In addition to the Peppermint Poppy soap, I also made another batch of hot process soap. It’s made with fresh goat milk and scented with a sweet floral scent of Bali jasmine blossoms.

This batch was much easier to work because there are no sea salt or other extra ingredients. It’s also a much smoother bar too.

Sometimes exfoliating soaps are nice, but some days you just want a smooth bar of soap. But each type of soap has their own benefits. And most of all, handmade soaps leave your skin well moisturized and clean.

Once the soap was done cooking, I poured them into my empty (clean) goat milk carton. After letting it cool down for 24 hours, I sliced them into medium sized bars.

The bars are pretty and a good size too. With fragrance, there are variations and difficult to describe. So I went with a lighter jasmine scent that is not overpowering. But it’s a nice sweet scent that reminds me of someplace tropical and breezy.

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Regular facial soaps have been known to be drying and harsh, but not when you add skin loving botanical ingredients. In addition to the naturally occurring gylcerin in each handmade soap, there is also rich shea butter, grounded rose hip and colloidal oatmeal.

All these ingredients are a “dream” in natural skincare. The rose hip powder is full of Vitamin C and carotene.  Oatmeal naturally helps soothe and relieve minor skin irritations.  Both the rose hip and oatmeal are finely grounded and makes for a smooth bar with gentle exfoliation.  In addition, the shea butter helps with extra skin moisturizing qualities.

Pure shea butter has been known to help with fading scars, treating eczema and psoriasis. Dry lips and skin also benefit from the application of shea butter. And it also help deal with stretch marks and uneven skin tone as well. This list really goes on and on.

The rose shea dream facial soap is scented with rose fragrance, to remind you of a stroll in a blooming summer rose garden.

Ingredients:  Oils of olive, palm, safflower, coconut, Shea butter, rice bran and grapeseed oil.  Distilled water, sodium hydroxide, rosehip powder, colloidal oatmeal, and rose garden fragrance oil.

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This is the latest soap that just finished curing after 4 weeks. Time seems to go slower when you are waiting for them to cure. But if you just leave them alone and check back later, it’s really not that long!

In the beginning, there were some nice swirls. But now it’s pretty much in one color that looks almost light brown in color.

It’s a smooth skin clarifying soap made with Moroccan Red Clay.  The clay will help with the removal of impurities and toxins.  It’s good for those with oily or acne prone skin. 

It would also make a great shaving soap due to the smoothness of the clay. A shaving brush or facial scrub could be used to increase the later.

Other ingredients include olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and grape seed oil.

I have tried it in the shower and noticed it’s a hard bar that turns smooth once it’s wet. The scent is also very light and refreshing, less of the lavender and more of sweet orange scent. The combination is very pleasant smelling handmade soap full of gylcerin that is a treat for your skin!

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I have just finished listing my handmade soaps for sale online.

I like this little note from shopHANDMADE “Shop Handmade.  Give Handmade.”  I think commercial products are good, but handcrafted items come from the heart.

At shopHandmade you can also find many other handcrafted items from other sellers too. From hand knit scarves to candles.

Here is my little shop.  To make purchases, you have to sign up with an account.  It’s quick and easy, payment is done via PayPal.

UPDATE 12/10/09: I prefer etsy or Ebay. shopHandmade does not have “ease” of use and has problems loading. They have the right idea, but there needs to be some improvements. Until then, I have closed my account with shopHandmade. I hope the folks there make note of it! Thanks.

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For the longest time I could not get myself to try M & P (melt & pour) soapmaking.  I think it’s because the idea seem too simple.  And the varieties of mold were so limiting.  And there just didn’t seem to be that anticipation of seeing your soap “cook” on it’s own like with CP soapmaking.

But after seeing all these neat and creative M&P soaps from Etsy, I now have a change of heart.

These mouth watering sushi soaps were made by BunnyBubbles, on sale at Etsy $15.  Check out the pickled ginger and wasabi too.

These cute looking cupcake soaps definitely looks good enough to eat!  This was made by SoapStore, on sale at Etsy for $4.50.

The world of soapmaking and crafts is only limited by the way you think.  And all these soaps are such an inspiration.

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