So far I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time procrastinating about writing this blog.
Not enough time. More pressing things to do.
But actually….
….Maybe I’m JUST SCARED.
What if nobody reads it?
What if everyone thinks I’m stupid?
What if it’s not good enough?
Well, my fears may prove to be justified. But what if my fears are wrong?
I would miss out on doing something fun, something that might help promote my business, something that might help me improve as a person.
WE CAN’T LET FEAR STOP US FROM MOVING FORWARD.
I was just as unsure the first time I made soap.
I’d done my research. I had gathered all my ingredients and I had researched the method. I watched countless YouTube videos on the subject.
I had a palm oil problem. I went to the local Chinese supermarket to get it but they only had unrefined Palm oil, which is bright orange. Somehow I still expected my soap to be white!
I wanted to scent it with some lavender essential oil I had at home. I also had some lavender buds left over from another project.
Everything went great at first. I weighed my ingredients, made my lye mixture, melted my oils and then blended it all together.
I added my lavender oil and buds and poured it into a plastic lunchbox. I covered it with an old towel and left it until the morning.
I did peek. I still do.
Next morning I anxiously uncovered the soap.
It was still orange and it had brown (lavender sized) lumps in it. The lavender buds had turned into something resembling mouse droppings. And I couldn’t get it out of the lunchbox. I hadn’t lined it. It smelled amazing.
Now some people would say that this was an EPIC FAIL.
But not me. I loved it.
I scooped it out of the lunchbox with a spoon, mouse poo lavender and all. Some came out in chunks. I left it to cure. Well, most of it. I will confess I ran into the bathroom and tried a chunk of it straight away.
I was hooked.
I’ve made a few improvements in the last 8 years since that first try.
I’ve tweaked my recipe many times. I’ve perfected mould lining. I no longer put lavender buds in the soap (but I sometimes put them on top). And I use refined palm oil (sustainably farmed of course).
But I’ve never regretted facing my fears and doing it.
