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  • 2018 Hoedown Schedule  
  • 2018 First Quarter Agriculture Department's Newsletter
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Calling all VBREA Entrepreneurs...

As a courteous service we post member's business cards.  While we are not endorsing any specific commerce we do  encourage your contacting our members posted below to learn about their services.

Postings are listed in alphabetical order.

Any current member of the VBREA that would like to display their business card on our website must submit a high resolution scan in .jpg format. Member's business card postings will expire after 6 months.

Postings run January 1 through June 30 and if renewed,
July 1 through December 31 of each year. 

To continue having your business card posted, or if you have updated your cards, email the vbrea.webmaster@outlook.com

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​"What you don't know
can hurt you!"
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​Written by VBREA retiree, Dorothy Simmons of "Sun Goddess Soaps".  Dorothy has been creating soap products for over 15 years! 
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Everyone uses soap to wash with, whether it is solid or liquid but that wasn’t always the case. The earliest mention of the creation of soap was in 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. Since that time, it spread through Europe but was heavily taxed so that only those who could make it had it or the rich who could afford it.

Initially, the soap maker had to make their lye by straining wood ashes (hardwood, that is) through boiling water in a barrel with holes in the bottom. When the water finally drained to the bucket below, you would have lye water. But you had to determine the strength of the lye water. To do that, they made a lyeometer by making a saturated solution of brine and taking a stick, weighting it at one end, and floating it in the salt and water mixture. Because of the weight, the stick would bob upright, and they would make a notch in the stick at the point at which it emerged from the brine. Next the lyeometer would be dropped in the lye water. If the stick floated so that the notch was aligned with the surface of the liquid, then the lye was the correct strength for making soap.

Now soap is made scientifically. No longer do we have to make our own lye, however, there are some soap makers who make it the historical way. We know that water and oils do not mix so the addition of crystalline lye creates a chemical reaction called saponification. This allows the soap to mix together to get a bar of soap. Too much lye and you will have a caustic bar of soap. Remember the old days of when grandma’s lye soap would take the skin off you? Too little lye will create a soap that did not saponify all the oils, resulting in a greasy bar of soft soap which will not last.

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No one wants to wash themselves in grease, right? And, too much water will result in soap that will not harden. That’s where the science comes into play.

What you may not have know is that when soap is made, glycerin is a byproduct of the soap making process. Glycerin is a humectant which draws moisture to your skin. This is a good thing. The commercial soap makers, such as, Dove, strip the glycerin from the soap and sell it separate. It’s more profitable for them to do that but it leaves little to no foaming action or moisturizing effect. To get the moisture and foaming effect, they add chemicals. These chemicals can, over a period, cause irritation, allergic reactions, dryness and itchiness.

Handcrafted soap by an experienced soap maker leaves the glycerin in which results in a moisturizing bar. An experienced soap maker will know which oils are drying to the skin and will limit the use of those oils. They also know which oils draw moisture to the skin and know how to combine the oils to create a soothing bar of soap.
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Additionally, the experienced soap maker may add herbs, essential oils or fragrance oils and clays to create a beautiful work of art.  Notice I said an “experienced” soap maker. Soap making has become so popular now that it seems everyone is making it. However, if the soap maker does not know what they’re doing, the consumer will buy soap that may cause irritation or an allergic reaction. 

​SO, if you decide to buy handcrafted soap, be sure the maker has the proper labeling required by the FDA (and there are many of them) and that they have been making it for quite a while. Also, if they are using essential oils, they should receive training in the use. Too much of a particular essential oil can be dangerous because all essential oils are absorbed through the skin. Some essential oils have contraindications. For example, the use of citrus oils and the exposure to sunlight can cause a sunburn. So now you are in the know…


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