Happy Friday everyone!
First, here's a huge zuke I picked from the garden. I swear, you turn your back on these things for a minute and they turn into monsters...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHVvVLp3UnegcTnEDt52TO4ufJskKRx3QM31AxXzvuXVen-qXdD-cjc3UaM8sJCjN2jo9p0-d3Qt7ZtPFWoC871ii0GpxyExXTKIGPRfaedne2061aLW288AWzqBgxTpYB-Hh/s400/monster+zuke.jpg) |
Monster zuke...coming to a garden near you! |
Second, I am so excited to have received my first, official soap cutter from
Bud's Woodshop on Etsy. This handcrafted work of art has GREATLY replaced the embarrassing cheese slicer I was using to cut loaves of soap, LOL!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_q3Lnv67e9gHapHzMIQlCsgAxeFALgnLeIVyStNB-RTSkAsJLi7etfAzxvHLaDrMK4Z4CtaMixN5KcFw8H7XZrDkYGoUP6TUl5AP9d2Tm7_aZHnpB46ijEe_XI7Ply6KGzHF/s640/soap+cutter.jpg) |
My new soap cutter! |
Third, I reworked my Honey Soap recipe....AGAIN. The last batch I made where I discounted the water amount and included pink sea salt to get a harder bar did not turn out the way I had hoped. It still did not have that smooth, creamy, hard bar look I was aiming for.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEEtL6aNInWZPMWCrtadJqer9y48qu1vw13voZl7y-_P8aNiQgD9nx2di-1Ut8RPFBXRJVL8FyKnI7hjg32WyvRnXdJoCkQxc-jeltmJIP49dPHtlrCzmktqnh6edYb56ouDf/s400/bad+honey+soap.jpg) |
Honey soap don't care! |
In fact, this and many of my past batches came out with a sort of grainy look to them and I suspected the large amount of sunflower oil was the culprit. It's still amazingly luxurious to use, but not what I want my final product to look like.
So, I tried another batch and replaced half of that sunflower oil with cocoa butter. Cocoa butter contributes to a harder bar of soap, while also contributing to its moisturizing benefits without decreasing lather, unlike shea butter. It also helps with eliminating soda ash.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eT46MHyQmpwRyt1J9f9ZkBFZba-aQq7zD4xUNaBOasuBI-UUv_NvluCMH3dJsztXRACv2Lr17bXP_wVHt9LQ6OjGfE0QtfZKaQWrW3H0FVwA7LSxHGdmsa3apNVn9yUCJhD-/s640/good+honey+soap.jpg) |
Beautiful! |
I immediately liked how this loaf looked compared to my other batches. It had a nice, consistent creamy-smooth appearance and I was able to unmold it and cut at 24-hours. Usually, I have to wait 48-hours with my previous, more sunflower oil, batches.
My new soap cutter is a dream! No more uneven bars of soap.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvR7FxpEkKzfOfHi5FwFjP33OvB3nxc90bsks-aK-on7cq608t8IP79lYopvKQLjk8v91VAwps2hXjNqwFVYIxffXf445OPJDks_2Z5CMXbnd95hInEEB_Dm0TRAUdJ9zz_7O/s640/soap+cutting.jpg) |
Cutting the soap |
So, we will see in 4-6 weeks how this turned out, but I have a feeling I'm on to something!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuAGHIBOe0BYBxywHn52Dxw5CQLY97EPqnpaVO85tz2MVVepDulw1yBjRtDNMfDagb0Yw4iFVd9IAyuUUFt9JNZdvcbRjN0gpWc-lLLNcnchUCFmm5OMeb1dwJBE7KUda-6iP/s640/honey+soap.jpg) |
All perfect and straight! |
2 comments:
Beautiful Honey soap. I'm still a fan of the high sunflower oil content for the health benefits for my skin. I love the honeycomb pattern you use. Definitely has eye appeal which is important for sales. Humans buy with their eyes and not their brain - especially US citizens.
Thank you Mary! I love the sunflower oil too, but it makes my soap too unstable, but I will find a way to still make it special. Trial and error.
In the meantime, you will get plenty to use! :-)
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