Cold Process Soap Making Class Yields 24 Litsea and Rosemary Mint Loaves!

This weekend's cold process soap class marked the 29th class I've taught in less than three months. It's been a whirlwind last few months - from teaching a Beauty Business Bootcamp in San Francisco, to New York City Bath & Body University and then back in the Boston area for more classes.

Typical of our classes, students this weekend came from all over the U.S., as well as from different walks of life and professions. But over and over they all have at least one thing in common: the desire to learn to make natural skincare products.

Above are the 24 loaves, getting packed up and heading home with students to be given as gifts to family and friends around the world (or kept for themselves!). We scented the 20 lb. batch of Groovy Hemp Soap with Litsea (May Chang) and Patchouli essential oils. The Moisturizing Cocoa Butter Soap recipe was scented with Rosemary and Peppermint essential oils.

Check out our calendar for upcoming Boston Soap Making Classes and New York City Soap Making Classes, as well as Natural Skincare Business Consultations. If you would rather learn from home, you can always purchase our DVDs and class handouts.

Class with Oak Leaf Goat Farm Students; Creating Goats Milk Lotions and Creams

Recently I had the pleasure of hosting a private consulting class with Jackie Reynolds and her niece Crystal from Oak Leaf Dairy in Lebanon, Connecticut. Oak Leaf Dairy has a milking herd of 75 goats which graze on pasture with no chemicals added. They produce over 400 gallons of goats milk a week at peak season!

The farm has been in the family since 1922. It sits on over 150 acres. It began initially as a cow dairy farm, and in 2006 Jackie and her husband decided to farm the land again with animals, and chose goats (for easy handling and child friendliness).
In February 2007 Jackie began making cold process soap. She is lucky to have the help of her neice, Crystal (shown above holding a body balm that she made in class). Together at home they make cold process soap batches together. Jackie tends to the lye/water, while Crystal measures and melts oils. The two work together harmoneously with hardly a word between them.

Even in class, I find them a very synergetic team. They drove up to Duxbury, Mass. for a private class to learn how to make various complementary bath and body products to add to their soap line.

Jackie, shown here, is melting oils as a step in making goats milk body cream. Jackie explains that goats milk is naturally protein rich, which makes in wonderful for delicate complexions. The milk makes the soap rich and creamy, and very moisturizing. She has had customers rave that it the soap has helped clear up skin conditions such as exzema, psoriasis and acne.

Crystal creating her own sugar scrub concoction with a secret oil ingredient! Crystal's favorite fragrance from our selection was Balinese Coconut - a nice tropical scent!

Jackie creating sea salt soaks with chamomile buds. Her favorite fragrance is almond.

If you are in the Connecticut area, look for Oak Leaf Dairy at local farmer's markets. Or email Jackie directly to purchase some of her wonderful handmade goats milk soaps.

If you would like to learn how to make cold process soap, lotions, balms, scrubs, or any bath and body product, check out my upcoming classes. You can sign up for my newsletter

as well.
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Ideal for those looking for Maine Soap Making Classes, New Hampshire Soap Making Classes, Vermont Soap Making Classes, Rhode Island Soap Making Classes, Connecticut Soap Making Classes, New York Soap Making Classes, New York City Soap Making Classes

Soap Making Students Make Two Perfect Batches, Lots of Laughs and New Friends

It smelled fantastic at Back Porch Soap Company this weekend! Saturday's cold process soap making class turned out two beautiful batches of soap.

We covered the safety precautions of soap making, additives, essential and fragrance oils, how to determine why a batch failed, molds, cutting, curing, packaging and pricing your final product.

Some of the students were just curious to learn the soap making process firsthand. Others have decided to make soap as a hobby, and at least one student has started her own business. Two of the ladies in my class (Ann in the middle and Teri on the far right) are returning students - they both took the glycerin soap making class.

Three students (mother and daughters), Diane, Taryn and Arianne drove down from New Hampshire to take the class. Jennifer (whom I met on Facebook!) and her sister Melissa (who was celebrating her birthday) also joined us. Vanessa, Tasha and Teri all came from Boston, while Ann came from Braintree.

This weekend's class of nine students divided up into two teams to make two batches that they would all share at the end of the day.

Students took turns stirring this batch of lemongrass and oatmeal soap. Both teams matched their lye/water and oil temperatures perfectly and reached trace within five minutes! The other team made a delicious batch of Bulgarian lavender soap.


Here the students learned how to recognize "trace", and are stirring in lemongrass essential oil and ground oatmeal with an electric stick blender.
This is a completely hands-on class!

Interested in learning how to make cold process soap? Our next cold process soap making class is May 23, in our Duxbury, Massachusetts studio. We are just 35 minutes south of Boston, and only 50 minutes from Providence, RI.

Visiting from out of state? I will gladly assist you with travel plans, including accommodations and local areas of interest. With Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Plantation only 20 minutes away, this is a perfect family destination!

Can't make this class but want to stay up-to-date with our schedule? Sign up for our newsletter.

Do you or your group want to learn how to make soap, bath and body products or how to launch your own bath and body business? I am currently booking into June 2009. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ideal for those looking for Maine Soap Making Classes, New Hampshire Soap Making Classes, Vermont Soap Making Classes, Rhode Island Soap Making Classes, Connecticut Soap Making Classes, New York Soap Making Classes, New York City Soap Making Classes

New! Cold Process Soap Making Class Added For April 18. Register Now!

Want to learn how to make soap from scratch? Curious about the cold process process? Then this is the perfect class for you!

You will learn safety guidelines and reach a level of comfort so that you can finally make soap by hand at home! We'll discuss how to properly use and store lye, mixing lye and water, oils for soap making, fragrance oils, essential oils, superfatting, additives and exfoliants, coloring, molding and curing. Students will receive soap recipes and a list of my favorite places to buy soap making supplies and equipment.

We will make two batches of soap as a class. Each student will take home 10 handmade bars of soap.

Saturday, April 18: 9 a.m.- noon

Course: $65 + $20 materials fee

Class is held in my Duxbury, Massachusetts studio.
Back Porch Soap Company is located just 30 minutes south of Boston.

Students must prepay to register. Sign up now!

Check out my other classes while you're there. Can't make it to this class? Stay in the loop by subscribing to our newsletter.

Travelling from out of state? Simply email me at marla@backporchsoap.com and I will gladly assist you with travel plans, including accommodations and local areas of interest. With Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Plantation only 20 minutes away, this is a perfect family destination!

Do you or your group want to learn how to make soap, bath and body products and how to launch your own bath and body business? I am currently booking into June 2009. Available for travel in U.S., Canada, Carribean and Europe.

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Ideal for those looking for Maine Soap Making Classes, New Hampshire Soap Making Classes, Vermont Soap Making Classes, Rhode Island Soap Making Classes, Connecticut Soap Making Classes, New York Soap Making Classes, New York City Soap Making Classes