I doubled the recipe I used last time in this post and instead of colouring the batch with green clay (you can see the result above) I used green mica. I think the name of the mica may have been Fruit Green Mica from Green Living Australia. If anyone really wants to know the name I can find the bottle I put it in in my new laundry where it is out of sight...of course...as I am trying to keep it looking tidy as you do when something is new :-) I actually need to go back and edit that old post as I left something out about straining the aloe vera and cucumber.
The recipe is based on one of Jan Berry's in her book Simple and Natural Soapmaking. I find some of the soaps are quite soft early on so I left the unmoulding for four days or so as I don't know how many batches of soap I have ruined by taking them out of the moulds too early. I have a friend who leaves her soaps in the fridge for a week before unmoulding and she finds she doesn't get much soda ash on her soaps but, as you can see in the soap on the left in the photo above the soda ash, which is white, is already starting to form. That doesn't worry me though as I don't make my soap to sell unlike my soaping friend.
I haven't had a lot of success with using the mould for soaps above so I gave it one last try and if I couldn't get the soaps out without doing too much damage that would be the last time I would use it. However, they don't look too bad so it might be a keeper.
The heart, sunflower and rose shaped moulds are my favourite and the soaps fit nicely into my hand...
... unlike this mould which produces a larger shape which I find is just a bit too big to hold comfortably. However, I am not a spring chicken and have arthritis in my hands so it wouldn't be a problem for most people to hold I would imagine.
The soaps made in it look very pretty though I must say.
I did have a blog post somewhere in which I wrote where I bought my moulds and if anyone is interested I will find it and let you know.
As I wanted to double the recipe that I used last time I ran the ingredients through SoapCalc first which you really must do if you want to make sure you are using the correct amount of caustic soda and liquid. Anyway I have written the recipe below for future reference as I write things out on bits of paper and lose them of course. I also made a batch of 100% coconut oil soap which I make every few weeks for our son as he likes homemade soap.
Aloe and Cucumber Soap
396g Coconut Oil
908g Olive Oil
226g Sweet Almond or Sunflower Oil
56g Castor Oil
222g Caustic Soda
100g Aloe Vera, chopped and 56g chopped Cucumber. Put in food processor then strain well and put in the fridge till ready to use. Add enough water to bring it up to 603g.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Chel what are the quentities of Aloe and cucumber in this recipe ?
ReplyDeleteI would like to give it a try for a refreshing Summer soap.
Oops I forget to add those quantities! Margaret thanks for reminding me. I used 100g chopped Aloe Vera and 56g chopped cucumber which is twice the amount in the original recipe. Put it in a food processor then strain it and put in fridge till ready to use. Add enough water to bring it up to 603g. I will edit the post later when on the PC.
ReplyDeleteYour soaps look lovely Chel, Do you remove the seeds from the cucumber?
ReplyDeleteLyn, just throw the cucumber into the food processor whole plus the aloe vera leaf. Once the mixture is processed and strained you just have green liquid left. That gets chilled for a while before starting the soapmaking session. I always use the room temperature method these days.
ReplyDeleteHello... I saw a comment by you, on Nil's blog (Little House by the Lake). She is trying to make her font size bigger. And it shows bigger and wonderful, when I read her blog.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was wondering what you have found different, with your Blogger blog? Happily, I have not noticed anything. Happily! But I'd like to know, what to be on watch for. :-)
Thank you...
Gentle hugs...
✨💛✨
Hi, welcome to my blog. I haven't noticed anything different as yet with Blogger...thank goodness as I am no techy 😄 The simplier the better as far as I am concerned.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit tardy with my blog reading lately, but was intrigued to read you used fresh cucumber.....I was waiting to see if it was Cucumber Water (like rose water) or something similar. So it keeps ok?
ReplyDeleteNanette, I didn't have any problems with it last time I made it. Yes I used fresh cucumber and aloe vera. It is one of Jan Berry's recipes and she even makes a soap with tomatoes. LOL!
DeleteThis sounds and looks lovely. I have everything required. I might just have to give it a go.
ReplyDeleteGo for it, Jane. I use the room temp method these days as it is quicker. You just have to remember to prepare the cucumber and aloe vera mixture beforehand and chill it. It is a lovely soap.
ReplyDelete