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Sodium laurel sulfate, parabens and all those seemingly indecipherable chemicals listed on the labels of personal care products creep me out. In an effort to protect my body from scary chemicals, I've seriously been considering making my own shampoo, conditioner, soap, facial cleanser and even an organic moisturizer.
But I'm busy, so for now I've made the switch to Burt's Bees and other natural products, and I dream about finding time to make my own. Step one, of course, is learning how to make these things. I have a ton of questions, and I'm just beginning to search for the answers. Recently, however, I found a shortcut—for soap at least.
Etsy's blog includes a process series that gives people a glimpse of how items sold on Etsy are made. The latest video installment follows Gwen Neucall of Etsy shop BeyondThePicketFence as she makes her popular soaps.
The video is a step-by-step look at Gwen's process. She talks about her ingredients, her method and how she develops the scent combinations in each soap line she makes. Of particular interest is her recent move to natural dyes such as alkanet root powder. I was also drawn to the stack of reference books visible in one of the shots—a book list is a great starting point for someone like myself who is just beginning.
The video offered some great insight and was pretty inspiring. The one problem: I learned it takes 30 days for soap to cure. Maybe I'll start with the shampoo.
Cara Smusiak writes on behalf of Naturally Savvy.com about how to live a more natural, organic and green lifestyle.
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