About the Author

Melanie Teegarden

Melanie Teegarden has been proprietor of Althaea Soaps & Herbals for 14 years. She has run an international website selling bath and body products to individuals and spas since 2006. In addition to her home-based business, Melanie also teaches soap making classes in her community of Johnson City, Tennessee.
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Articles by Melanie Teegarden

Evergreen Tree Care and Diseases
December 8, 2022 · · Growing

Learning the basics of evergreen tree care can yield a bounty of useful products for your homestead. In addition to shade, wind insulation, and oxygen production, various evergreens can yield nuts, edible buds, as well as inner bark and needles for tea.

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An Easy Lotion Bar Recipe
October 11, 2022 · · Soapmaking

A DIY lotion bar may seem surprising, but there is nothing better to keep inside your knitting bag for small finger snags and scratchy places.

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How to Make Natural Deer Repellent
January 5, 2022 · · Growing

Perhaps your garden had some unwelcome attention from foragers last year, and your crops suffered. Maybe you have tender, young trees on the property and worry about deer stripping bark from their trunks in the cold, bare days of early spring, or pushing them over as they rub the velvet from their antlers in the fall.

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How to Make Goat Milk Soap in 7 Easy Steps
June 11, 2021 · · Soapmaking

Learning how to make goat milk soap doesn’t have to be complicated. Follow our step-by-step goat milk soap recipe and see for yourself.

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Can You Make Goat Milk Soap Without Handling Lye?
May 27, 2021 · · Soapmaking

The idea of making goat milk soap without handling lye is certainly appealing, but the truth is that somewhere along the line, someone has had to use lye in order to make soap.

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Soap Making Oil Chart
May 27, 2021 · · Soapmaking

In creating a soap making oil chart, I am hoping to clear up some confusion regarding which are the best oils for soap making. Different oils have different fatty acid content and give different properties to the finished soap.

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Using Fresh Produce as Soap Ingredients
May 22, 2021 · · Soapmaking

There are many botanical ingredients you can use as cold process soap ingredients. Lavender and rose petals are classics, and Himalayan Pink Salt soaps are trendy and inviting.

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How to Make Body Wash
May 7, 2021 · · Soapmaking

Making body wash is an easy and rewarding experience. Learning how to make body wash is a simple and fun activity, well-suited to small group projects or craft time with the kids.

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Inexpensive Cold Process Soap Supplies
May 3, 2021 · · Soapmaking

Buying cold process soap supplies doesn’t have to be a major expenditure. Most items can be found locally, at grocery and hardware stores.

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DIY Sugar Scrub: Coconut Oil and Caster Sugar
May 3, 2021 · · Soapmaking

In this article on sugar scrubs using coconut oil, I will offer two different DIY sugar scrub coconut oil recipes. We will also discuss the best sugar for sugar scrub recipes.

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Making Soap Dough for Decorating Body Bars
April 11, 2021 · · Soapmaking

This recipe uses the heat transfer method to melt the oils. This means that the fresh, hot lye water is used to melt the coconut oil completely, then the other two oils are added to help further cool down the batter.

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Using Modern Soapmaking’s Essential Oil Calculator
April 11, 2021 · · Soapmaking

In this article, I will briefly address the art of perfumery as it applies to essential oils in soap. I will then conduct a step-by-step exploration of the Essential Oil Dilution Calculator and how to use it to keep your products both fragrant and safe.

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Making Natural Soap, and Other Soap Myths
April 2, 2021 · · Soapmaking

Do you dream of making natural soap at home? Unless you are willing to collect ashes to make your own lye, chances are that at least some portion of your natural soap will be laboratory created, or at the very least refined.

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Hot and Cold Process Lard Soap Recipes
April 2, 2021 · · Soapmaking

A lard soap recipe, in addition to containing a significant quantity of lard, should also contain complementary fats to bolster bubbles and skin conditioning properties.

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A Basic Tallow Soap Recipe
April 2, 2021 · · Soapmaking

Tallow soap has many wonderful qualities to recommend it, such as a hard, long-lasting bar and creamy lather. It has similar qualities in soap as palm oil. It can also be very emollient when combined with other soap making oils, such as olive oil.

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