Safflower Powder in Cold Process Soap
Friday, May 17th, 2013
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Archive for the ‘Cold Process Soap’ Category
Paprika Powder in Cold Process Soap
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
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Orange Peel Powder in Cold Process Soap
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
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Olive Leaf Powder Soap
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013| I am so excited to use the Olive Leaf Powder today. I have had so much fun learning about all of these different botanicals and how they react in soap. So I went to open the bag. I am not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t what I discovered. The Olive Leaf Powder smelled green, salty, and like olive oil. It reminded me a little of a loaf of bread fresh from the oven with rosemary, oregano, salt and drizzled in olive oil. I can tell you it has me craving Italian in a big, bad, ugly way. Now the problem is what to order! In the mean time, let’s go make some soap!
Notes: I cut this soap and then photoed it immediately afterward. You can see what the soap will look like cure and not quite cured. I have noticed the color changes during the curing process. Some soaps have it more extreme than others. Although it is hard to see in the photo, it is a soft green to brown color. Very light and natural looking. In the finished soap, there was the light smell of salt but I could not really smell the greenness or the olive oil odors any more. The salty odor that was there was not enough to hugely influence fragrance you might choose though. I am considering fresh odors like Mona Lisa and Cotton. What scents would you use with this botanical?
Recipe:
Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool to a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. Mix the oils and lye solution and blend until trace is achieved. Pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. Enjoy!
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 Finished Soap  Olive Leaf Powder  Melted Oils  Adding Olive Leaf Powder  Mixing Soap  Mixing Soap  Soap in Mold |
Kelp Powder Soap
Monday, May 13th, 2013| When I first opened the Kelp Powder, I was a little unsure. Sure, I was in love with the color but I wasn’t so sure about the odor. It smelled salty and even a little fishy. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. What do you think? Will the odor come through in the soap? Let’s go find out!
Notes: I am in love with the finished color of this soap. It is kind of a soft green color. It almost reminds me of french green clay. It is very natural and elegant looking. I think it would make a beautiful salt soap. There was no coloration of the water, suds or a washcloth. No staining to worry about! Yippee! This bar of soap did have an odor. When I added the Kelp Powder at trace, it smelled potently of fish. When it was first cut, it almost smelled like dirty feet. After curing, the odor smelled more like seaweed and salt. Not strong or overwhelming. However, I would definitely choose strong scents or those that have an ozone note to them. I am excited to play around more with this botanical. I am thinking of using fragrance oils like The Meadow, Jacob, Ocean Rain and Woodland Ice. What fragrances would you use for this botanical?
Recipe:
Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool to a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. Mix the oils and lye solution and blend until trace is achieved. Pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. Enjoy!
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 Finished Kelp Soap Melted Oils  Mixing Soap  Adding Kelp Powder  Soap in Mold |
Cold Process Soap Beginners Class
Saturday, May 11th, 2013During the month of April we offered several Cold Process Soap Beginner classes and had a great time learning about the terminology, equipment, and a step by step guide in making our own first batches of cold process soap.
Everyone received a beginners equipment package that included a (scale, goggles, gloves, soap buckets, soap spoon, pH test strips, thermometer, and their own Soap Making Workbook “When It’s Good to be in a Lather“). They also received 4 complete 1 lb soap kits to make their own first batches of soap. We had a few students that took the class twice and for their second class they received 10 – 1 lb soap kits. Wow, this got them off learning the techniques in making cold process soap.
We did have an instance when someone had a batch of soap that took off in temperature and reached 200 degrees. I won’t name any names. 
This was a great opportunity for me to see how things could go wrong and best of all how to correct this from happening again. I feel like I am ready to conquer most soaps now. I have added several photos to show you how much we learned and enjoyed this class. I am really excited to be offering this new series of classes.
So are you all ready for an Intermediate Cold Process Class? I’m getting excited for this next class. Everyone will receive several batches of soap to make but I’m trying to decide what to include in this class. Some students have suggested adding multiple colors, maybe swirls, or adding different types of objects into the soap. What would you like to do? I need a few suggestions so I can finish putting this class together.
Thanks for playing!
Using Infusions in Cold Process Soap
Thursday, May 2nd, 2013Last I showed you how to use your infusions in the Melt & Pour Soap, it is a very easy process and a great way to incorporate all those dried herb infused properties into your soaps. Now I am going to show you how to add the infusions we made into a cold process soap. I have gathered some supplies and I’m ready show you how easy this is as well.Supplies Needed:
Recipe:
Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool separately until they reach a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. When cooled, mix the oils and lye solution together and blend with immersion blender until trace. Once your mixture has made it to trace then add the infusion (approximately 1 teaspoon per lb of fat), mix thoroughly then pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. That’s it! Where is the easy button? I have noticed that when adding the infusions that I am getting a very light color or tint to the soap. Check out the photo of the two 1 lb. clamshell containers, the batch to the right is shown without the infusion and the batch to the left (the pale orange color) is a batch of soap made with the paprika powder infused in apricot kernel oil. I only used 1 tsp and got this fabulous color. I think I’m craving a Creamsicle about now; how about you? I have added a few photos to show you the process, I hope you are making infusions with me and enjoying the fun.
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Madder Root Powder Soap
Monday, April 29th, 2013| I wanted to approach today’s blog with caution. Red is a difficult color to achieve for clothes and finding soap stable reds has been a nightmare. I didn’t really want to make any assumptions because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Finding a good red is hard and having been disappointed before, I didn’t want to be too hopeful. Let’s go see what color of soap we get from Madder Root Powder!
Notes: I have to admit, I am pleased and thrilled about the color of the soap. It is not a bold scarlet but it does make a beautiful soft red/pink color. I really have to wonder how the color will change due to a lower or higher usage rate. I did not have any lather change color, or water or even stain a washcloth. I am so thrilled about that! I did not notice any odors when using this botanical. The finished bar of soap smells like a regular unscented bar of soap. It does have that clean smell but nothing other than that. I can’t wait to use this botanical with fragrance oils. I want to use berry or floral scents. Ooh, I can just imagine one with Rose Geranium. What scents would you use?
Recipe:
Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool to a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. Mix the oils and lye solution and blend until trace is achieved. Pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. Enjoy!
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 Finished Soap Melted Oils  Adding Madder Root Powder  Stirring in Madder Root Powder  Soap in Mold |
Creamy Chai Soap
Monday, April 1st, 2013| I love baking spices. You know the ones. Ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, etc. I have loved them since I was little. Now that I am older, you can always find crystalized ginger and cinnamon sticks, as well as a variety of the powders I listed above, in my cupboard. That is part of why I love Chai so much. If you or anyone you know is a big spice lover, come join me this week. You will love it. Let’s head to the kitchen!
I had wanted to use Coconut Oil in this formulation but when I went rummaging through my cupboard for my Coconut Oil, I discovered a small crisis. I don’t have any Coconut Oil! Ack! How did that happen? Quick, call the fire brigade! (Just kidding.) However, until I remedy this crisis, I will just have to make soap with the oils I have on hand.Instead of using Coconut Oil, I decided to use Palm Oil. While it doesn’t create the big, bubbly lather that Coconut Oil does, it does create a nice dense, almost creamy lather. I love that really thick lather that just covers your hands. I also used Hydrogenated Soybean Oil. It contributes hardness to the bar and assists with a dense, creamy lather. It also makes a smooth, hard white bar. Another oil I used in this formulation was Olive Oil. I really enjoy using Olive Oil. Sometimes a pure Olive Oil soap can feel slimy to me but match it with other oils, I find it dreamy! It contributes dense lather and a conditioning sensation to the skin. I wanted to use a luxury oil in this recipe. I decided on Shea Butter. Shea Butter is one of my favorite luxury oils for soap. I personally think it adds a creaminess and conditioning that is dreamy. Are you ready to make soap now? Let’s go!
Recipe:
Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool to a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. Mix the oils and lye solution and blend until trace is achieved. Add the fragrance oil at this point. Stir well. Pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. Enjoy! Notes: This finished soap had a much denser lather than what I am used to. It was definitely a lot of fun though. This is a perfect soap for felting wool around. If you are curious, check out my post on Wool Wrapped Soap here! They are such fun projects to do!
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 Finished Soap  Weighing Oils  Weighing Oils  Melted Oils  Adding Lye Solution to melted oils  Mixing Oils and Lye Solution  Mixing Soap  Adding Cream Chai Fragrance Oil |
Annatto Seed Powder Soap
Thursday, March 21st, 2013| The next botanical in our series is Annatto Seed Powder. The smell is slightly sweet and a little woody. The odor is not very noticeable. I am not expecting any odors to come through, however I have been wrong before. I guess we will just have to fine out. Let’s go make some soap!
Notes: I don’t know about you but I am in love with the color of this finished soap. It looks like autumn leaves or pumpkin pie. It definitely has a rich auburn color. It does not change the color of the lather or the color of the water. If you use a washcloth to make lather, it will color the wash cloth but the color rinses right out. No scrubbing required. I didn’t notice any odors in the finished bar of soap. This means you can use any fragrance or essential oil without any interference from the soap. Isn’t that wonderful?! I came up with a small list of fragrances I personally want to use with Annatto Seed Powder. I am think of fragrances along the lines of Pumpkin Pie, Oak Leaves and Acorns, Autumn Afternoon, Spiced Fig and even Apple Jack! What are some scents this botanical inspires you to use?
Recipe:
Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool to a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. Mix the oils and lye solution and blend until trace is achieved. Add the botanical at this point. Stir in well. Pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. Enjoy!
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 Finished Soap  Annatto Seed Powder Melted Oils  Soap at Trace  Adding Annatto Seed Powder |
