The past week has fired me up for some soap making again. The gift baskets of soaps and lotions were a hit; there wasn't any one fragrance that won the crowd over -- although the Cherry Almond and Hazelnut soaps ended up getting sniffed a bit more than the rest.
So -- a new batch of Cherry Almond, as well as a batch of Chocolate Hazelnut, were made up yesterday, using my go-to recipe for my hot-process method. Although, the 850g recipe is a WEE bit too large to fit my 2lb mold comfortably; no biggy if I have an extra mold or two handy for the overflow.
The fragrance oil used for the Choc Hazelnut is called "Mint Chocolate chip," but there didn't seem to be any mint tones. At all. Therefore, I dumped in the last of my Hazelnut (maybe 2 tsp), to give it a little fragrance assistance.
I used the last drop of Castor oil with those batches, literally. I also emptied the last of my yogurt, but had ZERO interest in running to the store --- on the DAY after Christmas. No thank you, ma'am.
Therefore, I tinkered around with the SoapCalc.com site and came up with a good standby recipe...
... and used some remaining Heavy Whipping Cream (left over from an amazingly rich hot chocolate recipe.) Note: I also reduced the oils to 800g and decreased the water % -- the result: a perfect fit for my 2lb mold, and a nicely hardening bar.
Orchid & Amber milk soap
Seeing how the suds were so excessive AND the soap feeling lovingly luxurious (from the single soap ball created from scraping the sides), this may end up being my new go-to.
THEN---today, I wanted to make up another couple of batches, but... I was out of olive oil! nearing Ol' Mother Hubbard stage. Once again, I had zero interest in heading to the store, so....
.... playing commenced on the site once more, in addition to some research on using brewed tea as a liquid...
Ginger & Lemon tea soap
The tea cubes ended up being darker than I expected. Two bags of Green Tea & Lemon, along with a sprig of fresh Rosemary were steeped for about 2 hours before freezing into cubes.
Once emulsified, the mixture looked a bit like melted caramels!
I needn't be worried about this recipe as a non-sudser! Running some cleanup water into the bowl not only gave me an idea of the bubbles it is capable of, it also gave me an excellent idea of the aroma created by the lemongrass & ginger essential oil combination. The ginger seems to be hidden under the citrusy lemon fragrance. Very light and 'clean'!
