Herbal Massage Balm

So what are the odds that two girls from the same high school church youth group would grow up and each start a business selling soap? Well, that's what happened to me and my friend Vanessa. I moved to the other side of the midwest after graduation and we lost contact for several years during those dark solitary days before Facebook. She was off and running with her soap venture when we met up years later and I was between my first soap business experience and my current 10th Ave. Soap business.

Fast forward a decade and here I am. Still. I never thought I would be making soap for so long. My little business has evolved and changed over time, as it should. But I'm still here on 10th Ave. churning soap out and making the long-suffering UPS man lug 50# blocks of fat and bulky boxes of lye to my front door regularly.

Vanessa contacted me last year and told me that she was thinking of hanging up her goggles and rubber gloves. However, she had a few fantastic products that her customers would miss greatly and wondered if I would be willing to provide them. She gave me her top-secret recipe with the promise that I would remember her when I became a world famous soapmaker, which of course, goes without saying. I just hope she has a backup plan for retirement.

So folks, I present to you, THE Massage Balm.

It's amazing stuff, folks. Besides being good for massages, it makes a great chest rub when you have congestion. You can also use it as a balm for your shoulders and neck after yoga. And even better, it's made with essential oils and simple ingredients like beeswax and sweet almond oil--no chemicals or artificial ingredients!

And it's available right here.

Comments

Soaping with Madder

I know that any color added to soap can morph into a surprise, but there is an added element of unknown when using botanicals to color my soap. Some people jump out of planes or ski off mountains, but this is how I live on the edge these days. Hmm. If I weren't having so much fun, I'd be embarrassed. I recently had my first go with madder. So....whatsa madder? It's a root--the root of the madder. Ahem. (I love puns...) I infused 8 oz. of olive oil with 2 t. madder root powder for almost a week. This amount worked out to be 20% of the oils in my batch. I wanted something in the way of embeds to add visual interest. I dearly love my soap balls but I don't want to over do a good thing. I've recently done square-shaped embeds, so this time I cut a bar of white soap into slices. I panicked a little that it wouldn't get dark enough--it was kind of a dusty peach--so I added 1/4 t. dried powder right before pouring. Madder powd...

Loofah--from vine to soap

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one. People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown. No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant. Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen. They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year. Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space. Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt. But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr...

Soap Challenge--Dandelion Swirl

This Great Cakes challenge started off, well, challenging for me. I had internet problems (a lack of it) and something went rather tragic in my attempt to cobble together a recipe without access to my online lye calculator crutch or a good saponification chart. Obviously, I need to work on this skill, since my first batch of soap is still not firm enough to cut. I've seen firmer marshmallow cream. I'm estimating that I'll be able to cut it in a week or two or maybe three. The top came out pretty, though, didn't it? Sigh. I wonder what the inside looks like. On to batch number 2. I went for a winter/snowy theme this time, scented with BB's Fresh Snow fragrance. I made a small 6-bar batch. I kept noticing that my divider (a dollar store cutting mat) didn't stay in the center but kept migrating toward the edge with every pour. I was concerned that it would ruin the design, but it held well enough. I know this challenge was all abo...

10th ave. soapworks

Search This Blog