Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey

Oatmeal, milk and honey are a great combination for breakfast!  These three ingredients also join together nicely in cold-process soap.  I used goat milk for 100 percent of the liquid in this batch and once again, was amazed at how well-behaved  the frozen goat milk was when combined with sodium hydroxide (lye).  The mixture stayed manageably cool and a beautiful creamy color with minimal odor.  I'm now a fan of using milk in soap!  Finely ground oatmeal and clover honey round out the namesake ingredients for this delectable "breakfast" bar!






Monday, July 9, 2012

'Welcome Summer!' Berry Bar

I recently purchased a quart of fresh goat milk from a local produce market.  Goat milk is known for containing fats that contribute to moisturizing qualities in soap. Working with it can be tricky, though, as it tends to heat up and can even scorch when combined with sodium hydroxide as part of the soap making process.  One method to counteract this is to freeze the milk,  then weigh out the needed amount according to the recipe being used.  I found this worked very well and the goat milk/sodium hydroxide solution stayed cool....no overheating!  Other ingredients include oils of palm, coconut, olive, shea butter, oxide colorant and a delectable berry fragrance oil.  Mmmm, so good!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Been on 'pause', time to hit 'play'!

It's hard to believe that it has been over a year since I first started thinking about a way to chronicle and share my soap making experiences.  Somehow, the busyness of life put blogging on the back burner!  But now, with new resolve, I'm moving forward from my first posting on the lovely duet of Lavender and Orange.  Soon to come, a 'Welcome, Summer!' berry bar, as well as a soap rendition of Oatmeal, Milk and Honey.