Monday, July 16, 2012

Lilac Honeysuckle

Hello everyone!

I made a pink and violet soap scented in lilac honeysuckle and topped with some iridescent glitter.  I used a hanger swirl to create the design and I like the way it came out. 




I ordered more supplies and should be getting them in later this week.  I was finally able to get more loofah so will be making more loofah soaps soon.  I also got some rubber duckies to embed in soap.  They're so cute!  Another thing I ordered is pink Himalayan salt so I can make some salt bars.  That should be fun!  I'll post all those on here as I get them done.

Have a great week!

Candy :o)

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Loofah Soap

Hi everyone!

I recently made some Passionfruit Loofah soaps.  These are great for exfoliation in the shower on heels or other dry areas.  They smell so sweet and juicy and yummy!  I use a high quality melt and pour base which has no sodium lauryl sulfate or propylene glycol which can have negative effects on the skin and in the body.  I used micas for color and a natural loofah from Bramble Berry.  Loofahs are actually a vegetable similar to a zucchini which is left on the vine to grow to oversize, then picked and dried.  I've grown them before but always eaten them, never used them in soap.  Hope to grow them again soon.  I'll show some pictures and let you know how I made them so that you can have fun and make them yourself!


Here's my soap base all cut up and weighed.  I used 30oz. to  make 6 5oz. bars.



I use one loofah to make twelve soaps.  So I cut a loofah in half, and then into six pieces to make my six bars.  After cutting them, I soak them in a bowl of cold water to soften and expand.  This is also when you want to remove any seeds that you find.  After a minute or so, I drain the water and squeeze as much water as I can out of each loofah.  Then I squeeze them again in a paper towel to make sure they are dried.  You don't want to use wet loofah because the water can cause mold to grow in the soap.  Yuck! 



After drying the loofah, I put a piece in each cavity in my silicone mold.  Mine is square but you can use pretty much any shape you want, even flower shaped.  The loofah is soft enough at this point that it will form and fit into any mold you use. 



I melted my soap base and added my micas and fragrance oil.  Before pouring the soap into the mold, I spritzed rubbing alcohol into each cavity and onto the loofah just to make sure the soap adhered really well.  You don't want soap falling off of the loofah while you're using it.  I poured my soap into each cavity and filled it to the top.  This makes each soap about 5oz.  Again, I spritzed the top of the soaps with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any air bubbles.  I let the soap harden for 4-6 hours then unmolded and wrapped. 




Here's the soap the next day, wrapped and waiting for labels.  Fun to make!

Have a great day!

Candy =0)