my handmade natural soaps and deodorant

[femmedem]

My soaps are approximately 50% olive oil, with the balance being organic palm oil, coconut oil, organic shea butter, castor oil, sometimes some cocoa and/or mango butter. I never use synthetic fragrances or colorants, just essential oils, resins and absolutes for scent, and clays and botanicals for color.
www.urbaneden.etsy.com

Thanks for taking a look!

[ClarkUSA]

1. Try to find a substitute for palm oil; global rainforests are being razed for palm plantations

The lust for palm oil in products is driving the cutting down of rainforest habitat everywhere from South America to Southeast Asia.

If you do, PM me.

[femmedem]

2. That's why I buy organic, sustainable palm oil.

But I do understand that any demand for palm oil makes the problem worse. And who knows, maybe my supplier doesn't have accurate knowledge about my palm oil. For you, the best soap would probably be a tallow-based soap, or perhaps 100% olive oil. Tallow provides the hardness that palm oil provides. Cocoa butter does as well, but it inhibits lather in that kind of quantity, plus it adds a scent--which can be a good or a bad thing. And it's expensive. I'm a vegan so I don't really want to mess with tallow. But it's a complex decision. So hard to live lightly!

[ClarkUSA]

4. I like the cocoa butter alternative. 100% olive oil works for me, too.

Do you have any of the above?

[femmedem]

8. Sorry, I don't.. But...

I have some that use very little palm oil because I've used quite a bit of cocoa butter. But...hm...now I'm thinking...if I made a 100% olive oil soap, would you want it scented? PM me if you'd like. Soap takes four weeks to cure, though, so this woouldn't be an instant process. I do think SwanMountainSoaps on etsy makes a palm-free soap. I'm not sure if she uses natural or synthetic fragrances. I think it varies from soap to soap. Her shop address is www.swanmountainsoaps.etsy.com.

100% olive oil is very gentle, but the lather is sort of slimey feeling. Just warning you.

I'm going to bed early, so if you pm me please don't think I'm rude if I don't get back to you until tomorrow.

[ClarkUSA]

14. Thanks for the offer.

You do beautiful work. I would like a olive oil/shea butter soap combo, too.

[femmedem]

23. I found out more about my palm oil source.

Sorry to be so slow getting back to you, but I finally did some more research on my palm oil supply. I buy from Soaper's Choice, mentioned in this wonderful article on the importance of sustainable palm oil.

http://thesoapbar.blogspot.com/2009/05/orangatans-why-you-should-use.html

As Mike from Soapers Choice says, he gets his palm oil from an area in South America which was cleared 30-40 years ago. Tbe palm plantation, while not as diverse as a rain forest, is still a step up from the grassland it had become.

[Child_Of_Isis]

3. I bought stuff!

I'll let you know if I like it!

[femmedem]

5. Thanks!

I just saw your order! I appreciate it. I'm going to ship it out tomorrow. That's probably my favorite scent right now.

I don't know why I haven't posted my store in the marketplace here before...I've been a member for years and years.

[Child_Of_Isis]

16. Received!

Totally divine & beautiful.

Yes, I actually did register just for that ginger & orange soap....and don't regret it a bit. :toast:

If you start a mailing list, I am totally okay with you putting me on it for reminders.

[femmedem]

20. I'm so glad you're happy with it!

I'm really proud of that scent combo. Thanks for posting this!

[TNDemo]

6. Hello, fellow soapmaker.

I no longer have a business, just make it for friends and gifts. It's hard to make a living! However, I do love making of it (hate the packaging and mailing). Smells wonderful.

[femmedem]

7. Hi! Nice to met you!

Yup, it's no way to get rich. But the house sure smells great. :)

[wellstone dem]

9. I just placed an order.

Happy to support a fellow DUer.

[femmedem]

11. Thank you!

I've always loved your username. I was as crushed about Wellstone's death as I've ever been about any public figure.

[pengillian101]

17. Me also.

"I was as crushed about Wellstone's death..." He was a vet advocate like no other.

I am so looking forward to the soap cake and wood soap-holder you just sent to me.

(Just a thought - you might want to post your beautiful product pics here at DU.)

That's what caught my eye. Edit to add pic.

[femmedem]

21. Thank you for posting this photo!

I think that gardener's soap and its accompanying poem just won a contest. The prize will allow me to buy some much-needed soaping oils, yay.

[FirstLight]

10. How well do the deodorants work?

I have had "iffy" results with the natural kinds, which is really annoying because I don;t want to use the ones with Aluminum chloride...

I bookmarked your page for later too...don't get paid till monday :)

[femmedem]

12. I use them both very happily. The feedback I've gotten

is mostly really good, but they don't work for everyone. Some people are so, so happy to have finally found one that works. I had one local customer for whom they didn't work, though. Some people have told me that they didn't work fantastically the first few days as their bodies adapted to not having aluminum, but that then they worked really well. You can read some of the feedback on my site. I quoted some people in the lemon myrtle listing, but you can skim back through all my feedbacks--which I can't edit, so it's all there--to read more.

I use them all summer when I'm working my farmers markets and setting up my tent in the heat, no problem at all.

Thanks for asking! Good night! The bed's calling.

[Maraya1969]

13. You made a sale here! The lemon myrtle deodorant.

[femmedem]

15. That was you? Aww, thanks!

I shipped it a couple of hours ago. :) I also have to thank you because it was your post in the crafts group that prompted me to post here in the marketplace. What a good idea! It was sweet to know my products were going to DUers, some of whose posts I've been reading and enjoying for years.

[Maraya1969]

18. It is great. It smells great and it works! It's much better than the Tom's one.

I'll buy more when this one runs out. When you find a good thing..........

[femmedem]

19. Glad to hear it!

Thanks for posting this nice feedback here. :)

[LiberalLoner]

22. These soaps are BEAUTIFUL! You have to experience them!

Hi,everybody, I ordered some soaps from femmedem and not only did she send me the most beautiful, fragrant soap works of art I've ever seen, she included very generous bonuses! The soaps leave your skin feeling so soft and moisturized, too!

These soaps would make awesome gifts for loved ones, or for yourself. Life is getting harder and harder and it feels like doom is always right over our heads, but you can have some happiness each time you wash your hands or shower - little things in life can lift your mood more than you'd suspect.

Think of the people in your life who would smile to receive a surprise gift from you. These soaps are very affordable, less than a meal at McDonalds.

[madrchsod]

24. when my other bars run out i`ll order some from you.....

[femmedem]

25. Oh thank you! That's very sweet. n/t