Current lot of soaps for sale

This is the current lot of soaps that are available for sale. I do have more bars of each type. If someone would like to buy them, they can get in touch with me at soapsbysangi@gmail.com. This display is not the entire lot. I have around 10 bars left in each. I am giving below a list of the ones that are cured and currently available. All the bars are around 65-75 gms in weight (approx.). There are about 6-7 batches that will be ready for sale by the end of February.

The current batches availabe are:
1. Red Clay & Shea Butter scented with Orange & Ylang Ylang - Rs 140/-
2. Carrot, Honey & Coconut Milk scented with Orange Cinnamon - Rs. 110/-
3. Milk & Cocoa Butter - Rs. 110/-
4. Yoghurt & Aloe Vera with Vanilla - 120/-
5. Thyme, Vanilla & Cedarwood - 140/- 
6. Beer, Honey, Cocoa & Shea Butter - 150/-
7. French Green Clay with Lemongrass - 110/- (not in pic)

 I know it has been a while since I have posted here. It was sheer laziness that prevented me from writing. And a few disappointments. Yes, I have been making soap and not all the batches have come out the way I wanted them to. I guess I should take it in my stride. But, with the craft bazaar coming up in a month's time, I would like to have a lot more soap to offer. It will be the first time that I am going to exhibit my soap. The soap I was most looking forward to was the Tomato & Milk Soap which went wrong from the word 'Go'. I had made two similar batches, one with Tomato Puree and the other with Milk. The idea was to attempt a funnel swirl. But, I guess the fragrance I added took me by complete surprise and the mixes went into accelerated trace. So, I had to abandon the idea of swirling and decided to just layer the mixes. 

Soap after unmolding

But, I guess luck was just not on my side that day. It was too thick to even layer the soap! Everything seemed okay when I poured (put) the mixes into the mold. But, when I unmolded it the next day, I was shocked to find that the top layer of the Tomato soap had separated from the layer of milk soap, as you can see below. 

The centre though did not come apart. I decided to try the oven method and rebatch the tomato soap in muffin trays. And this is what I got...

Not the prettiest of soaps, but they are meant for personal consumption. They definitely have all the goodness of tomatoes. 

I decided I wanted to make a tomato soap because of all the skin loving properties that they have. Tomatoes are high in vitamin content and are a rich source of anti oxidants called Lycopene. Lycopene can counter the aging process on our skin by cutting out free radicals in our bodies. The tonic benefits of the tomato deep cleans and tightens pores. Alpha-Hydroxyl Acids found in tomatoes helps get rid of pimples and acne through its gentle exfoliating action. But, since tomatoes are an astringent, I decided to counter by combining a milk soap to add to its moisturizing properties.

I will definitely not be able to put it up at the stall. It looks quite ugly, I must say. So, I shall enjoy all the benefits of the tomato and the milk........

 

Ok......am back

My dad passed away on the 27th. So, I was away in Chennai for nearly two weeks with my mom and my sister.

Am back and have been restless to make some soap. I am kind of getting obsessed with this whole soap making……and so have just made a new batch of soap. I have attempted Milk Soap this time. Many soapers have warned about the milk getting burnt because of the heat it creates in soap. The sugars in the milk are the problem. After a lot of research, I decided to use the Half and Half method to make this soap. I divided the total amount of liquid required into half water and half milk. I mixed the lye in the water and when the oils and the lye mixture reached light trace, I added the milk in a slow stream. The soap mixture immediately started to heat up. I had very little time to add my FOs and a bit of colour. It really thickened up and when I poured (put) it into the mould, it was the consistency of thick pudding. Also, despite my best efforts to keep the temperature down,  it gelled on me. Am a bit disappointed as I was hoping I would have an ivory coloured soap. Have to wait and see how it turns out.

Soap going thru gel stage

 Adding fragrance oils instead of essential oils is another first for me. Thankfully, there was no issue when I added the FOs. I have scented the soap with a mix of Melon and Berry FOs. It will be interesting to see how the smell holds up after the soap has hardened and cured.

Since I wanted a really moisturizing soap, have added a good amount of cocoa butter. 

I bought myself one of those chocolate moulds so that I can make sample sizes of my new soaps. Aren't they cute?

The colour of the samples indicate that I could have ivory coloured soaps after all. Can you notice the hint of blue in them? I tried to swirl in some colour as it was thickening up pretty quickly