So, where does soap come from?
Soap is created when fats or oils (fatty acids) are mixed with an alkali (metal), such as lye. A chemical reaction called saponification occurs and soap is the resulting product. A soap cleaning capacity is affected by hard water.
How is it different than a detergent?
Detergents use a synthetic (man-made) surfactant in place of the metal/fatty acid salt that is used in soap. Detergents react less to minerals in hard water. Most detergents are made with petroleum-based materials but there are may new detergents being made with renewable materials.
Then, what is a surfactant?
All soaps and detergents contain a surfactant (surface active agents) as their active ingredient. The head of the surfactant acts a a wetting agent, lowering the surface tension and allowing penetration of water molecules. The tails forms an emulsion with any oily particles and encapsulates dirt particles, allowing them to be washed away.
You will sometimes see the term "surfactant" being used to mean "detergent". This can be confusing because as I have just explained, both soap and detergent are surfactants.
So which one is better?
Soap is wonderful. It gets things clean, works on grease but depending on the application may not always be the best choice. Soap can leave behind a film on surfaces, so it probably won't be my first choice for dish soap. However, for my skin it is absolutely my first choice. My skin needs that extra moisturizing that you can only get from a well made artisan soap.
There are many new detergents on the market. Decyl polyglucose is a very mild detergent made from sugar that has been extracted from corn. But, it is not organic so you can be pretty sure that it was made from GMO corn. You will find this detergent in many "natural" body washes, hand soaps, kitchen soaps and laundry detergents. Sodium laureth sulfoacetate (SLSa), sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), or sodium laureth sulfate are not as mild but still considered low hazard on EWG's Skin Deep website. You will find them in body washes, bubble bars, bubble baths and foaming bath bombs.
If a Hollywood style bubble bath is your thing, you will definitely be looking for a good detergent. Soap, even liquid soap does not produce long lasting bubbles. I prefer a soap based laundry cleaner because it leave your clothes feeling softer, even when the are line dried. It also does not leave a residue that causes itching and skin irritation.
I hope I have made you feel more knowledgeable about the difference between soaps and detergents and helps you make informed choices about the products that you are using.
References:
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Skip to week 2. There is a large, scratched area on the front bumper of my car. Someone must have hit it while it was parked in front of my house. So, I had a brand new “looking” car for all of 2 weeks. Now, there I was trying to combat all the negative thoughts. Why can’t I have anything nice? How much is this going to cost to fix? (The answer to that question is $2000, by the way.) In the meanwhile, my children are in the car with me watching to see what my reaction will be. I decided that I was not going to let someone else’s behavior dictate my mood and how my day was going to go. I decided that I would continue happily with my day and enjoy the little time that I do have to spend with my family.
This year has been a bit “different” and there have been so, so many changes. It is easy to get disheartened by the difficult situations that are occurring around us daily. Sometimes you must be determined to rise above it all and find your "happy place". Find joy in the people and activities that you love. By no means is it always easy but it is a particularly important part of reducing the stress in your life and taking care of yourself.
I am thankful that today that I can enjoy what I do have. I wish that I could have learned this lesson much earlier in life. You may not have control over the world swirling around you but, you can choose you have joy in less than perfect situations.
Staying Thankful.
]]>Can salsa be made with canned tomatoes? Absolutely! The one thing that I have learned is that which type and brand of tomatoes does matter. Use San Marzano tomatoes if possible. If you cannot find them you can use San Marzano style or Italian style tomatoes.
I used the store brand Italian style tomatoes and the salsa was delicious, better than any jar salsa, but it just tasted flat. The next time I was able to use Hunts San Marzano style tomatoes and wow, what a difference. The first thing that I noticed is that it required way less salt than when I used the store brand tomatoes. There is a freshness that makes it hard to believe they came from a can. You can't beat the ingredient list: tomatoes, tomato juice, less than 2% of salt and citric acid. Bring on the chips, it's not going to last long.
EVERYDAY SALSA RECIPE
AKA
ARRICKA'S LICK YOU BOWL SALSA EXPERIENCE
1/2 |
Medium peeled white onion |
1 large |
Peeled clove of garlic or 2 small cloves |
1/2 C |
Cilantro |
1/2 |
Seeded Jalapeño pepper |
1 |
28 oz. can of San Marzano or Italian style tomatoes |
|
Juice of one quarter to one half a lime |
1 tsp |
Salt |
1/2 tsp |
Pepper |
1tsp |
Honey |
DIRECTIONS
I make my salsa in a food processor cause it takes like 5 minutes.
First quarter onion and add the onion, peeled garlic, cilantro and jalapeño to the food processor. Pulse until chopped. Add the tomatoes, lime juice, salt pepper and honey. Pulse until blended.
Taste your salsa and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Pour in a bowl and serve or into a jar for later. Keeps 5 to 7 days in the fridge. Good luck with that. I've never kept mine more than 2 days. Slurp!
Tips:
Taste your jalapeno before adding it to your salsa. Jalapeno peppers an range from, "Is this a pepper?" mild to, "my mouth is literally on fire" hot. If you taste it first you can avoid ruining an awesome salsa by making it too hot for your personal taste.
]]>The summer is upon us and you know what that means...PEACHES. It's time to make peach soap and ours smells, well just peachy. When I was formulating my peach soap I checked around to see if peach soap was even "a thing". Maybe no one would even want peach soap. It turns out that there are plenty of peach soaps. Some were peach colored, others smelled like peaches but none of them were made with actual peaches. Well where's the fun in that?
Peaches can play an important roll in skincare, thanks to their rich variety of skin friendly nutrients and antioxidants. Peaches are high in vitamins C, A and K. They can assist in tightening your pores and rejuvenating your tired skin. The beta carotene, potassium, magnesium and selenium in peaches protect your skin from the harsh outdoor elements. Peach juice is also very moisturizing for dry and aging skin. Wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles and blemishes can all be tamed by the antioxidant power of this luscious fruit.
I bet you didn't know that the protein's contained in a peach facilitate tissue repair in your skin. Applying it to a cut or laceration can help you heal a little faster. Eating peaches often can give a boost to your immune system, keeping skin infections at bay. Rubbing a slice of peach on your skin as a face mask sloughs away dead skin cells, and the enzymes present, nourish and refresh your skin. The peel of the fruit can also be used a very effective cleanser for your skin.
…And you thought they were just juicy and delicious.
]]>There's nothing better than freshly baked bread. It makes your house smell great, your family adore you and your neighbors will think that you are a domestic goddess. This oatmeal bread is very easy to make and is a great recipe for a beginner. I used a Kitchen-Aid but a hand mixer and some good old fashion elbow grease would still get the job done.
Judi, of Judi in the Kitchen, created a recipe for two oatmeal bread loaves. I have adapted her recipe to make a single loaf of bread.
Oatmeal Bread
3/4 C boiling water
3/4 C quick oats ( I used regular oatmeal)
.75 oz. (1 1/2 Tbsp) butter
1/8 C honey
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp potato starch (optional)
10 oz. (2 Cups) bread flour
1 package (1/4 oz.) Rapid Rise yeast
1 egg + 1 tsp water for egg wash
melted butter (optional)
In a saucepan or kettle, heat water to boiling. Meanwhile, place oats, butter, honey, brown sugar, salt and potato starch (optional) in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment until well blended and the temperature reduces to 120-130 degrees.
Change mixer paddle to a dough hook. Add flour, yeast and eggs; mix on low to medium speed for 8-10 minutes. Remove bowel from mixer, lightly coat dough with oil, or cooking spray, cover and allow dough to rest 10 minutes.
On a lightly floured board, form the dough into a loaf and place it into a greased loaf pan. Place in an oven proof box (see video) or spray with nonstick cooking spray, cover with waxed paper and a towel and allow dough to rise ON (not in) a warm oven for about 30 minutes.
Mix the egg and water. Brush the risen dough with the egg wash and top with oats. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from an and place on a wire rack. Brush top with melted butter (optional). Allow bread to cool before cutting.
]]>Our domain name renews itself every year on the 31st of December. This year there was a glitch and we were not able to connect our domain name bksoapco.com wit our Pattern by Etsy website. We were down for whole 10 days. Etsy was no help at all. We finally made the decision to switch to the Shopify platform. We put together an impromptu website in 1 day. Being able to build a decent website that quickly says a lot about how easy it is to use Shopify.
It's still a work in progress because we were not planning on building out a new website this year but, it's coming together. It's so much better than the old one. There are just so many useful features that we will be able to add to create a much better shopping experience for customers. No more free shipping codes …yea!
You will be able to subscribe to some of our products in the future. We have better analytics and my favorite feature by far is the integration. It works with all of my other software to make my life a little easier. I love it.
Even though we ended up here under less than perfect circumstances, I'm glad we made the switch. I would never go back.
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