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| The tiered cake stand is a part of our dinner service and gets a lot of use. I pile cookies and candy on it at Christmas and at other times it may store ginger, lemons or whatever. |
There is nothing wrong with the soap of course, but I had envisioned it white with smaller speckles of colour. So why exactly I used Orris root, lemongrass EO and large bits is beyond me! Except of course I had just gotten the Orris root and had to try it, I hadn't really thought about the colours of the EO's until I poured them and I thought that if I used a grater it would get too small so I chopped it into pieces. But I like the scent and I used lots of it. Maybe too much, but that was an accident.
This is also the first soap that I do with Rape seed (Canola) oil. I have always had this thing about it. I mean, it's used as a motor oil and up till recently it wasn't edible. I will still absolutely not use it as food although I might consider it's use as biodiesel.
I am rather pleased with the decoration. I have gotten these curled bits of soap when trimming and then when I saw what pretty decorations some people used them for I decided to make them especially for decoration. That was not successful and now I have no idea how I accidentally got the few that I had. Life is just really strange that way sometimes.
The recipe I used (The soap was 5% superfatted):
30% Coconut oil
30% Olive oil
25% Rape seed oil
10% Cocoa butter
5% Castor oil
I used some sugar in the water which was 30% of the oils. Maybe a little too much discount on the water, the soap was very quick to trace after I put the EO's in.
The soap bits are ends of soaps that have been coloured with Rumex oil (the pink), Annato (yellow) and Alkanet (lavender). I used 1 tsp of Titanium dioxide to get the background a bit lighter. The scent was a blend of Lavender, Rosewood, Lemongras and Ylang Ylang and I used 1 tsp of the Orris root powder to see if the fragrance lasts better.
I did try the of cuts of this soap to see what it is like and I have to say that this recipe has a very creamy lather. Don't know if that is the Rape seed oil, the sugar or just this combination. I'll get a better feel for it when it has cured. One thing that I feel that this soap could have benefitted from is a few scaps of green soap. It would have made the decoration on top a little bit more flower like. So that has to be my next soap. A green trial using dried parsley.
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The soap is very pretty and I'd love to know what you think of the soap once it's cured as I'm been experimenting with palm free soaps lately. I'm also wondering if you find the orris root gritty at all as I've heard it helps with scent.
ReplyDeleteI love rapeseed oil in my soaps! It's not expensive and gives a lovely lather and silky feel to the bar. No idea of the quality rapeseed oil you get there, but here it is right next to olive/sunflower/safflower/etc food grade oils in the grocery stores. The cold pressed version it is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and very vitamin rich. Rapseed has come a long way since its motor oil times.
ReplyDeleteRead more here
I love confetti soaps and always think of Badeanstalten soap (see my review), because Iben is such a master at those! Needless to say, yours does look great from here, swirls, speckles and all! And isn't it always such an adventure to soap..we set out with a plan and along the way it gets blasted to space somehow. Happens to me almost each and every time to the point where I consider myself a completely chaotic soaper
Splurge Sisters - I've also read that about Orris root, but I didn't feel any grittyness when I tried the offcuts, but I'll be checking for that when it's ready. I have such a hard time finding Palm oil that I've only been able to find the unrefined and although yellow soap is lovely, I don't want to do that all the time. I can't say that I've noticed much of a difference with the palm oil, but I guess I don't use a lot. The colour is very saturated.
ReplyDeleteCocobong - My dislike of Rapeseed oil is just none of those personal things. I know that it was bred to become safe for human consumption. The guy (the Icelandic one) chiefly responsible was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Iceland at the same time my father received his. I still avoid it in food. I'm of the opinion that it is very borderline as food because of erucic acid content. But I also only use olive oil or butter in the kitchen :)
Ambra te quedo precioso el jabon!
ReplyDeleteUn beso
I love being able to turn scraps into beautiful soap! Speaking of which, I am definitely going to have to chunk up my Antique Lilac soap. It ended up way too superfatted and will never set up properly.
ReplyDeleteI never knew canola oil was once motor oil! We use it in baking, etc. all the time! It's been touted as a healthy oil in the US.
Ambra, you've inspired me to try a confetti soap. I've been hoarding soap scraps for months....no exciting colors, but I do think they might look nice in a plain white soap. One question: At what consistency do you add the soap pieces? Gravy? Pancake batter? Not-quite-set pudding? I can see me getting impatient and having them sink, or waiting too long....any help would be appreciated! :) ~Becky
ReplyDeleteBecky, this soap started to seize, so it really wasn't a problem :) I had thought to wait and mix the bits in at the not-quite-set-pudding stage, but it was at almost-set so I has a bit of trouble getting it all in. But, yes, I'd have it thick to be on the safe side.
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