Cream Soap Experiment

At the end of 2018, I did a little experimenting with making a cream soap. After making it, it was to "rot" (or cure) for about 6-8 weeks before using. I did play with it a little bit - I think I made a sugar scrub - but I eventually forgot all about it. Last weekend, while cleaning out the spare room, I thought about it again and dug it out or rather, brought it out into the open.

I love the pearly sheen of the cream soap. This was before I started "playing".

This morning, I decided to play with a bit of it. First, though, I went back to the Soapmaking Forum and did some more reading about cream soaps. I came across a post that mentioned blending it with a bit of thick cream/lotion and decided that was the route I would take.

I used 50 grams of the cream soap, blended it with 10 grams of the lotion base that had been melted into 15 grams of boiling water and mixed up really well. Then, I added 10 drops of fragrance oil. I used Candora's Stormy Nights, which combines floral notes of hyacinth and heather with leafy, green notes. (It's pretty strong on the hyacinth out of the bottle.)

It looks like buttercream frosting and has a very silky feel.

Once all that was done, I took my husband's shave brush and lathered up! I was fairly impressed, to be honest. Next time he shaves, I may get him to try it just to see what he thinks. I tried it on my legs and was pretty happy. That said, my legs were pretty dry to begin with and I really needed to moisturize quite a bit after shaving.

Right after lathering up. It came together beautifully; I probably could have gotten more of a head if I'd used a bowl with a little more texture but you get the idea.

This is an hour later. I left it for about two hours, by which time it was starting to dry out.

The next test will be trying it on my face, just to see how drying (or not) it is. I'll report back when I try it.

Covid-19 and Soap Making

I am now officially unemployed. Today was the first day of my social distancing. I will admit that I'm relieved not to be going to work every day and it's giving me time to get some things done that have been waiting for quite some time.

The market opening is still an uncertainty; it's scheduled to start in May so everyone is in wait and see mode. Because I've been making soap all winter for the upcoming season, I'm well stocked and have decided not to make any more at this time.

For any of my local friends and customers, if you are in need of soap, please contact me. I'd be happy to arrange curbside delivery or pick up. In the interim, stay well, wash your hands often, and remember to practice social distancing.

See you on the other side of all this.

No Slime Castile Soap

At the beginning of my 2019 market season, I decided that I should stock some very basic soap, something that would be gentle, pure, vegan friendly. I came up with two such soaps. The first of those two was the Charcoal and Lavender Castile soap, made with sea water (from the West Coast), olive oil, and a bit of coconut oil and castor oil, coloured with charcoal and scented with lavender essential oil. The second is the pure Castile bar.

This one is the same base recipe as the Charcoal and Lavender Castile but with no colours and no fragrance. One of the downsides of a true Castile soap is the slimy lather. With the addition of salt water, coconut oil and castor oil, that sliminess is minimized. This is a very gentle soap, perfect for all skin types.

And there's just something about a plain white bar of soap, don't you think?

Salt Water Castile Soap

I've been trying to come up with ideas for some new soaps and, in chats with other people, I've come up with some interesting ideas. One idea is to make a line of Okanagan-themed soaps.

To that end, the jars above are filled with something everyone in the Okanagan knows about. On the left is white wine and the jar on the right is red wine. For each, I've reduced a bottle of wine to almost two cups of liquid. At some point in the near future (when some new colorants arrive), I'll be making soap with each of those. There is nothing more Okanagan than wine and I've made soap with beer in the past so why not wine?

I'm still trying to come up with a few more inspirations for this line. Any ideas?

Soap!

So, now that I have these lovely new tools, I should be making soap so I can use them, right? Last weekend, I got on that. I decided that the first soap I made should be a marble soap, a soap that is first cut horizontally to show the marbling, then cut vertically into bars.

This recipe uses shea butter and I like to buy the raw shea, not the processed. It's quite yellow and it does colour the soap somewhat; I know that and I don't mind at all. I chose to try a new to me method of making the soap batter, the heat transfer method. That's when you measure out the solid oils, then mix the lye solution and add it to the hard oils. The heat created by mixing the lye and liquid is usually enough to melt the solid oils. Then the liquid oils are added and you proceed as you normally would. In theory, I liked the idea of this; it is a little faster as you're not waiting for the lye solution and the oils to cool to the same temperature, which can take up to an hour. In this case, though, the recipe is mainly hard oils and the lye solution was unable to completely melt the oils so I had to add some heat until all was melted; then I added the liquid oils and fragrance (Black Tie from Candora). Pouring is done in blobs and layers, with mica sprinkled on between pourings.

Normally, this recipe can be unmolded and cut within 18-24 hours; this time, it took a full 48 hours before I was unable to take it out of the mold to cut. It was very difficult waiting as I really wanted to try the new loaf cutter. Oh my! I am so happy; it was a joy cutting this batch. I've had to tweak the height a little (2 popsicle sticks worth) so I don't end up with too large a left over slab but it's so nice to have even bars of soap. And the bar cutter? Why did I wait so long?? No more wonky, different sized bars!

Using the planer gives the bars a lovely finished look that I'm really liking and it's so easy to use!

Black Tie Marble Soap, scented with Black Tie from Candora (Sophisticated notes of black peppercorn and leather are carefully crafted with warm woods, patchouli, musk and citrus.) Made Feb. 29, 2020

Black Tie Marble - the left overs, swirled with silver mica

This weekend, I restocked a soap that sold better than I had anticipated. I've noticed that my customers usually look for nice smelling and fairly colourful bars of soap. This one is neither. It is unscented and uncoloured, as pure a soap as I can make. It's the No Slime Castile soap, made with a recipe shared by one of the Soapmaking Forum members. Her recipe calls for faux sea water, made with salt and baking soda. However, I asked my daughter's SO to bring me some sea water from the coast and he brought me about a gallon of it.

With the addition of the sea water and a bit of coconut oil and castor oil, this is a lovely mild soap, one of the purest soaps I make. Castile soap, a true 100% olive oil soap, can have somewhat slimy later; this one doesn't. It really is a lovely soap and there's just something about plain white soap that is pleasing, don't you think?

Castile Soap, made March 7, 2020

The Right Tools for the Job

As a maker, I'm of the firm belief that you should splurge on the best tools you can afford for the job you're doing. In soap making, you can improvise easily. Molds can be made out of cardboard boxes, Pringles containers, plastic tubs, silicon muffin cups, almost anything really; cutters can be as simple as a sharp knife or a small wire cheese cutter.

However, if you're doing any kind of production and you want consistency in bar size and shape, you do need to invest in some equipment. The past two weeks have been all about that -- investing in my little business.

I've had my eye on a couple of pieces of equipment for a while but really couldn't justify the expense... until now. We decided it was time to invest in Mission Meadows Soapery. One of the tools I ordered is a bar cutter. It's the same idea as a wire cheese cutter but on a larger scale.

This should eliminate the uneven bars I've been getting, even with an improvised stop on the cheese cutter. An entire loaf can sit on that tray; no more balancing the loaf on a six inch slab of marble while it wobbles while trying to cut it.

The second piece of equipment is a loaf splitter. I don't make many batches in a slab mold but there are some soaps I make that are best cut horizontally first, then into bars. Until now, I've had to use a knife for that and it's been awkward, to say the least. Enter the loaf splitter...

It's adjustable from 1/2" to 3.5" in height and should make quick work of cutting the loaves and it opens up a world of design ideas.

Until now, I've been using battery operated kitchen scales to measure my ingredients. I have two such scales and they've been okay. Lately, though, my "good" scale has been frustrating me no end and there have been times I'm not sure I have the right measurement of an ingredient. If it's something I'm making for myself, I'm not too concerned but if I'm making something that I'll be selling, I need my scale to be accurate. It was time to upgrade the scale.

This is the MyWeigh KD 8000; it can be powered by batteries (3 AAA) or it can be plugged in. That is just what I need! This scale has a 30 year warranty (it will outlive me, most likely!). There's a plastic cover over the front panel and I've been told by numerous soap makers to use the cover. It's there to protect the scale from spills and oopsies (yes, that's a word). It measures down to the gram (for anything smaller, I have a jeweller's scale) or .01 oz and up to 8000 grams (8 kilos). It's known to be a workhorse of a scale.

To round out my investment, I also decided to splurge on a small planer, used to bevel the edges of the soap bars. When the bars are cut, the edges can be "sharp" (if you can call soap sharp). Realistically, after a wash or two, there are no more harsh corners but beveled edges just give the soap a more polished appearance. This is a small hand plane from Kakuri, a Japanese company.

I have two loaves that have been curing in my soap room and are ready for wrapping. I decided to test out the planer on the two loaves, 18 bars. It took just minutes to bevel all eighteen bars and I like the finished look. Now, they just need wrapping. The trimmings are in a paper bag and will be used in a future batch of confetti soap.

I love all my new "toys". Now, I just need to make soap! Until now, I've been somewhat uninspired but ideas are starting to swirl around my brain. No soap making today, though. Today will be spent with friends and family. Tomorrow though......

To Market, To Market

Yesterday was the first of my market Sundays for this year's season. It was great to see all my market family again! A good crowd came out to our little market in the country and even the regular customers were happy the season has started back up.

I'm not totally thrilled with my setup this time; it's looking a little...... blah. The gift sets (on the boxes, top center) get lost against the white background and I'm really not liking the soap in the organza bags. They're great in that they can be picked up and easily smelled but the soap isn't as easy to see and people don't really notice them. 

Last week, I ordered a pattern for a shelf unit that John will be putting together for me. We'll see how that goes; he's really not the handyman type. If the new shelf works, though, I think it could be a good addition to my table. I also think, though, that if I'm going to be in a similar spot (against the wall and out of the sunshine that could affect some products), I'm going to have to go up with my display and I'll need more colour. Any opinions are welcome!

Speaking of the gift boxes, they finally came together and the general consensus is that they look amazing. I don't think this was the right time to introduce them (only two days after Valentine's Day) as only one sold but Mother's Day is coming in a few months and I think they will be a more popular item at that time.

Here's how the sets look (everything is labelled in the actual boxes): 

The Bath Lover's Gift Set
From left to right: Lots of Bubbles Bubble Bath (scented with Salt Water Mermaid fragrance oil, Raspberry Lip Scrub and Lip Serum, Salt Water Mermaid Bath Salt, Foaming Facial Mud Masque (top right), Cocoa Butter & Peppermint Lip Balm, and Vanilla Rose Face & Body Moisturizer

The Shower Lover's Gift Set
From left to right: Foaming Bubble Scrub Bars, Cocoa Butter & Peppermint Lip Balm, Foaming Facial Mud Masque, Raspberry Lip Scrub and Serum, and three Shower Steamers (Menthol Eucalyptus, Menthol Lemon, and Menthol Lime)

When I posted the picture of the Bath Lover's Gift Set in one of the Facebook groups I'm in, I had a number of people ask me for the recipe for the Lots of Bubbles Bubble Bath. After conferring with the owner of the group, I was asked not to share the recipe in the group. I also conferred with Voyageur Soap & Candle, where I had originally obtained the recipe. The recipe is no longer available through Voyageur but all of the ingredients are available through them. 

Because I didn't have permission to share with the Facebook group but did have permission from Voyageur Soap & Candle, I've decided to post the recipe here. It comes together quickly and really does make "Lots of Bubbles"!

Lots of Bubbles Bubble Bath

Yield: 1 kg

• 50 grams BSB Surfactant
• 200 Grams Amphosol CG Surfactant (aka Cocamidopropyl Beetaine)
• 230 grams Bioterge AS40 surfactant
• 500 grams distilled water
• 10 grams Glycerin
• 5 grams Aloe Vera Extract
• 5 grams Germall Plus

Mix all ingredients together. Because all ingredients are liquid, there is no need to use hot water. Preservatives and fragrance can be added at the same time as the other ingredients. Colour as desired.

If you want it thicker, add salt in small amounts, stirring to fully incorporate until the desired thickness is achieved.

If desired, you can also use Crothix to thicken at approximately 2% in place of the equivalent amount of water. You would then add this at the beginning, to the surfactants, heating to melt. You would then have to wait until cool to add the preservative and fragrance.

Note: I don't thicken mine. I don't think it's necessary but you may like your bubble bath with a thicker consistency.

Enjoy!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's a busy day here in the Mission Meadows Soapery kitchen/lab. Over the past two years, I've made some amazing products that aren't soap, per se. I've introduced them to my market customers but the products simply haven't moved at all so I've been trying to come up with a way to get customers to try them. I've decided to put together a few gift boxes, each with a variety of products that are not in my current line but are items I think people will love once they try them.

To that end, I found some boxes I think will work for a simple gift box. Items in this one are for sample purposes only. I've decided to make two kinds, one for those who love baths and one for those who prefer showers.

Today has been spent making some of the products I'll be including in one or both of the boxes. For the time being, I'll only be making three or four of each box and each will have five or six products.

First up is a product especially for those who love their showers... or who don't even have a bath tub in their homes (inconceivable to me... I love my baths!). These are Shower Bubble Scrub Bars. When you rub these over your wet skin, they begin to foam with a lush, fragrant foam. They're almost like a bath bomb for your shower!

They're made with coffee, almond flour, and sugar for scrubbiness and a combination of cocoa butter and mango butter for moisturizing. They smell like a cup of mocha with a shot of vanilla, the perfect thing to wake you up in the morning. Each bar is enough for 2-3 showers. I know they look edible but don't.... just don't.

The second product I made today is Vanilla Rose Moisturizing Cream. I made a similar cream, scented with a combination of rose, patchouli, and sandalwood and coloured a very pale pink, a couple of weeks ago (I don't think I blogged it). This is the same recipe but is uncoloured and scented with Vanilla and Rose fragrance oils. The vanilla fragrance may cause the cream to turn a light tan colour; that's what vanilla does in time. It's made with wonderful ingredients like Colloidal Oatmeal, Argan oil, and Aloe Vera Extract. Seriously, this stuff rivals some of the high end creams you can find at your local department store.

When John smelled it, he said it smells a bit like Pond's Cold Cream, a scent I've always liked. Seriously, this stuff smells really nice!

Next up, I made a batch of another of my favourite products. This is a Foaming Facial Mud Mask, made with Canadian Glacial Clay, bentonite clay, kaolin clay, and Activated Charcoal. It also contains Cocamidopropyl Betain, a very gentle coconut based surfactant. It can be used as a facial masque, allowed to dry on your skin, or as a facial cleanser. When you use water to remove the masque, it begins to lather and becomes a foaming cleanser. Seriously, this stuff is amazing. And you don't have to use it just on your face. It can be used as a Spa Bath Treatment; it isn't like a bubble bath but it does bubble and the minerals in the clays are so good for your body.

It can be used in the shower as well. A dollop in your bath puff can be used as a body wash. It can be used as a scalp treatment and shampoo; it can be used as a spa foot soak or a manicure soak. It can even be used as a foot and hand masque. Seriously amazing stuff!

I couldn't let even a little bit of this product go to waste so I scraped out the pot as well as I could and applied it to my face. There wasn't much left, not even enough to do my entire face.

Mud on my face... HA!

And lastly, I made another batch of liquid bubble bath. I've tried many bubble bath products over the years and I have to say that this is my favourite bubble bath ever. Each bottle contains about 4.5 ounces and should be enough for 4-5 baths depending on how bubbly you like your baths. This is, again, scented with Salt Water Mermaid.

All that's left to do now is to make labels, package everything, and figure out my pricing.