Does anyone make their own soap/lotion/shampoo/conditioners?

Question

Is it really expensive to do?

Are there benifits?

What are some good resources to do this?

Answer 1

I recently went to a "make your own" class on shampoos, sun screens, etc. It was organized by my local natural food store ("Goodness Me!"). Everything demonstrated in the class could be made from products in the store (or basically any natural health food store). I liked the class better than looking online because there was someone there who had been doing this for MANY years who could answer all our questions.

One of the benefits (at least for me) was that I'd know exactly what's in the product (I have a number of skin allergies that basically prevent me from using just about any store-bought product). I can also modify them to suit my purpose/mood (different scents, for example) and I can make as little as I want each time so that I know every batch is fresh. Another advantage is that making it yourself is cheaper (usually) and there's no chemicals added. No fancy equipment is needed....if you've got a kitchen you've probably already got all the supplies you need.

The Goodness Me! web site is www.GoodnessMe.ca. Depending on where you live, you might want to check out the Site Feature item. Other than that, there isn't any specific info on actually making your own products. If you like, I can send you the recipies that I have from the class.

Answer 2

I do soaps, lotions, body sprays etc. Handcrafted soaps are much milder to your skin and contain natural glycerine. You can design your own recipe to suit YOUR skin (ie less drying, more moisturizing--and you add your favorite scents and color to match your bathrooms!) It is a bit expensive to start, but once you've got all the basics it doesn't cost much to add to it. If you start w/ easy recipies (grocery store oils) you can get a feel for it.
www.millersoap.com is a great place to start. Yahoo has tons of soapers groups--and soapers are great for sharing recipies and tips.

Good luck--it's a great hobby!!!