Question about loofah soaps

[Laura]

recently ive been noticing alot of soaps with either a part or a whole loofah in

example: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SLS-Free-Hand...hZ004QQcategoryZ11845QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

I always make melt and pour soaps, and i'm going to start making loaves for wholesale. Is this just a case of putting a whole loofah in the mould then pouring the soap base on top, or do i need to do something to the loofah first?

For some reason i keep thinking its going to be like wood when its cut into slices, as in theres gonna be bits coming off it etc (i hope someone understands that )

has anyone ever done this before?

 

[dragonfly princess]

I have been thinking about doing that myself. From what I have read, you just put the loofa in the mold and pour your soap. Loofah doesn't break up like you would think, it tends to hold together really well.

 

[Tabitha]

You do not need to do anything prior to placeing the loffah in the mold. I think you willl have a heck of a time slicing it w/o ruining the soap though. It is hard to cut.

 

[Laura]

i wonder if you can slice it before putting it in the mould. That would make things easier when you came to cutting a slice from the loaf.

hmm, i'll have to experiment.

 

[Tabitha]

You could, but you might have trouble getting the slices to stand up, I think they will want to flip horizontal, I could be wrong. When I made them I cut The loofah w/ scissors & stuffed the slices into cupcake tins & overpoured w/ the base. You could try the whole loofah in the loaf if you have a razor sharp knife to slice it w/ or maybe an electric knife.

 

[perfectsoap]

Laura,
I made a loaf in a half moon mold with a Loofah!
I first was unsure about the cutting, so I did cut the Loofah into sections and added them to the mold, and poured the melted M&P over it.
It came out fine. I even had a few large pieces that I cut in half and they cut without any problems! Next time I will not precut the Loofah!

Jeff

 

[Lane]

Don't you have to soak and soften Loofah before you use it? I remeber buying some once and it being really hard and scratchy...

 

[perfectsoap]

I did not soak my Loofah, maybe I should have? lol
(I do soak it every time I use it thought :wink: )
Jeff

 

[PhillipJ]

I used frosting containers. Cut the loofah with an electric knife to about 1 inch thick. Made little round plastic dividers that fit inside the frosting container to seperate the loofah cakes. Poured a little soap then push loofah into it and add more soap on top. Then a plastic divider, more soap & loofah, and so on untill full. I lined the inside diameter of the mold with a sheet of laminating plastic, so's to get it out easy and also made a hole in the bottom for air to get in so the soap slides out without suction. When it was done, I poked at the divider seams with a knife and separated the bars. 3 inch PVC pipe would be good also.

 

[Lane]

PerfectSoap-I just noticed how awesome that knife is in your picture!!

 

[perfectsoap]

It cuts through soap like butter! lol
I found in hiding in a junk box after the wife said no to using her good knifes!

 

[Lane]

I've already gone through two giant knives I bought at wal-mart...I need a good one...

 

[Laura]

its a good knife. ivejust got a little rubbish thing

i emailed the seller from the ebay auction i listed in my first post. she said that the loofah isnt that hard to cut and she can cut it fine with a bread knife. I was worried that the soap might get damaged while cutting it but she said its fine.

So i'm now watching an auction containing about 20 loofahs

 

[perfectsoap]

Loofah

I learned something about Loofahs that I did not know, maybe everyone here knows this, but....
They are part of the cucumber family and grow on vines in pods!
Guess what will be in my garden this spring! Free Loofahs!
And I thought they were from the sea
Jeff


http://www.luffa.info/luffagrowing.htm

 

[Sholdy]

You can use pvc pipe molds to make great loofah soap - just put the loofah in first then pour your soap.

I don't know about cutting it, though. Has anybody tried using a miter saw?

 

[Scotsoap]

I think it depends on the loofah .. chinese loofah is VERY hard and not easy to slice. I believe egyptian loofah is softer.

 

[IanT]

perfect soap-- you sure they didnt mean SEA cucumbers?? I thought loofahs come out of the ocean??? I could be really wrong but I thought that was where they came from??

 

[mare61]

I haven't tried that yet myself but I was reading somewhere that an empty "Pringles" can works great. Just stuff the loofah in and fill it up with soap. If it doesn't slide out on its own, just peel away the can.

Might be worth a try!

 

[Bret]

What about using ground luffa? I saw colored luffa powder on one of the sites... WSP I think. I haven't ordered it yet though...

 

[IanT]

i wonder what the texture would be like ground up?? would it still be kind of stringy so you could use it for exfoliation or is it a really fine powder??