I love baking bread - almost as much as I love making soap.
Often, I just don't take the time to do it.
Wouldn't it be fun to combine the two together and make a loaf of soap!
I decided to try out three different kinds of soap loaves - Poppyseed Carrot, Lavender with a Lemon Twist and, always a favorite scent combination, Almonds and Oatmeal.
Yum, these loaves smell good enough to eat....here's a photo of the finished loaf of Lemon Lavender with a sprinkle of lavender buds across the top.
I'll take you through the process of making these loaves. First, I melted all the oils and herbs together in a large pot - coconut, olive, palm, cocoa butter, shea butter, soybean, sunflower- all 100% plant based oils that are good for your skin.
Next, I added the lye water and stirred and blended until the soap became thicker. One way to describe it would be to say the soap now has a cake batter consistency.
Adding in more goodies - some oatmeal.
Next, it's time to add in the essential oils.
Here I'm pouring some of the soap into a smaller bowl and adding cocoa powder for a beautiful swirl of chocolate brown.
I lined my mini loaf pans with freezer paper to protect them and then poured the soap in.
Pouring the soap when it was nice and thick helped get the swirls on top. I think it makes them look more like a real loaf of bread.
A final touch - a sprinkle of poppy seeds along the top of the loaf.
After curing for a few weeks, the Poppyseed Carrot Soap naturally darkened to a deep brown. The vanilla in the scent combination I created is the culprit. It does make it look more like a loaf of bread though, perhaps a dark rye or whole wheat.
Let's take the loaf of the Poppyseed Carrot Soap and cut off a slice to use.
I love the look of these soap loaves, a bit like the loaves of bread in a bakery!
You can find our soap loaves, a limited few, on our website under Special Purpose Soaps.
Or, you can win one!
Today through Monday, March 4th we are doing a give-a-way.
For a chance to win either the Poppyseed Carrot or the Almond Oatmeal Soap Loaf, just leave a comment on this page.
We'll select a winner by random, contact the winner through email and mail your soap loaf out to you. I'll also announce the winner on our facebook page. Good Luck!
Staying Soapy,
Christine Kennedy
Christine Kennedy
simple ingredients, extraordinary benefits
