Deciding Whether or Not to Soap with Palm Oil

I wanted to give a background, before I continue on with the blog, on an initial decision I made once I decided soaping was something I enjoyed doing and wanted to continue doing it.

With regards to palm oil, there's so much information out there. I read some of the horrors occurring with deforestation and orangutan massacres. A great blog post was written by Amanda at Lovin' Soap and her decision to go palm free. I read about sustainable palm oil. A great blog post on sustainable palm oil was written by Anne-Marie at Soapqueen here.

I read about the local people needing palm to work and to feed their families, and I read that sustainable palm oil is a loose term the blankets companies under the terms and some of said companies aren't as committed to the idea of true sustainability and protection of wildlife.

Whew!!! Now you may be feeling like I did, overwhelmed a tad, huh?!

So I chose, after considering all this carefully, to remain palm oil free. Honestly, I see it helps humans with having a job, income, and thus food to feed their children. That said, I also see how it is a big problem for nature and animal life. I am just too overwhelmed and undereducated that I decided my best and most responsible decision will be to avoid it altogether. Maybe one day I will chose to use it, after much reading and consideration. Until then, I chose to remain palm free...and honestly after finding tallow, I really never need to try palm! But that's another post for another day.

It's a decision we all, as handmade soap makers, must eventually make. I wanted to make that decision before I got fully invested into this hobby, and maybe one day, business.

My First Attempt at Cold Process Soap Making

So, I wanted to jump in and do a triple back half twist landing on one toe, but after purchasing my first set of fragrances oils from Bramble Berry and Wholesale Supplies Plus, and after not being super fond of some out of the bottle, I decided to soap a test batch for my first cold process soap experience. I learned, it IS true what they say. You can't judge a fragrance out of bottle as to what it will smell like after saponofication. Though I do have one or two that remained on my displeased list, some others were quite surprising. It was a successful first soap batch, made with a simple 30/70 coconut oil to olive oil. 

The bandage was a cast, as in I was about a week out of surgery. Hey, no time like the present to begin a totally awesome and addicting hobby! 

~Happy Soaping!