The work load at Oma's Workshop has been rather light lately. I am still tossing around a lot of ideas I would like to implement. Of course, I need to work on one at a time, and I am guilty of trying to do too many things at the same time and getting overwhelmed.
I have thought about making Pine Tar soap. You may know that there is a controversy with this soap. Old time soapmakers love making this soap and have never seen a problem with it. With new information though, we have found that there is a possibility of pine tar containing an ingredient called, 'Creosote', which is a carcinogen. We really don't know for sure if pine tar soap actually does contain this ingredient or not, but, to make the issue more complicated, supposedly the way the pine tar is processed, can affect whether there is any remaining creosote in the pine tar.
I contacted a company that sells pine tar, and asked them about creosote. They process their pine tar in the way that will end up with little to zero amount of creosote in it. They said they can't guarantee that their pine tar doesn't have creosote, because they do not test it to know the results.
I would feel safe using this brand of pine tar. But there are other complications with selling pine tar soap. Pine Tar soap is known for helping people who have skin problems, such as eczema. Selling this kind of soap could require having a special kind of licensing because the finished produced would be under the category of health/beauty instead of just a soap product. I probably could make it and sell it if I had people who specifically ask for it, but I am not able to give descriptions on how it can help with your beauty, unless I were a certified cosmetician.
So, if there is an interest, let me know personally, and if I get enough requests, I will make it. I will give more information and updates as I hear more about this.
Someday, I would like to add a nursery to my little store. I would sell organic plants and seeds. More on that to come later on as well.
I ordered some 'soapnut' seeds. There is a plant which grows 'soapnuts' which can be used to wash clothing with or in ways similar to how we would use soap. Hurry up plants and germinate!
I also just planted some indigo plant seeds. The color from the indigo plant can be used to dye soap with. It can also be used to dye other things with too.
I have quite a few bars of goat's milk oatmeal soap, and some are in different scents like lavender and apple-jack if anyone is interested. Also, sheep's milk oatmeal soap is available. Goat's milk oatmeal is $3.50/bar (4 oz.) and Sheep's milk oatmeal is $4/bar. Some of the money from the Goat's or sheep's milk oatmeal soaps goes to Sanctuary Ministries, which helps support women who are pregnant and decide to go through the pregnancy and deliver their babies.
