My rant about the term Pure African Shea Butter

My mom told a woman that I offer shea butter and she subsequently asked me, "Where do you get YOUR shea butter from?" I responded confidently, "l order it online." She replied, smugly, "Oh! My friend gets THEIRS from AFRICA." Like that makes it more special. She proceeded to describe to me this seemingly huge amount (probably around 2lbs.) that she gets for $10! Hard for me to believe, but ok.

I tried to get over it but the more I think about it the more I become concerned that people are saying their shea butter is from Africa just as a selling point. It's all from Africa!

I believe that it is redundant to say 'african shea butter' since the karite tree that it comes from is indigenous to Africa. And to my knowledge there is no where else to get it. Furthermore, they say it's from Africa as if they know the person that got off the plane with it. Or their family lives there, harvests and ships it to them directly. If that's true I'd like to meet them so that I can order from them too!

Maybe I'm disturbed because these people can sell theirs and I can't sell mine because I am truthful about my products.

I apologize for this rant. I think I feel better now. Thanks.

"About Me"

Sensitive skin? Me too. I have eczema and can't use any scented commercial products. But I like the feeling of smelling nice and not just clean. I would go into stores looking for something I could use to no avail. I was really disappointed when I went a popular bath shop (that advertises "natural" products) and found I could not use these products either.
That's why I started making my own bath and body products. At that time I was making silk floral designs so while searching for floral supplies, I found a website that offered ingredients and other supplies for soap making. I thought, " maybe I could make something I could use" and so I did. At first, friends and family seemed very supportive. But then they started requesting the things that they like.d Since I wanted to please them (and make money) I tried to make the things they wanted.
Over the years it became overwhelming and too costly to make what each person desired. And it has been very hard to market to everyone because I'm a one woman show. I have small batches of this and that laying around plus many failed experiments and bad ideas. Needless to say I haven't been making money. It has been very discouraging.
So now I've decided to regroup and focus on something specific. I am going to stick to the natural line since it is the reason I started soapmaking. Natural bath & body products are the only ones I can use. I believe in them and plan to market to those with sensitive skin and/or eczema like me. I think this focus will be better for me and my business in the long run.

I made a batch of coffee soap. I can't wait til it's finished.

I made a small (4lb.) batch of coffee soap. I used my normal soap recipe but instead of water I used coffee. I read that it would smell bad when the lye is added and Ew!!! They were right but they said it wouldn't make the soap smell bad and so far I think they are right. I will see when I cut it. I only had a little coffee EO and I don't think it was enough to make the soap smell like coffee. I have had too many excuses for not getting things done, I just didn't want to wait any longer. Maybe the coffee, grinds and bean will enhance the scent throw. Also, I used coffee to make the whole batch of soap, hoping I would be able to lighten some of the soap, with colorant, enough to look like whipped topping. Well it is more like caramel-colored whipped topping, still looks yummy but not what I wanted. Next time I will make the whipped topping a separate batch with water and no coffee..

So why make a coffee soap, you say? Well I like to drink coffee (and love Starbucks) and thought it would be fun to make a soap made from coffee. I heard that coffee soap removes kitchen smells like onions and garlic from you hands. And for marketing purposes I looked up benefits of coffee on skin. I found that coffee is very beneficial to the skin. Supposedly, it is an antioxidant and has firming and tightening properties making it great for eczema and anti-aging. I put coffee grinds in for exfoliation and every ingredient is natural and vegan friendly.

I guess I will find out if these claims are true because as soon as it's done, I am using the first bar. I am currently out of some of my ingredients but as soon as I am able to place an order for supplies ( and when I get them), my next batch will be oatmeal, milk and honey. Another challenge I have been avoiding is the milk soap. But I am gonna try it with coconut milk instead of goat's milk, pretty much just to be different. I'll let you know how that goes.

Here they are after I cut them. Mmmm...Yummy!

Ingredients: Saponified Shea butter, Mango butter, Olive Oil, Palm Kernal Oil, Coffee essential oil, Coffee grounds, Coffee Beans. Oh and Coffee!

Fun, new soap name! CinnaChouli becomes Smoove Groove

I have been doing some thinking and decided that I need to give some my scents more original, fun type names. And that this might help my efforts to promote my products. The first scent I chose to rename is CinnaChouli. It is chosen because it is the first blend I created on my own. (by accident) The new name is Smoove Groove. I picked this name because it fits in with my business name and also patchouli is considered a "hippie" scent. So I thought of this groovy name. Personally, I love it!! I asked my sister and some of my co-workers (at my day job) and they all like it too. 


You can get yours from my site or from etsy!

Smoove Groove - Cinnamon and Patchouli Shea Butter Soap

Spicy meets earthy in this groovy blend of cinnamon and patchouli essential oils, accented with subtle notes of citrus and peppermint. All natural and vegan.

Ingredients: Saponified Shea butter, Mango butter, Olive Oil, Palm Kernal Oil, Patchouli, Cinnamon, Peppermint, Orange, Grapefruit, and Lemon essential oils

Strawberry Shortcake....mmmm!

Making Gel Candles for the Strawberry Festival

I decided to use gel wax in some of my strawberry scented candles. But since it was my first time using it I had a little trouble. For one thing, a double-boiler is insufficient! I figured this out after 5 hours! Thanks to the internet, I was able to find information that said I should melt over direct heat to 180-220 degrees using a thermometer and under strict supervision. If the wax burns, it apparently turns yellow and smells bad. I was good with that so I can't verify the color change and smell.

Next, when they say use the liquid dye sparingly, they mean it. I barely had some on the tip of a toothpick and that was just enough to tint the wax a blush color but my second batch ended up a little darker than I wanted but it still looks cool.

And last, if you want bubbles be sure to wait for your wax to cool. I guess I had lost patience on the second batch. I pour it too hot so not as many bubbles as first batch. It looks more like white zinfandel than champagne but oh well.

I think they turned out great! I wished I was able to get actual champagne glasses and I kinda wanted the strawberry to be suspended and not on the bottom. But they smell awesome and if they sell, I will be able to get the next batch closer to my vision.

Flea market update and new website design coming soon.

I was supposed to start going to the flea market to sell my products in April. Now April is gone and so is May. I really need to do this so that I can get past my fears. I am very disappointed in myself. I am going to try to shoot starting after the Strawberry Festival, like the next weekend (June 23?). I will probably have products left and I could take them to the flea market. Hopefully there are spaces inside and that it is not too far into summer to start trying. FOCUS AND MOTIVATION.

Also, I have spoken with my website designer and we are working on a new look for my site.  I am very excited about the change and am hopeful that it will be instrumental in improving my business. I hope we can unveil the new site by the end of the summer.

Exfoliating Sea Salt Scrub

My all natural sea salt scrub exfoliates and polishes, while removing daily environmental toxins, cleansing and refreshing your skin better than soap. Used regularly it can also stimulate blood circulation and generate stronger, firmer, younger looking skin. 

There are 2 formulas to choose from.

Patchouli & Tea Tree is formulated for feet. Both essential oils were chosen for their antifungal and antiseptic abilities. Patchouli will eliminate foot odor and Tea Tree is tingling and refreshing.

Lavender & Rosemary can be used all over the body.  Lavender is widely known for its stress relieving properties and Rosemary can soothe aching muscles.

Contains: Sea Salt, Almond Oil (moisturizes), Sunflower Oil (nourishes with vitamins A,D,and E), and Essential Oils.

                              

Strawberry Festival, June 19, 11a - 5p

Well, I guess the balls are rolling. I submitted my registration application to reserve my space last week. It was mailed past the deadline but I haven't heard anything yet so I am gonna try and stay positive and motivated and hope for the best. I have already ordered the supplies to make the items I plan to take. Ouch! The money I spent on supplies hurt my pockets really bad but as the old saying goes, "you have to spend money to make money."


The Strawberry Festival will be held at the Burtner House in Natrona Height about 20 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. I have had trouble finding out what is exactly involve. The registration stated that period attire could be worn which suggests that people will be dress like pilgrims or something. But I haven't found any information that confirms so I will just try to dress appropriately. So far I have planned to take soy candles and handmade soap. Just keeping it simple, right now.


I chose 5 strawberry scents and 3 of them will be used in the soaps. (* - candles and soaps will be in these scents0

• Strawberries n Cream*
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Just Strawberry*
• Strawberry Cheesecake*, and
• Strawberry Jam

Now, I have a lot of work to do in a little amount of time. My challenge will be to stay focused and motivated.

Tealights unveiled!

I have some of my products on display for sale at a store for crafted goods. One day, the owner ask me if I could make tealights because she was doin it and no longer wanted to because she does other crafts and runs the store, of course.

Anyway, it took me a very long time to get them together because I really want them to look nice enough to sell, while having packaging that would preserve the scent, at a relative low cost so that I could price them to sell. I don't want to have them individually because my booth is small and I have other things to sell and I also don't want the different scents to intermingle. So what I came up with these clear acrylic boxes that I found in the wedding favor section at my local craft supplie store. I think they are more professional looking and easieer to label than the cello bags I tried. So far the cons are availability of these boxes because I've only found them at the one chain and they are a pain to put together. But right .now I am very pleased with the outcome. :) sorry about the poor picture quality

Here are the pictures of the lotion

These pictures are from my experimental recipe that I used just to see if I could get a nice lotion consistency that does not separate. I used beeswax as the emulsifier. I used olive oil and avocado oil. I really like this recipe! It is thick and creamy, it goes on a little greasy but it absorbs very quickly. It goes on a little thicker and shinier than the DREAM CREAM I got from Lush (which is my inspiration). I like it but it is a bit pricey. Hopefully, when I calculate my cost, I will be able to offer it for less.

Next, I will try it with shea butter and mango butter because I like the benefits of these butters, oh and yes there will be avocado oil also. I'll let you know how it goes!!

I'm sooo excited!!!

The other day I was reminded that I'm supposed to be working on my all natural lotion formula. So yesterday I gave it another try. I used a recipe that uses beeswax as the only emulsifier. I only made a little because I am afraid it will not work. But this morning I checked on it and it is still lotion, (no separation back to oil and water). This is great!!! Because I didn't want to use emulsifying wax because of costs, availability and although it is plant based, I don't think it is all natural by definition.

Also, I have decided to try the flea markets again. I was discouraged in the past because of bad experiences that caused me to give up on that idea. I began to hope that I could just make my website work so that I wouldn't have to go out in public. But I am going to go for it again and see if I can make it work.

I have also formulated a shea butter hair care solution. I am gonna start marketing that soon. The last time I made it some crust or grit had formed. I read that the grit formed because the shea butter was heated to high for too long. So I just softened it and so far no crust. I made this yesterday so I will still give it time to make sure the crust doesn't form.

ok bye bye for now.

2000 soaps by the end of the year

By my calculations, I need to sell 2000 soaps by the end of the year to be able to net the amount that I need to put a dent into my credit card bills. Once I pay off my credit cards, I will be closer to being able to quit my day job and devote the extra time to making my business more successful. But man!! if I was able to sell that many soaps by the end year I would be really pleased with my success this year! Shoot! If I was able to sell a tenth I would be really happy. Anyway back to trying to figure how to make my dream a reality. :)