Furaha delights: Pierwszy wpis

Witajcie ... welcome to my blog!
My handmade products go by the name of 'Furaha delights'. "Furaha" means joy/happiness in Swahili. "Delights" are things that give you pleasure, things that lead to 'furaha' :). The handicraft I create, the things I do and write about here, are ALL made with pleasure ... and for pleasure. Yours. And mine :).

Moje rękodzieła noszą nazwę 'Furaha delights'. "Furaha" w języku suahili oznacza przyjemność/radość/szczęście. "Delights" to rzeczy o niezwykłej przyjemności, uciechy ... rzeczy, które wprawiają w zachwyt, w stan radości ... czyli w 'furaha' :). Rękodzieło, które tworzę, to co robię i to o czym napiszę tutaj, wykonane są i będą z przyjemnością ... i dla przyjemności. Twojej. I mojej :).

I have lots of interests and pastimes - from DIY projects, interior decorating, art & crafts (decoupage, candle making, jewellery designing) to cooking, psychology, nature, movies ... just to mention a few. My main focus here is going to be NATURAL SOAP. I make natural soap from scratch ... and I simply LOVE IT and would like to share my experiences with you, assuming that there are people out there interested in the same. The very first batch of soap I ever made was in January 2011 and that was melt-and-pour soap. This was soon followed by a few experimental hot-process soap batches. Then, in the summer of 2011, I produced my first bona fide cold-process soap batch .... and I fell in love with cold process! Of all the methods I'd experimented with thus far, cp was the most intriguing, most challenging and, in a sense, the trickiest with the highest 'failure' factor ... but so rewarding! By August, I was hooked on cold-process soap making and what had started out as a pastime became somewhat of an obsession ... one that has seen me through at least 160 batches of soap! I have spent hours, weeks, months lovingly tweaking recipes to create the PERFECT blend for various skin types. My soap has landed in many a bathroom, tested by friends, family, neighbours, strangers ... and the feedback has been very encouraging. I started off with fragrance-free soap, but after a while I started experimenting with all-natural, unadulterated essential oils. These proved highly popular. Then a demand for perfumed soap arose ... and so off I went and produced batches with fragrance oils/blends. Interestingly enough, these have turned out to be the most popular!
Many have asked WHY on earth I chose to start making natural soap. Well, it all started when I was looking ideas to make handmade Christmas gifts in 2010. Amongst the many sites and blogs I scoured at the time were some with beautifully crafted handmade soap. Although I settled for decoupage and food gifts instead, I couldn't get them out of my mind. So, I delved into the matter & after spending some time on YouTube watching and learning the basics, I made my first melt & pour. I moved on to the the more complex hot-process and cold-process methods and began to see the difference between the effects of commercial soap and superfatted homemade soap on my skin. After using my handmade soap, I noticed that I didn't HAVE TO use lotion as often, a sign that it was helping my skin retain moisture. This sparked my interest and I began to do more research on the matter. I discovered tha commercial soap is made from detergents, surfactants (foaming agents) and several synthetic products that are included to increase shelf life and reduce production costs. These can be harsh on the skin causing dry, chapped skin, rashes, allergic reactions or various types of dermatitis. Furthermore, for the environmentally conscious individual, commercial soap poses yet another problem - every time these harsh bars are used, pollutants are washed down the drain, ending up in the eco-system.
I could go on and on talking about natural soap and its benefits, but I shall share my views in further posts. I hope to dwell more on the ingredients I use to make my products and try to point out why I think natural, handmade soap is way much better than what we can find on most supermarket shelves ... and perhaps get you to reconsider your choices when buying your skin care products.
All in good time :).
To end this first looong entry, I'll post just a few pictures of some soap that I have made in the past. So, until next time it's ... do miłego :).