A new swirl

Had my first go at another swirl this week after being inspired by a wonderful soap maker. It is called a faux funnel swirl and you end up with lots of beautiful layers of colour. I am going to stick with natural colours so I used white, pink, red and green French clay. It worked fairly well although the soap batter got a bit thick so the layers are a bit clumpy. All down to experience :) It is fragranced with citrusy orange, lemon and bergamot which smell lovely but unfortunately bright orange so gave everything a slightly yellow hue so will definitely make sure I use colourless oils next time to see if I can get the colours a bit brighter. 

A few little extras

I've been thinking recently about other products to supplement my soaps so have had a go at making some bath melts. They are mainly cocoa butter with a little bit of sweet almond oil. Just pop one in your nice warm bath and the oils melt and leave your skin feeling amazing. Definitely won't need to moisturise when you get out!

The first was fragranced with rose and sandalwood and contain a sprinkling of rose petals. Smell beautiful!

The second as fragranced with ylang ylang and patchouli giving a rich, heady aroma.


Definitely going to try these again. Might see if I can make some foaming ones next time...

A few new recipes I've been playing with

As I have said before I am trying to develop a palm oil free recipe to submit for my safety assessment.

Here are the first few:

The first is made of coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, sweet almond oil, olive oil and castor oil. How could that lot not leave your skin feeling beautiful. Also had a go with some individual moulds which came out a bit rough around the edges but with a bit of practice should be good.

The second was made of olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter and rice bran oil. Rice bran oil is supposed to be really good at softening dry and sensitive skin. I also had a go at infusing some of the olive oil with sweet paprika which gave it an amazing terracotta colour which I love.

The last so far contains olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter and avocado oil. Avocado oil contains lots of vitamins A, D and E which are great for your skin and leaves it beautifully soft. It is fragranced with lavender and clary sage which I find very calming. I coloured half of the mix with natural chlorophyll but unfortunately forgot which way I was going to cut it so you only see the tiniest bit of swirl on the top and the rest just looks half white, half green. Doh!

Well, that's it so far. Fairly happy with all of them to be honest but going to be back in the kitchen in the next couple of weeks to try a few tweaks and find my favourite.

I'm back and on my soap :) box!

It's been a long time since I updated my blog but I can't believe that it is actually 3 months!!! I have still been busy busy busy making soap and starting to move towards starting my little business up properly. One of the most important things I have to do before I can start selling is to have my recipes checked and receive a safety assessment. To start with this will be for one basic formula of oils and butters which I can then vary to make a range of soaps and this is what I have been working on the most. While researching, I have been becoming more aware about the environmental issues surrounding palm oil.

Palm oil is used in soap because it is believed to give a better texture and a harder bar. Palm oil is also used in a huge range of other products including many processed foods, cosmetics and as a biofuel. Most palm oil originates from Malaysia and Indonesia and while this was sustainable at the start, the rapid increase in demand is now causing significant environmental damage to these areas.


Producers are now removing huge areas of tropical rainforest and peatland to convert them to huge plantations. This is particularly acute in Indonesia which was named in the 2008 Guinness Book of Records as the country with the fastest rate of deforestation and it is also the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world (largely due to deforestation). It is believed that the species that this is being hardest hit is the orangutan, which some report could become extinct within 10 years if the expansion of plantations continues as it is.

Progress is being made and in 2008 the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed so as to make consumers aware about and able to choose the source of their palm oil. There are still though uncertainties about how successful this has been. My personal belief is not that palm oil production should be stopped - it provides a good income and better standard of living for people in areas that may otherwise struggle, but that this should not be at the expense of the delicate environment and vulnerable species that also inhabit the area. So, until I can ensure that I can obtain palm oil that is from a truly sustainable source I will not be using it. Anyway, I've been experimenting with a range of other oils and butters which provide (I think :) ) much more interesting qualities for your skin than just making a nice feeling soap so watch this space!