Even till today, there are people who are still quite puzzled when I tell them I make soap or when I gift them soaps I have made for various occasions. So the story begins...
In primary school (and shockingly some of my school mates do remember...) I had skin problems. Don't really know what the condition is called per say but in my own comedic way, I think I sweat acid! Brief sideline... I cannot wear non-gold trinkets for more than a few minutes before it starts itching on the skin area it is in contact with but for some stupid reason (I blame young love) when my first boyfriend bought me a silver necklace, I just had to wear it! What with all the itching, scratching and till at some point bleeding... alright, alright... all the smarty pants can chill on the snickering and laughter please... I never said I was a SMART teen.
So... back to this silver necklace... basically I wore it for less than a month and one day in the shower, it just plain FELL OFF my neck. Upon inspection, it looks like it corroded.... it was all blackened and amazingly, the part that gave way was NOT the clasp but somewhere in the middle of the chain. This kids, is to tell you that no love is worth this kind of pain and literally, blood!
Ok, now moving back to the primary school story... I used to get sores that were wet, icky and had pus! In all areas of the skin where joints are fold-able! To treat it, medicinal powder had to be applied and areas that could be bandaged, were... and during the healing process, I could not bend those joints. Half the time I probably looked like a zombie.... what with the bandages and walking funny... trying to write a full arms length away, not bending my elbow.
I guess as I grew older, the skin was more tolerant but yet if entering a really dusty area or areas that have not been cleaned in a long time... the skin will scream bloody murder. Also, certain chemicals aggravate... like alcohol, witch hazel, perfumes... even those in soaps and washing detergent.
Though I always kept to certain brands of products which do not irritate my skin as much, it was only in 2005 or so when a good friend of mine said we should make our own soap! So there we were, melting, pouring, burning, cutting and since then.. I have never not used my own soaps :)
