Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Evening Market Finished, Production Mode and Shampoo Bar Disaster


Eucalyptus & Aloe Vera Soap (New experiment - only 3 oils: Olive, Coconut & Castor...)

Whew! My evening market finished on Saturday night and I am almost out of soap!

It has been a busy month selling. Sunday I woke up and re-organized my work space, or rather just organized it well in preparation for going full-on into production mode to catch up for the fall and Christmas markets.

Yesterday I made 40 bars of my Green Clay soap, which has been 1 of the top 3 sellers this summer. Today I will experiment with a new soap. I enjoy producing and selling my regular soaps, but also love experimenting with new ones, so I think I will alternate back and forth. I am experimenting with simpler soaps, focusing more and more on ingredients from as nearby as possible.

Mediterranean Shampoo Bar (new recipe... 3 oil soap with local goat milk, honey & aloe vera, scented with Rosemary Essential Oil)

As for Shampoo Bars – unfortunately the Shampoo Bar Exchange that I was so excited about didn’t work out as planned because suddenly I am not able to use Shampoo Bars at all! My hair is getting greasy from ALL Shampoo Bars, including my own, even my Shampoo Bar that I have been using for ages, that used to be wonderful. Amy from http://tenthavenuesoapworks.blogspot.com/ mentioned in a post comment that time of the year affected how the shampoo bar worked on her hair, that the summer humidity affected it negatively. That must be it? So unfortunately for now, I am back to commercial shampoo and won’t be able to fairly review the AWESOME shampoo bars that were sent to me...

As for the two shampoo bars pending my review – I will try them again late fall after confirming that mine works well again. For now I must report that the scent of the Soap Sister’s http://thesoapsister.blogspot.com/ shampoo bar is incredible, floral and fruity, like a combination of jasmine and grapes and it stays and stays!


Please note the slimmed-down size - yes I have been using this as a body bar!

Tierra Verde’s http://tierraverdesoaps.blogspot.com/ bar is super citrusy... tangy... I also adore the scent. There is something so lovely about the perfect roundness and silky smoothness.



Before getting the greasy hair problem, both of these bars lathered brilliantly and the comb-through was wonderful. Much better than my shampoo bar. I look forward to trying all of them again in the fall, including Great Cake Soapwork’s http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/ bar.

Happy soaping everyone!!

Xo
Jen
PS. Leg update - Mostly healed and so greatful!! As of last week, I can actually fit into running shoes again and am walking along the beach most mornings. Slightly weaker than the other leg but fully operational and no limp!! xo

17 comments:

  1. Glad to hear your market went well and new soap experiments sound cool.

    Great news about your leg too :)

    Michelle

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  2. Michelle, Thank you so much for your comment! xoxo Jen

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  3. Congrats on your recovery and the successful market!

    I´m experimenting with a shampoo bar myself, though I´m using a comercial conditioner after. So far so good.

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  4. Ugh, I hope I don't have the same experience with shampoo soap because at the moment, I so enjoy using a shampoo soap. Hopefully it is a short-lived issue. Glad the leg is on the mend and I can't wait to see your new soaps.

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  5. Coco, Thanks! Let us know if you get any funky shampoo bar moments... I really think it may be the humidity or a change in our water.... xoxo Jen

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  6. Thanks for your comment! Sounds like everyone is a shampoo bar convert lately!! I wish mine would go back to normal... xo Jen

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  7. Hi Jen, Love the new blog look -very fresh! thanks for the mention,too. so glad to hear your leg continues to heal. lt's all good my dear :)

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  8. Becky, Thank you! Glad you like the new look. I was basically looking around to see if I could get the photos bigger (like on my other blog) and I decided to change some other things too. Fingers crossed that I got the photo thing mastered... Will attempt with my next post...
    xoxo Jen

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  9. I've already commented but just wanted to say I have a new post up but the blog feed is not updating anymore since I changed to the new interface. Just in case folks think I'm not updating at all.

    Michelle

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  10. Hi Michelle, I responded to this by email. Lets hook up on Skype and fix this for you. xo Jen

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  11. Experimenting is always fun! I used shampoo bars this summer and just had to switch back to surfactant based a few weeks ago. I was using one bar then switched and I think it threw the balance off and I couldn't get back. I am making my own shampoo so it's still handcrafted at least!

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  12. Hi Milla, i have been thinking of making my own liquid soaps... and eventually shampoo as well. That is my big project for this fall. Can you give me any tips or point me where to begin? xoxo Jen

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  13. Sorry I missed this...I haven't made liquid soaps yet, but I recently made this shampoo recipe from The Herbarie http://www.theherbarie.com/SMC-Taurate-Soft-Bubbles-Shampoo-p-122.html I found it to be very nice on my scalp. Swift's blog is also a great resource.

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  14. Hi Jen,
    I am officially 7 days into using shampoo bars. I am pretty excited.
    The single shampoo bar I made includes coconut, castor, olive, jojoba, shea, avocado, sweet almond, and apricot kernel, and is scented with rosemary, lemongrass and cedar. YUM. Very fresh.
    I want to create a simpler recipe, though. Do you superfat your shampoo bars?
    I hope you'll be able to use the shampoo bars again soon!
    I am going on a beach vacation next week, but hope to do the soap exchange after that, if you're still interested.

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