Pine soap dish
Super excited – just took delivery of a batch of pine (wood) soap dishes. Real soap deserves a good quality soap holder because it doesn’t do well in a puddle of water {and its a shame to waste good soap}.
These are going in my Christmas gift set, but I’ll eventually be listing them for sale soon.
Rosey
I made another batch of Castile soap yesterday morning, using up the rest of my Alkanet and Rosemary infused OO. I also wanted to try out some new moulds I just got.
The soap batter turned a delicate creamy pink colour which pleased me quite a lot.
This batch is unscented (though the Rosemary I infused the oil with comes through yummy-ly in the background) so it can be used on VERY sensitive skin.
Hello Cupcake
Now to bed for a good 4 month cure!
Poppy Love {looks like giant square Kiwis if there ever was such a thing!}
This soap has been in my head for a couple of weeks and now I can create space for another soap idea…
Poppy Love is a luxurious Shea Butter, Olive (infused with orange for 5 weeks), Coconut and Palm Kernel Oil soap, scented with a blend of pure essential oils: Lavender, Dewberry, Tea Tree, Sandalwood and a hint of Thyme. The black dots are Poppy Seeds for a little gentle exfoliation.
I really like this EO blend. I’ve kept the cup I blended it in somewhere airy until the remainder of the oils I didn’t get out evaporates.
The house smells amazing and I’m eager to test the soap in the morning. I’m expecting luxurious creamy lather because of the high percentage of Shea Butter in this recipe.
Update:
W.O.W…I’m keeping most of this soap for my own personal use! That’s all I’m saying.
Aloe Vera is one of God’s miracle plants. Its skin healing and hydration benefits have been known for many centuries and whole companies are built around Aloe Vera products for use internally and externally.
Aloe Vera in soap is also quite popular and I’m going to give it a try with one of the oils I’ve been infusing. My recipe substitutes all the water for AV.
My mum likes to plant things, no matter how much concrete we have in the compound. Years ago she planted some Aloe Vera which has thrived successfully with many off-shoots.
I learnt yesterday that Aloe Vera is most beneficial to skin from 3 years old so I’ll be focusing on harvesting the older leaves as soon as possible. Thanks mum!
My cousin was kind enough to source me good quality alkanet root which I’ve been infusing in Olive oil for a week.
In addition to skin healing benefits, alkanet is used to naturally colour soap, creams and lip balms. Some even use it to dye and strengthen their hair, a little like henna.
I made a small batch of alkanet soap today (for personal use) and I must say I’m quite chuffed how its turned out. Nice purple colour, scented with Lavender EO. Hmmm.
creamy bubbly lather
The one thing we all expect from soap is lather. Lather is generated by wetting the soap and agitating it with our hands, a sponge or wash cloth.
Different oils lend different properties to soap. I of course speak of handmade soap with no chemical preservatives or additives. While some make the soap hard, others make it soft. While some generate big bubbly lather, some give creamy lather. Some oils don’t lather well at all!
A perfect bar is one that has a balance of oils that fit the purpose the soap is being made: baby soap, body soap, facial bar, skin type, etc.
I did a little soap ball {pictured} from the shavings of all the soap I have curing and over-all the lather is a balance of creamy and bubbly. Love it!!!
Sea salt is obtained by collecting sea water and letting it evaporate, leaving the salt behind.
Exfoliating with sea salt usually features in high end spa treatments. I’ve had one and it seemed like something I couldn’t have the time to do by myself on a regular basis until I discovered salt soaps (commonly known as Spa Soap)
In addition to the gentle exfoliation (using fine sea salt), it is also beneficial for detoxifying the skin – drawing out impurities as it gently removes dead skin cells. Increased circulation, skin softening and stress reduction have also been identified as benefits.
I particularly like it in soap because of the dense creamy lather it gives, and not having to deal with messy salt scrubs in the bath. Oh, and for the amazing way my skin feels afterwards!!!
Sea Salt soaps ready for packaging
I mentioned a few posts ago that I was trying out an orange-oilve oil (cold) infusion. I finally strained it out and oh my goodness did it smell delicious! Its been a labour of love and I’m so happy how its turned out. I’ve saved a little of the oil to use on my skin (as is or whipped into some luxurious shea butter) because orange is chock-full of Vitamin C and other antioxidants…good stuff for the skin.
The natural orange scent made it through the soap making process so now I have a batch of 100% Olive Oil soap naturally scented with orange curing (drying out)…ready to use in February.
‘Let’s make beautiful soap’, said the Lye to the Golden Orange Oil
Ah! Trace 😀
Rustic looking block chunks ready to cure till Feb 2013!!!
Soap making is not for the impatient I tell you!
“Give me your benefits”, said the oil to the herb..lol
I first learned from Natural Nigerian that the herb Rosemary is good for soothing dry scalps and she has details on her blog (www.naturalnigerian.com) on how to use it in hair.
Later I found some other sites with more information about how else you can use rosemary in hair care so I’m giving it a go. My hair and scalp could use some gentle but effective natural treatment. My natural African hair is the driest its ever been and my scalp may be worse! I blame it on hormones of course, not neglect *shame faced*
The rosemary infusion is somehow going to become a shampoo bar (I imagine it with Aloe Vera) and a daily hair oil. I’ll keep you posted…
**Update
If you are giving this a try at home, don’t do what I did with the rosemary in the jar. I will have to go through the added step of straining it out of the oil when I’m ready when I could have achieved the same result by tying my herbs up in a piece of cheesecloth or muslin. *sigh*
Sodium Hydroxide
Lye, also known as sodium hydroxide or caustic soda is a key ingredient in soap making. It is the lye that reacts with the oil to turn it into soap. However, lye does not remain in the finished soap {unless too much of it has been used in the formulation of the soap recipe} and the finished product only contains the benefits of the other ingredients used in making the soap.
Sodium hydroxide is used in many industries, mostly as a strong chemical base in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents and as a drain cleaner. (Wikipedia)
Nini Body Treats 