Last weekend I got to make soap with my new soap mold.  I made two batches, this Honey & Almond along with the Ginger Citrus.  But the Ginger Citrus that hasn’t turn out yet.  So I will post about that later.  There were some issues with the fragrance and my recipe.  I have to wait another 2 weeks to see what becomes of it.

But in the meantime, I am especially happy with these cute  “Honey & Almond” loofah bar.

The lighter color is just just honey and beeswax while the tan one has extra almond meal (ground up almond).  I think this would make a neat body bar as the loofah help stimulate new cell growth while getting rid of the old ones.  Along with the all vegetable handmade soap, it gives you softer and smoother skin too.

I ended up adding almond meal to the rest of the soap as I wanted to make a nice facial and body bar with honey, pure beeswax, an almond.  The honey is good for the skin and the almond meal will add to extra exfoliation.

Loofah starts out as this tasty vegetable.  Once it’s mature and dried, it’s made into loofah.  When I was younger, my mom used to grow some of these in her garden.  They taste slightly sweet and are good in soups and stir-fry.  Photo from Wiki.

My recipe: Rice Bran oil 12 oz, Olive oil 8 oz, Safflower oil 8 oz, and Sunflower oil 4 oz.  Lye 4.06 oz, and water 10 oz.  For the additives 3 tbsp of almond meal, 1 oz of honey and some shavings of pure beeswax. I carefully put the loofah through a band saw and cut them into 4 pieces.  But I’m sure you can use a sharp serrated knife to cut through the loofah too.  I then wrapped around the loofah with freezer paper before pouring in my raw soap.  It was a bit tricky and the tops look like frosting instead.  I think next time I will allow for more room so the loofah is surrounded by soap rather than just on top.  But I think it looks okay as you can always use the soap and then turn around for the scrub.  And loofah will become soft once it’s wet. I didn’t add any fragrance to this batch and was hoping the beeswax and honey would be enough.  It’s already smell like almond more than anything else.  I think next time I will add more beeswax and honey.  As the beeswax will make a harder bar and give it a naturally sweet floral smell. They all have to cure for another 3 weeks before I can test them out.  I also had some left over soap stuck on my stainless steel pot and just left them out for two days before washing them out.  So far the bubbles look good and my pot is nice and shiny too.

Loofah is a natural vegetable cleansing fiber that exfoliates away the dead skin cells and surface impurities. Effectively unclogs pores - allowing skin to breathe freely, naturally. Skin feels fresh, healthy and revitalized. A mainstay in European spas and Asian baths, this vegetable sponge is valued as the key to better health. - Earth Therapeutics.

Side Notes:  I was also inspired by this soap I posted about earlier this year.  I may still attempt to make “Green Tea Aloe” soap next weekend.  As I have some green tea powder and also plenty of fresh aloe this time of year.