Georgia Girl Soap

June 8 - Athens

June 22 - Statham

July 6 - Athens

July 20 - Statham

August 3 - Statham

August 24 - Statham

September 21 - Athens

November 16 - Athens

December 14 - Athens

I looked up lotion recipes and found several blogs with similar recipes, and figured, ‘how hard can it be?’ But after my first attempt at making lotion, I can’t say that I am happy with the results.

How do the commercial lotions get their lofty, airy whiteness? My lotion came out greasy, dense and yellow-green. It is very moisturizing, yes, but I could get the same results from rubbing straight oil on my skin. Absorb quickly it does not, and it leaves a noticeable sheen on my skin. Great for my cuticles, not so great for my face.

I must try, try again.

UPDATE:

I tried a different recipe, one which contains aloe vera gel, cocoa butter and beeswax. This time, I whipped it in the food processor for a really long time - about 10 minutes! - and it greatly improved the texture and is a bit less greasy.

I have been using this lotion for about a week now and I have seen amazing results. Really! I have never used lotion that makes my skin so soft and keeps working for so long. The consistency is thick but when you rub it between your fingers, it becomes watery, making it extremely easy to rub into your skin. It feels like my skin is having a drink of water!

The only complaints I have are the greasy feeling and the slight bit of separation that I am starting to see. After applying the lotion, my hands feel greasy enough that I wipe them on a towel, and I only like to put it on my face at night because it makes me shiny. 

So, in conclusion, my lotion works wonders for dry skin, stretch marks and as a night-time facial cream, but is still too greasy to put on the market.

Back to the soap lab!

Listen up, y’all!

I am putting EVERYTHING in my Etsy shop on sale. If you enter the code JULY2012 at checkout, you will receive 20% off your total order. 

You’re welcome!

♥ Georgia Girl

There are major differences between homemade soap and common soap such as you might purchase at the grocery or drug store. Some soap you find in stores is really just an imposter, not soap at all, but something made in a laboratory to create big bubbly lather. Check the ingredients list before you buy soap!

These are the ingredients of some popular name-brand soaps:

Dial Antibacterial: Active ingredient: triclocarban. Other ingredients: soap (sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or palm kernelate, sodium palmate types), water, PEG-6 methyl ether, palm acid or tallow acid, fragrance, glycerin, sorbitol, sodium chloride, pentasodium pentetate, tetrasodium etidronate, BHT, FD&C yellow #5, D&C yellow #6, FD&C Red #4.

Lever 2000 Pure Rain: Sodium tallowate, sodium cocoyl isethionate, sodium cocoate, water, sodium isethionate, stearic acid, coconut fatty acid, fragrance, titanium dioxide, sodium chloride, disodium
phosphate, tetrasodium EDTA, trisodium etidronate, BHT, FD&C blue no. 1, D&C red no. 33.

Irish Spring: Soap (sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate, and/or sodium palm kernelate types), water, stearic acid (skin conditioner), coconut and/or palm kernel acid, glycerin (skin conditioner), fragrance, sodium chloride, titanium dioxide, pentasodium pentetate, BHT, D&C green No. 8, FD&C Green No. 3.

CAMAY: Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Palmitate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Water, Tallow Acid, Palm Acid, Coconut Acid, Palm Kernel Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, EDTA,
Titanium Dioxide, FD&C Red #4, D&C Yellow #10.

Some of the ingredients are harmless, like Sodium Tallowate (beef tallow), or Sodium Cocoate (coconut oil), while others are potentially harmful:

Pentasodium pentetate - An inorganic salt used as a water softener, emulsifier and dispersing ingredient in cosmetic cleansing creams, lotions and soaps. Can be an eye irritant.

Tetrasodium EDTA - Synthetic preservative - can be irritating to the eyes/mucous membranes.

Sodium cocoyl isethionate - synthetic detergent. Technically, an anionic surfactant, meaning it reduces surface tension, making water ‘wetter’.

Sodium isethionate - synthetic detergent. Technically, a moisture absorber, surfactant and anti-static agent.

Trisodium etidronate - A preservative. Possible irritant.

BHT - (butylhydroxytoluene) Synthetic antioxidant to keep oils in formula from going rancid. When ingested, implicated in tumor formation and liver enlargement in rodent tests. Sometimes used as a food preservative.

Disodium phosphate - Buffering agent, used to adjust pH.

Check the ingredients label on soap before you buy. Some of it might not even be soap but something else entirely. So first, check for the word “soap” on the label. You will be glad you did!

Georgia Girl Soap contains only vegetable oils, lye, water, and essential oils. It will leave your skin feeling clean and conditioned, and will never be irritating.