I’ve always wanted to make a creamy, white/ivory soap — to remind me of the days of Ivory Soap. I loved Ivory Soap as a kid, and it will always have a special place in my . So, for my first soap of 2009, I decided to make my wish come true. Coming off a two-month no-soaping vacation, I was very eager to get back on “my soap box”.

RTCP (heat transfer), cuz I was not about to wait for lye water to cool down. I was ready to get the batter in the mold, and wait for the magic! It was, I must say, truly…magical.

My soap doesn’t “float” (and won’t be as drying as real Ivory Soap), but it’s pure soapy goodness: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil and Castor Oil. No scent. No color. It has a fresh, clean, “soapy” smell, and I can’t wait to get it in the shower. 

NEA

 Enjoy your loved ones!

Yes, I’ve only been  making soap for over a year, and that’s a “truth” that’s simply not true, in all cases. I have a 70% coconut oil soap, and it’s delightful! You know why? Because it’s got 15% refined hempseed oil and 15% unrefined shea butter, and it’s superfatted at…you guessed it…15%. It works for my skin, and none of my testers reported dryness.  It’s my “luxury” soap, and I’m still waiting for the DOS (I’m saving a hunk, to see what happens over time).

So, what am I saying? High percentages of coconut oil aren’t necessarily drying to the skin. It depends on YOUR skin, and the soap formulation (including superfat percentage). I wish folks would say, “I haven’t been able to formulate a recipe with higher percentages of coconut oil that didn’t dry out MY skin”, and leave it at that.

NEA

NEA

That’s why I don’t post pics of most of my soaps. They’re all (the majority) some shade of…brown. I’m not really feelin’ the liquid soap dyes I have now (too messy), and I’m on the hunt for something new.  I just sliced up my second beer soap! It’s made with Voodoo Brewery’s Wynona’s Big Brown Ale. I like the smell of it, right out of the mold, better than my first beer soap.

With 10% unrefined Shea, it’s got a splash of Agave Nectar (my new vegan “honey”), and a touch of nutmeg. That’s it. No added fragrance or color. A pic is coming. But let me warn you: It’s brown soap.

NEA

My soapmaking will slow down, as the year comes to a close. I did the same thing, last year. It’s a nice…break, and keeps me from getting burned out. I’ve made enough soap to clean an entire nation — for a year. It’s time to enjoy family, friends and good food. I’m not even sure I’ll be participating in any Christmas swaps.

I want two (2) more molds. Upland log molds, actually. I’m looking at either 15-inch, or 18-inch. I’m hoping to do two (2) summer craft fairs, next year. It’ll be a fun way to make some extra change.

NEA

I know I said I was “done” with milk soaps, cuz I just don’t see what all the hype is about. Well, I’d read the using fresh GM is very different from using powdered GM. So, since I hadn’t made a fresh GM soap, I decided to do just that — with some Agave Nectar thrown in. It’s in the mold now — and it’s got a towel thrown over it. It’s cold in the room, and my Silvermoon molds don’t allow for easy gels — not with my recipes.

I gel ALL my soaps (including milk soaps), cuz I don’t like the texture of un-gelled soap. So, the soap will probably be a nice, rich tan color. I’m fine with that. I decided to leave this soap unscented. A pic is forthcoming, of course.

NEA

I just finished my FIRST beer soap! It’s in the mold now, lightly insulated, gelling nicely. This soap is my “remake” for the Fall Harvest swap. The first soap I made for the swap is very nice, but the scent is almost non-existent, and not quite what I was aiming for — a little too much “cinnamon”.

I used Dundee’s Honey Brown lager beer, instead of distilled water, added a little nutmeg and another one of my apple spice FOs. I’ll post a pic, after I cut it up. I hope my swap mates like it!

 **Update** Changed out the “blurry” pic for this clear one! I’m really happy with how it turned out! I’m not sure what the fragrance will end up being, but…it’s fun to watch it evolve!

NEA

I’m leaving for work shortly, and I’d planned to have the oils measured out last nite. I didn’t do that, and I’m not going to have time this morning. Oh well…

 NEA

The beer has to be…flat. I got that part. Makes sense. As usual, there’s different ideas, regarding “cooking” beer beforehand, or just allowing it to sit out in the open and get flat, over a period of several days.

I brought my beer to a good boil (and almost watched it foam over onto the stove), and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes. I poured it into a plastic pitcher, and it’s in the fridge cooling off, and going flat. My lye order is late, so I can’t do anything till Monday or Tuesday of NEXT week. So my cooked beer will have five days in the fridge to do its thing.

Why did I choose to cook it first? Well, I don’t know if I’m going to add an FO, or just make it fragrance-free. If I do decide to add fragrance, it’ll probably be one of the new spicy apple FOs I have. A spice FO + alcohol + lye = a seizing mess, in my mind. So, I decided to be safe and lose the alcohol, along with the carbonation. Plus, I really wanna reduce the possibility of foaming lye beer, rising out of my glass pitcher.

When it’s made and sliced up, I’ll post a pic to show the results…and I’ll reveal the beer I chose to use for my very first beer soap!

NEA