My Mantra Swirl Attempt

Today I attempted a Mantra Swirl for the first time.  I made a modified Mantra using four colors instead of just three.  I discounted the water and my soap ended up getting almost too thick. Note to self...Don't discount the water on a mantra swirl!  I am pleased with the result overall and even made a video of my adventure!

And here it is.....

The Dandelion Zebra Swirl

This this technique was featured on the Soaping 101's Challenge.  Here I was finally successful at this challenge.  This soap was a result of my second attempt.  In the video below I show you the results of the first attempt.  My goat milk soap had over heated and separated in the mold.  It was my fault because I was off doing other things.  I tend to have to keep a close eye on my cold process goat milk soap.  If the soap starts to overheating I send it to the freezer.   I like to gel my goat milk soap so it gets a little tricky.  I just like the texture much better than non gelled soap.

Adventures in Making Goat Milk Sea Salt Bars

What is Sea Salt Soap? Well...sea salt soaps are very hard, hard as a rock actually.  They look like they would be rough but once they get lathered up the soap takes on that smooth river rock appearance. Sea Salt soap produces a nice lotion like lather that gently exfoliates while drawing toxins out of your skin. Your skin is left feeling smooth, moisturized and refreshed.  The majority of the oil used in sea salt soap is coconut oil.  Some people including myself also include small amounts of other skin nourishing oils.  Don't let the high coconut oil scare you.  These soaps are very moisturizing.  The combination of the salt and coconut oil is just magical.

Sea Salt is full of great minerals such as magnesium, zinc, calcium, potassium and, among others. Sea salt offers many benefits to the body, such as reducing inflammation. The magnesium found in sea salt is useful for healing skin tissue and replenishing hydration, while bromide helps relax the muscles and calm the nerves. Sulfur and sodium work as natural disinfectants and detoxifying agents. Potassium helps in balancing moisture and releasing water retention. Calcium found in sea salt cleans the pores of the skin.

I have made sea salt soap for quite some time now but lately with the addition of goats to our family I have been incorporating more and more goat milk into my soap. Both videos below are my experiments with goat milk sea salt soap.  One video is done cold process that requires a minimum of 4 weeks but with salt soap the longer you wait to use them the better they are.

The video after was a complete experiment for me I made the salt soap hot process.  I wanted to see if the performance of the salt soap would be accelerated since hot process soap can be used immediately after it is cooked.

Here is the Cold Process video.

Here is the Hot Process video. I call it instant gratification!

Soap Gremlins

If you have ever been in a conversation with a soapmaker, you have probably heard the saying, " The soap gremlins are at my house."  They are real folks...lol.  I have seen them first hand.  Here is a little video of soap gremlins in action!



Final Challenge for Amy's 2013 Weekly Soap Challenge - Leopard Spot Technique

Yeah ok so it didn't quite turn out as planned but it is interesting and this was a fun challenge. This soap will be called Black Raspberries & Cream.  I would like to thank Amy Warden for putting all these challenges together and please make sure to visit her Greatcakes Soapworks Blog here to see all the beautiful soaps artisans made during this challenge.  Saturday we will have the results posted in Amy's blog from this challenge but you should really take a peak at the beautiful soaps from all the previous challenges.

 

Thank you Priscilla!

I had to brag on one of my goats!  Priscilla is a first time mom to two beautiful little bucklings.  She is doing an outstanding job on the milk stand helping me build up a supply of high quality goat milk for my soap. Priscilla is a Pygmy/Nigerian cross and produces a very rich milk high in butterfat that makes some really awsome soap! I am of course sharing with the two kids and her production is more than I can ask for.  So proud to have her!  Below is a short little video of Priscilla and her two kids I hope you all enjoy!



Amy's 2013 Soap Challenge - Week 3 - Mica Swirled Top

Well here is my attempt for the week three soap challenge!  My soap is fragranced in Mediterranean Olive.  It is actually the Lush Dupe of Olive Branch.  Love the fragrance but my colors were a little off. I wished I would have been lighter on the copper and stayed with the lighter green.  I just received a bunch of new mica colors and wanted to try them all out!  Well that is my excuse anyway....haha.  Next time I use the technique I will let the soap thicken a bit more before I texture the top.