How to Recycle Your Recyclables

Happy Earth Day! After a loooonng day of moving (seriously, what crazy hormonal person thought it was a good idea to move at 8.5 months pregnant?!), I thought I’d pop in with three great eco-friendly soaping ideas in honor of the day. Using clean food packaging is a great way to ensure that your products are getting their maximum amount of use before they are headed to the recycling bin; plus many of them make for a super economical mold option for testing out new soap ingredients (so your production/fancy molds aren’t taken up for testing) or an economical trial for a beginner soaper! Just to make the project as easy as it is fun, I’ve used additives and colorants that are easily found in most kitchen cupboards. Plus, you can check out this episode of SoapQueen TV for even more eco-chic ideas!

Click here to add the soap bases and fragrance oils for all three projects to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! You just need to provide the eco-friendly containers. And remember, you can always remove items you don’t need from your shopping cart. 

 

Recipe 1: Oatmeal, Milk and Honey

1 pound Honey Melt and Pour

0.3 oz Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil

1-2 Tablespoons Oatmeal (not quick or instant oats)

1-2 Reusable Food Containers

Bubble Wrap

MOLD PREP: Thoroughly clean and dry the food containers. If necessary, remove one of the wider sides of the container using a craft knife or scissors. Cut the bubble wrap to fit inside the containers, and place in the containers with the textured side facing up.

ONE: Cut the Honey Melt and Pour base into 1 inch chunks. In a heat safe container, melt the base on 30 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between bursts.

TWO: Stir in Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil and mix until well incorporated. Once the soap has reached 130 degrees, add the Oatmeal and mix well. Waiting until the temperature has reached 130 degrees will make the texture of the melt and pour base slightly more viscous, thus helping the oats to suspend well in the soap. The key is to have the base cool enough to suspend the oatmeal but not so cool that it hardens immediately. If that happens to you, pop the soap in the microwave on 15 second bursts until it’s pourable again.

THREE: Pour the soap into your containers. One pound of melt and pour base was enough to fill one juice box and one soup carton! Spray the top with Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol to eliminate any air bubbles and allow soap to fully harden.

FOUR: Once the soap has fully hardened, remove the soap from the container. Peel the bubble wrap from the soap and you’ll be left with a fun, textured top!

Recipe 2: Chai Tea, Cocoa and Goat Milk

1 pound Goat Milk Melt and Pour

0.3 oz Chai Tea Cybilla Fragrance Oil

1 teaspoon Cocoa Powder

1  Pint-sized Dairy Container

MOLD PREP: Thoroughly clean and dry a dairy container. Remove one of the wider sides of the container using a craft knife or scissors.

ONE: Cut the Goat Milk Melt and Pour base into 1 inch chunks. In a heat safe container, melt the base on 30 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between bursts.

TWO: Stir in Chai Tea Cybilla Fragrance Oil and mix until well incorporated. Split off 5 ounces of the soap base into a separate container. To the remaining (11 oz portion of) soap, add the Cocoa and mix in well.

THREE: Pour half of the Cocoa colored soap into your container. Spray with Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol to eliminate any air bubbles and allow to harden.

FOUR: Once the first layer has hardened, check the temp of the soap and make sure it’s under 140 degrees and then pour all of the uncolored soap into the mold. Spray with Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol to eliminate any air bubbles and allow to harden. Once the second layer has hardened, check the temperature of the soap (140 or below) and pour the rest of the Cocoa colored soap into the mold and spray the top with Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol to eliminate any air bubbles.

FIVE: Once the soap has fully hardened, remove the soap from the container. Cut the soap as you would a loaf!

Recipe 3: Chocolate, Cocoa and Shea Butter

1 pound Shea Butter Melt and Pour

0.3 Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil

1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder

1-3 Reusable Food Containers

MOLD PREP: Thoroughly clean and dry the food containers. If necessary, remove one side of the container using a craft knife or scissors.

ONE: Cut the Shea Butter Melt and Pour base into 1 inch chunks. In a heat safe container, melt the base on 30 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between bursts.

TWO: Stir in the Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil and mix until well incorporated. Split the batch in half. To one portion of soap, add the Cocoa powder and mix in well. Leave the other portion uncolored.

THREE: For this technique, temperature will be a factor; ensure that both portions of the soap are right about 130 degrees. Pour both the Cocoa Powder colored and uncolored soap into your containers at the same time. Pour from opposite corners so that the two colors meet in the middle and swirl, but not mix. One pound of soap was enough to fill one tofu container and two snack-size applesauce containers!

FOUR: Once the soap has fully hardened, remove the soap from the containers. Cut the soaps in half to get the full effect of the double pour method!

Happy Earth Day!