easy skincare DIYs, beauty crafts and soap making
It's that time of year again... crunch time for cold process soap makers. If you want to get your Christmas soaps done in time for holiday gift giving you need to get cracking. I'm pretty late to the game this year myself, but not to worry, I've got us covered with this recipe. It uses a pretty steep water discount which allows this Christmas tree soap to cure in about 3 weeks. Procrastinators rejoice 🙂
...A gentle luxurious face soap recipe with nourishing and cleansing rose clay and coconut milk powder.
I've been resisting using handmade soap on my face for the longest time. My own handmade soap mind you - where I know exactly how it's made and what went in. I always had in the back of my mind what had been drilled into our heads at esthetitian school: "Never ever use soap on your face".
I could see, that for someone with very oily, acne prone skin a nice bar of charcoal tea tree soap could be beneficial, but for my dry and sensitive skin? Uh, no thanks.
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You might've noticed by now that when it comes to soap I like to experiment with new and different types of ingredients. As it happened this time I had this little bottle with pristine white sand that I brought home from Florida sitting on the shelf taunting me to do something with it. Well, into the soap it went.
This avocado soap recipe includes fresh avocado, avocado oil and lots of pampering shea butter. It's a real treat for your skin!
I love avocados! As food they're delicious, satisfying and super healthy, and they're also great to use in cold process soap giving it a decadent rich creamy lather that is delightful.
Avocado oil, shea butter and fresh avocado are the key players for this soap. Fresh avocado fruit as well as avocado oil contains vitamins A, D and E and nourishing omega 3 fatty acids. Both contribute amazing conditioning properties and creamy luxurious lather to the finished soap.
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I've had this idea for a banana soap in my head for quite some time. Something like a banana cream pie soap maybe. But what would the end result look like and would I be happy with it? I started to do some research and saw a variety of banana soaps that ranged from very brown to very speckled to creamy yellow with few specks. Some soap makers reported the specks would disappear after a while. Well, I decided it was time to do my own little research project on using bananas in soap.
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I live in the Garden State. Yes that's right, New Jersey. The state known for it's closeness to NYC, it's stinky highways, industrial areas, and also it's beaches. What most people don't know is that we do have plenty of greenery here, as the name suggests. Folks really love to grow their veggies in our neck of the woods and when summer rolls around, we have cucumbers for dayyys.
...This Lemongrass Calendula Soap Recipe was originally published on May 8th, 2018 and updated on January 23rd, 2019. I've added an update an how the colors and scent have fared over time. So, scroll down to the bottom to see what this soap looks like after 9 months.
I love to add fresh ingredients to my soaps. It's a fun way to try something new on a whim since most fruits and veggies are easy enough to come by. I also find that they can bring interest and label appeal to your soaps. In this recipe I'm trying something a little more exotic: papaya paired with turmeric. The result is a wonderfully creamy and nourishing turmeric papaya soap.
...This was only the second time I had the chance to participate in the Soap Challenge Club. The first time was when we did the rimmed round soaps and, boy, that was some challenge. I can still vividly remember me and Mr. Tinker trying to cut thin layers out of a thick block of semi-hardened soap . Me holding the block, him pulling the wire through - ahhh, fun times 🙂
my entry for the rimmed soap challenge in May 2016
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This summer it seems like everyone and their neighbor's uncle is making some sort of watermelon themed soap (you know, soap that looks like the real thing). But instead of making a soap that only looked or smelled like a watermelon. I wondered if it would work to put actual watermelon juice in there.
It did, and combined with a juicy blend of lime essential oil it makes for the perfect summer soap.
Now, why does it not always work out to put fruit juice in your cold process soap?...
