Prices of vegetable oils have been going up and prices of organic oils are a bit higher too. Luckily I was able to save on shipping by getting my organic oils from a local source. Not a huge savings since I still have to drive to the next city over to get them.

I am proud to be making my soaps with these new organic oils. Especially love that the palm oil is from a sustainable farm and no orangutans or humans were harm while gathering them.

This is Organic Neem & Kelp soap. The kelp is the top portion with swirls. According to skincare experts, this slipperiness is from the gel like quality of kelp which helps to protect and restore hair and skin. It’s very hydrating and healing ingredient in skincare.

Made with all organic oils (coconut, olive, and palm), organic neem and kelp. Neem oil has a strong smell so I had to add sweet orange essential oil to make it more usable. Once you realize how good is it for your skin, you’ll just think of it as the smell of healing and good health.

Handmade soaps are gentle on your skin. They contain no parabens, sulfates, or artificial color. All my soaps are Eco-friendly and bio-degradable. All the suds going down the drain are harmless, so even the fishes are happy too.

More soaps available at Cambree Naturals Etsy Shop. Enjoy!

I started to make some more soaps recently. And I also made a new wooden soap mold too. This one is attached together and folds up to form the mold. The only thing I didn’t add to this picture is the wooden lid.

This size suits me best since I make very small batches. The small size also makes it easier to store and pack away.

It’s a really cool design that allows me to release the soaps easily. Even with one hand. This is for a 1 pound batch which yields about 6 bars.

Wood working is kind of like sewing with all the measure, cut, and assembly. But much more of a work out to saw most of the wood myself. Unlike fabrics which are really light and easy to work with. But I did have plenty help on the tricky parts.

Note: This is the formula to figure out how much oil (volume) you need for your mold.
V = L x W x H

I love drinking cold peppermint tea in the summer. Especially after being in the hot sun. I also love using peppermint handmade soap made with peppermint essential oil.  It’s a very cooling and refreshing scent!

These poppy peppermint guest soaps are ready to use. Actually I made it with the hot process method so it’s perfectly fine to us within a couple of days. But it didn’t turn out so nice early on - the bar was too soft.

But after a few more weeks they have harden up and make great guest or travel soap. Perfect as face soap too. The poppy seeds is good for exfoliation.

After I removed it from the heart shaped mold, it was still rough around the edges. Definitely not as smooth looking as cold process soap. Yet it’s still good soap made with all good stuff.

Ingredients: Oils of coconut, palm, soybean, rice bran, grape seed, and wheat germ. Distilled water, sodium hydroxide, French green clay, Peppermint essential oils, poppy seeds.

For my summer soap shop special, I’ll be adding 2 FREE poppy peppermint guest soap with each order. Something nice to stay extra COOL this summer!

Note: I got bite by the soapmaking bug this month… and have more new soaps on the curing rack. So stay tuned!

More than 15 years ago the dermatologist told me I have some form of psoriasis. Mainly effecting my fingers, where they crack and bleed. So it makes doing crafts (as well as typing) a bit painful.

The doctor gave me all kinds of lotions and creams but nothing worked. It’s some type of auto-immune condition, and thank goodness it’s not contagious. Since using handmade soap I’ve had less and less of a break out.

Once in a while, I’ll still get bother by dry spots on the scalps. The usual tar shampoo and other OTC prescription strength shampoo only did so much as the condition return.

Recently I found a new shampoo made with neem oil that’s really helping my scalp. It’s Thera Neem shampoo and conditioner made by Organix South, retails about $10. The conditioner also leaves your hair very soft too.  The only thing I don’t like about this shampoo or any neem product is the strong smell. But the fact that it has so many benefits to trouble skin has me being a big fan of all things neem.

Below are some highlights for why neem is so neat!

- Neem has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic treatments, applications which have been validated in more than 100 studies in universities and research centers around the world.

- Neem oil contains extraordinarily high levels of antioxidants, which help protect the skin from free radicals caused by over-exposure to sun, environmental toxins and other damaging elements.

- Neem oil also contains high levels of fatty acids that soak in quickly to soothe and nourish even chronically dry and itchy skin.

Photo & highlights from Organix South makers of Thera Neem.

I would recommend this shampoo to anyone that suffers from dry scalp. Not only does this company make great natural products, they are also a very eco-conscious company too.

Note: 100% neem oil handmade soap will be next on my to-do list!

Another soap just off the rack is this Gardener’s Honey soap. In addition to the honey, it also has organic oatmeal and organic yogurt. To keep it really natural, it’s not scented but still smells very pleasant.

Ingredients: olive oil, grapeseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil, coconut oil, illipe butter, wheat germ oil, distilled water, sodium hydroxide, organic oatmeal, honey, organic yogurt, calendula petals and geranium petals.

I chose all these ingredients because of their soothing and conditioning abilities. It’s the same ingredients found in a facial mask, but put into this great bar of soap. Not only is a great facial and body soap, but also ideal for gardeners or anyone with super dirty hands! As the bits of oatmeal is very exfoliating.

This is also the first time I’ve soaped with fresh yogurt and illipe butter. The yogurt did leave a soft bar while it was being cut. But after several weeks of curing, it’s perfectly hard and nice as my other soaps.

The soap is also topped with calendula petals and geranium petals harvested from last summer’s flower garden.

Benefits of Illipe butter from Mountain Rose Herbs:

• Moisturizing chronically dry skin
• Mature skin
• Sunburn
• Healing sores
• Damaged skin
• Rough skin (such as on feet)
• Mouth ulcers
• Dry or over processed hair

This is one of my new batches of handmade soap and is now ready for use. They’ve been curing happily for the past few weeks.

I call this the “Moroccan Spice Argan” soap because of all the spicy and herbal essential oils. But the real magic is from the argan oil which is really great for the skin.

Benefits of argan oil:

- Nourishes your skin with super rich in vitamin E, antioxidants and amino acids like Omega 3, 6 and 9
- Pure and natural skincare
- Reduce signs of aging and improve skin conditions like acne, eczema and psoriasis

Ingredients: rice bran oil, coconut oil, palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, hemp oil, distilled water, sodium hydroxide, Moroccan red clay, rosehip powder, acerola powder, sweet orange essential oil, anise essential oil, clove essential oil.

I also added acerola powder. The acerola fruit is also called Barbados cherry and is loaded with vitamin C, great for it’s skin brightening abilities.

Another magical ingredient in this bar is organic hemp seed oil. I’ve never used it in soapmaking before until now. And it is really great stuff for both the soap and the skin. Not only is it great for soapmaking, it’s also very healthy stuff. The oil is very green and mixed with yogurt it taste very nutty and delicious.

This bar is scented with only essential oils. Including sweet orange essential oil, which leaves a nice light citrus scent. The clove and anise also gives in a bit of spice. A perfectly great bar of soap that is safe and beneficial to any skin type.

On my last visit to the aquarium in San Francisco, I saw kelp forest waving back and forth amongst the swimming fishes. It was a great reminder for me to take note of this underwater sea plants many benefit to skincare.

If you’ve ever touched kelp (seaweed) you’ll noticed the slippery texture. According to skincare experts, this gel like quality of kelp helps to protect and restore hair and skin. When sea kelp is added to skincare, it aids the skin by hydrating and healing it.

Kelp is also loaded with vitamins A, B12, D and iodine, folic acid, and minerals, including iron, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. And these same minerals also help draw out toxins from your skin.

Not only is it beneficial to skincare, it’s also good for you. Kelp is a sea vegetable and consumed daily by many Asian countries. Dried kelp is commonly found in soups and the Japanese love their kelp sushi wrappers.

Instead of reaching for salty chips, try snacking on roasted seaweed. As it makes for a healthy snack too.

Kelp is also a good source of iodine. And those suffering from thyroid problems should consider making kelp a natural part of their diet.

“Algae are some of the most nutrient-rich life forms in nature, which is why they’re present in so many cosmetics,” says Ben Fuchs, cosmetic formulator for Rocky Mountain Natural Labs in Boulder, Colorado. “They’re full of minerals that can help draw toxins from the skin.” - Yoga Journal.

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Ever since I heard about the benefits of neem I wanted to make my own neem soap. I’ve tried many other neem soaps made with neem oil, but the scent was just too strong to use on a daily basis.

It’s been known that all parts of the plant has medicinal qualities, I decided to use the more pleasant smelling neem leaf.

My neem soap is made with some really great ingredients. Besides the neem leaf powder, I’ve included licorice powder for it’s skin brightening qualities. Other ingredients include extra virgin coconut oil, which I consider to be the most premium of all vegetable oils. Not only is it a healthy oil, but it’s a great ingredient for skincare, from lotion to soaps.

Even though this soap is unscented, it does have a very herbal and grassy scent.

The white ashy part on top is a natural occurrence of handmade soap. It will just wash off after the first use.

It’s a good size bar weighing about 3.5 to 4 oz bar. The herbal powders provide a mild exfoliation. It would be okay to use daily as body soap but once a week as facial soap.

Pukka Herbs note, “The roots, bark, leaves and seeds all have medicinal properties and are used for a multitude of purposes; in Sanskrit it is known as sarva roga nivarini, which means ‘the curer of all ailments.”

I’d like to share a few interesting handmade soaps I’ve discovered from various shops. Not only do I make soaps, but I also like to collect other soaps too.

This is one of the first handmade soap I came across from Pier One Imports. It’s made in Thailand by Bath & Bloom.

The dark chocolate soap smells yummy! And the tumeric honey is a neat combination. Except when I think of tumeric, I think of the yellow stains it will leave behind. But this doesn’t do that as it’s blended very well into the soap.

It’s a fairly small square bar that weights close to 3 oz. And cost about $2.50 to $3.00. Pier One has many interesting soaps from around the world. But I don’t think they carry this brand anymore.

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Another new addition to my handmade soap is this skin nourishing facial soap. It’s made with skin detoxing French Green clay and healing carrot seed essential oil. Both ingredients are beneficial to skincare.

According to Mountain Rose Herbs, french green clay is super absorbent due to the constitution of its micro molecules.

It’s used to remove impurities from your skin. The toning action from the clay is also stimulating to the skin. Thus helping to revitalize the complexion and tighten the pores.

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