Rose Clay

This was my first attempt to use rose clay as a natural colorant for soap.   I have used white kaolin clay before and liked the nice creaminess it adds to soap bars.  Rose clay is another kaolin clay, mild and gentle to the skin. The beautiful rose color comes from its iron oxide content.  Like white kaolin clay, rose clay is known for adding a silky creaminess to soap.

 I knew that using clay as a colorant might add some challenges to the soap making process.  Since clays by nature absorb moisture, I was uncertain as to  how much water to use for the liquid portion of my recipe.  I wanted to be able to work in a swirl if possible, so decided  not to go any lower than a a 33% water to oil weight.   I pre-moistened the clay by adding 1 tsp clay to 1 tbsp water (1 1/2 - 2 tsp water would have probably been enough).   After blending my oils and lye solution until emulsified, I mixed in 1/4 tsp  titanium dioxide, then removed a small amount of soap for swirling.  I added the rose clay to the remainder, only using about half of what had been pre-moistened.  The result was a beautiful shade of rose pink.   Using all of the clay would have yielded a deeper color which would have been pretty, too.  I will definitely try that another time.  It soaped nicely and I'm happy with the swirl.  The fragrance is a soft feminine scent with a hint of mimosa, jasmine and musk.

Butter You Say?

Including butters in a basic vegetable oil recipe can add desirable properties to soap. Any number of vegetable butters are available to soap makers, including almond, avocado, olive, mango, shea and cocoa to name a few.   Kokum is yet another, one that I've used before and found that it contributed to a hard bar with nice lather.

Kokum butter is obtained from the fruit kernels of the ‘garcinia indica’ tree, a tropical evergreen that grows along the western coast of India. It is a butter rich in the conditioning fatty acids oleic and linoleic.  It also contains the antioxidant Vitamin E as well as stearic acid which contributes to its characteristic hardness.  Recommended usage in a soap recipe is from 2 - 5 percent.  I added it at a ratio of just over 3 percent.

Kokum butter is a great addition to any soap recipe including this batch scented with Pineapple and Coconut fragrance oil. 

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!

'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!

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.