Friday, March 29, 2019

The Other Soap


I had a lot of nice fragrances from the spring and summer sample kits that I couldn't use in my regular lye soap. It was a shame not to use them. Then I remembered I had all these slabs of glycerin soap leftover from the baby shower soap making fiasco.




 When I couldn't get the baby themed fragrances to work with regular old lye based soap I had to resort to this quick fix. You can make it and use it the same day.



 I use a mixture of coconut, buttermilk and goat's milk commercially made soap bases with grated honey, hemp and aloe bases mixed in for extra moisturizing and general yumminess.



 It's so easy to make. You just melt it all up in the microwave and pour it in the mold. That's why it's called melt and pour soap. A spritz of alcohol tames all the bubbles and helps the layers stick together. It's like magic.




What I love the most about making this kind of soap is the clean up. Unlike your lye based batter it can go right in the kitchen sink. Nothing is toxic. No goggles or respirators are needed.



 What I don't like about this soap is cutting it. It's not soft like my other soap so I can't use the wire cutter on it. I have to slice it and I am pretty terrible at cutting a straight line. They all end up a bit wonky.


Meet Pikake Flower. See all those bits of yummy honey, hemp and aloe floating around just waiting to burst into a silky lather? I have no idea what a Pikake is but it smells exotic and sweet at the same time-kinda like gardenia.



 This is Cherry Blossom and it's yummy. Very cherry.



Tropical Vacation smells like a fruity drink you would sip on the beach-the kind that has an umbrella in it.



 I had so much fun making them that now I have a box full of them.



I'll be offering them up on Sunday for the Spring Giveaway. This time for real. These bars are the same size as my regular soap. I used the same mold for them. They smell a bit stronger even though I used only half of the fragrance oil that I would use in a lye processed soap which is a quarter of the suggested amount. Since the lye doesn't burn anything off the fragrance always stays nice and crisp. I love this type of soap for summer. Without all the heavy butters it rinses cleaner which is something I really appreciate once it gets hot and humid.




All the glycerin soaps are wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then placed in a sealed bag. Unlike the lye soap, you don't want it to breathe until you are ready to use it. It will pull moisture out of the air and dew drops will show up all over it, especially if it's humid. That glycerin dew will make you feel nice and silky but you don't want it working its magic until you are ready so you have to keep it in a dry place.




If you'd like to try it but don't want to waste your soap pick on one of the big ones, you can try a small sample. I've got a ton of these leftover from different giveaways and events. I'll have all the details on Sunday. Stay tuned. For real this time.














11 comments:

  1. So pretty! Love the picture with different ribbons! We have a lot of hand-made soaps selling here but they are never so pretty as yours. Liana

    ReplyDelete
  2. As usual, your soap posts are so interesting! I love the gentle colors of the glycerin soaps and the little bits of goodness suspended in them are so inviting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My, my! How pretty these bars are to add to your collection! Nice work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love glycerin soap, and yours look fun and I know they smell yummy, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those soaps look like spring time to me. Seriously it’s like they’re practically hollering out, “it’s spring it’s spring!” It sounds like a lot easier process than your normal soaps too. You are a sweetheart for doing all of this.
    Blessings, Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOL Well that explains a lot. Ages ago I got into making glycerin soap (for about a week) and after I made it, I tossed it into a basket & set the basket on the bathroom shelf... and it all became a giant, sticky, gooey mess. I never knew I needed to keep it wrapped up tight.

    Luckily you know what you are doing. Your soaps are SO much nicer looking than mine ever hoped to be. I've never heard of pikake but I bet it smells wonderful. I Love gardenias!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The new soap looks and sounds wonderful! From the description of making this soap, it sounds like something that would be fun to do with kids. Your packaging is always extra special.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh IM super interested in the glycerin soaps!!

    ReplyDelete