Soapmaking

Recently our STII Gender Advocacy Team headed by Ms. Chato Lopez (in the picture, standing)organized a soapmaking workshop. Soapmaking guru was Ms. Josie Mahinay (in the picture, seated and holding a mic), a chemist. It was fun. The basic ingredients were cooking oil and caustic soda solution. These were mixed well until thick like a condensed milk. This was the creative stage when one can add color (using food grade colorant), scent (essential oil from fruits or flowers), decoctions from medicinal plants such as antibacterial or antifungal, milk (moisturizer), or coffee (antioxidant). Above were our finished products-- lemon bath soaps in plastic ice cream cups and dishwashing liquid in plastic bottles.