Sally

I've used a blend of Sandalwood E.O's in a CP....only because I was given the e.o's, they behaved beautifully & held the scent for a long time.

Oh my goodness what a lot of beautiful soaps, I especially love the group photo's, simply stunning. Sally x

Another lovely soap Barbara. Sally x

Gorgeous, I really want to try a mantra swirl one day soon. Sally x

Gorgeous & the stamp too. Sally x

Fabulous idea Scented...the satin sheets that is, I have some satin scraps in my fabric box I shall have to dig them out & see if there's anything suitable. Sally x

Thanks folks, I am very pleased with it & even more so as both fragrances are holding fast & neither is discolouring, now to decide how to wrap it. I don't want to wrap it up in pretty paper like my other soaps so I'm still not quite sure how I'll do it, probably a thick cigar band of fancy paper with the label over the middle so folk can see just how pretty it is........& then tell me it's too pretty to use! Sally x www.findhornbaysoaps.co.uk

Looks great, think it's time I had another play with salt bars, thanks for the inspiration. Sally x

I have a mould similar to the one you've used. I've found that freezing it for a few hours them warming the bottom on a radiator or placing the mould in a lukewarm oven for a couple of minutes will cause enough condensation for me to then push one side of each bar down so the other side pokes out of the mould then keep pushing gently til you can get the soap out. It also helps if you can twist the opposite corners of the mould a little to help release the soap before pushing it out. I so nearly gave up on this mould but I love the shape of the soaps & so do my customers. Sally x

This is the first soap I've made since before christmas & the first I've posted in a while so drum roll please........here it is.....Original Sin, my valentines soap. It's the first time I've done a 2 fragrance 2 layered loaf, also the first time I've used either of the f.o's so I was taking a huge risk which luckily for me has paid off. The pink marble is fragranced with Aphrodite, a blend of cinnamon, patchouli & ginseng fron Sensory Perfection (one of our UK suppliers) & the blue marble is fragranced with Adonis, a blend of sandalwood, cedarwood & tobacco leaf, also from Sensory Perfection. The layers are seperated by a layer of bronze mica. Sally x I'll be adding this to my website soon, it needs a week or so to harden up a bit as it's a little soft but I made it as an OHP so it's good to use already. www.findhornbaysoaps.co.uk

Well I made up a small batch with Ewax at 3% & no stearic acid & it emulsified beautifully, not too thick & not at all oily. I've used it once so far, in the shower, with both a spoon & wet fingers as I want to see how well my preservative holds up if any water gets in & I've left the tub on the windowsill in the bathroom just to see the effect of sun on it....if we get any! My skin felt gorgeous after with a lovely fragrance & was still feeling soft the next day, it went on easily & washed off with no problems & it was easy to clean out the bath after, unlike with my bath truffles! I even had enough to give to friends to test. The next batch will be with stearic for a comparison although if the stearic thickens a scrub even more than the Ewax alone I think it might be too thick & difficult to get out of the jar. I'll see when I've tried it. Sally.x

Thanks ladies. So if I only use the Ewax the scrub will not be as emulsified as it would be if I used that & the stearic acid. As I have both I think I will make up 2 smaller batches & see which is preferred. The glide aspect isn't really an issue in this particular scrub so I can do without the cetyl alcohol. I'll have to speak to my chemist & find out if I can get anything added to my assessment if the one with stearic is more popular. Off to play now, thanks again. Sally.x

Hi everyone, I haven't been around much lately but dropped by when I had a quiet moment last w.e. I was looking at the sugar scrub class & think I'll have a try. If all goes well it will be added to my growing repertoire of goodies on sale. However here in U.k our products for sale have to be certified by a cosmetic chemist & the ingredients included on an assessment. Although my assessment covers a wide range of ingredients & products stearic acid is the one missing ingredient. Can anyone tell me what the stearic acid does in the recipe & is there an alternative which may be used (it may well be on my assessment)? Is the stearic acid that I've used in my candles the same or is there a cosmetic version? Just spotted an old post telling me it is, so that's that answered. I've not seen it used in other sugar scrub recipes I've seen so I'm going to have a play this w.e & see how things go tho any help or advice will be most gratefully received......lol I have now surprising what a better search can turn up! So now I've searched some more I've also seen folk using cetyl alcohol in their sugar scrubs could that be used in place of stearic acid? Not that it makes a difference to me, it's not on my assessment either. Thanks folks, Sally.x

That is just beautiful. Sally.x

Wow, they are gorgeous. Sally.

Simply stunning. Sally.

They look gorgeous, I've not used a salt bar yet, or made any....another thing to add to my ever growing "to do" list. Sally.

I have patchouli, great on it's own & fab with lime, ylang, geranium, rosewood, aniseed, orange, lavender 40/42 or bulgarian, clove & cinnamon, excellent in spicey christmas blends & you don't use much for a good result, petitgrain, vetivert, peppermint & spearmint, lemongrass, tea tree, rosemary, eucalyptus plus a bunch of others I want to play with when I get the time. I am fortunate to work for a supplier of essential oils, vegetable oils & other cosmetic ingredients so I get a staff discount, great for buying organic ingredients. But I don't get everything from my work if I can find it cheaper elsewhere. I've had good results with all of these in HP but I can only vouch for lemongrass, lavender, rosemary, clove & cinnamon in CP as I don't often do it...too impatient to wait for the cure,lol. Sally.

I make a H.P version of the fishermans soap with aniseed e.o & colour it with charcoal powder which also acts as a light exfoliant. It looks & smells just like Black Jacks, a sweet we used to have as kids over here in U.K Sally.

OMG that is wonderful. Sally.

Does he actually want garlic as an ingredient in the soap itself cos I think Neem oil smells garlicky.....well it did in the soap I made with it...lol. Sally.

Love those frog eyes & thanks for the tip. It's my intention to work on my CP soaps this year with colour & swirls being top of the list, now I know what I can do with any left overs. Sally.

Thanks Scented, I'll do that. Sally.

I have some of Sola's Happy Heart which I want to try in some bath bombs, for a swap I'm involved with over here. Does anyone know if it's skin safe, sadly I can't check with them any longer. TIA, Sally.

Some of my favourite Fo's come from Bert's, the quality is usually great but as 8-Gran-Ones says you will have to test them before coming to your own conclusions. I only wish they were EU approved so I could use them in soap & b&b for sale over here. I can use them for me & friends tho so it's not all bad. Sally.