topofmurrayhill Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 Batch #8! Perfect for writing on the blackboard!The two new things I wanted to try for this batch were lard and essential oil (Anise).However, in addition to that I concocted kind of a screwy recipe. It's half lard, plus coconut and PKO, plus cocoa butter, and only 15% soft oil. The idea was to get something pretty hard and have the white parts be pretty white. To that end, I also left the loaf uncovered in a cool basement after pouring.Lesson 1, if you make a recipe anything like that it's probably a good idea to gel it. I think the inside did warm up enough and came out kinda normal. The outside is indeed snow white, but also very dry and brittle. I tried to plane off some of the outer layer and it made a scraping noise, plus the edges were breaking off.This batch almost got pitched, but it's been redeeming itself!I used a bar at the workshop sink. It had a great lather and left my skin feeling good, just a week out of the mold. Not only that, but for reasons unknown it soothed my poison ivy itch! Any other soap I've used lately only made it worse, but this one let me put aside the antihistamine cream. That's a really random and interesting result.So I thought it got a new lease on life as my workshop soap. Then I showed the soap to my GF and she said, "Oh, pretty!". She put it up to her nose and went "Mmmmmmmm, can I use this?". So now it's headed for the shower.I won't make it again exactly this way, but it wasn't a waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickie1st Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 That is really pretty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugenia Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 Top, it's beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 Forgot to mention, I used 1/3 oz ppo anise essential oil. The fragrance is great and seems plenty strong. Believe it or not it's from Candlewic. I was placing a candle related order and saw they had some EOs in the soap section. Since I knew I'd be needing it, figured I'd add the anise to the order and save a few bucks on shipping. It worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 It'll be interesting to see if it sticks- the Anise. I did lip balms in this (going for the licorice scent-YUCK is all I can say-but some like it).Anyhoo- I LUV how your soap turned out- good thing you didn't pitch it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aprillee Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Love the swirls! I bet it smells good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 anise sticks. really sticks. too bad I don't like it LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I think perhaps it might have suffered a wild case of ash?I hate ash, I know others soapers "embrace" the ash, but I surely can't stand it on my soap. Especially on the darker colored bars. It can add interesting effects to swirlies, so I will presume it does have actual purpose. LOL!Anise EO sticks like the devil, and is strong enough to gag a maggot.My Nonnie used to put it in cookies, it reeked like hell. Definitely no worries there of it fading. EOU has an interesting read on what each essential oil is used for in the field of natural apothecary. Might be worth a peek.I think the swirlies turned out great!I don't think you can make "bad" soap, you seem to be a natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbuddy Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Pretty swirllies!Irena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logcabinmomma Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Maybe you should sell it as poison ivy soothing soap? It'd do really really well here (says the woman who owns 3 inaccessable acres due to MAJOR poison ivy growth)... It looks good to me though! I bet it's just ash.-Kristi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacien Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Though it's a mystery. It might not have been the anise. The vegetable oils could have healing properties as well. Anise is used as an expectorant for cough or colds or a breath freshener. Actually it is more of a skin irritant than anything so use it wisely. That particual EO in general is for either aromatherapy purposes or consumption not for topical treatments. But they look good to me Top! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 Though it's a mystery. It might not have been the anise. The vegetable oils could have healing properties as well. Anise is used as an expectorant for cough or colds or a breath freshener. Actually it is more of a skin irritant than anything so use it wisely. That particual EO in general is for either aromatherapy purposes or consumption not for topical treatments. I wouldn't say there's any healing going on, but I was surprised to notice the soap helps with the itching. Do you think aniseed is safe to use for fragrance in this quantity, or should I have maybe used star anise instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnitaG Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Nice looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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