Herbs, Holistics & HomeopathicsDiscuss the use of alternative therapies for pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum. Be aware of who is giving advice, and never direct clients in use that is out of your scope.
I bought some soapmaking supplies at Michale's, so the soap isn't totally homemade (though I would love to do that eventually). I had a question about additives to the soap. Is it ok to add pure essential oils, like lavender and peppermint--the soaps are safe to use if I do that? Also, I am growing lavender, and there are pretty purple tops everywhere! Do i need to dry the lavender, or can I just pick it and put it right into my melted soap solution?
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You cn add pue seesential oil to the soap. As far as teh lavender i would think that you would need to add dry. Let us know how it turns out. Lavender is one of my favorite scents.
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I add EO at about .5 oz to 2-3 lbs of soap. You don't want to add too much. How much soap are you making? Is is soap or glycerin? Melt and pour?
Maximum EO for soap qty. (cold process soap)
1/2 oz for 2#
3/4 oz for 3#
1 1/4 oz for 5#
1 /34 oz for 7#
2 oz for 8#
I find that this is more than enough, I usually use less than this amount for 5# and it has a good fragrance. Not overpowering but not too faint either.
Did you search the old posts for soap making? I know that we have at least one, and there are some recipes and ideas there. I've only used dried herb in my soap. I'm not sure if fresh blossoms would mold?? You could make an infusion w/fresh herbs and discard the herb to add to cold process soap. I've done this w/strawberries (you infuse the oil w/strawberries).
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B'earth Angel the absentee doula "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
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B'earth Angel the absentee doula "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
~ Martin Luther King
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I'm assuming you got glycerin/melt & pour from Michaels.
Yep, you can add pure essential oils without any problems. A little goes a long way when I make cold process, not sure about glycerin - you might want to try out a few small test bars to get your mixtures right.
When I use lavendar buds in my cold process (soap from scratch) they can sometimes turn black and look like little dead bugs in the soap, hehe. I balance this by sometimes adding petals (which will usually turn yellow or pink - sometimes tan in colour). I don't think you'd have this problem so much with glycerin soap since it will trap and seal whatever you put into it when melted. You can add fresh or dried, but your best bet would probably to go with dried (check out Walmart in the craft/oils for burning section - they should have bags of dried lavendar).
Not really an expert on glycerin soap, but from what I've heard it is pretty easy to make and very versatile.
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Hey Becky, did you ever make your soap? If so, how did it turn out?
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B'earth Angel the absentee doula "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
I've had problems with my EOs evaporating from the glycerine melt-and-pours. I also don't like the way dried herbs end up in melt-and-pour soaps. they just seem to work better in cold process soaps. there's something about dried, ground lavender and oatmeal in a cold process soap that's so delightful....
anyone making soap these days? I'm getting ready to try some new stuff myself.
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B'earth Angel the absentee doula "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
So I made my first ever batch of all veggie soap, unscented and poured it into my new pregnant profile/cameo molds. It is softer than what I'm used to and I haven't taken it out of the mold yet. I'm sorta afraid to, since I don't want it to break! The molds are pretty though. I have one long hair and one short hair pregnant lady. I'm so excited for these to come out great, I just can't stand it... COME ON SOAP AND COME OUTTA THEM MOLDS!!!!!!!!!!!
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B'earth Angel the absentee doula "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
Christmas 2006, the dc and I made soap. We made lavender, with eo and dried buds and almond/oatmeal. We put almond extract and oatmeal flakes - that was a good one!
We had pretty clear w/ a Christmas design bags that we put the soaps into and gave to everyone.
One other thing. We didn't buy any molds. We used old containers. The bottoms of old (personal size) water bottles were great and gave us cool shapes. We just collected a bunch of bottles before we started, cleaned them well, and greased them before pouring in the soaps. It helped us to save some $$$ on them. They were fun to make, and give. I think the dc and I should do it again!
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It is always best to use essential oils. add the last thing in the soaps and usually no more than 3 percent. the flower tops add beauty,smell and extra healing to the soaps. i add a little buttermilk or goats milk, ( you can get them powdered at the store) add beor the oils and stir well. Do not boil your m&p soap let it melt slowly, stir, if you add colorants make sure the bubbles stay white.
BTW if the mold is cold and then is hard to turn out, put in the freezer or fridge for about 10-20 minutes. flip over on to hard surface and press. works wonders. then let them dry a good 24 hrs.
hope this helps.
ncherbmama- Mechell
You can add fresh or dried, but your best bet would probably to go with dried (check out Walmart in the craft/oils for burning section - they should have bags of dried lavendar).
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