Speaker 1: Hello and welcome. I'm so glad you're here tonight. Before
Speaker 1: we begin. If these stories bring you peace, I'd be
Speaker 1: grateful if you'd take a moment to like this video
Speaker 1: and subscribe to the channel. It helps others find their
Speaker 1: way to the workshop too. But for now, let everything
Speaker 1: else fade away. Tonight we're going to a quiet soap
Speaker 1: making workshop, a place where oils and herbs becomes something
Speaker 1: useful and beautiful. We're sent and care combined to create
Speaker 1: bars of gentle, handmade soap, where the work is slow
Speaker 1: and intentional and deeply satisfying. You're the soap maker, and
Speaker 1: evening is your favorite time to work. Let's prepare your
Speaker 1: body for rest. Find your most comfortable position, adjust anything
Speaker 1: you need. You're safe here. You're exactly where you need
Speaker 1: to be. Take a gentle breath in through your nose,
Speaker 1: hold it softly, and release it slowly through your mouth.
Speaker 1: Good again, Breathe in slowly and deeply, hold for a moment,
Speaker 1: and let it go, releasing any tension from your day.
Speaker 1: Your shoulders drop away from your ears, your jaw relaxes,
Speaker 1: teeth slightly apart. Your tongue rests softly in your mouth.
Speaker 1: Your eyes are gently closed. There's nothing you need to
Speaker 1: see right now, just my voice, just the story, just
Speaker 1: the peace, feel your body becoming heavy, sinking into comfort,
Speaker 1: supported and safe. There's no hurry here, no rushing, just
Speaker 1: the slow, careful work of making something gentle, something that cleanses,
Speaker 1: something that cares for skin and brings comfort to daily rituals.
Speaker 1: And now, when you're ready, come with me. We're going
Speaker 1: to the soap workshop. It's early evening, the day's heat
Speaker 1: is fading, the air is cooling, that peaceful transition time
Speaker 1: between work and rest, between doing and being. You walk
Speaker 1: down a stone path through a garden. Your garden, the
Speaker 1: herb garden you planted specifically for soap making. The plants
Speaker 1: you tend all season so you can harvest them for
Speaker 1: your work, Your apothecary garden, your living ingredient list. The
Speaker 1: path is made of flat stones set into the earth,
Speaker 1: irregular shapes, fitted together like a puzzle. The stones are
Speaker 1: warm under your feet, still holding heat from the day's sun.
Speaker 1: Small gaps between them allow creeping time to grow, releasing
Speaker 1: its scent when you step on it. That clean herbal smell,
Speaker 1: green and alive. Lavender grows here on both sides of
Speaker 1: the path, tall stalks heavy with purple flowers. The plants
Speaker 1: are in full bloom now late summer. At their peak.
Speaker 1: You brush your hand against them as you pass. The
Speaker 1: flowers are rough, soft, if that makes sense, textured. The
Speaker 1: scent releases immediately generously sweet floral calming, that unmistakable lavender
Speaker 1: smell that needs no explanation, that everyone knows, that everyone
Speaker 1: loves this lavender will go into tonight's soap. You harvested
Speaker 1: some yesterday, hung it to dry, but some is already dried,
Speaker 1: already waiting in the workshop, purple buds in a jar,
Speaker 1: concentrated scent, preserved summer. The bees love the lavender. You
Speaker 1: can hear them now working the flowers, even in the
Speaker 1: fading light. They're low hum peaceful, purposeful. They're collecting what
Speaker 1: they need. You're collecting what you need, both of you
Speaker 1: working with the lavender, both of you transforming it. They
Speaker 1: into honey, you into soap. Rosemary grows in neat bushes
Speaker 1: along the next section of path, tall bushes well established
Speaker 1: here for years. The stems are woody at the base.
Speaker 1: Newer growth is green and pliable. The leaves are needlelike,
Speaker 1: dark green on top silvery underneath. You run your hand
Speaker 1: along a branch. The smell releases clean, sharp, slightly camphor like, invigorating.
Speaker 1: This is the smell that wakes you up, that clears
Speaker 1: your head, that says morning and fresh start and energy.
Speaker 1: You've already harvested rosemary for infusing. Cut branches early in
Speaker 1: the day, when the oils are strongest, stripped the leaves
Speaker 1: infused them in olive oil. The oil sits in a
Speaker 1: jar in the workshop. Golden green now full of rosemary essence.
Speaker 1: That oil will become rosemary soap, cleansing, refreshing, perfect for
Speaker 1: morning showers. Mint spreads enthusiastically in its contained bed. You
Speaker 1: had to contain it. Mint takes over if you let it,
Speaker 1: sends runners everywhere, colonizes so it lives in a raised
Speaker 1: bed with barriers underground. A prison, but a comfortable one,
Speaker 1: and the mint doesn't mind. Mint is happy wherever it grows.
Speaker 1: Peppermint and spearmint both you can tell them apart by scent.
Speaker 1: Peppermint is stronger, more medicinal, more intense. Spearmint is sweeter, gentler, softer.
Speaker 1: Both are useful. Both make good soap. You pinch a
Speaker 1: leaf of peppermint. The scent is immediate and powerful, fresh, cool,
Speaker 1: the same smell as peppermint tea, as candy canes, as toothpaste,
Speaker 1: that clean, tingling sensation. Even in the scent, some of
Speaker 1: this will become soap too, refreshing morning soap, the kind
Speaker 1: that wakes you gently, the kind that makes you feel
Speaker 1: clean and ready and alert. Camomile grows in a sunny corner,
Speaker 1: small white flowers with yellow scenters, daisy like, cheerful. These
Speaker 1: flowers make gentle soap, soothing soap, soap for sensitive skin,
Speaker 1: for babies, for anyone who needs extra gentleness. Colindola grows
Speaker 1: in another bed, orange and yellow flowers, bright, happy. These
Speaker 1: flowers are healing, anti inflammatory, good for soap, for troubled skin,
Speaker 1: for irritation, for care. All these plants, all this growing,
Speaker 1: all this tending and harvesting and caring, all for soap,
Speaker 1: all to make something that will bring small moments of
Speaker 1: pleasure to someone's daily routine, That will turn an ordinary
Speaker 1: shower into a small ritual, a small luxury. You tend
Speaker 1: to this garden spring through fall, water it weat it,
Speaker 1: harvest it, process the herbs, dry them, infuse them, use them,
Speaker 1: the garden and the soap making are one thing, one practice,
Speaker 1: one care, extended from seed to bar. At the end
Speaker 1: of the garden path your work shop, a small stone
Speaker 1: building with a red door, thick walls, small windows, cool
Speaker 1: in summer, warm in winter, perfect for soap making, which
Speaker 1: requires specific temperatures, careful conditions. You reach for the door handle,
Speaker 1: smooth wood, worn by years of hands opening this door,
Speaker 1: your hand, other hands before you, generations of soap makers,
Speaker 1: perhaps working in the same space, continuing the same tradition.
Speaker 1: You turn the handle, push the door open. Step inside
Speaker 1: the workshop welcomes you with its particular atmosphere. The smell
Speaker 1: is the first thing, of course, it is This is
Speaker 1: where scent is made, where fragrance is crafted, where oils
Speaker 1: and herbs becomes something that will fill bathrooms and bring
Speaker 1: small moments of pleasure to ordinary days. The base scent
Speaker 1: is olive oil, rich, slightly fruity, the foundation of good soap.
Speaker 1: You can smell it underlying everything else, pure golden, honest,
Speaker 1: and coconut oil, sweet tropical. This creates the lather, the bubbles,
Speaker 1: the cleansing foam, and essential oils, many of them lavender strongest.
Speaker 1: Right now, because you made lavender soap yesterday, but beneath
Speaker 1: that traces of rosemary, peppermint, tea tree, eucalyptus, all the
Speaker 1: sense you work with, all the fragrances that make each
Speaker 1: batch of soap unique, special, intentional, and lie. You can
Speaker 1: smell that too, though faintly lye has a sharp, clean,
Speaker 1: almost metallic scent, not unpleasant in small amounts, just present, honest.
Speaker 1: It's the transformer, the thing that turns oils into soap,
Speaker 1: the chemical magic that makes everything work. And herbs. Dried
Speaker 1: lavender hanging in bunches from the ceiling beams, dried rosemary,
Speaker 1: dried camomeal flowers. Their scent fills the air, mingles with
Speaker 1: the oils, creates that particular workshop smell that exists nowhere else.
Speaker 1: The workshop is one room, but it's organized into distinct areas.
Speaker 1: Each area has its purpose, its function, its place in
Speaker 1: the process. The walls are whitewashed, stone, thick and old,
Speaker 1: the kind of walls built to last, built to protect,
Speaker 1: built to create stable temperature. The white reflects light, makes
Speaker 1: the space brighter than it would otherwise be. The floor
Speaker 1: is tile, terra cotta tile, sealed and easy to clean,
Speaker 1: essential when working with oils and LYE spills happen, they
Speaker 1: must be cleaned immediately, safely completely. Tile allows this. The
Speaker 1: ceiling is beamed dark wooden beams, rough hewn and ancient.
Speaker 1: From these beams hang your drying herbs, bunches of lavender
Speaker 1: tied with string, rosemary branches, camomeal flowers. They hang upside down,
Speaker 1: drying slowly, preserving their scent, waiting to be used. Along
Speaker 1: one wall your workspace, A long wooden counter, scarred by
Speaker 1: years of u use, but clean and well maintained. This
Speaker 1: is where the magic happens, where oils are measured, where
Speaker 1: LYE is mixed, where soap is made. On the counter.
Speaker 1: Your equipment weights A large stainless steel pot for heating oils,
Speaker 1: not aluminum. Never aluminum. With LYE it reacts stainless steel,
Speaker 1: only safe, reliable, necessary glass measuring jugs for measuring oils precisely.
Speaker 1: Soap making is chemistry. Precision matters. Too much of one thing,
Speaker 1: too little of another, and the soap won't turn out right,
Speaker 1: won't supotify properly, won't be what it should be. A
Speaker 1: digital scale essential. You measure by weight, not volume. Weight
Speaker 1: is accurate. Volume can vary the scale sits there ready, reliable,
Speaker 1: truthful wooden spoons for stirring, long handled st boons dedicated
Speaker 1: to soap making, never used for food. The line between
Speaker 1: soap making tools and cooking tools must be absolute, clear respected.
Speaker 1: A stick blender. This speeds the process, mixes the oils
Speaker 1: and lie water quickly, efficiently, creates trace that magical moment
Speaker 1: when soap begins to thicken, when the mixture changes from
Speaker 1: liquid to something else, something on its way to becoming soap.
Speaker 1: Soap molds sit on a shelf wooden molds lined with
Speaker 1: parchment paper, Silicone molds in various shapes. Each mold creates
Speaker 1: different bars, different sizes, different forms, all beautiful, all useful.
Speaker 1: Another wall holds ingredients, shelves lined with bottles and jars
Speaker 1: and containers. Large bottles of olive oil. This is your
Speaker 1: base oil, the foundation. Good quality olive oil, golden and pure.
Speaker 1: Not extra virgin that's too expensive and its properties change
Speaker 1: in soap making. Just pure olive oil, simple, honest, perfect
Speaker 1: coconut oil in big tubs, solid at room temperature, white creamy.
Speaker 1: This will need to be melted. This creates lather bubbles,
Speaker 1: the satisfying foam of good soap. Bottles of castor oil, thick, sticky.
Speaker 1: Just a small amount goes into each batch. It adds conditioning, moisture,
Speaker 1: care for skin. Containers of LYE sodium hydroxide in sealed containers, labeled, clearly,
Speaker 1: stored safely. LYE is powerful, caustic, dangerous if mishandled, transformative.
Speaker 1: When used correctly, it must be respected, understood, never feared,
Speaker 1: but never taken lightly. Bottles of essential oils lined up
Speaker 1: like soldiers, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, tea tree, eucalyptus, lemon, orange, clary, sage,
Speaker 1: each one carefully chosen, each one therapeutic, each one bringing
Speaker 1: its own properties, its own gifts its own character to
Speaker 1: the soap. Jars of dried herbs, lavender buds, rose petals,
Speaker 1: camomeal flowers, colendula. These can be added to soap for texture,
Speaker 1: for beauty, for gentle, exfoliation, for the simple pleasure of
Speaker 1: seeing flowers embedded in a bar of soap. Natural colorants,
Speaker 1: clay powders, spirillina for green, cocoa powder for brown, rose
Speaker 1: clay for pink, activated charcoal for black, All natural, all gentle,
Speaker 1: all honest. The glazing area, no wrong craft This is soap,
Speaker 1: not pottery. Your mind wandered. Crossed workshops happens sometimes when
Speaker 1: you work in multiple crafts, when your hands know many skills.
Speaker 1: The curing area, yes, that's what this space is called.
Speaker 1: Along another wall, wooden shelves hold bars of soap in
Speaker 1: various stages of curing. Soap must cure, must sit for
Speaker 1: four to six weeks after being made. This pontification process
Speaker 1: continues even after the soap is solid, even after it's
Speaker 1: been cut into bars. It must cure, must dry, must
Speaker 1: become fully itself before it's ready to use. The bars
Speaker 1: sit in rows, some fresh, still soft, some weeks old hardening,
Speaker 1: some ready fully cured, waiting to be wrapped and labeled
Speaker 1: and sold or given as gifts. The colors are beautiful,
Speaker 1: natural colors, cream and white and pale green and soft
Speaker 1: pink and charcoal, gray, earth tones, honest colors, colors that
Speaker 1: say I am made from real things, natural things, things
Speaker 1: from the earth and from plants. You move through the
Speaker 1: workshops slowly, preparing. This is ritual. This is the beginning
Speaker 1: of the work, the work. Before the work. You tie
Speaker 1: an apron around your waist, heavy canvas apron stained with oils,
Speaker 1: and herbs marked by work, proof of making. You tie
Speaker 1: it snugly, protection uniform signal that work is beginning. You
Speaker 1: put on safety glasses always every time when working with lye.
Speaker 1: You protect your eyes. This is non negotiable. Lie can
Speaker 1: splash can cause harm. The glasses sit comfortably on your face,
Speaker 1: clear lenses, full protection. You pull on rubber gloves, thick
Speaker 1: rubber gloves that come up to your elbows. Protection for
Speaker 1: your hands, your skin when the lye water is mixed,
Speaker 1: when it's hot and caustic, These gloves keep you safe.
Speaker 1: They're slightly too large, but that's fine, better too large
Speaker 1: than too small. You're almost ready to begin tonight. You're
Speaker 1: making lavender soap, simple, classic, beautiful, the kind of that
Speaker 1: never goes out of fashion because it's simply right. Gentle lavender,
Speaker 1: caring for skin, bringing calm to morning showers and evening baths.
Speaker 1: You've already measured your oils earlier. This is safer, better
Speaker 1: when working would lie. You want everything else prepared, ready waiting.
Speaker 1: You don't want to be measuring oils after the lye
Speaker 1: is mixed. Everything must be ready first. The oils sit
Speaker 1: in the large stainless steel pot olive oil, coconut oil,
Speaker 1: castor oil already measured to the exact gram, already combined
Speaker 1: solid coconut oil floating in liquid olive oil, waiting to
Speaker 1: be heated, waiting to be melted together. You place the
Speaker 1: pot on the portable electric burner, turn it on low heat,
Speaker 1: gentle heat, just enough to melt the coconut oil. To
Speaker 1: bring all the oils to the same temperature, about one
Speaker 1: hundred degrees fahrenheit. Warm, not hot, just warm. While the
Speaker 1: oil's heat, you prepare the lye water. This step requires focus, attention, respect.
Speaker 1: You take a glass jar to the sink, fill it
Speaker 1: with distilled water, not tap water, distilled pure, no minerals
Speaker 1: to interfere with the chemistry. You measure it carefully, exactly
Speaker 1: the amount needed. Pour it into a heat safe plastic pitcher.
Speaker 1: You take the lye container from its safe storage, open
Speaker 1: it carefully. The lyes in small white pellets looks harmless,
Speaker 1: looks like salt, but it's not. It's powerful, transformative caustic.
Speaker 1: You measure the lye carefully on the scale, exactly the
Speaker 1: amount needed for this recipe. For these oils, the ratio
Speaker 1: must be right. Too much lie and the soap will
Speaker 1: be harsh, too little, and it won't spotify fully, won't
Speaker 1: be soap at all. You carry the measured lie to
Speaker 1: the picture of water. And now the most important rule
Speaker 1: in soap making, the rule you never break, never forget,
Speaker 1: never ignore. Always add lie to water, never water to lie.
Speaker 1: This matters, This is crucial. Lie added to water is controllable.
Speaker 1: Water added to lie can cause violent reactions, dangerous reactions.
Speaker 1: You always add lie to water always. You pour the
Speaker 1: lie pellets slowly into the water, carefully watching. The reaction
Speaker 1: begins immediately, the water clouds turns white, opaque, the lye dissolving,
Speaker 1: and heat, tremendous heat. The lye water becomes hot almost instantly.
Speaker 1: The picture grows warm in your hands. Steam rises, not
Speaker 1: quite boiling, but close. Chemical reaction, energy released, transformation beginning.
Speaker 1: You stir gently with a dedicated spoon. The lye dissolves completely.
Speaker 1: The liquid clears slightly, still cloudy, but less so. The
Speaker 1: heat continues. The picture is almost too hot to hold,
Speaker 1: and the smell, that sharp, clean, almost metallic smell of
Speaker 1: lye strong now present. You're careful not to breathe directly
Speaker 1: over the picture, not to inhale the fumes They're not
Speaker 1: dangerous in this small amount, but they're not pleasant, not
Speaker 1: something you seek. You set the pitcher aside to cool.
Speaker 1: It needs to cool to about one hundred degrees, the
Speaker 1: same temperature as the oils. Everything must be the same
Speaker 1: temperature when you combine them. This is important. This affects
Speaker 1: how the soap sets, how it behaves. While the lye
Speaker 1: water cools. You check the oils. The coconut oil has melted.
Speaker 1: The pot is full of liquid gold, beautiful, pure potential.
Speaker 1: You check the temperature with your thermometer. One hundred five
Speaker 1: degrees close, a bit too warm. You let it cool
Speaker 1: a few more minutes. You check the lye water temperature
Speaker 1: one hundred ten degrees also a bit too warm, cooling nicely,
Speaker 1: though just a bit longer. You prepare your mold while
Speaker 1: you wait. A wooden mold rectangular, long enough to make
Speaker 1: about twelve bars of soap. You line it with parchment paper,
Speaker 1: carefully smooth, no wrinkles. The paper will let you lift
Speaker 1: the soap out easily once it's hard, will make the
Speaker 1: soap release cleanly. You measure essential oils lavender. You'll add
Speaker 1: this at the end after trace. Essential oils are volatile
Speaker 1: heat makes them evaporate, so they go in last when
Speaker 1: the mixture has cooled, when it's thick enough to hold them.
Speaker 1: The bottle of lavender essential oil is dark blue glass.
Speaker 1: You open it, the scent blooms immediately, sweet, floral, perfect.
Speaker 1: This is good oil, pure oil, real lavender, not synthetic.
Speaker 1: You can tell. You can always tell. You measure carefully,
Speaker 1: just the right amount, enough to scent the soap beautifully,
Speaker 1: not so much that it's overpowering, just right. You add
Speaker 1: dried lavender buds to a small bowl. These will go
Speaker 1: into the soap too, for texture, for beauty, for the
Speaker 1: pleasure of seeing real lavender flowers embedded in the bars.
Speaker 1: Everything is ready. The oils are one hundred degrees. The
Speaker 1: lie water is one hundred degrees. Both perfect, both Waiting.
Speaker 1: Now comes the magic, the transformation, the moment when oils
Speaker 1: and lie water becomes soap. You pour the lye water
Speaker 1: slowly into the pot of oils, very slowly, carefully, watching
Speaker 1: it go in, Watching the stream of cloudy liquid meat
Speaker 1: the clear golden oils, watching the two liquids meat touch
Speaker 1: become one. The mixture immediately begins to change. The color lightens,
Speaker 1: the oils which were clear and golden, become opaque, milky, cloudy.
Speaker 1: The lye water, which was cloudy white, disperses into the oils.
Speaker 1: They're beginning to emulsify, beginning to combine, beginning their chemical dance,
Speaker 1: their transformation. This is suponification beginning. This is the ancient
Speaker 1: chemical reaction that turns fats and alkali into soap and glycerin,
Speaker 1: the same reaction humans have been using for thousands of years,
Speaker 1: since the Babylonians, since the Romans discovered that animal fat
Speaker 1: plus wood ash water equals something that cleans. The chemistry
Speaker 1: is simple but magical, triglycerides in the oils meeting sodium
Speaker 1: hydroxide in the lie water, molecular bonds, breaking new bonds,
Speaker 1: forming something entirely new being created from the combination. Neither
Speaker 1: oil anymore nor lie but soap, a new substance, a
Speaker 1: new thing created by transformation. You begin to stir, just
Speaker 1: with a spoon, at first, slowly, gently, just incorporating, just
Speaker 1: helping the oils and lie water meat, just introducing them
Speaker 1: to each other, helping them combine. The spoon moves through
Speaker 1: the mixture, around and around, scraping the bottom, reaching the edges,
Speaker 1: ensuring every is mixed, Everything is included, no pockets of
Speaker 1: pure oil, no pockets of pure lie water, everything together,
Speaker 1: everything becoming one thing. You stir and stir. The motion
Speaker 1: is meditative. The sound is quiet, just the gentle swish
Speaker 1: of liquid, the tap of wood on steel when the
Speaker 1: spoon hits the pot the rhythm of stirring around and around,
Speaker 1: circular motion like the wheel and the pottery studio, like
Speaker 1: so much work done by human hands. Circular, repetitive, meditative.
Speaker 1: The mixture stays liquid, thin like cream, like heavy milk,
Speaker 1: not ready yet, not transformed yet, just beginning. You could
Speaker 1: continue stirring by hand, could spend twenty or thirty or
Speaker 1: forty minutes stirring, could feel your arm tire, your shoulder
Speaker 1: begin to ache, your hand cramps slightly from gripping the spoon.
Speaker 1: Could meditate on the motion, the repetition, the slow transformation
Speaker 1: happening under your spoon could be present with every stir,
Speaker 1: every rotation, every moment of the becoming. Many soap makers
Speaker 1: do this, prefer this, prefer the slow hand stirred method,
Speaker 1: the ancient method, the method that requires time and presence
Speaker 1: and patience, the method that makes you part of the process.
Speaker 1: Rather than just an operator of equipment. But tonight you'll
Speaker 1: use the stick blender. The immersion blender speed the process,
Speaker 1: bring the soap to trace more quickly. This is acceptable,
Speaker 1: This is fine. Different methods for dif different times, different energies,
Speaker 1: different needs. The stick blender sits on the counter, waiting, clean,
Speaker 1: ready plugged in. It's a simple tool, just a motor,
Speaker 1: a stick blades at the end, but it's powerful. It
Speaker 1: emulsifies quickly efficiently. What would take thirty minutes by hand
Speaker 1: takes five minutes with the blender. You lower the stick
Speaker 1: blender into the pot slowly, gently submerge it in the mixture.
Speaker 1: Get it below the surface. Air bubbles in soap aren't desired.
Speaker 1: They create weak spots, so you submerge the blender, get
Speaker 1: it deep in the mixture. You turn it on, press
Speaker 1: the button. The sound is sudden, loud in the quiet workshop,
Speaker 1: a mechanical whirr, a buzz, the blenders spinning, the blades
Speaker 1: rotating fast, very fast, mixing, emulsifying, forcing the oils and
Speaker 1: lie water to combine at the molecular level. The mixture
Speaker 1: immediately begins to change. The blender creates movement, swirls. The
Speaker 1: oils and lie water, mixing more thoroughly than any spoon
Speaker 1: could manage, more completely, more quickly. You blend in short bursts.
Speaker 1: This is important. This is technique. Five seconds on, then off.
Speaker 1: Then you stir by hand for ten seconds, moving the
Speaker 1: blender around the pot, ensuring all the mixture gets blended,
Speaker 1: not just one spot everywhere. Then five seconds on again, blend, off, stir,
Speaker 1: move around the pot, then blend and again. This prevents overheating.
Speaker 1: The blender creates friction. Friction creates heat. Too much heat
Speaker 1: too fast isn't good for soap, can cause problems. So
Speaker 1: you blend in bursts, let the mixture rest between, keep control,
Speaker 1: stay mindful, and slowly, slowly the mixture begins to change
Speaker 1: in a new way. It thickens, just slightly at first,
Speaker 1: just barely noticeable, the consistency changing from thin liquid to
Speaker 1: something more, something with more body, more substance, more presence.
Speaker 1: At first it looks the same milky white opaque. But
Speaker 1: when you pull the blender out and it drips back
Speaker 1: into the pot, it drips a little slower, a little thicker,
Speaker 1: not much, but noticeable. If you're paying attention, and you are,
Speaker 1: you're always paying attention. You continue, blend five seconds off,
Speaker 1: stir ten seconds, blend five seconds off, stir. The rhythm
Speaker 1: of soap making with a stick blender, the dance of
Speaker 1: modern soap making, the balance between speed and care, between
Speaker 1: efficiency and mindfulness. The mixture is definitely thickening. Now when
Speaker 1: you stir, you can feel more resistance. The spoon moves
Speaker 1: through something thicker, something more viscous, something on its way
Speaker 1: to becoming what it will be. You continue, blend, stir, blend, stir,
Speaker 1: the process that's been adapted from ancient hands. Stirring, still
Speaker 1: the same chemistry, still the same transformation, just faster, just
Speaker 1: aided by technology, but still fundamentally the same. Still soap
Speaker 1: being borne. And then you see it, feel it, know
Speaker 1: it in your hands and your experience and your intuition
Speaker 1: that's been developed through many batches of soap. Trace, that's
Speaker 1: what it's called in soap making. Trace, that magical crucial
Speaker 1: moment when the soap batter thickens enough that when you
Speaker 1: drizzle it from the spoon, it leaves a trace on
Speaker 1: the surface, a line, a mark, a trail, visible for
Speaker 1: a second or two before it sinks back in and
Speaker 1: becomes part of the whole again. That's trace. That's the signal.
Speaker 1: That's when you know this pontification is well underway, is happening,
Speaker 1: is real. That's when you know the oils and lye
Speaker 1: have truly combined, have truly emulsified, have truly become soap bad,
Speaker 1: no longer just a mixture, but a new thing, a
Speaker 1: thing on its way to being soap. You turn off
Speaker 1: the stick blender, lift it from the pot, set it aside,
Speaker 1: Lift a wooden spoon, dip it into the batter, lift
Speaker 1: it out, hold it above the pot, Drizzle the batter
Speaker 1: off the spoon. There you can see it. The batter
Speaker 1: falls in a thin stream, hits the surface, and for
Speaker 1: just a moment, just a second or two, you can
Speaker 1: see where it landed, a line on the surface, a
Speaker 1: trace before it merges back into the hole, before it
Speaker 1: becomes indistinguishable from the rest. Trace. Perfect. Ready, the moment
Speaker 1: you've been working toward. This is what you wait for
Speaker 1: in every batch. This moment, this signal, this clear, visible,
Speaker 1: undeniable sign that the soap is happening, that the magic
Speaker 1: is working, that chemistry is doing what chemistry does, that
Speaker 1: transformation is underway. You smile. You always smile at trace.
Speaker 1: Can't help it. It's a small victory, a small success,
Speaker 1: every single time, even though you've done this hundreds of times,
Speaker 1: even though you know it will happen, even though there's
Speaker 1: no real suspense. Still trace makes you smile, makes you
Speaker 1: feel accomplished, makes you grateful for chemistry and ancient knowledge,
Speaker 1: and the fact that humans figured this out thousands of
Speaker 1: years ago, and we're still doing it, still making soap,
Speaker 1: still using this same reaction, still creating this useful, beautiful thing.
Speaker 1: Now you add the scent. This is the moment for
Speaker 1: a scent oils. Now that the mixture is thick enough
Speaker 1: to hold them, to suspend them, to keep them from evaporating.
Speaker 1: Immediately you reach for the bottle of lavender essential oil,
Speaker 1: dark blue glass, cobalt blue, beautiful even as a container.
Speaker 1: The bottle is cool in your hand. The label is handwritten.
Speaker 1: You're handwriting lavender one hundred percent pure the date you
Speaker 1: bought it. You open it carefully, The cap unscrews easily.
Speaker 1: The scent blooms, immediately rises out of the bottle like
Speaker 1: a friendly ghost, like a memory made physical, sweet floral,
Speaker 1: unmistakably lavender, that scent that makes everyone sigh. That makes
Speaker 1: shoulders drop, That makes people close their eyes and breathe
Speaker 1: deeply and say, oh, lavender, This is good oil. Pure oil.
Speaker 1: You can tell, You can always tell. Real lavender. Essential
Speaker 1: oil smells like lavender fields, like purple flowers, like summer.
Speaker 1: Synthetic lavender smells like soap, which is ironic. This will
Speaker 1: become soap. But the oil itself shouldn't smell like soap.
Speaker 1: Shouldn't smell chemical, should smell like the plant it came from.
Speaker 1: You measure carefully, pour the oil into a measuring spoon.
Speaker 1: Count the drops. You want enough to scent the soap beautifully,
Speaker 1: to make it fragrant, to make someone who uses it
Speaker 1: smile when they open the shower, And that lavender scent
Speaker 1: billows out with the steam, but not so much that
Speaker 1: it's overpowering, not so much that it's too strong, not
Speaker 1: so much that it gives someone a headache. Just right,
Speaker 1: just perfect, just enough. You pour the essential oil into
Speaker 1: the soap batter. Watch the drops disappear into the creamy mixture.
Speaker 1: Then you stir gently but thoroughly, around and around, distributing
Speaker 1: the scent evenly throughout the whole batch, making sure every
Speaker 1: part of the soap will smell the same, making sure
Speaker 1: every bar will carry the same amount of lavender, the
Speaker 1: same care, the same, gift it. The smell fills the workshop,
Speaker 1: now really fills it. The concentrated essential oil mixing with
Speaker 1: the soapbatter releases scent into the air, into your lungs,
Speaker 1: into everything, sweet, floral, calming, beautiful. This is why you
Speaker 1: make soap, for this moment, for this scent, For creating
Speaker 1: something that will bring the smell into someone's bathroom, into
Speaker 1: their day, into their life. You sprinkle in the dried
Speaker 1: lavender buds, not too many, just enough. They'll be visible
Speaker 1: in the finished bars, little purple specks, evidence of real flowers,
Speaker 1: real lavender, real care. You stir gently. The batter is
Speaker 1: thickening more now, trace getting heavier, the soap moving toward
Speaker 1: its solid state. You must work quickly, now, must get
Speaker 1: it into the mold before it thickens too much, before
Speaker 1: it becomes unworkable. You pour the soap batter into the
Speaker 1: prepared mold, slowly, carefully, watching it flow, watching it fill
Speaker 1: the mold, watching it settle level. The batter is cream colored,
Speaker 1: flecked with purple, beautiful, simple, honest. You smooth the top
Speaker 1: with a spatula. Make it level, make it flat. This
Speaker 1: will be the bottom of the bars, so it doesn't
Speaker 1: need to be perfect, but you make it nice anyway,
Speaker 1: because that's what you do. You take care, you pay attention,
Speaker 1: You do things well. The mold is full, the soap
Speaker 1: is poured, The work is done almost. You cover the
Speaker 1: mold with a piece of cardboard. This keeps dust off,
Speaker 1: keeps curious insects away, keeps everything clean. Then you wrap
Speaker 1: the whole mold in an old towel. This insulates, it
Speaker 1: keeps the heat in. Soap generates heat as it supontifies.
Speaker 1: This is good. This helps the process the towel. That
Speaker 1: heat contained helps the soap gell helps it become fully itself.
Speaker 1: You place the wrapped mold on a shelf, tuck it away,
Speaker 1: out of the way safe. The soap will stay here
Speaker 1: for twenty four hours. Tomorrow you'll check it. Tomorrow, you'll
Speaker 1: unmold it. Tomorrow you'll cut it into bars. But for tonight,
Speaker 1: it's done. The soap is made, the work is complete.
Speaker 1: You clean up. This is important essential. You can't leave
Speaker 1: lye residue around, can't leave oils spilled. Everything must be
Speaker 1: cleaned thoroughly, safely. You wash the pot, the spoons, the
Speaker 1: measuring cups, hot water, soap, ironic. You washed soap making
Speaker 1: equipment with soap, but that's the way, that's what works.
Speaker 1: You wipe down the counters, make sure no lye water dripped,
Speaker 1: no oils spilled. Everything clean, everything safe, Everything ready for
Speaker 1: next time. You remove your gloves, peel them off carefully
Speaker 1: inside out, contain any residue. You wash your hands, even
Speaker 1: though you wore gloves. Always wash after working with Lye.
Speaker 1: Always be safe. You remove your apron, hang it on
Speaker 1: its hook. Remove your safety glasses, hang them on their hook.
Speaker 1: Everything in its place, Everything ready for tomorrow, for next time,
Speaker 1: for the next batch. You look at the mold wrapped
Speaker 1: in its towel. Inside, chemistry is happening, transformation oils and
Speaker 1: Lye becoming soap, becoming something new, something different, something useful
Speaker 1: and beautiful. Tomorrow you'll unwrap it, see how it turned out,
Speaker 1: Hope for smooth surface, even color perfect saponification. Then you'll
Speaker 1: cut it the whole loaf into individual bars, twelve bars,
Speaker 1: twelve small gifts, twelve small luxuries. Then they'll cure, sit
Speaker 1: on the shelf for six weeks, drying, hardening, becoming fully soap,
Speaker 1: fully ready, fully themselves. But for tonight, they're just beginning,
Speaker 1: just started, just now becoming. The workshop is quiet, now,
Speaker 1: the work is done, The evening is complete. You turn
Speaker 1: off the lights one by one. The workshop darkens, returns
Speaker 1: to rest. You step outside, pull the red door closed
Speaker 1: behind you. The evening air is cool, now fresh. The
Speaker 1: garden smells green and growing. The lavender still releases its
Speaker 1: scent faintly in the darkness. You walk back to your house, slowly, tired,
Speaker 1: good tired, the tired of work completed, of something made,
Speaker 1: of care, given to the process. Your hands smell of lavender,
Speaker 1: even through the gloves, even after washing. The scent has
Speaker 1: infused your skin, become part of you. You'll smell it
Speaker 1: on your pillow. Tonight, we'll dream of purple fields and
Speaker 1: summer sun and bees working flowers. When you reach your house,
Speaker 1: you're ready for rest. Your body tired from standing, from measuring,
Speaker 1: from stirring, from the careful work of making. Your mind
Speaker 1: is quiet, calm, settled by the rhythm of the work,
Speaker 1: by the repetition of the process, by doing something you've
Speaker 1: done dozens of times before and will do dozens of
Speaker 1: times again. You prepare for bed, simply, everything, easy, everything gentle.
Speaker 1: You slip into bed, clean sheets, cool and smooth, the
Speaker 1: weight of blankets settling over you, safe, comfortable home. You
Speaker 1: can still smell the lavender faint on your hands, in
Speaker 1: your hair, around you, lavender, the scent of calm, of peace,
Speaker 1: of rest. Your breathing is slow, deep, steady, like the
Speaker 1: star ring was steady, like the pouring was slow, like
Speaker 1: everything about soap making, patient, intentional, careful. Your body is heavy, relaxed,
Speaker 1: ready to rest. The work is done, the soap is made,
Speaker 1: the evening is complete. Tomorrow there will be more soap
Speaker 1: to make, more oils, to measure, more lye to mix,
Speaker 1: more sense, to add, more bars, to cut, more work,
Speaker 1: more care, more creating. But for now, sleep. The soap
Speaker 1: is made, The work is done. The transformation has begun.
Speaker 1: Sleep comes like trace, slowly thickening, gradually, changing from liquid
Speaker 1: wakefulness to something more solid, something heavier, something that holds you,
Speaker 1: keeps you, carries you into rest. You are the soap maker,
Speaker 1: and tonight you have created something gentle, something caring, something
Speaker 1: that will bring small moments of pleasure to ordinary days.
Speaker 1: Sleep well, Sleep, deeply, sleep peacefully. Good night. M M.
Speaker 2: Num england Us nat nap.
Speaker 1: Us or the dan.
Speaker 2: Nan us up U