I made a batch of soap yesterday. Unfortunately, it was just a test batch, as I don’t have all my supplies yet. I’ve ordered them, they’re on the way, but I don’t have the large mold or fresh oil I need yet to make the large batches that I’ll need for the actual business. So in the meantime, I’m making test batches to make sure I’m happy with my recipe and additives before it’s time to start making the official soap.
Sturm’s A-coming
This batch was supposed to include colloidal oatmeal (oatmeal ground fine), which will go in my Scrubby Spearmint bars. I’m changing from the original scrub-creator, green zeolite clay, because it’s being discontinued by my main supplier and the other suppliers don’t carry it at all. The oatmeal will be a gentler scrub and really nice on the skin, but since it’s been a while I wanted to figure out how much to add. Unfortunately, I forgot to get it while getting my supplies, and I couldn’t go back into the room in question because I had shut one of my cats in there to keep her safe from the production (cats don’t understand that they need to stay away from lye). She would have escaped, so I wasn’t able to get the oatmeal.
Instead, I added powdered coconut milk, which is one of my favorite additives. It improves the lather, and I think it makes the soap silkier. For this batch, I used “Cabernet Blossom” fragrance oil from Mile High Soap, which smells like a grape-forward wine. In fact, I think it smells like sturm, an Austrian drink that is basically unfiltered, half-fermented wine. It sounds weird, but it’s delicious. I tried to match the color to the wine concept by blending red oxide, ultramarine violet, and merlot mica. I think it turned out pretty good!
So now I just have to wait for supplies to arrive!