Search results

I find it ironic that I live in a household where hubby has no sense of smell and neither does my daughter. The amount of times I ask them to smell something! When we first got together, he used to ask me to smell the milk. He’d made himself sick in the past with milk that had gone off. Also...

I actually bought a glass tea pot with a strainer that had the smallest mesh I have ever seen. A little of the powder still got through, but all sunk to the bottom and it was easy enough to pour off without it being disturbed. I could also check the intensity of colour easily, which was great.

Gorgeous 😍

Interesting. How someone reacts to a smell can also be related to culture, memories (both positive and negative), familiarity but also aroma intensity. I personally would think you are better off covering a couple of bases on aroma types to see what sells e.g. woody, floral, fruity, sweet...

@Zany_in_CO I am one of those that purchased every type of colourant I could get my hands on. I like the oxides but they are rather limiting in colour compared to the micas. I love my clays for their feel but purple clay looks more brown and it sometimes takes a while to work out how much to...

This reminded me of a tv ad that has been on recently by a well known body products company. Said something like “99% natural, 1% for safety/stability.” ;) Kinda sounds about right

At risk of separating, the honey oozing out but also if the hands are used to scoop up the product, the possible introduction of microbes.

I have both species of dock, thought one was mutated, lol and also rhubarb. I can see I'll be experimenting in the future. I'm always a bit iffy about infusing fresh ingredients into oil, so I'll dry the root and play with the powder both in lye, infused in oil and powder directly in soap...

One thing I will mention is that honey contains around 13% water, so this may destabilise your recipe at a later date.

@Zany_in_CO :beatinghead:You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I have dug this plant out of my garden. Thank goodness its hard to get rid of. You’ve now sent me down a rabbit hole. Now, where is my spade!

I love calendula and use it as a tea with lye water, infused in oil and powdered calendula in the soap. From what I've read, they all have the same active constituent regardless of colour. I usually use the dried orange petals as they give a stronger color, but I will use them all ;)

Calendula seems to keep its color nicely as do the clays ;)

You haven’t mentioned the rest of the French clays, pink, red and green. I love the feel they give to soap too. I also grow my own calendula, as a tea for the lye water, infused in oil and powdered in the soap. I also tried paprika, but it faded really quickly. First photo is calendula and the...

Beautiful colours 😍 I think we are our own worst critics. I would be breaking out into a happy dance with results like that 😁

@Zany_in_CO , I've heard of Turkey Red Oil, mystery solved :) Your ZNSC recipe is on my list to try! I hope you don't mind me asking why you've made the change from cp to liquid soap? I find it quite fascinating how we head down one path, only to be diverted by another.

@Zany_in_CO Thank you for that info. As an Aromatherapist, we were taught that the more viscous the oil, the lower the rate of essential oil absorption into the skin. Cold pressed castor oil on it's own does not absorb into the skin at all. Thick and viscous does not equal quickly absorbed...

@Sophie I agree that there would be therapeutic effects, just some will be lost due to the saponification process. I don't have skin problems, tough olive skin, but my partner has noticed a difference using "natural" soap. I personally can also feel the difference on my skin if shea butter is...

@Zany_in_CO , I think you'll find that the essential oils will be quickly absorbed due to skin hydration. Castor oil would actually slow down absorption due to its viscosity :)

I am pleased to hear your experiences are similar to mine regarding the use of essential oils in soap. I too have used pennyroyal in soaps, though it was mixed with patchouli, niaouli, peppermint and may chang. If anyone queries the use of pennyroyal, I just explain it was used as an...