New Soaps!

Pictures to come over the weekend...but...on Sunday I made some new soaps!

Batch 3: One of them turned out really beautifully. It's coconut oil, deer tallow and olive oil. The coloring is done with cocoa powder and turmeric, swirled together and sprinkled on top with poppy seeds because I wanted to see what it looked like. I scented it with some peppermint essential oil. That was the last batch I made, and it was done in a brand new mold my dad helped me build. I made a 5lb loaf in it, but you can block it up at whatever point to make less if you want.

Batch 2: Right before Christmas, I ordered from Camden Grey Essential Oils, and they had free gifts sent out with everything. I got some bentonite clay, which I had never used before. Everything I read talked about how good it was in shaving soap, so I replaced the water in my second batch with some mint tea and added in bentonite clay. It's got beef tallow, coconut oil and olive oil in it. I used silicone cupcake molds, since my dad and brother both use the little shaving soap cups with brushes and wanted soap to fit in that. When last I checked, it was very green, rather soft and extremely minty.

Batch 1: This batch was my first attempt at goats milk soap. Apparently my grandpa has sensitive skin (didn't realize this previously), so I used this as an excuse to try goats milk soap. I used the canned stuff that's evaporated you get at the grocery store near the condensed milk. The soap came out a pretty creamy color, but I cut it with an unfriendly knife, so I had to go back over the edges with a potato peeler to smooth it out some. The shavings will eventually rebatch to become something. This soap is done with deer tallow, coconut oil and olive oil. I gave my grandpa a bar 2 days after I made it (once it had cured enough to not burn him) to see how he liked it, his response, "It feels like real soap, not the stuff you buy at the store." If I didn't know he was rather, ah, a smart aleck, I would have been hurt that he missed my explanation of how I made it. :P But he loved it.

I can't wait to try them myself, and hopefully the pictures will appear magically over the weekend. :)