Sunday, January 10, 2010

An Afternoon on the Island

After school last week Noah and I walked Orange Avenue. We stopped for a frozen yogurt and popped into a few shops. We didn't stop here:... not that it wasn't tempting! I couldn't resist a photo!

While we were waiting at this corner, the tallest military truck I have ever seen passed by - I wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch it - the driver and his passenger must have been riding at least 10 feet off the ground and there was a lot of truck behind it for good measure!


Enjoy!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

What is Soap?

Soap is quite simple: an acid (essential fatty acids from oils in our case) plus a base (that would be the lye solution) equals soap. Soap is really a salt which already makes it too much chemistry for me!






Humboldt Herbal Soap: made with nourishing Hemp Oil grown organically in Canada.




The art of soap lies in combing various oils in different proportions to produce a soap with the qualities you want: bubbly or foamy lather? Lots of lather or more moisturizing oils? Thick oils like shea butter or astringent hazelnut oil? Then you can add color, pumice, and fragrance - the possibilities are endless!

What soap is not: Soap is not the detergent bars you find in stores. Those bars (notice they are called "moisturizing bars" or "beauty bars") are made of detergents from which the naturally occurring glycerin has been removed. This glycerin is then used to make the moisturizers the retailer will gladly sell to you in the form of lotions on the next aisle.

Try some handmade soap today. I think you'll be glad you did!