Simple Soaps

Until now I get this statement a lot : "Your soaps are too pretty to be used" or "I'm going to keep this forever"..... I"m flaterred actually (I always think other soapers made way more beautiful soaps than I did), but before the soaps are made, we soapers, are actually formulate oils/butters and additives carefully to produce mild high quality soap :) . And along the way, It is hard to ignore all those tempting swirl techniques and all those pretty colors.  However, once in a while I managed to make simple soaps. No swirls. No fancy colors, just cocoa powder, activated charcoal and milk as additives.  To match the natural colors, I added chocolate FO, Milk FO and Peppermint EO as the scents.

 

Well, it's not that plain because I used fondant mat for texture :) . I'm quite happy with the results.  

New Soaps

Colorant Adventure

It's been a long time since I hunted  for this tree : Kesumba Keling (Bixa Orellana) or annatto seeds.  The seed is widely used as yellow colorant although it appears red.  I was pretty sure I  could find the tree here because it has  a local name (nobody I know even ever heard of this tree).  One day when we made our routine trip to Bogor, I saw it.  On the roadside of Jagorawi toll road.  At first I thought it was my imagination :) .  Until last week I made my husband pull over (which he sincerely did) and It was really the tree.  Yeayy.

I ground the seeds with coffee grinder and infuse it in coconut oil

And this is the soap :)

I'm pleased with this soap.  The yellow part is from annatto seeds and the brown part comes from honey.  I added biji selasih for light scrub. ...

Persimmon Soap

Sebagian besar orang tentu sering mendengar buah Kesemek (Diospyros kaki) atau Persimmon dalam Bahasa Inggris walaupun hanya sebagian saja yang pernah memakannya.  Buahnya manis dan renyah. Kesemek tinggi kandungan tannin.  Tannin terutama lebih cepat diekstraksi dalam larutan alkaline.  Itulah sebabnya pada saat pembuatan sabun dengan puree buah kesemek, warna sabun berubah menjadi coklat tua walaupun puree kesemek bewarna kuning keemasan.

 

Puree Kesemek

Sabun buah Kesemek.  Sabun ini dibuat dengan metode Hot Process.  Puree ditambahkan ke lye solution. Dengan instant larutan berubah warna menjadi hitam pekat.  Begitu pula saat pemasakan.  Warna sedikit memudar di akhir proses pemasakan.  

Tannin bersifat astringent.  Menurut Wikipedia

Astringent medicines cause shrinkage of mucous membranes or exposed tissues and are often used internally to check discharge of blood serum or mucous secretions.^[2] This can happen with a sore throat, hemorrhages, diarrhea, or with peptic ulcers. Externally applied astringents, which cause mild coagulation of skin proteins, dry, harden, and protect the skin.^[3] People with acne are often advised to use astringents if they have oily skin.^[4] Mild astringent solutions are used in the relief of such minor skin irritations as those resulting from superficial cuts, allergies, insect bites,^[3] or fungal infections such as athlete's foot.^[5]

Facial Bars

Ini sabun-sabun khusus untuk wajah, semua menggunakan essential oil dan pewarna alami.  Double Clay menggunakan red moroccan clay dan french green clay, oatmeal and honey menggunakan oatmeal bubuk dan madu murni, sabun bengkuang menggunakan bengkuang juice dan silk.  All ready in June :)

Cocoa Butter

Sekarang Ritz n Luna menggunakan cocoa butter pada semua produk.  Cocoa butter mengandung 20 - 40 % stearic acid, menjadikan sabun lebih keras dan tahan lama.  Juga sangat moisturizing.  Hal yang sama untuk lipbalm, lotion dan scrub, very luxurious.

Cara Pembuatan Sabun Domino

Sabun ini dipesan khusus oleh sepupu saya untuk souvenir pernikahan.  Saya mendapatkan ide dari Brambleberry, hanya saja sabun domino di Brambleberry adalah Melt and Pour Soap.  Saya membuat Cold Process Soap version.  Sangat menantang proses pembuatannya karena memerlukan beberapa steps.

Pertama-tama adonan sabun berwarna putih dituang ke rectangular cavity mold, ditengah2 diberi embeds garis merah.  Setelah agak keras baru ditusuk dengan sedotan ukuran besar dengan pola titik-titik domino.







Setelah kurang lebih 18 jam dan bisa dicopot dari cetakan, hasilnya seperti ini. Adonan sabun yang baru diberi pewarna merah red oxide, dituang perlahan-lahan ke lubang dari sedotan tadi.  Trust me, the process was such a mess :D. I can laugh now