Ok, so my conscience couldn’t let me take his beer and make soap that day. Of course, I found other ways to satisfy the soaping urge. My lightbulb moment came when I remembered that I had some new colors still to play with and melt and pour soap base patiently waiting for attention. Lucky day!
I tried my mettle against a new salt scrub recipe- it won but I vowed a rematch on another day. I got a beautiful blue color out of that attempt and a new favorite rain scent, so it wasn’t a waste at all! I also played more with swirling and got a great flame look in the Indonesian Teakwood bars. Will post pictures as soon as my uploader cooperates again.
There is also a Texas Suds in the making for the guys. Should be ready in a few weeks and promise to keep you posted!
It’s a wonderfully rainy day here in my neck of the woods. Looking outside since before dawn, I’ve enjoyed a beautiful lightning show and heard raindrops bouncing off my roof. Peaceful bliss as I daydream of a spring garden in my now weed-filled garden box. I picture fresh green shoots pushing their way up; maybe some lavender again, lemon verbena, rosemary, cilantro. Ahhh, spring is on its way. Too wet to paint house today so my mind wanders…
In the back of my mind though arises soapy thoughts. Those lovely garden plans would be great whipped up into some soaps like I’d been planning for the spring. Fresh lavender? Rosemary infused oils? Oh yeah- now I’m getting even more excited!! So I give the storm one last salute as I race into the kitchen for my soap pot and stick blenders. Momma’s gonna make some more soap today- yee haw! Grab the oils, contemplate if there’s enough beer in the fridge for me to snag some of his and make that beer soap again. Probably would be noticed with Super Bowl tomorrow so add beer to grocery list to replace the two I just took. Colors?!?! I just got some more colors to play with. The family sees the soap pot and supplies on the counter, that mad scientist look in my eyes, and just smile at me. Hope your weekend is as great as mine looks to be!
As promised, and humbly asking for forgiveness for taking so long, I am posting the pictures of the chocolate soaps. I used two different recipes with this round and the soaps are visibly different. For those who find the phrase “you get out what you put in” to be absolutely ridiculous, take a peek. I’d say this is one of those times where it is obviously true! These were placed in the exact same molds, lined with the same material, and stored in the same place. No added colors or heat applied. The only difference was in the oils used.
Chocolate Soap made with mostly coconut oil
This soap had a high amount of coconut and sunflower oils in the formula and the results were quite pretty. It had a shiny, glossy look when unmolded and a lightly grainy looking texture. Beautiful bubbles and very smooth. If you look, you will see that some of the corners have a differently shaded edge around it. That was not done on purpose at all- just part of the fun in creating something like this. You can never tell exactly what you will get!
Creamy Chocolate Soap
This one was made with my regular recipes tweaked to add in coconut and sunflower oils at a lower percentage. It is much creamier in appearance and lather. Higher sunflower oil percentage allows for bigger bubbles but can be tricky to keep from being too soft so I wanted to play around with the recipe. When unmolded, I found that this batch created a “frosted” look on top- all on its own! And you thought only my kids keep me guessing, right?
Chocolate soaps
So here are both soaps side by side in all their glory. Although I have carried on here about some of the differences between them, I must also be fair and point out what’s the same. They both smell like real chocolate brownies and leave a great clean and smooth feel on the skin. They are made from natural ingredients and no “fillers.” Handmade soaps, at least mine, don’t always look as perfectly the same from bar to bar as mass produced ones. Maybe some day I’ll invest in really large industrial molds to get perfectly matched bars but until then, I’m going to enjoy my soap making and cutting time. They can be unpredictable at times as you create them, even with the same recipes, but are always worth the time and effort. Grab a bar and go have some fun!
