Skip to main content

Feelin' like a natural woman

As much as I love playing with colors and blending and adding scents to make my soaps unique, I think simplicity has its own beauty. And, a lot of people prefer unscented, uncolored soap. So I've been on a "simple soap" kick lately, giving my inventory a boost and having a lot of fun, too.
a high olive oil soap, with buttermilk as the liquid
Honey Wheat
I didn't add a scent, of course, but it has the delicate fragrance of a honey graham cracker. Oh, and egg yolk to make it extra creamy.
Good ol' beer soap-- I love how beer makes my skin feel!
And cut....
Still ahead is an all-vegetable oil soap with homemade oat milk, next week. Pictures to come!

Comments

  1. DenniseMarch 30, 2012 at 4:38 PM

    I've been on the same natural kick lately. It just feels good to make a plain but good lookin' bar of soap. I think it might be ending for me soon though. I have a lot of design and fragrance things in the works.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LatherBeSoapingMarch 31, 2012 at 10:15 AM

    Gorgeous soaps, Amy! I like to play with colors and techniques, too, but sometimes I want the natural beauty of a simple soap. Great job!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soaping with Madder

I know that any color added to soap can morph into a surprise, but there is an added element of unknown when using botanicals to color my soap.  Some people jump out of planes or ski off mountains, but this is how I live on the edge these days.  Hmm.  If I weren't having so much fun, I'd be embarrassed. I recently had my first go with madder.  So....whatsa madder?  It's a root--the root of the madder. Ahem. (I love puns...) I infused 8 oz. of olive oil with 2 t. madder root powder for almost a week.  This amount worked out to be 20% of the oils in my batch. I wanted something in the way of embeds to add visual interest.   I dearly love my soap balls but I don't want to over do a good thing.  I've recently done square-shaped embeds, so this time I cut a bar of white soap into slices. I panicked a little that it wouldn't get dark enough--it was kind of a dusty peach--so I added 1/4 t. dried powder right before pouring. Madder powd...
21 comments
Read more

Loofah--from vine to soap

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one.  People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown.  No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant.  Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen.  They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year.  Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space.  Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt.  But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr...
17 comments
Read more

Soap Challenge--Dandelion Swirl

This Great Cakes challenge started off, well, challenging for me.  I had internet problems (a lack of it) and something went rather tragic in my attempt to cobble together a recipe without access to my online lye calculator crutch or a good saponification chart.  Obviously, I need to work on this skill, since my first batch of soap is still not firm enough to cut.  I've seen firmer marshmallow cream.  I'm estimating that I'll be able to cut it in a week or two or maybe three. The top came out pretty, though, didn't it? Sigh.  I wonder what the inside looks like. On to batch number 2.  I went for a winter/snowy theme this time, scented with BB's Fresh Snow fragrance. I made a small 6-bar batch.  I kept noticing that my divider (a dollar store cutting mat) didn't stay in the center but kept migrating toward the edge with every pour.  I was concerned that it would ruin the design, but it held well enough. I know this challenge was all abo...
29 comments
Read more