Queen Of Shaves!

Ok, maybe not...just yet! During my retail days, I worked at an upscale apothecary that carried a brand of shaving cream called King of Shaves. I think we had more women buying that stuff than the guys, but anyway, I've always wanted to make a cold processed shaving soap. For some strange reason, I always thought the formula had to be really intricate (????). I found a really basic (meaning no exotic butters or additives) formula that I liked, and the only special additive was the bentonite clay to give it slip. I had a little bentonite left over from a giveaway I won last year. I wish it weren't so gray and dingy-looking, but I'm really pleased with the outcome of this soap. This one, too, is all-natural. Many have a different opinion of what "all-natural" means to them. Now, when I say all-natural, I mean no artificial colors or fragrances. The debate could go on. This soap gets its color from the bentonite clay, and it's scented in an essential oil blend of coriander and peppermint.

I love the look of a round shaving soap. I understand they were designed that way to fit into a mug so you could just swivel your brush around it to work up a really good lather. That's cool, but I know not one guy who does that. I actually had an old plastic tube mold that I bought years ago from Go Planet Earth. I loved that mold, but lemme tell ya: It aint made for CP soap! I actually had to cut the soap out of this mold to get it to finally release. RIP mold....

I do have a confession to make: I do not shave any parts of my body. Not my legs, and not even my arm pits. My sister calls me "crunchy". It's so funny that I don't have to shave because the hairs on my legs are really fine, and I have really light, fine hair under my arms. Some of you may find this really gross, but I haven't shaved my legs or underarms since 2009! My soap tester gives this one 2 razors up! She even told me she tried it in her hair as a clarifier because of the bentonite clay...hmmm...I didn't think of that one!

ps-I know this isn't the new soap from the Disaster post, but I wanted to show this one first...

DISASTER!!!!

I've been reading all these wonderful things about sodium lactate and how it makes for a hard bar of soap, blah, blah. Okay, I'm gonna try me some-o-that! Then I read how adding sodium lactate to hot process soap makes the soap look "smoother" almost as if it were cold processed. SOLD! And here's the result:

Did I use too much sodium lactate? This is a 2 pound batch, and I used about a tablespoon and a half. The soap is all crumbly. If I handle it for more than a minute, it will shatter into pieces, but it smells great! I scented it in Clean Cotton-very fresh, reminiscent of the summers when my grandmother would hang her laundry on the outside clothesline. She still actually does hang her clothes to dry, but she can't hang 'em outside anymore because people will steal her clothes (sad, but true...)

All is not lost because I've made a new batch-same scent but a completely different look. This time I omitted the sodium lactate and I CPOP'ed it. I'll make the reveal early next week once I cut them.

The Razz Bar

Here's my latest salt bar-The Razz. I was much more successful this time because I cpop'ed it for about an hour and a half. It made it much easier to slice without it crumbling all on me like the last batch. It's scented in a heavenly raspberry scent with just a dollop of heavy cream. I love the little white salt flecks that are peaking through the bars. Most recipes call for sea salt, but I used dendritic salt. The granules are teeny-tiny like table salt, so these bars don't look "grated" like many salt bars look. I'm pleased with the results....

Lemon Detox Soap

I need a new camera...BADLY

So I'm trying to slowly incorporate more "natural" soaps into my lineup, and by natural, I mean no synthetic fragrances or colorings. Here's my latest creation, Lemon Detox. There is virtually no fragrance in this soap, and it's colored naturally-with lemon juice and lemon peel. I used lemon-infused distilled water as my liquid, then I used the juice and pulp of one lemon to lightly scent and color the soap. You can still see bits of the grated peel in select bars. The wavy brown lines are actually rhassoul clay-that's the detox.

Lemon is a natural astringent and is so uplifting. Along with lime, it's my favorite citrus fruit (lemon pound cake, lemon squares, Mike's Hard Lemonade...) Rhassoul clay is purported (love that word!) to be a natural miracle worker for skin-detoxifying, exfoliating, smoothing, and clarifying. I'm such an impatient soap maker-I used a piece of this one in the shower this morning-LOVES IT! It actually won't be ready for sale for another few weeks...

Passion's Promise Soap

Here's my latest cold processed soap: Passion's Promise. That name just came to me out of the blue. It was originally called something else, but I'm really trying to tone the names down a bit. This one's scented in a very "grown up" blend of sandalwood and amber-LOVES IT! It's subtle, yet alluring, and I've got a lot going on as far as the colors go. It's yellow, red, purple, and green. When I inhaled this fragrance, I just saw wild, vivid, lusty things happening, and I wanted the look of the soap to reflect that.

It's also one of the biggest bars I've ever made. Each one is about 6.5 oz or more. I'm not thrilled with the soda ash that formed on top of some of the bars, but I'll just buff those away before listing them. I'm really anal about that...These should be ready in another 2 weeks:)

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!!!

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to enter my giveaway! And without further ado, the winner is....

elizabeths!

Congratulations Elizabeth! Please contact me with your shipping info and soap choices. There will be more giveaways to come...