In the fast lane

Things have been real hectic around here. And am sorry for not updating regularly. I have been at one flea market after another.....getting scorched in this unprecedented heat wave that seems to have engulfed Bangalore.........the rare intermittent rains have done nothing to help us feel better. I am so happy (surprised) at how well my products have been received. I have to say products due to my ever increasing product line........the rookie entrepreneur in me should have thought of this before coining the name Soaps By SanGi. But, what the heck, soaps will always be my first love. 

As mentioned in my last post, my butters have been received quite well. There seem to be a lot of requests for different smells. Maybe I need to add a few more to my existing line of 3 varieties of Body Butters. My Facebook page has started generating orders as well. Not to mention the increasing number of likes. Yeah.... 

Anyway, enough of trumpeting my little successes. Let me tell you what I have been upto. You guessed it.........a lot of soaping. I looooove soaping. Some of the batches I have made are

Rassoul Clay & Yogurt Soap

Milk Oatmeal & Wheatgerm Soap

Musky Cocoa Butter & Jojoba Soap

In fact, I am already out of the Musky Cocoa Butter & Jojoba Soap. I have another show coming up on Saturday and plan to introduce the Milk Oatmeal soap there......

At one of the fairs, I had a lady ask me for sugar scrubs. There was the beginning of another new product. She is yet to pick them up. But the pictures I posted on Facebook have got me orders and I have already exhausted my batch.

Minty Sugar Scrubs

I like making my sugar scrubs in single use sizes and shapes so we don't have to get our hands into the jars and ruin the entire scrub. Water can make your sugar scrubs go bad. This way you can open the jar and take just one into the bath with you.

These babies have all the goodness of Shea Butter, Olive oil, Sandalwood powder, of course, Castor sugar, and my Handmade soap...........I have tried them and they are wonderful on my excessively dry skin. Makes my skin feel like silk. I am in the process of making a fresh batch, with a little bit of difference. Shall post pictures soon.....

Love my whipped body butter

I have been wanting to try out a whipped version of the body butter that I have started making and gifting out. And yesterday I did just that. With all the goodness of Mango & Shea Butter, Olive & Coconut oils etc. I added a mix of Orange, Cedarwood, Ylang Ylang & Frankincense oils which has somehow given it a very mysterious smell. It starts off smelling like Orange and as it gets absorbed into the skin, which is not more than a few minutes, it leaves a woody scent with a hint of Ylang Ylang and Frankincense. Really nice. And so light on the skin. 

Body Butter scented with Orange , Cedarwood & Ylang Ylang

I plan to showcase them on Sunday at the Kitsch Mandi Flea Market. I have made them in 50 gm jars. They spread so easily on the skin. Just a little bit goes a long way and so this jar could last a while. Absolutely free of any chemicals, only butters and oils. I also managed to make another small jar for my daughters who love using anything I make. I hope people love them as much as they do my Lip Butters and Vaporubs.

Lip Butters & Vaporubs

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)

Cucumber & Yoghurt Soap

I made some Cucumber & Yoghurt Soap. We all know the skin loving properties both these ingredients possess. Cucumber is very good for acne prone skin as well. Since it is highly astringent, I wanted to add something that would balance it out and make it moisturizing as well. There is a generous helping of Shea Butter. I love the feel of Shea Butter in soap. It gives the soap a silky feel. Since Shea is high in unsaponifiables, which means that a lot of the fat in it does not get converted to soap, we get the true benefits of this butter. My Red Clay soap which I made earlier is a hot favourite with all who have bought it.  

Red Clay Soap with Shea Butter

Frozen cucumber puree

I was hoping I would be able to maintain the lovely green of the cucumber. I pureed the cucumber whole, skin et al. But as you can see in the photo below, the lye did manage to alter the colour a lot. That was disappointing. Next time, instead of substituting the water with the cucumber, I shall add it at trace. Maybe that would help maintain the green colour.

Lye & Cucumber mix

My new molds being put to good use

I <3 soap

The soaps turned out pretty big, weighing roughly 125 gms each. That is way above the size of my normal bars, which are roughly between 70-80 gms each. This lot produced just 12 soaps. I made a few sample soaps as well. Cute little pumpkins!

They smell lovely with a blend of Rose, Vetiver & Cedarwood EOs. The Rose though seems to come out more strongly right now.