Seasons Greetings to all!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

ValerieAnn

Cake & Pie soap

I tried my hand at two cake soaps and one pie soap. I worked with room temperature lye water, and about 20 degrees warmer for the oils. I had plenty of time to 'play' with these beauties!

Orange Cream Cake Soap

The ingredients of this cake:

Sweet Almond Oil, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Grape-seed Oil, Olive Oil, ad Sunflower Oil. I chose water instead of goats milk for this one. 

Fragrance oil: Creamsicle, and Orange Essence Oil.

I made the orange ice cream cones, inserted on the outside edges, thanks to Bonnie (at Edentia farms) for her youtube tutorial I was able to make my own melt and pout base soap. 

This is Chocolate Swirl Cake Soap

I couldn't download a picture of the whole cake. Not sure why it wouldn't let me.

This cakes ingredients are: Coconut Oil, Cocoa Butter, Lard, and Beeswax.

The color and fragrance is all natural baking cocoa powder.

I have one more, Goats milk pie soap, but again, the system will not let me download it correctly. You can see in on my Pinterest account.

Ingredients: Fresh Goats milk, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Grape-seed Oil, ad Sunflower Oil.

green, purple, and yellow mica, and Titanium dioxide for coloring.

ValerieAnn

All Natural Shea Butter Lotion Recipe

Homemade lotions are pretty easy to make. 

Here is a recipe that I started out with and have since modified to my own liking.  

TIP: Because we often have a bit of anxiety making a recipe for the first time I suggest to have all the ingredients pre-weighed in advance. This tip helps me even today!

Shea Butter Lotion

3/4 tsp. citric acid 
2 ¼ tsp glycerin
2-3/4 tsp. Stearic acid
5.5 oz. Shea butter
1.5 oz. emulsifying wax
36.25 oz. distilled water (do not use tap or regular bottled water) 
2  teaspoon essential oil (or whatever amount to your own liking)
.40 oz. Cosmocil CQ (optional preservative) 

STEP 1: Weigh out the water and place in a stainless steel pot over medium high heat. Heat until very hot, but not boiling. While this is heating, do step 2.

(pan looks dirty, but it is steam rising!)

STEP 2: In a second pan or double boiler, add the weighed out Shea Butter and glycerin and melt them together over very low heat until just warm to the touch and fully melted. Stir to blend and remove from heat source.

STEP 3: Once the water from step 1 has come to very hot (but not boiling), add the citric acid, emulsifying wax and Stearic Acid.

Stir until ALL the Stearic Acid, Citric Acid and Emulsifying Wax bits have dissolved. This stage is very important... the water will have a milk-y appearance with absolutely NO wax bits.

STEP 4: When all of the Emulsifying Wax & Stearic Acid have melted remove the pan from the heat, get your stick blender ready (or whisk, or free standing blender), and add the warm oils/butters from step 2 into this pan. Stir with your stick blender ON HIGH for several minutes or until you get a good emulsion between the oils and water - if they separate, continue to stir. 

Allow your lotion to rest for a few minutes to check for separation, and stick blend as needed. Continue doing this in cycles (resting and mixing at high speed), until it barely begins to set-up and has come down in temp to just under 100 degrees, then do step #5.

STEP 5: Add your essential/fragrance oils & preservative(s) and blend well.

Your lotion will be thin & runny but as it continues to cools it will begin to set up. While still warm, pour into  your desired jars before it becomes too thick to pour. 

Makes approximately 45 ounces.

Note: However you decide to blend your lotion, it is VERY important that you blend very well. Stick blenders work the best, hand blending takes a very long time and generally doesn't have as good of results.  

Remember the water is near boiling so use CAUTION! You simply cannot over blend a lotion batch, but you can certainly under blend. Under blended batches are gritty, or may never set correctly.

*Use less water for a thicker lotion, add more for a thinner consistency. 

Enjoy! Let me know your results!