Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Handcrafted Soap




Yesterday I had a little time so I made a batch of homemade soap. Tonight it was ready to cut into bars. I use lye (it's not real soap unless you use lye), and natural oils of different kinds such as olive oil and coconut oil etc., plus 100% natural essential oil for fragrance, plus I sometimes add other things like oatmeal. I make soap the old fashioned way. You have to use lye to mix with the oil to have saponification, then after it cures for a few weeks the lye is gone and you have nice gentle soap. This kind of soap is the best for your skin. With today's ways of making lye soap, and the way we measure ingredients, it is the only way to go for me.

I have been making and selling handcrafted soap for several years now. I use different essential oils but every one's favorite is still lavender or lemon grass or the two combined.

This batch of soap has three different natural oils in it plus eucalyptus and lavender essential oils for fragrance. It also has oatmeal and cornmeal plus I threw in some poppy seeds.
Now it has to cure for several weeks and then it will be ready to use.

3 comments:

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I'll bet the area surrounding these soaps must smell heavenly. We're lucky right now to have a shop in town that sells homemade soaps...I've bought a few and really do hate to actually use them because they smell so nice.

Threads of Inspiration said...

Yvonne,
I'm going back and reading your posts...you can bet I'll be checking often. We actually have a lot in common. I made a pile of rocks in my garden in VA, didn't know what it was called, I just really liked having them. Rocks are so calming for me. I also used to make soap. I haven't made it for quite awhile and probably won't get a chance to for awhile...until we get into our own house (staying with my parents right now). My favorite was lavendar with oatmeal. Even though I haven't made any for awhile I can't bring myself to use grocery store soap. It is one of my splurges.
Susan

Yvonne said...

Glad to hear you enjoy my blog. Sounds like we do have a lot in common. Yes, there is nothing like homemade soap.