# Benefits of natural ingredients



## Nautilus123 (Nov 11, 2013)

Hello!
 I am new to soap making and only make melt and pour at this point. I want to make my family soaps for the holidays and I was wondering if anyone could help me decide which natural ingredients to use (i.e ginger powder, cloves, cucumber,etc). I was wondering if you could tell me the following about the various ingredient
1) What form you can use it in (oil vs powder)
2) The benefits of it
3) What color/ scent it provides

So far I have added ginger powder to soaps and love the color and subtle smell 


Thank you so much for any information you can give!!


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## Hazel (Nov 11, 2013)

I wouldn't recommend adding cloves (irritating) or cucumber (can go moldy) to MP bases. You'd be better off just using some good smelling fragrances. 

You could try adding some oatmeal for exfoliation. Have you looked at SoapQueen's blog for ideas on MP. She shows some very fancy bars. http://www.soapqueen.com/category/bath-and-body-tutorials/melt-and-pour-soap/


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