Yikes! I’m busy, y’all. Very busy. I haven’t had the time, nor the desire to “blog”. So much soap to make, so little time. I’m SO glad I don’t have to make soap. The annual family reunion is this weekend, and while I’m looking forward to it in some ways, I’m also counting down the hours, till it’s all behind me.

Monday, I start my weight loss program — I need to drop about 20lbs, to get me back to my size 10-12 (6ft tall).  I gotta cut eliminate the trips to Starbucks, Haagen Dazs, and Taste of The Orient. The Cupcake Station will have to do without me, as a semi-regular customer. I Coca Cola. I’m going to have to fall out of love, for a bit.

I gotta evaluate my level of spending, for this great hobby — soapmaking. It’s time for me to move to the next level of supply ordering. I need to order in bulk. I didn’t wanna go there, but if I’m going to continue to soap at my current level, I need to make it more economical. No more “1 Gallon” pails/bottles  of Coconut/Palm/Olive Oil. Gotta go…bigger.

Well, I just wanted to check in. I’m sleepy, so I’m off to bed! See ya’!

NEA

Yes, I citrus! I wanted to try a 20% shea butter recipe, so…I finally did. I used no palm oil, added some sodium lactate to the mix, and superfatted at 7%. Now, this soap probably won’t be for me, because I will probably find it to be too “conditioning”. But, it should be nice for those with dry, flaky skin, or for winter skin care needs.

This recipe reached medium-thick trace, in less than 10 minutes of handstirring. I used RTCP (heat transfer method), with a 33% lye solution. Good thing I added the color to the lye bath. I’ll post a pic later. **Update** I decided not to post a pic, cuz it looks just like two of my other soap batches. It’s very nice soap. Needs to harden up a lot, but it lathers very nicely now.

What’s in it: Saponified Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Castor Oil, Sunflower Oil, Sodium Lactate, Herbal Colorant, Fragrance Oil and Sugar.

NEA

A soapmaking supplier is on the rampage, because of the actions of a disgruntled former forum member (gotta be careful who you tick off, cuz some folks don’t just go away). If you’re part of the soaping world, you know who I’m talking about. BTW, I’m not in league with the gentleman, who put up the website. He did that on his own, by himself, without my prior knowledge. HOWEVER, anything I post online is free game and I have no problem with it being known.

Threats of defamation lawsuits are flying everywhere. If you’re going to sue for “defamation”, you betta have a WHOLE lot of money. Plus, you betta stop and think about the numerous complaints you’ve received about your products, and look up the definition of  “slander”. It’s okay to huff and puff, but don’t run out of air. Trying to sue can open another can of worms. If you can’t afford to pay the shipping, for a defective product to be returned to you, then I doubt you can carry the financial weight of a defamation lawsuit.

It’s expensive to be in business. Product development is costly. You need to test your products, OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, using them repeatedly, to see how they actually perform. Hire some help, so you can up production and get items out in a reasonable amount of time. Stop telling folks, “It’s on its way!!!”, when you know darn well it’s not. Stop whining about “losing money”, when those who’ve had to throw out your products (or slow down their production, waiting on a product that was paid for, months ago) have also lost money. Is your money more important than someone else’s?

All your customers can’t be lying, which is one reason why trying to sue folks is just…crazy. You don’t have strong enough legs to stand on. Your customer service is not that tight.  Most of us have better things to do, than pick on a supplier without cause. My advice? Concentrate on improving your business — product production and customer service. I bet the “slander” will cease.

Try to draw the big guns? You will only make yourself look foolish, in the end, when the truth gets out, and the sleepers wake up.

 NEA