Question about loofah soaps

[sunflwrgrl7]

IanT - Luffas are a gourd you can grow in your garden, but the insides do have to be dried in the sun for a long time to get what we commonly refer to as a luffa sponge.

You might be thinking of natural sea sponges which come from the ocean and are actually classified as animals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_sponge

 

[IanT]

aha! maybe i am a little confused on that! Thanks for the clarification! well that makes me feel better (i dont use the sea sponges because im aware of the issues with renewability etc that the industry entails!)

Thats kind of cool though I didnt know it was a plant like that! I am going to look for some seeds because I LOVEEEEE gardening (weird for a 23 year old guy...hahaha) Id love to be able to grow my own loofas! all-organic!


EDIT: look! a quick google search turned up---> http://www.luffa.info/

 

[jadiebugs1]

IanT, Thanks for sharing that info on the Luffas, very cool.....I too once thought it was from the sea, but learned that, yes, it is indeed a gourd and I was confusing it with the sea sponge! I always thought it was spelled....LOOFAH.....though, hmmmm.....

I guess I didn't use a very sharp knife when I cut my loofah loaf last time, it made quite the mess of the soap, DEEP scratches everywhere....

I'm going to be making a loofah soap in a PVC mold here shortly and so wish I had a sharper knife... :cry:

 

[IanT]

you could buy one of those handy little home knife sharpeners?? they make the blade much more sharp, and then get one of those refining tools as well (the thing that looks like a little sword) and youll be good to go no matter what knife you use!! (I cook so i loooove sharp knives..Wolfgang puck oooh yeaaah lol)



I love learning new things every day!

I was actually thinking of trying to grow hydro luffas, I remember going to the craft pavillion at Epcot (i think epcot?? one of the parks down here in FL) and they had hydro cucumbers that were like 4 ft long!!...imagine doing that with a luffa plant?? especially if theyre in the same genus!

 

[barrsbythebay]

loofah experience...

Hi everyone!

If I could just put in my two cents... my experience with using loofahs in MP soap making...

The loofah came to me completely flat and whole. I cut portions 1 inch thick after beating the darned thing on my sinks divider to remove seeds, tons of seeds! Then I soaked the pieces in warm water for several minutes, then placed into molds. If you have shaped molds for individual bars, it will take on that shape. You can even leave the wet loofah in that mold until it dries and it stays that shape! anyhow, when the loofah is dry i poured my base, it was scented with tangerine fo. They looked gorgeous, BUT!! when I tried one out (i always test them on myself and my family!) it was soooo rough. The drawback is that the pretty part (cross section) is too rough for anything more than your feet... the edge is what you want to use as an exfoliator, its the smooth outer portion.

So if you can make the cuts larger, feature the cross section for visual appeal, but have the outer 'skin' of the gourd exposed enough, that would be perfect.

Incidentally, loofah does not smell very nice... they are bleached and cleaned, somewhat removing the odor, but it's still there if you put it up to your nose and take a good whiff!

Also, when I put some of my cut pieces into a pringle container, poured opaque soap over, i could no longer see the loofah, so cutting was hit and miss! consequently, i cut some of the loofah, so i know it's not really easy and does not cut smoothly, as some of the rough edges frayed and poked out... just an fyi!

thanks for reading through all my ramblings!
christine

 

[perfectsoap]

I ordered some seeds from:

http://www.richters.com/source.cgi?source=6492346.23079

I will post some pics as they grow, harvest and dry. (That is if I can get them to grow!)
Jeff

Note- The M&P soap I made with Loofah was hard to use. It was hard to get the Loofah to soften with the soap in it. anyone else have this issue?

 

[perfectsoap]

Opps!
http://www.richters.com/source.cgi?source=6492346.23079

 

[juliayc]

loufah soap mold

The way I have started making my loufah soap is using the canisters that Crystal Light comes in - those things are perfect! for a round loaf of soap.

 

[GrumpyOldWoman]

ah... Cool tip about the crystal light containers, thank you!! I will have to give that a go, making loofah soap is on my list of things to try next

I read somewhere that you can cut loofah soap with one of those bread knife (Serrated knife) if you don't have an electric saw , I haven't try it yet though.

I wouldn't soak the loofah before pouring your soap, because otherwise wouldn't you be adding a bunch of extra liquid to the soap?

 

[juliayc]

loufah's

I've put the loufah's in the crystal light canisters, poured soap over them - now you have to hold the rope up while you do this - mine came out fine. I didn't soak my loufah's or anything. Took them out of their packaging and stuck them in the canister.....

 

[WilsonFamilyPicnic]

i dont use the sea sponges because im aware of the issues with renewability etc that the industry entails!

i know this strays a bit from the topic but...check out: http://www.jadeandpearl.com/catalog/ind ... 16a5e04e9a

natural sea sponge tampons...sustainably harvested....and keeping a ridiculous amount of menstrual products out of landfills....so, good for the earth.

PS-this is the first i read through this topic and my first thought was "holy crap, i want to grow luffas!" so glad i am not the only crazy person on this site!