It’s been on the curing rack for 3 weeks now.  And I finally got to use this soap.  I love the natural smell of almond and the slight hint of floral beeswax and honey too.

That’s a jar of German cream honey.  I didn’t use it, but had the jar around while I took this photo.  I actually used local honey from Northern California.

This is the same batch from the Loofah bars I made, except I added almond meal to this one. The almond meal gives off a nice brown (tan) color and a stronger scent of almond too. I cut them in small hand size pieces.

Cambree’s Honey & Almond soap recipe for 2 lb batch:

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I was looking for a beekeeping store in Northern California and was happy to find one located in Sacramento.  So on my latest trip to the city, I was able to stop by and see it for myself.  The only downside to the shop is that they close at 5:30 pm so I really didn’t have time to look around or ask much questions.

As I walked in, I could hear one of the staff (or owner of the shop) discussing something about beekeeping with two fellow shoppers.  It was fun to eavesdrop on that as I have been so intrigued by bees lately.

Some of the cool supplies I got at the Bee shop for making soy and beeswax candles.  Notice my “hand-rolled beeswax candles”?  Also got a jar of Buckwheat honey.

I was also glad that had a selection of soap making and candle making supplies too.  Although the soap making oils were a bit pricey.  Either way I was in “craft heaven”.

I have always wanted to make my own soy wax candle since I learned about how clean it burns.  Beeswax is also great, clean burning and smells great.  But soy wax is more economical.  So I bought 1lb bag of soy wax to make my own candle.  I think this would be a good project to make since boutique soy wax candles are so expensive.  The instructions are really simple, just put the soy wax in the microwave, add 1 oz of fragrance or essential oil to it, then pour into a good container.  And of course don’t forget the wick too.

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In the past few days, I’ve had what began as spring allergies but felt more like the flu by the end of the week.  I tried all my homemade remedies such as drinking ginger, honey, and lemon tea. Plus chewing on garlic as well. I’m not sure if it helped, since now it’s more of a cold.  But maybe if I had some local honey, I would have been better off.

Lovely jars of local honey for sale at Alaska Farmer’s Market.  Photo from AK Root Cellar taken by Alison Arians, of Rise and Shine Bakery.

A while back, I remember hearing about eating local honey to help combat allergies.  The idea is that you are ingesting the pollen (from the local honey) that caused your allergic reactions in small amount, so you begin to build up a resistance to it.  The same with allergy shots.  Dr. Leonard Bielory, an allergist and immunologist at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, said there is no data supporting this case but he does believe there is something to it.  Since honey does have small antimicrobial effects when put on the skin and more potential medical benefits.  Honey is also a natural substance that prevent mold growth.

Tom Ogren, a California horticulturalist and botanist is an advocate of consuming local honey.  Tom Ogren likes the idea of using honey instead of getting shots, as it is less expensive, easier to manage and painless and taste good too. He explains in more detail at Local Honey and Allergies.  Local honey is described as being harvested within a few miles of where you live. I suppose if you are lucky enough, you will find them at your local Farmer’s Market.

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