A little soap to get the season started

So the kiddos have been in pre-school for two weeks now, which means that those lovely germs we come to know and love this time of year have all but set up camp in our house. Unfortunately, our immune systems are still hanging out at the beach. It hit me this weekend, but today was the worst (naturally, since it's Monday and my husband had to return to work). Lucky for me, my mom was happy to take my two-year-old for the day so my daughter and I could make butternut squash and apple soup while vegging out on popcorn, tea, Cinderella, and soupy goodness.

Sicky germs aside, I was anxious to make soap this weekend, if only because I was trying a new technique and a new additive (pumpkin!). I love the cold process method of soap making because it produces a harder and longer-lasting bar of soap than other methods. The downside to that is the curing time that is required - at least 4-6 weeks - means that the pressure is now on to make those fall and winter seasonal blends that I have been so excited about making, especially if I want to give myself time to make mistakes.

Fortunately, the soap that I made this weekend appears to be in good shape with only a few - let's call them artistic - irregularities.

This is my Pumpkin Spice soap, and as you can see, I am having some difficulty cutting a straight bar of soap.

And I still haven't mastered the art of the mica swirl. I envisioned something like this...

Credit: The Distracted Housewife

...but ended up with this.

No biggie. I cleaned up the sides and edges and I am very happy with the outcome. I made it with olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and castor oil. Plus, pureed pumpkin. In the soap. Hello.

For my next batch, I used my favorite recipe with mango butter and white kaolin clay. There is something very special about this soap. I don't know if it is the soothing clay, the creaminess of the coconut and castor oils, or the cooling of the peppermint essential oil, but it epitomizes the benefits of handmade soap to me and will be awesome for dry winter skin.

Peppermint > Lavender

Admittedly, there is a rather large disconnect of the senses with this soap. I used olive oil infused with alkanet root to color the soap and topped it off with lavender buds.  My intention was for the scent to be a true blend of lavender and mint; this soap looks like lavender and smells like peppermint. I am still learning about the behavior of essential oils, and this weekend's lesson was that peppermint trumps lavender. 

Having said that, I have high hopes for this soap. AND I cut straighter bars this time. Hooray for improvement!