Anticipation

One of the things I love about making soap is the anticipation of making that first cut into a fresh loaf of soap. You never know for sure if the soap turned out the way you'd envisioned it. In the case of the Salt & Pepper soap, it turned out exactly as I'd hoped it would, glycerin rivers and all.

Salt & Pepper Soap, January 2020

See the crackled appearance in the white part of the bar? That is what's known as glycerin rivers. I'm by no means an expert but here's one explanation from soapmaker extraordinaire, Auntie Clara, explaining glycerin rivers: "...when soap goes through gel phase, particles of colour pigment added to the soap seem to gravitate and stick to the greasy, water-repellent tails of the soap molecules while leaving the water-soluble heads of the molecules without pigment. This happens sometimes when soap coloured with titanium dioxide and other colour pigments goes through gel phase." 

Titanium dioxide is what I used in the white part to make it more white. I know that when I make this particular soap, I get glycerin rivers and I love the look in this case.

The Charcoal & Lavender Castile was, shall we say, educational. With the first cut, I realized it had gone through partial gel. The gel phase of soap making is the heating stage of saponification. Once you pour your soap into its mold it will start to heat up. Gel phase starts with the soap turning translucent in the middle and then spreads out to the edges. ... The biggest difference between gelled and un-gelled soap is the color of it. (From Lovinsoap.com)

You can recognize partial gel instantly. There will be a ring spreading from the center but not to the outer edges of the soap. That's what happened with this one; there was a pale grey ring in the bars. I didn't take a picture of it because I was, if I'm honest, a little disappointed. John, however, thought it was pretty cool and was disappointed when I planed each of the bars, which helped to diminish the very obvious ring.

Partial gel in no way affects the quality of the soap; like glycerin rivers, it's purely cosmetic. Both of these soaps will be amazing once they've cured, in about 4-6 weeks. Next time, however, I may force gel in the charcoal soap, for cosmetic reasons only.

Salt & Pepper

With work being a bit slow at this time of year, my boss suggested that my co-worker and I each work half days for the remainder of this week. I hate to say it but we both jumped at the chance. Since I do the daily cash out, I suggested he take the mornings and I'd take the afternoons. Today's the first day we're doing this and I've taken advantage of the opportunity to make another batch of soap.

This one is called Salt & Pepper; the white side has poppy seeds in it, to resemble pepper and the black side has coarse kosher salt in it to resemble..... well, salt. I've scented it with Salt Water Mermaid from Candora.

I've made this one a few times before and it's always been popular. I haven't had it in stock since early last year so it's about time I made it again. Inside, it has a side to side hanger swirl and the salt in the dark side will give the soap a somewhat mottled appearance. The recipe also includes lard, which makes a very nice skin loving soap. I've topped it with a little kosher salt and some poppy seeds.

Salt & Pepper Soap
Made Jan. 22, 2020

I should be able to cut this loaf some time tonight. Once it's cut, I'll take the "official" picture. Now though, it's time to get ready for work. 

Hmmm... what shall I make tomorrow?

Black is Beautiful

One of the soaps that sold out at last year's market was my Charcoal & Lavender Castile soap. It's a basic castile soap, with a little coconut and castor oil for bubble support. Then, I added a good dose of charcoal and some lavender essential oil. It's also made with sea water. Real sea water from Canada's West Coast. My daughter's partner brought it to me from Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island.

Charcoal and lavender have both been used throughout the centuries for skin care, especially for those with oily or break out prone skin. That said, soap is soap. In itself, it doesn't cure anything as it's a wash off product but it certainly won't damage your skin (unless you're allergic to any of the ingredients, obviously).

One of the things I've been working towards with my soap is to have several "lines". One of them is Basic Soap; this soap, along with unscented and uncoloured Castile soap are a part of that line. One other line this one qualifies as is Vegan Friendly. It's made with plant oils, Activated Charcoal (which is made from wood) and essential oil.

I think it's also one of my most dramatic soaps, dark and a beautiful!

Charcoal & Lavender Castile Soap

As a side note, two posts in one day after almost a one year absence... talk about jumping in with both feet, right?

I Haven't Disappeared.... yet

I'm almost embarrassed to be posting again after so long. It's been almost a year since my last post; soaps have been made and sold; possible new products are being made and tested. Life keeps going on.

I now have two market years behind me; it's been educational and a lot of fun. My fellow vendors, and the people who run the East Kelowna Sunday Artisan Market are wonderful people and I've made some lovely friends. I missed one market out of the entire season because we do take an occasional vacation.

At this point in the calendar year, I'm gearing up for this year's upcoming market season. Over the last few weekends, soaps have been made. This one was made for a Soapmaking Forum challenge or, rather, an unchallenge. It wasn't an "official" challenge as December is a very busy month for almost everyone. Instead, the challenge was to create a soap using a new-to-you technique, or something that you've wanted to try but never got around to trying.

In my case, it was mica marbling. I've seen a few soapmakers make soap using this technique and I love the look of it.

I coloured it with Silver Sparkle mica (which turned the soap a really nice pale green for some reason) and used Copper Moon mica for the swirls. It's scented with Lemongrass Verbena fragrance oil. To show the marbling effect best, the soap needs to be cut horizontally rather than the usual vertical cut. I love the look of the bars but I'm not sure how much the mica will "shed". The bars aren't quite ready to be used yet but once they are, I'll be picking the messiest (the one with the most mica showing) and giving it a good try. I'm concerned that the mica may rub off on a washcloth or skin. The small bars, with the heart embeds were made with the leftover batter and a couple of mini hearts I had left from last year's Valentine's soap.

If you're in the Kelowna area, the East Kelowna Sunday Artisan Market will have their first market of the season on Sunday, February 16, from 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. I'll be there; will you?

Thank Goodness for Time Off

I'm off work this week for some much needed down time. It's a great opportunity to get things organized for the start of our market season. I have spent time this week taking a full inventory of what I have available, what I need to make, what needs to be labeled and organizing my Square storefront.

I've spent time making soap and planning soapy products. I'm waiting for a few ingredients to show up so other products can be made. I've pampered myself and I've enjoyed the sunshine in a way that I can't when I'm at work.

First, and foremost, soap has been made. Granted, I've only made two batches this week but, first, the week isn't over yet, and second, I really don't need that much soap for now. What I'm making now won't be ready for sale for at least a month (one of them).

I wasn't going to make it but the Poop emoji soap really did sell well last year. I sold out at the Christmas market and decided then that I wasn't going to make any more. Now that market season is about to start, however, I decided that maybe I should make a batch or two for this year's markets.

As I said, for some reason it always sells. I guess it's the snicker factor; everyone snickers when they see it. They're almost afraid to touch it but fascinated to find that it smells like Chocolate Fudge. It makes me giggle every time I watch people's reaction.

Another soap that sells well for me just happens to be one of our favourite soaps and I like to have in stock at all times. Salt soap is a mild soap; washing with it is like washing with salt water. It's gentle enough that I use it on my face almost daily (I have to try other products, too.... I don't test on animals, I test on me!)

I love these bar molds. I used to make this soap in a variety of sizes and shapes, including flowers but I like these shapes better. They fit nicely in the hands. The bars come in at just under 3 oz, so they're a nice size and, this way, they look very similar.

Yesterday, I made a batch of Fizzing Bath Melts, made with cocoa butter, citric acid, and baking soda. When added to your bath water, the cocoa butter melts, creating a skin-soothing bath. They're also made with fragrance oil, this time Lavender & Basil fragrance oil. I love making these using a moon cake press; it's so easy and they're so pretty.

This past weekend, I played with another product, something totally different.

They look edible don't they? Like strawberry marshmallows, right? Well, appearances are deceiving in this case. These are Marshmallow Body Wash Cubes; yes, they're soap! They look like marshmallows, they feel like marshmallows. You use them to wash yourself.

The recipe made a few more than I had anticipated. I'm thinking of bagging about four to a bag and adding a tag just to see how, or if, they will sell. They smell edible; they look edible. I'll definitely have to add a warning tag!

Today's only Wednesday; I still have a few days off. In that time, I'll be shrink wrapping and labeling soap; I'll be making and packaging other products, including shampoo bars and conditioner bars. I'll also be making sure I take time to enjoy the beautiful spring weather we're having. I'm not sure I'll be ready to go back to work next Monday; I'm enjoying my time off far too much.

I Love This Stuff!

I'm calling it Buttercream Body Frosting and it looks like buttercream frosting. It is a beautiful bath product. It's gentle and it foams like crazy.

It starts with a base that looks like (ew) lard or shortening and it whips up into this gorgeous, light, creamy foam cleanser.

Cooking up the base. It all comes together quickly. Once everything is dissolved and looks like a smooth lotion, it's time to let it cool before adding the preservative.

One kilogram of beautiful base. It does look like lard, though, doesn't it? At this point, it needs to cool and thicken up. It will be ready for whipping up by tonight or tomorrow. Once whipped, here's how it looks...

The one on the left is scented with Mango Sorbet and smells positively edible. So yummy. The one on the left is scented with Karma, a Lush duplicate that has become one of my favourite fragrances.

Just a little scoop lathers up like crazy. I'd probably use a touch more if I was washing myself but I wanted to show you just how well it lathers. (I need a new bath puff; this one's falling apart.)

This really is a gentle cleanser, with a pH of about 5-5.5 and is so luxurious. It isn't just for your body either. It can, in a pinch, be used as a shampoo, facial cleanser, shave cream, or a base for a sugar scrub. Fun stuff!

Both fragrances (and maybe others) will be available at the East Kelowna Sunday Artisan Market, starting up May 5.

Speaking of Hair

One question I received over and over at last year's market was, "Do you make shampoo bars?" I explained to those asking that the soap I make is a lye based soap and it really isn't the right PH for hair. In time, hair will be more damaged by a lye based soap than it will using shampoo especially formulated for hair. (That is, unless you wash and rinse it correctly and most people don't.)

Well, having said all that, I'm now starting to make shampoo and conditioner bars. The recipe I'm using is not lye based; it's a mild surfactant based shampoo (synthetic detergent) and oils that are good for hair. I've been using it for over a month now and I'm really happy with it. My daughter, granddaughter, and one of my nieces have been testing it as well and all reports have been very positive.

The front bar, with the 4-leaf clover is the shampoo bar. I scented this small batch (only 5 bars) with Pink Grapefruit. We all love the scent and we love how soft and clean it leaves our hair. My hair is quite dry, and quite fine (but there's a lot of it, according to every single hairdresser I've ever gone to) so I do need the conditioner; I'm finding the combination is perfect for me.

3 days after my last washing and it still doesn't feel like it needs it

I'll be making more this weekend and will be offering it for sale at this years markets, along with a few other new to me products. Keeping watching this spot for updates and news.