I typically plan the soaps by season, so right now, I'm planning my soaps for the year. Once I have the soaps planned, I figure out how to design them.

I love for our soaps to look as good as they feel and work for your skin, so I plan how to put the soaps together to create the patterns I want. Then it's time to make the batches!

It takes a day to create a batch, and I usually do three in one day. You may be asking if it only takes a day to create a batch, why does it take so long for the soaps to be ready?

The answer is curing - and I'll talk more about this tomorrow.

Curing is a process that requires attention and constant vigilance. The curing process for our handmade soap bars takes 6 weeks and it starts the day I cut the soaps.

Temperature plays a big part in the curing process. Curing needs to happen slowly because it's essential that the water in the curing soaps doesn't evaporate too quickly. We also want the soaps cure evenly, and that also requires time.

Luckily, my husband built me a wonderful space for curing. I know the temperature stays a steady 75 degrees, which is ideal, and I make sure to flip the soaps every two days so the curing is even.

Have you tried to make your own soap? How long does your process take?

Once the soaps have finished curing, the last step in the process before packaging is cleaning them up.

Some soap makers like their soaps to look pristine, so they clean off the soap "ash," the white film from the natural oxidation of the curing process. I like the ash - in fact, I like it so much, I work it into my designs!

For the rest of the cleaning, I use a paint brush and gently remove the small, extra bits.

Do you like soap ash? Tell me more below.

I love hand soaps. They are decorative, smell great, and keep your hands clean, which is extremely important. I make our hand soaps after I batch the bar soaps.

I own a large number of hand soap molds so we can offer many different styles and shapes. And even though hand soaps are smaller than bar soaps, they still last quite a while: ours are 1 inch x 1 inch and a half-inch thick, so there's a good amount of hand washing to get out of them.

Do you use hand soaps? If so, what do you love about them?

The other great thing about hand soaps: because of their smaller size, they only take 2-3 weeks to cure versus the bar soaps, which take 6 weeks. Then another week to clean up, package and label.

If you've been looking for a gift for someone's home, birthday, or other special occasion, take a look at our hand soaps.

Have a wonderful rest of your day!

#itstheweekend #enjoy #handsoaps #allnatural #vermontlavender #handmadevt #goodforyourskin #curing #process #soapash 

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