Oatmeal and honey.  It seems like most companies that make body care products have at least one item, be it soap or lotion, that contains oatmeal and honey.  But what is so great about oatmeal and honey that makes it so popular?  

Oatmeal gently exfoliates the skin, removing dirt and dead skin cells.  A soap with oatmeal cleanses deeper than a normal bar of soap.  Honey is moisturizing, and hydrates and soothes the skin.  Through recent research, honey has shown to provide many health benefits, both internally and externally.

Right now I offer two Oatmeal N' Honey soaps.  One is a handcut bar made with goat's milk, vegetable shortening, olive oil, safflower oil, and canola oil and lightly scented with almond and vanilla.  I wrap this in brown paper and tie with a brown string.  Oatmeal N' Honey has always seemed practical and homey, and I wrap it in packaging that matches this feel.  

My other Oatmeal N' Honey Goat's Milk Soap is unscented, and contains a broader range of moisturizing oils, including castor oil, wheat germ oil (which is loaded with vitamins), jojoba oil, and shea butter.  This soap comes in molded bars; only two or three bars are available.  Each bar of soap weighs 3.5 - 4 oz each.

You can find this item here on Etsy for easy purchase. 
 

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If you had your choice of any soap or lotion, what type of scent would you choose? Help me plan my soap and lotion making priorities by taking a moment to click your answers. Happy poll taking!

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Especially For You

Lavender: a unique and timeless fragrance loved by young and old alike.  This goat milk soap with lavender essential oil and "laced" with lavender buds has proven to be a favorite among my customers.  Last summer I had several requests for it at the Farmer's Market after I had sold my last bar.  Needless to say, I made my next batch as soon as possible.

Lavender, like most essential oils, has many beneficial properties.  It is anti-fungal, anti-depressant, calming, rejuvenating, and contains cell regenerating properties.  Lavender has long been in use, and for many provides a memory of someone they knew.  Similar to mothballs, dried lavender can be used to deter insects from stored clothing, but with a much pleasanter scent. 

Growing up, I was an avid reader (and still am if I find the time), and lavender always reminds me of the character Lavendar Lewis in Anne of Avonlea by Lucy M. Montgomery.  To find out why you will have to read the book, but as it says, "I think her parents gave her the only right and fitting name that could possibly be given her," said Anne.  "If they had been so blind as to name her Elizabeth or Nellie or Muriel she must have been called Lavendar just the same, I think.  It's so suggestive of sweetness and old-fashioned graces and 'silk attire.'" 

Right now sixteen bars of Lavender Lace Goat Milk Soap are available.  Most are in the goat kid mold, but it is also available in the doe, dog, bee & flower, and horse molds.  A companion lotion is available.


Click here to purchase online at Etsy.com.

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Today I made a batch of doublemint goat milk soap (peppermint and spearmint), one of my favorite scents (I love peppermint, spearmint, peppermint, and pretty much any kind of mint, if you can't tell).  To break up my normal routine I decided to take a few pictures and share a little about what goes on in the soap making process.  Of course, I didn't get pictures of some of the steps, but that is understandable seeing I had rubber gloves on my hands...

First, gather all ingredients and equipment.  Safety goggles and rubber gloves are very important - the danger of working with lye should never be underestimated.  I usually wear a long sleeve shirt over my normal shirt as well to protect my arms from any splashes.  Today that proved to be a good thing, not because I splashed myself, but because when I was leaning over one mold of soap to reach another, I leaned a little to far, and dragged my shirt in the still liquid soap.  Thankfully, it was only on the outside shirt and did not go through the other one to my skin.  Soap burns are irritating, and I am glad to have avoided one today. 

But back to equipment and ingredients.  A scale is a must for precision and accuracy in measuring ingredients.  Stainless steel pots?  Lye can corrode and ruin pots made from other types of metals.  And of course spoons for stirring and containers for holding different ingredients are needed.  Also necessary are the ingredients: olive oil, sodium hydroxide, peppermint and spearmint essential oils, goat milk, and coconut and palm oils (not pictured).

Next, measure all oils into one pot.  The chunky oils are the coconut oil (white) and palm oil (orange).  Put the oils on low heat on the stove to melt and warm up.  Meanwhile, measure all the other ingredients, making sure to put on rubber gloves and safety goggles before opening the bottle of sodium hydroxide.

While the oils are melting and slowly heating (with you stirring every once in a while) slowly begin adding sodium hydroxide to the goat milk.  It is necessary to start with cold milk, and to keep it under 80 degrees while adding the sodium hydroxide.  I put the pot in an ice water bath to maintain a consistent temperature.  Otherwise, the temperature would rocket sky high (well, not quite) and the batch of soap would be ruined.

By the time you finish adding the sodium hydroxide to the milk, the oils should be all melted and mixed together.  Check the temperature, and if it is between 80 and 100 degrees, slowly pour into the lye/milk mixture.  After this you have to stir, stir, stir.  Right now I use a hand blender, but other types of blenders work as well (some work faster, but I killed the motor in my other blender and have not gotten a new one yet...)  You keep mixing and blending this mixture until it traces (a small amount of soap dribbled on top leaves a pattern and then sinks below the surface).  Once it gets to that point you add the scents (peppermint and spearmint EOs in this case), and then pour into the molds.  

 Put the molds in a safe place away from drafts, children, and pets, and then clean up your mess.  That involves rinsing and washing all of the dishes (by hand), and making sure you, your gloves, and the surfaces you worked on are clean.  Now you just have to wait four to six weeks, and then your hand made soap with all natural ingredients will be ready to enjoy!


 

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If any scent can be described as bright and cheery, it is definitely lemongrass.  It is hard to feel "down" in its presence.  Scents affect our mood - it's a known fact.  If you are going to be affected by the scents around you, why not let them be uplifting and energizing?  Each day many things make you tired and worn out; some days things just go wrong, and you definitely don't need the scents around you contributing to that!


Two benefits of lemongrass essential oil are its anti-depressant and anti-microbial properties. This lemongrass goat milk soap, made from my basic soap recipe and scented with pure lemongrass essential oil, is one of my favorites.  Similar to lemon, but much more bold, it is refreshing to start the day with one of these bars of soap!

Lemongrass goat milk soap is available in the following shapes and quantities:

Lighthouse mold - 2

Dog mold - 2

Horse mold - 1

Goat mold - 1

Rabbit mold - 2

Reindeer mold - 1

Walking dog mold - 1

   


Click here to find the Lighthouse Lemongrass Soap bar on Etsy.

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Especially For You