Darn it, photos would have been brilliant to illustrate what I am about to describe, but I was too busy a) panicking, then b) setting things right. I spent the afternoon making Goats Milk and Honey soap, and here are the mishaps that transpired along the way to finally setting the soap in their molds to harden (with a HUGE sigh of relief!). Read more
I waited and waited and waited…
Then finally the window of opportunity opened and grabbed my first chance to create an Etsy Treasury. 
Oh, the (cheap) thrill! I called it “Mommy Wants These!”. You will not get a prize for guessing the rationale behind it.
Found that fun? Then please visit the Treasury and check out all the wonderful handmade things that other Etsy sellers lovingly craft for our enjoyment.
Happy weekend!
Ever since our new servant arrived (I’m so thankful for her lending her energy to keeping this household clean!) I’ve been actively weeding out a lot of old junk from our shelves and cupboards in the apartment. Looking at the (shameful) piles of unused toys, clothing, books etc. got me thinking about how my family is currently practising the 3R’s — Reduce, Reuse, Recyle — and how we can do more. We’re not just talking about a once-off spring cleaning exercise, but as a sustained part of our lifestyle.
So in this blogpost I’d like to share with you some of the things that we do in our household in an effort to lessen our contribution to landfills, and also our impact on Nature itself. What’s important was determining what worked for us realistically, given that we live in an apartment in the city, and the lifestyle that we currently have. Some ideas here could work for you too. Or perhaps you can chime in with your own experiences with making the 3R’s a part of your life — I’d love to hear your stories! Read more
I guess it’s okay for me to spill the beans (albeit only partially) on what transpired this morning—I was in talks with a school to start holding soapmaking classes for its students on a regular basis! 
This is an absolutely thrilling development—I’m shaking in my chair as I type this! Not only was the chemistry teacher very receptive to the idea, but _other_ teachers who walked past our informal meeting asked if they could join the classes too. Given that the students are already familiar with their lab environment and some have already covered saponification as part of their regular curriculum, I reckon that they’ll have no trouble handling the lye, oils and the various equipment at all!
This has come about after several months of me plotting how would be the best way to offer cold process soapmaking classes without having to set up a facility from scratch. A school’s chemistry lab seemed like the perfect answer—it would have all its safety measures and protocols in place, plus all the necessary sinks and plug points and measuring equipment etc. Unfortunately schools are not permitted to offer any classes of this sort to the public so I’ll only be teaching the students registered there.
So today I met with two lovely teachers, both razor sharp and truly dedicated to their respective fields and to the school, and we discussed budgeting, scheduling and sourcing for handheld blenders and ingredients. Once my arrangements with them are finalised, I’ll let you know which school exactly I’ll be working with. 
Hurrah! I’m so thankful that my whacky idea was so warmly received. Now it’s time to make it work, and to put a little excitement into people’s lives. Wish me luck!
While on my usual rounds at the Section 17 market in PJ one morning last week, I spotted an old uncle selling what looked like blocks of pink coloured things from a small table. He instantly picked up on my interest, launching into a barrage of cantonese explaining what the stuff was. I guess he also noted my blank smile that belied the fact that I could barely understand him so he pulled out a leaflet written in english. 
They were solid bars of salt, meant to be used in the shower. This was totally new to me so I was rather fascinated (albeit a little sceptical). After the sales pitch about it being great for solving all kinds of skin problems, I thought it was worth trying on myself to find out once and for all if all that stuff was true. BUT let it be known that I felt guilty about it supposedly being imported from Poland… the thought of all the carbon emissions from transporting what are practically rocks across vast distances… eep. :”>
Anyway, here’s the smaller, unpackaged chunk of “organic salt soap” that I bought:
This photo was taken after a week’s use. It’s hardly shrunk. It also struck me that the salt looked very similar to the kinds you find on those salt lamps that you put light bulbs in and that supposedly release ions to cleans the air around it etc. Anyway.
Interestingly enough, the eczema on the insides of my elbows which flared up in the heat, seems to have cleared with a day’s use of the salt soap. I also tried it on my face (as instructed by the old uncle), wetting the skin then applying some of the ‘soap’, leaving it on for about 3 minutes before washing everything off under the shower. While I did not notice anything remarkably different after using the salt, I did feel that my skin had a pleasant, healthy texture. It’s like having an isolated dip in the sea, isn’t it?
The only mistake I made was to think that I could rub the bar of salt *directly* onto my skin for a scrubby effect. DON’T DO IT. Not only did it scratch my skin, the salt stung like crazy. Ah, silly me. I should have known better!
So the verdict? It’s an interesting object to have in your bathroom, and for most Malaysians who don’t have bath tubs to use bath salts in, this could be a feasible alternative. I doubt it can completely replace normal soap as a cleansing item. Plus it’s Not something I would use for my hair - and overall I still prefer my soap with all their lovely essential oils and creamy lather! Yes yes, I’m biased…
But here you go - some additional reading on the net yielded these articles that expound the many benefits of salt for our health:
- A taste for salt in the history of medicine
- Bath salt eczema treatments (Info you should know)
- How to make your own natural eczema bath treatment
And just in case you’re curious as to what this particular uncle’s claims are on the efficacy of his “Organic Salt Soap”, here’s a reproduction of the contents of his flyer:
- Imported from Poland
- Contained of natural Organic Calcium and different types of minerals
- Provides nutrition to your skin directly
- Helt to increase metabolism, removes dead skin cell
- Help to improve your skin healthy level
- Function: Reduce inflammation, kill germs and bacteria
- Smoothen and soften your skin if regularly use
- Good for Itchy skin, sensitive skin, smelly feet, ring worm, white spots, black spots, dark skin, pimples, wound inflammation, scrap, crack heels, removes muscles pain, slowing down your aging process, reduces wrinkles, whitening skin.
- Contact number: 012-3442038 (Wilson)
- Contact number: 016-3721312 (Uncle Loo)
Hope you’re having a good start to your week!
8:30pm: I pop upstairs with Andrea (my 7.5 month-old) to ask our neighbours if they had accidentally left a tap on because I heard water running down a drain pipe for 20-30 minutes straight. Turns out that they were having a party and no, they couldn’t think of any running taps at their place.
9:30pm: Thinking that they probably moved in only very recently, I wrap 3 bars of soap as housewarming gifts and head upstairs again to drop it off.
What was meant to be a brief conversation stretched out to become an entire evening of good wine and company. The family had just moved to Malaysia from Germany on the 1st of January this year, and were celebrating their housewarming as well as the wife’s birthday at midnight.
Somewhere during our chit chat the wife revealed that she had sensitive skin, possibly eczema—the reason behind why the family has a dishwashing machine. So when I told her what I had brought as gifts, she was delighted! I didn’t even need to explain to her how handmade soap was different from commercially-produced ones. Guess she must have already experienced the difference between all-natural soap and those containing preservatives and foaming agents.
That made my evening.
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