Pink Salt Soap

I have tonnes of pink himalayan salt in stock and thought i would make a floral soap topped with it.

This is a cocoa butter based recipe, pink clay has been swirled through the soap to give it a feminine appearance.  Essential oils of ylang ylang, bergamot and grapefruit were added.  The essential oil combination made the mixture seize slightly so i had to quickly pour the mixture into the mould. Lastly the soap was sprinkles with a genourous amount of pink hymalyan salt.

Goats Milk, Oat & Lavender Soap

One of my favourites 'Goats Milk, Oat & Lavender'

Goats milk is super nourishing for skin and creamy.....i just cant seem to get enough of it :)

Cinnamon & Vanilla Soap

On one of those days where i was fantasising about cinnamon pretzels from Brent Cross shopping centre, I decided to make Cinnamon & Vanilla Soap. 

I am addicted to anything sweet with cinnamon.....cinnamon pretzels, cinnamon whirls, cinnamon caramelised apples....so this soap was going to have that sweet sugary touch to it.

Cinnamon & Vanilla Soap is made using a cocoa butter recipe,  fine ground cinnamon is added which gives a nice warm brown colour, cinnamon and vanilla essential oils are added to give that warm cinnamon pretzel scent i love so much. I sprinkled raw brown sugar on top....a bit too much i think, some of it caramelised but most of it is still nice and whole.

Cinnamon & vanilla soap is fully cured and is listed in my Folksy shop.

Spice Soap

During Christmas i made my first batch of soap with bay leaf essential oil and it smelt divine, really spicy, aromatic and festive.

Since it was such a good seller i decided to make a similar soap, i was also trying to go for the 'old spice' scent and try to cater for the male market.

This is a cocoa butter based recipe and the red wine colour is from water infused with madder room. The essential oils added were bay leaf, cinnamon, clove and orange.

Spice soap is fully cured and is listed in my Folksy shop

Goats milk, Oat & Lavender - Just Poured

Goats milk,Oat & Lavender Soap just poured into my mould. 

Its made with cocoa butter, coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil and caster oil and fragrances with lavender essential oil. Cut slices will be put up soon.

'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

Soap Packaging

Just a few pictures to show you the packaging for my soaps, all hand wrapped by myself using traditional packaging styles. Hope you all like them.

'Lime Loofah Soap' & 'Pink Clay and Geranium Soap'

Just a quick blog to show you a few pictures of my new 'Lime Loofah' & 'Pink Clay & Geranium' soaps.

Both still have a few days left of curing, and i cant wait to try them out.

I'm loving how the loofah makes it almost look 'biological' like one of those pictures taken of the nervous system...or something!!!!

Nice and rustic!!! i know some don't like adding rose petals to soap mixtures because they turn dark...BUT....I LOVE IT!!! i love the brown against the pale pink, i love the earthiness, i like the textures...and i love these soaps being round....they'll make great mothers day gifts.

Soap Crazy

Making cold process soap is an addiction, i am making approximately 4 batches of soap each week.  

My kitchen has been taken over by soap making equipment and my rooms are smelling of LUSH.

All the scents which i was never a fan of like lavender, i seem to have fallen in love with.  Here are some soaps i made a few weeks ago and are in the process of curing

left to right: vanilla & peppermint soap, green tea & lemongrass soap, french clay & tea tree soap, lavender soap, gardeners soap

these are my new wooden moulds that i am using, they were made by my friend jose.