STANDARDISE SOAP SIZES

 At work there is always great emphasis on continuous improvement and 5S, so this week i decided it was about time that i standardised all my soap sizes for selling.
I have what seems like a never ending collection of moulds which i was happy to use for my own soaping fetish, however since i started selling i find it difficult trying to price up all the different sizes of soaps i make!!

A few weeks back i acquired two 10" long moulds.  I made two batches of soap in them with each slice measuring 2.5"x3.25"x1".  I was still unsure on the size so i decided to make a few more batches with the soap slice height of 2.25" instead of 2.5".  I preferred this shorter height as the soap bar looked less chunky and square, and so this is my new bar size 2.25"x3.25"x1....STANDARDISED!!

I  made the following soaps in my standard mould

Country Chamomile Soap
I love the colour of this soap and also the chamomile and heather flowers sprinkled on top.  I added chamomile powder at trace, which i regret since the soap smells really earthy and it basically kills off any of the vanilla and lemon essential oils i added!!!!

 

Rustic Rose Soap

Pink clay is added and rose petals scattered on top to give a floral feminine appearance.  I added my usual palmarosa and geranium and bergamont essential oils, however i also decided to add vetiver which i added at 20% and the outcome was a really woody floral scent.

'Moorish' Soap

To this soap I added carrot powder and orange peel at trace.  I also decided to add vetiver to this soap, along with the usual orange and Mandarin.  The vetiver really overtakes any citrus smell but i love the orange specks of the peel and carrot powder coming through.

'Ambrosia Soap' ....made with foods of the greek gods..!!

Over the weekend I decided to make a batch of soap specifically for friends and family with skin conditions such as 'psorosis' and 'eczema'.  I thought it would be a nice idea to give them these soaps as gifts instead of soaps which they are not comfortable using, and they will definitely know that i made them specially for them ;P

After doing research on ingredients such as oils and essential oils beneficial for these conditions i decided to make a batch with fresh goats milk. Goats milk is really high in vitamins and proteins, highly moisturising for skin and reduces dryness and itching. 

I had never used fresh milk in any of my soaps before only powdered milks, this is because powdered milk is easier to use and there would be no problems with the milk curdling. Recently I was tempted to use the real thing and there are probably more advantages for your skin than using powdered milk...i could be wrong!! but anyway this was my first batch with REAL FRESH goats milk. 

For this batch i used 50% water and 50% goats milk as my liquids, the water i added to the lye and the goats milk i added at trace. I was really worried that my soap would curdle....but hey presto it was perfect, no curdling only a lovely tan coloured mixture.

At trace i added honey, which deepened the tan  colour of my soap mixture and i also added oats as an exfoliant.  Both honey and oats are recommended for these skin conditions and are known for their benefits to skin.

I added vanilla essential oil with a tiny bit of benzoin essential oil to give a really sweet homely scent.

Overall i was really pleased with this soap, i had no problems with curdling, i love the sweet warm scent resembling cake and cookies and the deep tan colour.

I have named it 'Ambrosia Soap' since ambrosia which is milk and honey are the foods of the Greek gods, and these ingredients truly are nourishing, moisturising and sheer heaven for skin!!

Ambrosia soap in the process of curing

closer view of Ambrosia soap

i like to cut sideways when i have decorations on top in order to get  cleaner and smoother  sides