Soapy Hints and Tips
This is a monthly compilation of tips,
knowledge, and just plain old good advice.
Keeping MSM from re-crystallizing in
cream
I use 15% MSM of the total water in the cream. Dissolve it in the
water when I'm heating it. I haven't had a problem with it recrystalizing.
~ Lisa
A few things can affect your lotion/cream. Quality of the MSM to begin with,
amount of MSM used (15% solution is recommended), proper dissolving of the
crystals (I use boiling water and let it sit for up to an hour before using).
~ Becky, Listmom
I haven't had any trouble with it re-crystallizing at all. Are you
incorporating it in your water portion of your cream, with a bit of heat?
Also, I think you can only go up to about 15% with the MSM, I will check my
notes for sure (when I dig them out from under my desk) before it will not
dissolve any more.
~ Michelle
Shealoe's SAP Value
No one seems to put it up, which is kind of weird, but since
Shealoe is half shea butter (SAP: 180) and half aloe butter (SAP: 252) that
would make Shealoe's SAP 216.
~ Camille, Listmom2
Coffee in Lotion
In soaps, CP soap, oddly enough, it works as a natural deodorizer.
I make mine plain, no FO, REALLY strong coffee for the water, and a TBSP of
powdered coffee once the oils/lye are initially mixed. The tablespoon
translates to about a tsp per lb of oils used :o)
~ Marian
I agree with Marian about the deodorizing
effect of coffee in soap. I'm not mad on using it as a body soap, although
hunters sometimes do in order to remove the human smell as much as possible, but
as a kitchen soap for taking garlic, onion, and fishy smells off the hands, it's
great. It'll remove even stronger odors, according to one customer who
successfully took off all the smell of gasoline from her hands.
~ Miriam
I've used coffee in soaps, though not lotions, and it doesn't stain
the skin at all. I use coffee grounds in soaps not only for the wake-up
scent, but also because it removes nasty scents, like when you're chopping
garlic and want to remove those oils from your hands-- coffee soap works like a
charm to do that, so I always keep some coffee soap
in my kitchen by the sink. Something about coffee neutralizes scents
beautifully--perhaps that acid, as I've heard tomato soaps, which would
be even more acid, do the same work with smells.
~Erin
True, coffee in soaps won't stain the skin, as I can also
testify. Although it leaves brown streaks on white porcelain (till its
washed off). But I have made a sunscreen lotion with black tea that does leave
the skin a bit darker temporarily; I would imagine that a leave-on product like
lotion with coffee in it might well stain. But one can always experiment. The
main question in my mind would be, though, if coffee benefits the skin in any
way.
~ Miriam
It's great in a scrub and in cp/hp soap
(never tried it in M&P, but it should work the same). Just make sure
you grind it super fine...unless you like really scrubby scrub. ;)
~ Denise in PA, List Co-Moderator
Yes, I've used coffee in a scrub, too! Again, one I made for
gardeners that also removed scents and scrubbed dirt and chlorophyll off tired
hands. I also added a bit of cornmeal for the same reason. The first
test batch (which I test on myself of course!) was ground a
wee bit too
coarsely, but the second batch, which I think was ground along the lines of a
French roast would be, was just great! Felt really nice on the skin,
actually.
I've also made a coffee shampoo for pets that tangle with skunks. Works
like a charm and won't hurt the pets, as many chemical de-scenters will do.
I don't know if it would be TOO exfoliating for a *face* though, just as many
people have skin too sensitive to use sugar scrubs on their face because of the
shape of the sugar crystals.
Try it on yourself and see how it feels!
~Erin
Wrapping/Labeling Stamped Soaps
When I have stamped soaps, I use the boxes with the oval cutout to show
off the stamp! You could even shrink wrap the soap and then box it if
you wished to protect the soap from dust and such. I recently got one
in a swap that had like a shrink band around it (around the soap only in
the lengthwise direction with both long sides exposed but protected by
the box) and then slid into a box. The soap that showed through the box
was protected by this bit of shrink wrap and it didn't appear to have
been a lot of work or too terribly time consuming!
~ Lea
I am wrapping mine in cello sheets and leaving the stamped side
untouched (no label). the label is stuck on the other side (where the sheet is
folded).
~ Steph }:o)
Not exactly the cheapest way to go, but
there are boxes out there for soaps with cut out windows...and hey, I just
thought... what about a card stock or heavier weight paper with a die cut
window... hmmm... I think I need to try this out... of course, I haven't had
much luck stamping soap LOL!! But I like that idea :o) Anyway, you
could have both your stamp and cigar band that way.
~ Marian
I saw a soap recently from a swap (probably
the same swap as you,
Lea ;-) and she had stamped the edge that was not wrapped with the cigar band
(actually, in this case it was a washcloth, wrapped around the bar so that the
long sides of the soap rectangle were exposed and tied with a pretty ribbon).
And then she dusted the stamped outline with mica to define it further. It
looked really nice.
~ Joey in OH
Baby Shower Novelties
What about just wrapping the soaps up like they're in a diaper? Use the
colored pin to hold it shut, just like the real thing? Cheesecloth is pretty
cheap, or the white material often used for quilting.
~ MaryB, List Co-Moderator
Or...make up two demos for her. The pretty bag and/or something else.
Let her choose, but adjust the cost accordingly. I know that if faced with
two choices, one very nice and one with a little extra *oomph* but a
little more expensive (say 25 cents or so in this case), I almost always go for
a little more *oomph* :o) Maybe that has something to do with my flat bank
account, yah think?
Or my favorite...skip the bag, create a nice
cigar band, tie a ribbon around it with a tiny novelty attached?
~ Marian
Maybe you could check the dollar store for
something or maybe just add a gift tag, personalized to say something like
"so & so's baby shower & the date w/ a little baby clip art on it.
~ Julie
What are you actual costs with this? Just
keep that in mind when deciding how much to add on, you still want to come out
ahead :) You could do a cute label
to go on the bag, something babyish that will tie the whole look together. I
like the idea of a sample bar of soap in a blue bag.
I am doing some wedding soaps as a wedding gift
to our good friends. I decided to cut my normal bar (which is about 5.5oz) in
half. Then the bride-to-be
is doing the packaging and they are all going into little bags with labels that
the bride is making. It is amazing how good something looks with a little bag
and a little label. Makes it look like a little gift
rather than just a small, naked bar of soap :)
~ Erika
Alkanet Tip
To make a nice color in your soap, use 5 ounces of this oil at trace, in
about a 125 oz oil base. Use 1/2 this if you want a paler, more
translucent lavender. Anyway, take a 4 cup pyrex cup, fill with oil of
choice, add a few rounded TBSP or so of powdered alkanet root. Heat in dbl
boiler for an hour or so, stirring when you think about it....I just heat and
then leave it off to sit in the water when the hour is done. Leave it
alone.... When cooled (don't stir it again), pour the oil into a jar and
store in fridge until needed. Why this way? Well, as you pour out
the oil
you notice the alkanet residue is on the bottom of the pyrex cup and almost
all the oil decants. Toss the residue and save the oil...
Just another note... at least in the base I use this in, it turns grey, even
when added at trace, but morphs back to lavender by the next day :o)
~ Marian
Weighing Boxes
Tip for weighing boxes on the scales with the smaller platform--So that you
can read the display without having to utilize the "hold" feature
(which you won't always remember you have), before you turn the scale on, set a
roll of package tape on top. When you turn the scale on, it tares with the
tape included and it is not included in your package weight. The width of
the tape roll is almost always enough to get the package up a bit higher so that
you can see the display easily! Just balance the box on top of the tape
roll and weigh!
~ Lea
Treating Cold Sores
I use Deena's lip balm recipe from the nook...lots of emu oil, lavender
and tea tree essential oils...works pretty good for Billy. He also uses a
potent probiotic, L-Lysine (it's an amino acid that is
available in the vitamin section) and lots of vitamin C...seems to do the trick
for him.
I just went back through some old posts regarding this (I saved the info for
Billy) and Cat had shared some wonderful information:
Tea tree essential oil works wonders on cold sores, as does a small amount of
myrrh e.o. (antiseptic and wonderfully healing). I use 3 drops tea tree
e.o., 1
drop myrrh e.o. and 1 capsule vitamin E and apply that to the cold sores to heal
them quickly. - Cat
~ Denise in PA
Seems to me that what we discussed was the effectiveness of lemon balm
infused in a healing oil as a cold sore treatment....
~ Sue K
Oatmeal, Milk & Honey
The problem with those ingredients is that ALL of them are 'heaters' and
when you add them all you get a super-heater times three! :) BUT,
that said...it is one of my all time favorite combos and I make it
regularly. The key is to make sure your lye solution is on the cool side
(90°) and don't insulate or even cover the mold. Another idea, especially
if it is warm outside, is put the traced soap in the cool area of the house,
near the AC or in front of a fan. I have wood molds and they tend to
insulate soap a tad bit too much, therefore, I usually try to make this
soap in a cardboard box. You should be fine with milk and honey...I use a
1/4 cup of honey for my 5 pound oil recipe. Oh, 1/4 cup is 4 tablespoons.
;)
~ Denise in PA, List Co-Moderator
Keep the temps down to about 80° - 85°. I add one tsp honey and one tsp
oatmeal powder per pound of oils. I usually save this one to make during
the cooler months and even though I cover mine, it's a just a thinner piece
of wood to cover the top of my mold. The 80° gave me a light beige soap,
90°
gave me a darker caramel color. At least in this batch of soap, I found
that if you leave the cover on for AT LEAST 24 hrs, so that you don't get any
drastic temp changes after the initial heating up, you can really cut back on
the ash development. I was afraid once, that it was heating up too fast
and I took off the cover and watched the ash literally walk across the soap
surface before my eyes....I quit that and now don't open these until 24 hrs or
later. Just as an aside, I have noticed this on other batches
too.....
~ Marian
*lower temps (I run this one at room temp
for both oils and lye)
*don't insulate the mold
Also, just elevate the mold about 2 to 3 inches - it helps, being that last
wee bit of insurance. : )
~ Camille, Listmom2
