Curing the soap

Chemical free, no added colour, preservative or fragrance :) Very moisturizing and cures acne!

Assalamualaikum :)

Since so many people PM (private message) me asking about the soap, some even request for an urgent oversea delivery, I have to share about an important step in soap making. There are many ways to make a soap. Not that many, just 3 haha. Cold Process (CP), Hot Process (HP) or Melt & Pour (MP).

Melt & Pour is very simple. You buy a ready made soap base, melt it in a microwave, add in additives (colour, fragrance) and pour it into a mould. It will set in few hours and ready to be used. The problem with melt and pour is, the bases come ready made from the manufacturer. You can't really choose what goes into your soap. I first learned making soap using melt and pour technique. This is very simple, something that can be done in kindergarten art class but I found out that the soap base usually has very drying effect. Just like the soap that we buy in the store. Another thing is, it contains chemical that allows it to be melted again and again, so it defeats the purpose of making a homemade chemical-free soap.

hot process soap

Hot Process soap is a technique whereby you 'cook' the soap in a double boiler. I don't prefer this method because it produces a thick mixture, that can't really be moulded. We usually put it in a big container and once it has hardened, we can slice it down. It produces a very coarse and rustic looking soap which undeniably is homemade haha.

hot process soap

I choose the third method, which is cold process. In cold process, I make soap from scratch which give me the advantage of choosing every single ingredient that goes into my soap. The problem with this soap is it has a long curing period. Curing period is a period whereby we air-dry the soap for about 4 to 6 weeks to produce a soap that is not to soft and mushy.

I hope you guys understand that I have started making soap stock but I can only release them in 1 month time! Meanwhile, I'll continue sharing about this homemade skin care range and will open for dropship/ agent registration later. Follow closely pleaseeee! ;p

5 benefits of goat milk for the skin

Why choose water when you can choose goat milk to wash your face with?

Skin care products containing goat milk has already made their way into the beauty industry. This is not without a reason. Luxury brands eg Chivas saw the potential way earlier so they produce a skin care range featuring goat milk as the main ingredient. 

I have always wanted to use such luxurious skin care which contain real ingredients that love everybody's skin. But there is always one problem- they carry a hefty price tag! Another thing is some company claim that their products contain certain ingredients eg goat milk when in reality they only put a very small percentage of such ingredient. Why? To cut cost. Unfortunately the result won't be as luxurious and as moisturizing as washing your face with milk!

On the other hand I don't want to use chemical loaded cheap cleanser just for the sake of using a facial cleanser. That was when I decided to start my own skin care line containing premium skin-loving ingredients, handmade so as to preserve the freshness and goodness in each product, with the most affordable price tag in its class of equality.

I choose Goat Milk as one of our main ingredients among others. No doubt I choose only the best in which our goat milk supply is organic and arrives fresh from the farm! 

At most, you will get all the skin benefit of goat milk. At the very least, you'll get the happy psychological effect of simply cleansing your face with milk haha. But rest assured, a doctor strives on quality :)

Why Goat Milk?

Delays signs of skin aging:

Goat's milk soap delays signs of skin again due to its high content of alpha-hydroxy acids such as lactic acid. Alpha-hydroxy acids break down dead skin cell bonds, removing dead skin cells from the skin's surface and leaving behind new cells on the surface that appear smoother and more youthful.

Not a chemical counterfeit:

Water-based soaps on mainstream supermarket shelves use harsh chemical acids to break down dead skin cells. The lasting effect of chemical acids on the skin is more similar to a chemical "burn." Alpha hydroxyl acids found in goat's milk, work with skin instead of breaking it down and aging it further.

Anti-inflammatory properties:

Goat's milk reduces skin inflammation due to its fat molecule content. The cream present in goat's milk is a moisturizer, soothing dry and damaged skin, possessing an anti-inflammatory effect.

Loaded with essentials:

Goat's milk is packed full of essential nutrients and vitamins like vitamin D, C, B1, B6, B12, and E, that feed the skin and are absorbed into the body.

Treats acne:

Studies now show that goat's milk is effective for treating acne and skin conditions. This is primarily because goat's milk has anti-bacterial properties that delay the growth of microbial organisms that spur the spread of acne

credit: www.naturalnews.com

Rejected soap blues

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Starting the day right with #foodporn oooppsss. 

Abang has gone to work, all geared up for a new challenge. Neurosurgery it is. Faheem has started schooling. Hakeem is having his morning nap. It's bed after bath and breakfast :p

And me? Enjoying me time to the max in a lavender scented house. A bowl of cereal, a DSLR and a laptop. What could be more relaxing? Ahhhh Alhamdulillah :) 

Managed to finish a batch of soap this morning. It's a blend of Lavender, Honey, Oat and Goats Milk. One nice thing to know about my handcrafted soap is, I don't use artificial colours, synthetic fragrance or preservatives. It is 100% natural, just the way I like it. A totally skin loving bar with no chemical :)

I have been experimenting with many recipes for quite some time. Our house is now loaded with soaps! They are all good with premium natural ingredients- shea butter, olive oil, oconut oil, clays, honey etc but fail in the aesthetic department. lol. I have given away few batches but still I have tonnes of soaps at home and I just don't know what to do with them T_T

Any suggestion?

A distorted & rejected soap. Any suggestion what to do with this?

By the way we have just moved into a new house recently. I receive so many requests for me to share about the renovation and such, but that will have to wait for a while.. We are still in the process of settling down and my soaps take priority ;p Don't worry, I'll share the piccies and stories later!

Why facial soap has to be handmade?

I have been busy researching on OEM factories to make my skin care product. Do't get me wrong, my products are natural and home made. But I have to find a factory to help me with the production, or else I have to make soap from morning to night just to cater the market demand! Hehe. But no worries, they are very much natural and safe, made using my very own homemade recipe regardless of where they are made!

So far I haven't succeeded in this department. Do you want to know why?

Have you ever noticed that after you wash your face with a commercial soap, your face will feel squeaky clean. The same feeling you have after you polish your kitchen counter top. It feels like plastic. After a while your skin feels dry and coarse upon touching. And then it starts to become oily. 

Our body naturally produces oil to counter back dry skin. The main problem comes when the oil clogs our pores and cause acne. It then becomes a vicious cycle in which most of us will try to clean away the oil and result in having an even drier skin!

Why do they have to put chemical in soap?

Factory-manufactured soap contains lots of chemical with the main intention to cut production cost. e.g Why would you use expensive shea butter in soap making when you can resort to a much cheaper chemical right? 

Another main reason is, soaps without chemical can damage their factory machine. This is because soap without chemicals can't be re-melted. The hardened soap residue will get stuck in the machine and damage it. 

What is glycerin soap?

In the normal process of soap making, there will be a by product called glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant. It moisturizes skin and trap all the moisture on our skin. Glycerin is the 'culprit' in keeping our skin moisturized and soft. In a factory-manufactured soap, there is a process where they remove all the glycerin from the soaps resulting in a very drying soap. The glycerin are then used for lotion making. This further maximize profit at the expense of your skin!

Our hand made soap is a glycerin soap, enriched with shea butter, honey, oat and lavender. 

This is definitely a skin loving bar which you should try!

A Savvy Shopper's GUIDE to Skin Care

I make a resolution to make everyday counts (and wonderful as well!). So what makes my day today??? A much-awaited appointment in the evening which I would probably blog later.

I am a very organized person (just in case you don't know haha). I have a very clean and organized house. I vacuum and mop the floor on a daily basis (or the usual case multiple times per day) I also have 2 little monsters who thinks a toy-strewn floor makes the most beautiful scenery in the world! Or a food-spilled countertop is no big deal. Or a wet bedroom floor after bath is a must have. If you think that my hair doesnt spike in all direction due to extreme brain heating, or that I don't turn green just like Shrek's wife, you are damn wrong!

I am also a self-made online businesswoman, which means I need time to do my online thingy. Have you ever wondered how did I manage to do it with an 11 month old baby boy? Ok now we are even. I wondered about it before too! But I have developed so many secret techniques. One of it is to put your baby in the sink for a 1-hour bath time. Give him some toys, let him play while you stand at the sink, updating your blog or make a Facebook post with your smartphone. Haha. At least you get something done lol.

By the way I just want to share something about commercial chemical-loaded skincare. At most, you will read the headings only (that was what I did haha). At least you know where to refer to next time you choose your cleanser or lotion in the supermarket.

infographic credit to Ann Marie Gianni Skincare

I quit my job!

We are moving out to a different state today yeayyy!!! But that has got nothing to do with the blog post haha.

Well I guess half of Malaysia already know my obsession about health and living a healthy and natural life. What the world hasn't acknowledged yet (except my ever-so-faithful husband) is that my obsession has gone off to a whole new ridiculous level! I made my own natural and organic skincare line hahaha!!! I couldn't believe it but yes it's true. On top of that, I have a whole list of things to make including bath gel, laundry detergent, dishwash etc. Oh yes I sound absurd but trust me this thing is addictive!

It all started when I was selling Shaklee. I became obsessed with healthy living, everything natural and organic. I tried to dump as many chemical-containing 'cleaner' in my house (all the soaps, detergent and what not). To maintain a natural and organic life is not cheap. I spend a fortune on organic cleaners! On top of that, a big portion of our family expenses goes to 'healthy food supply'. Never before I yearn to be a caveman. Not until I chose everything natural for my family, I thought that probably it was not a bad idea after all to live in a jungle by a riverbank where I could get everything 'healthy' for free LOL.

Of course being a natural beauty junkie, flawless skin is much more important to me than everything else. I started researching (while praying hard) to find a cheap and affordable solution to this organic skincare problem. (I previously use a skincare line that is good and natural but costed me thousands of ringgit)

To my surprise, I discovered a nasty secret! Chemicals are used in our daily product basically to cut production cost. I am talking about nasty chemicals that have short or long term adverse effect on skin and health in general. I'll share about this some other time, but enough known that explains why handmade product are usually more expensive. Pure ingredients, man-made and with more luxurious result.

A long story cut short, I am going to share this wonderful daily stuff here, because after all that was how I started. I learnt from other blogs before I attended formal course!

p/s Another thing that excites me is resigning from work hehe. I hope I can be a sweet housewife who greets hubby with a smile everytime he comes home from work! However I do have this secret worry that I'll greet him with messy hair and the-night-before pajamas haha.

Doktor, saya nak gugurkan kandungan!

Sepasang suami isteri kelihatan sugul. Si suami kemas berkopiah, si isteri cantik bertudung litup. "Doktor, saya dah 2 hari tak datang haid. Nak cek mengandung", isteri memulakan bicara. Saya tersenyum, "Awal sangat ni. Boleh tunggu dua minggu lagi, puan"

"Biasa saya datang haid tepat. Ni dah lewat 2 hari, saya bimbang mengandung, Saya tak nak mengandung!" nada suara bergetar, mengisyaratkan bahawa bila bila masa saja empangan air mata akan pecah. Dipendekkan kisahnya, saya menyuruhnya berikan sampel air kencing setelah dia berkeras ingin cek.

Nalurinya tepat. Ujian mengandung POSITIF. Kebiasaannya saya akan ucapkan tahniah penuh suka. Tapi kali ini saya memandangnya penuh empati sambil melepaskan keluhan berat. Ketika isteri ke tandas untuk kencing, sempat suaminya meminta tolong kepada saya. Katanya isterinya datang dengan harapan untuk menggugurkan kandungan. "Doktor tolong jangan bagi dia ubat gugur...," rayu suaminya. 

Saya tak pernah berikan ubat untuk gugurkan kandungan mahupun memiliki ubat itu dalam simpanan. TIDAK MAMPU. Itulah jawapan paling kerap saya terima apabila ditanya mengapa menolak rezeki anak? Dia seorang guru. Anaknya 6 orang. Salah seorang cacat dan perlu diuruskan sepenuhnya. Semua anak dijaga sendiri.Anak bongsu belum pun 2 tahun umurnya. Suami bekerja jauh dan hanya pulang dihujung minggu. 

TIDAK MAMPU. 

Saya bertanya tentang amalan perancangan keluarga. Jawapan biasa- tidak ada. Tidak merancang keluarga tetapi apabila mengandung, bijak pula mencari seribu dalil untuk menghalalkan menggugurkan kandungan yang jelas ditegah oleh Islam.

Kali ini saya nak berkongsi pilihan yang ada untuk merancang keluarga. Amalan merancang keluarga adalah amalan menentukan bilangan anak yang anda inginkan dan bila anda inginkannya. Kadangkala kita ingin menangguhkan proses mengandung kerana sebab tertentu seperti masih belajar, masih belum bersedia secara emosi, anak masih kecil dan menyusu badan dan sebagainya. 

1. Pil perancang keluarga

Ada 2 jenis pil perancang keluarga bergantung kepada kandungannya. Ada yang mengandungi estrogen dan ada yang mengandungi progestogen sahaja. Biasanya pil yang mengandungi progestogen sahaja diberikan kepada ibu menyusu bagi mengelakkan produksi susu berkurang. Pil ini mesti dimakan setiap hari pada waktu yang sama.

2. Implan

Implan adalah sejenis alat kecil berbentuk rod yang diletakkan bawah lapisan kulit di lengan. Implan boleh bertahan sehingga 3-5 tahun mengikut jenis. Rod ini mengandungi hormon yang akan dibebaskan dalam kuantiti kecil setiap hari bagi menghalang wanita dari mengandung

3. Alat dalam rahim

Alat ini dimasukkan dalam rahim menerusi faraj. Prosedur ini sangat mudah, sekejap dan tidak menyakitkan. Boleh bertahan 3-5 tahun bergantung kepada jenis alat. Ada yang mengandungi hormon dan ada yang tidak.

4. Suntikan 

Suntikan hormon diberikan di punggung biasanya setiap 3 bulan. 

5. Kondom 

Cara ini mudah dan tidak perlu dapatkan bantuan doktor. Ada risiko untuk mengandung jika kondom terkoyak atau jika terlupa dipakai. 

Sebenarnya ada beberapa cara lagi uintuk merancang keluarga. Ada cara yang kekal seperti mengikat tiub fallopian. Cara kekal dicadangkan kepada mereka yang berisiko tinggi jika mengandung seperti menghidapi penyakit membahayakan nyawa. Boleh dapatkan nasihat dari doktor untuk memilih cara merancang keluarga yang bersesuaian dengan kesihatan dan cara hidup anda :)