coffee tastes *better* that most coffee smells.

Not affiliated! These are all just things that are making me very happy right now.

My husband quit his job a couple of weeks ago, and is currently looking for a new job. So we are budgeting carefully in the meantime. He's been getting more and more burnt out on the hospitality industry and with the added stress of what's been going on in our personal lives (losing my best friend and my uncle, plus before that, a lady he worked with had been killed on the job), he needed a change. So I'm thinking this could be the start of a wonderful new chapter in our lives and in his life professionally.

Book Review- The Joy of Melt and Pour Soap Crafting

Recently, Lisa Maliga of Everything Shea Creates wrote to ask me if I'd be willing to review her e-book, The Joy of Melt and Pour Soap Crafting. I said yes, I'd be thrilled to. As some of you know, I'm a big fan of cold process and hot process soap, so why the interest in melt and pour? Because my best friend was just as adamant about glycerin soap as I was about the other kind and because it is a wonderful art form.

Glycerin soap, originally, was made using real soap, alcohol and sugar and a long cooking process. Some people still make it that way. Melt and pour glycerin soap is made using surfactant chemicals that behave like soap does in cleaning and foaming, along with alcohol and sugar. It has a high amount of glycerin in it, which is hydroscopic which means it attracts moisture, which makes it a non-drying option for people who have issues with soap drying their skin too much.

So, science and explanation out of the way, the e-book is very detailed about the process of melt and pour soap. The author cares a lot about the topic and wants to share that with you.

 If you've seen the kits, it's some blocks of clear soap, sometimes some coloring and stuff to include in the soap, fragrance oil and short instructions which say to microwave the soap. Not very satisfying for crafty minds that want to create. This is a lot better.

The first half of the book is about the process of melt and pour soap. She explains what you can mix in, with lists of the attributes to different oils and herbs. She also includes some information about additives you might not think of, like tapioca pearls for a gently massaging soap. She explains how to use colorants, liquid, mica, mineral and natural. She also explains why using a double boiler or a crock pot is a better option than microwaving your soap.

A chapter of tips that she's learned to tell you things that won't work and things that work well, then you get to the recipes.

The recipes include a lot of techniques in themselves. How to do layered soaps,cake soaps,soap embeds and my favorite section, shampoo bars!

She finishes up with a lot of information about labeling and selling your finished soap products.

One of the best things in my opinion about melt and pour soap crafting is that it's a very friendly craft. You don't need to be a kitchen chemist. It's a craft that's ideal for parents to do with children as gifts or as the start of a home based business. Because of the nature of melt and pour soap, any thing that doesn't work out is still usable in your home.

My daughter was interested in this book because she's looking at ways to make extra money this summer and she loves crafting. I love the ideas in the book, but I prefer hand-milling soap and a lot of her tips and ideas can be used in hand-milled soap as well. I plan to try some shampoo bars both ways, using melt and pour and hand-milling.

A lot of great information in this book if you've ever had an interest in melt and pour soapmaking. If you go to the author's blog (linked above) , she has some free projects, recipes and articles there to read.

You can get the e-book in Kindle format on Amazon.com (affiliate link)


My reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Lamar's Scrubbie- crochet pattern

My family loves the soft cotton crocheted scrubbies and they are one of my favorite television watching projects. But I make them in different ways. You can find other patterns here and here for this style scrubbie using different stitch patterns. This one is big, dense and fairly hefty. It would probably also make a good soft ball.
I made this one for my Uncle Lamar. He says he likes it a lot.

The basic idea behind any of them is regular increases in each round to make a single plane ruffle up into something big and fluffy. This one, I decide to make the hanging string separately.

You'll need:

Cotton worsted weight yarn (still working off my stash of garage sale balls and cones!)

Size F hook (3.75 mm)

Yarn needle

scissors

American terminology

ch=chain

dc= double crochet

sl st= slip stitch

st or sts= stitch or stitches

Repeat ** means repeat the instructions between the * 

Start by making the hanging string.

Ch 6, sl st to join

Round 1: ch 3, work 8 dc in ring, sl st to join

Ch 80, sl st to join on next dc on the ring. Break off and weave in ends.

Scrubbie:

 Chain 8, sl st to join

Round 1: Ch 4(counts as first dc and ch 1), dc in ring, ch 1, *dc in ring, ch 1*, repeat ** 5 times. Sl st to join in 3rd st of ch 4. (8 spaces)

Round 2: Ch 4 c(counts as first dc and ch 1), dc in space, ch 1, *dc in next dc, ch 1, dc in next space, ch 1*, repeat **, sl st to join in 3rd st of chain 4 (16 spaces)

Round 3-5: repeat round 2. Number of spaces doubles each time.  You may be happy with the fullness and size at 4 rounds, if you are, break off and weave in ends. If you want that extra round of fullness, add the 5 round and break off and weave in ends.

Pull away the ruffles to see the ch 8 hole in the middle, thread the long loop from the hanging string through that and pull until it stops on the crocheted disk at the bottom. Tie the loop in an overhand knot, sliding the knot down until it's on top of the hole.

Makes a great gift. I included an Essential Shampoo bar from Gladheart Acres. The shampoo bars work on hair and body, and these are what I use at the gym.

Uncle Lamar- summer 2010

He says he loves the scrubbie and the shampoo bar. We have totally different hair types, so I was curious what he would think. He loves math and science so the fact it was a single plane was interesting to him.

Links I'm loving right now

Some recent things I'm loving!
Amy Echo clothing- specializing in larger sizes with a great goth influence, she will custom size to fit. I really seriously want the pixie hankie skirt. She also has an Etsy store.

Thistlewood Manor- I have a thing about soap, especially about good handmade soap. Deb makes wonderful hot processed soaps, and she sent me some samples and a shampoo bar to try out. The pumpkin lager soap smells like pumpkin butter while it's cooking and my son loves that scent. My daughter was wild for the raspberry. The shampoo bar! On my hip length very straight hair, it got it so clean and shiny my husband thought it looked like a lighter color because the silver in my hair was shining so. On my son's curls, well, they were manageable. This is a big thing. Usually his hair attempts to eat any combs or brushes that come near it.  She also has an Etsy shop, and sews as well.

Trash My Stash posted a list of  5 Resolutions You Can Make, including my make-up pads!

Creative Warcraft posted this traveling game project that reminded me of something similar that my mom used to make. She would get beat up cookie sheets from thrift stores and cover them with contact paper to make traveling checkerboards that could also be used as lapdesks by my brother and I.

Crocheted Scrubbie Pattern

While I was working on the ruffled flower pattern I thought that when it was all fluffy it would make a good scrubbie done in larger scale. So I made one in a similar style, just a bit more ruffly but still just one layer.

I think I used one ball of yarn total, but it may have been slightly more then that. It's done in worsted weight cotton with a size H hook. If you use a size G I'm sure you can do one with one ball of Sugar'nCream or Peaches & Creme yarn.

The soap in the picture is a bar of cold processed Vanilla Bean soap from SingingWolf Soaps. More on that after the pattern. This is a very simple pattern, and the scrubbie, made out of cotton isn't really scrubbie but it's nubbly and feels good to shower with.

With a size H hook, chain 40, slip stitch in first chain to make loop to hang it from.

Round 1: In that chain, ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1) *dc in same stitch, ch 1* repeat ** 6 more times for a total of 8 dc, sl st in 3rd chain on first ch 4. (makes a ring of dcs and ch 1 in the first stitch of the ch 40 loop)

Round 2-4: Sl st to first ch 1 sp, ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1), dc in space, ch 1, dc in space, ch 1, dc in space, ch 1, * in next space, dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1* repeat ** in each space around. Slip stitch to join round in 3rd ch of first ch 4 of the round.

After you've done 2 more rows the same way, you've got a lot of increases and it gets very ruffly and ball like. When you join the final round, break off and weave all ends in. 

It's pretty quick to make. If you use acrylic yarn or anti-bacterial yarn instead of cotton, I think it would work just fine in the kitchen as a dish scrubber or tawashi.

Becka, the creative mind behind SingingWolf soaps sent me a box of her soaps knowing that I'm a real soap junkie. I love artisan soaps that are mildly superfatted and made with all sorts of good oils for my skin. Her soaps are lovely to use and my children and I have been using them since we got them. I've noticed I don't have to use lotion as often while using her soaps, and they work well on my hair with a vinegar rinse afterwards. I can't recommend them enough. My husband uses Dr. Bronner's Peppermint and doesn't think clean is clean without a tingly feeling and she's working on formulating a soap for him and his love of his peppermint.  Actually, my daughter "borrowed" my bar of English Rose and I wound up trading a bar of Dragon's Blood with her to get it back. I love love love rose scented soap. 

You can find an almost complete list of free patterns for crochet that I've posted in the past here or by checking out my Ravelry page on the right.

Shampoo bars

I'm reading a book on soapmaking and E and I are planning to make our first small batch soon with encouragement from Barbara (thank you again!). Right now I'm in the marketing part of the book and it reminded me of one of my biggest marketing gripes about shampoo bars. Lack of any sort of instruction past "Run bar across scalp and lather".
I'm mostly "no-poo" which means I don't generally use shampoo. I usually wash my hair with a paste of baking soda, rinse that out, then rinse my hair with diluted vinegar. The exception is shampoo bars.
I *love* shampoo bars. They are convenient. I use them at the gym as an all-over wash, I use them in my shower when I'm feeling like I want lather and scent.I usually get the Essential Shampoo Bar from Gladheart Acres.It smells lovely and works very well for me and I've recommended it to lots of friends who want to transition off of detergent commercial shampoos.
Unfortunately, a lot of people give up on shampoo bars. One of the most common problems is that they feel they leave a residue. Especially if they try first with something like Burt's Bees shampoo bar which is great for dreadlocks, less good for the rest of us, so it does feel less than clean.
Another problem is that while you use commercial shampoos which are pretty harsh, your scalp produces a lot of oil to counteract that harshness, so you shampoo to keep your hair from looking oily and it's a cycle. When you make the switch off shampoo to no-poo methods or to a good shampoo bar there is an adjustment time and your hair will seem oilier than normal because you aren't stripping it anymore and it's still producing the same amount of oil from when you were stripping. But honestly, if oily hair has always been a problem for you, getting off the shampoo may just cure it. It did for me, I wash my waist length hair twice a week and I don't have "bad hair" days. So pick a week for the adjustment period and pin it up or wear headbands.
During the summer, the glycerin in shampoo bars can attract too much water for me which makes my hair look dirty, so during the summer, I use a vinegar rinse after shampoo to get the last bits of the shampoo out of my hair. During the winter that's a non-issue, so I just rinse out well and do a vinegar rinse about every 4 shampoos to remove any buildup. Commercial shampoos can cause build up too, which is why people should change them out regularly and clarify with vinegar or use clarifying shampoos every so often.
Well, that's a lot to try and put on a label. But maybe
Wet hair well and run bar across scalp. Work in more water to build up a rich lather, rinse out well.
Shampoo bars need at least 4 shampoos to help restore your hair to it's natural condition.
If build up is a problem, use a vinegar rinse for extra shine and to clarify. Mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 3/4 cups of water and pour it over your hair. Rinse out with cool water for maximum shine.

You could even make infused vinegars which are really nice to use. During the summer, I infuse my vinegar with lavender which does wonder for keeping oil under control. I usually put in a bit of lavender e.o. and a handful of dried lavender buds. It smells nice even with the sharp vinegar smell.

On another note, when I was a kid and doing vinegar rinses, my mom always said I was pickling myself. But she's the one who started me doing it because I have very straight hair, and after a vinegar rinse, my hair just shines and it's a lot better than using a silicone shine spray!
After we do a couple batches of soap, E wants to work on a good bar that will control her dandruff.