Mother Earth News published my soft soap article on p40-42, Dec 2016 issue

Make Soap the Old-Fashioned Way, published in the December 2016 issue of Mother Earth News (and available on newsstands shortly...):

 

 

For the complete article, with one errata, you can visit my blog at http://bookeofsecretes.blogspot.com/
or view the article on my blog at
http://bookeofsecretes.blogspot.com/2016/11/make-soap-old-fashioned-way.html

For a more complete picture of the process and chemistry involved, you can also download my class handouts and research papers at
https://independent.academia.edu/susanverberg .

Thank you all for your interest and continued support!

why goat's milk?

Goat's Milk Soap is highly sought after for it's moisturizing properties. Milk has alpha-hydroxy acids which break down the glue holding dead skin cells together. Alpha-hydroxy acid is well known for softening skin and leaving it rejuvenated.

The milk's nutrients are retained because the soap is made in small, controllable batches through cold processing and with closely monitored low temperatures. This makes the soap rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals which all nourish the skin.

Goat's Milk Soap also has a PH level similar to our skin, which helps protect the skin from invading bacteria and chemicals we come in contact with every day.

People who suffer from skin allergies, winter itch, eczema, psoriasis and dry skin are frequent users of goat's milk soap.

Drip Lye Soap information

For those homesteaders, survivalists and medieval reenactors, here you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about making drip lye soap from scratch!

For Class Handouts and Research Papers, please visit:
https://independent.academia.edu/susanverberg

For soap history, more background info and my other myriad projects, please visit:
http://bookeofsecretes.blogspot.com/

Enjoy and Have Fun!

Home Green Home now carries Far Mountain Soap!

Proudly presenting Far Mountain Soap on the Ithaca Commons at Home Green Home! And if you have not been to that store, it sure is worth a visit, or two, or three...

Home Green Home
Taking Organic beyond the Kitchen
215 East State St, Ithaca NY 14850
Mon-Wed 10-7, Thu-Sat 10-8, Sun 11-6
info@homegreenhome.com
607-319-4159

• wine trail

made with organic coconut oil, local organic sunflower oil, organic ethically sourced palm oil, natural grape seed oil, moroccan red clay, local Bloomer Creek Vineyard Cafe Red & our own goat’s milk

• Brewer's Hop

an all purpose soap made with local Ithaca Brewery seasonal hoppy beer (at the moment I'm using Ground Break). The sugars in beer are a natural source of glycolic acid, which is a powerful antioxidant.

Hops have been used in brewing since the ninth century. Initially they were used widely as a preservative for beer. The brewers recognized that if they included hops, the beer lasted longer. The properties and benefits of hops become a skin blessing when used as the base for soap. Hops is known as a relaxing herb. Other benefits to hops: soothes irritated skin; contains polyphenols thought to account for its anti-bacterial and preservative effects (beer's long life) and skin-softening amino acids.

made with organic coconut oil, natural olive oil, organic local lard, home grown hops blossoms combined with a mixture of locally brewed Ithaca Brewery beer and our own goat's milk.

Note that all alcohol and carbonation is removed from the brew before saponification.

• sugar shack

This maple soap is made with not just maple syrup but also includes sugar sand; a great by product of maple syrup making. Sugar sand consists of all the mineral and sugar deposits which are filtered out during maple syrup production, and is therefor high in natural sugars and manganese, both powerful antioxidants and great for the skin!

made with local organic lard, home made maple syrup, locally produced sugar sand (Sapsquatch Sugar Bush) and our own goat's milk.

 From http://www.purecanadamaple.com/benefits-of-maple-syrup

Health benefits of real maple syrup are far more comprehensive than you might expect. The only product in our diet coming directly from a plant’s sap, this natural sweetener features over 54 antioxidants that can help delay or prevent diseases caused by free radicals, such as cancer or diabetes. In addition, maple syrup features high levels of zinc and manganese, keeping the heart healthy and boosting the immune system.

It is not surprising that an increasing number of health-conscious consumers bypass white and brown sugar, stevia, agave syrup and honey in the grocery store in favor of pure maple syrup for health benefits in their diet. Did you know that pure maple syrup has the same beneficial classes of antioxidant compounds found in berries, tomatoes, tea, red wine, whole wheat and flax seed? The sheer quantity and variety of identified compounds with documented health benefits qualifies maple syrup as the next champion food.

Maple Syrup Nutritional Value:

• Maple syrup is an excellent source of manganese, which plays an important role in energy production and antioxidant defenses, and is necessary for normal brain and nerve function. A portion of ¼ cup of maple syrup contains 100% of the Daily Value of manganese.
• The sweetener provides 37% of the Daily Value of riboflavin, which aids in the metabolic process.
• Pure maple syrup also contains 18% of the recommended Daily Value of zinc, which is essential for a healthy immune system.
• Other minerals found in maple syrup are magnesium, calcium and potassium, decreasing the risk of hypertension or stroke.