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Classic CP Swirl Soap on Soap Queen TV

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

It’s another Throw-Back Thursday #tbt on Soap Queen TV. This time Christy from KB Shimmer is joining me to demonstrate a classic swirl. This video is from 2010, so please forgive the retro set design.

Please note that before making the soap in this video you should be comfortable making basic batches of cold process soap. This is definitely an advanced technique, so if you haven’t made CP soap before you must watch and practice the recipes in my basic Cold Process soapmaking video series (it’s free!).

In this video we talk about using room temperature lye water. What this means is that we mixed up the lye solution 3 or 4 hours before we made our soap so that it wouldn’t be hot when we used it. You could even mix up your lye solution the day before – just be really sure it is well labeled and not left in a place where someone might think it was just water. Using room temperature lye helps to slow down the saponification process so that you have plenty of time to work with your soap and make those beautiful swirls!

  Buy all the ingredients and the mold to make this soap here.

 

Ingredients:
29.4 oz Olive Oil
16 oz Palm Oil
12.8 oz Coconut Oil
3.8 oz Cocoa Butter
1.9 oz Castor Oil

20.7 oz Distilled Water
8.9 oz Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)

2.5 oz. Lemon Essential Oil
1.5 oz. Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil
1/2 tsp Ultramarine Blue Pigment
1/2 tsp Ultramarine Violet Pigment
1/2 tsp Yellow Oxide

18 Bar Baltic Birch Mold

Tools:
2 Heat safe non-reactive containers
3 small non-reactive containers for colors
Stick Blender
Small Spatulas
Wooden Skewers

Safety Gear:
Gloves
Goggles
Apron
Long sleeve shirt and pants

Guest Post: Testing Natural Colorants in Cold Process

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

We’re taking today off from our normally scheduled cold process tutorial to show you this fantastically thorough recap of a session at the 2014 Soap Guild. Our guest blogger Jean Horn attended Ruth Esteves’ session on natural colorant testing in cold process. Natural colorants are a beautiful option for cold process soaping, but it’s important to know how they behave and which ones will stand the test of time. Read Jean’s excellent recap of the session, and then give natural colorants a try. — A.M.

Ruth was fighting a cold the day she presented, but she was happy to let me snap a picture of her anyway. She did an excellent job on her presentation, and she is co-owner of The Nova Studio in California.

Have you ever thought about moving toward using mostly natural colorants? Is this something your customers are asking for? If so, the information presented in this session will be extremely helpful to you.

Which natural additives will withstand the rigors of cold process? What is a natural colorant? Ruth’s presentation on testing natural colorants contained some great information addressing both of these issues.

Some natural ingredients that can add color to CP soap include plants, spices, Herbs and Botanicals, Clays, vegetables, and fruits. This Brazilian Clay Sampler from Bramble Berry is an example of the beautiful colors that clays lend to Cold Process Soap.  Wow. Aren’t those soaps gorgeous?

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Facebook Photo of the Week (May 24th ~ May 30th)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

This week we looked to nature for soapy inspiration. If you are a candle maker, the Garden Candle Tutorial is a great project to expand your skills. If you prefer a simple, more natural candle, the Eco Chic Candle Tutorial is a fast and functional way to recycle jars.

We also shared the beautiful Juicy Orange and Sweet Rose Cold Process Tutorial. Made with 10x Orange Essential Oil and colored with Paprika, this cold process tutorial looks as fresh and juicy as it smells! Paprika is a fantastic way to naturally color your soap, as seen in the Indigo Spoon Plop Cold Process Tutorial. If you’d like to learn more about natural colorants, the Sunday Night Spotlight: Natural Colorants is full of info.

Speaking of natural color and additives, our Facebook Photo of the Week from Katie of Thumbprint Handcrafted Soap utilizes products from nature to give her soap lots of personality. Made with walnut shells, honey and cocoa powder, this Honey Walnut Hand and Foot Scrub Soap gently exfoliates the skin, leaving it silky smooth.

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Juicy Orange & Sweet Rose Cold Process

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

I’m a huge fan of fancy swirled tops, but for this recipe I decided to switch things up. This orange-scented soap is piled high with orange peels and rose petals, and the rich orange color comes from paprika — yes, the same paprika that’s probably in your kitchen!

Herbs, botanicals and spices as colorants are some of the best kept secrets in soapmaking, and you can learn more about using them in cold process soaping here. Finally, be aware that although the orange and rose topping is beautiful, they are natural items that will wilt or even mold if left in the shower and in wet conditions long enough.

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Espresso Shot Cold Process Tutorial

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

It’s no secret that the Pacific Northwest is the coffee capital of the world. There’s a coffee shop on every corner (sometimes two!), and a never-ending thirst for the latest and greatest new drink. The passion for coffee spills over into passion for soapmaking, so when we brought in the brand new Espresso Fragrance Oil, we went to work designing the most coffee-tastic soap we could.

The Espresso Fragrance Oil is a true espresso scent. Whereas Turkish Mocha has hints of sweetness and cream and Chocolate Espresso Cybilla is brimming with chocolate-y goodness, Espresso is for the coffee purist. Along with a recipe that includes Coffee Butter, Cocoa Butter, Hazelnut Oil and real coffee grounds, this is the ultimate soap for coffee lovers everywhere.

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Facebook Photo of the Week (March 22nd ~ March 28th)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

With spring officially here and March behind us, it’s exciting to start using lighter scents and colors in projects. The Eggcellent Easter Melt and Pour Tutorial features both; the Sweet Pea Fragrance Oil and Eden’s Garden Fragrance Oil blend combined with pastel colors make it the perfect project for the upcoming holiday.

The Havana Classic Series came to an end last week. It included a variety of projects featuring our Tobacco & Bay Leaf Fragrance Oil. This scent is a great choice for another upcoming holiday, Father’s Day. Colored with a masculine palette of blue, deep red and mustard, the Neptune Column Pour Cold Process Tutorial would make the perfect soap for men and women alike. If you are looking for more manly projects, check out this Easy Whipped Shaving Soap or this cute Golf Ball Melt and Pour Tutorial.

Speaking of beautiful color palettes, the Facebook Photo of the Week features five gorgeously colored scrubs that really pop! These natural scrubs from Stripped Soap Co. use clays to achieve these vibrant colors.

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Honey Bee Soap Tutorial

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

The first day of spring is tomorrow, and that means sunnier days, sprouting flower and Soap Gatherings! The Central Soapers will host this year’s first Soap Gathering. If you aren’t familiar, soap gatherings are mini conferences held by soapers across the country. Many of the gatherings feature workshops and speakers. Best of all, they’re organized by members of our own soaping community.

The Central Soapers workshop is spearheaded (with lots of help from other soapers) by Kenna of Modern Soapmaking, and takes place March 22 – 23 in Overland Park, Kansas. Bramble Berry is a proud sponsor of many soap gatherings, and this year we’re sending the mold & ingredients to make this Honey Bee CP soap as a raffle prize. Scented with Wildflower Honey, it features four natural colorants including Yellow Silt Clay, Purple Brazilian Clay, Dark Red Brazilian Clay and Activated Charcoal. You can still make this lovely soap even if you can’t attend the gathering!

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Facebook Photo of the Week (March 8th ~ 14th)

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

This week was jammed packed with inspiration and exciting events. If you are looking for a fun way to try new soap projects and connect with fellow soapers, there are still a few spots open in the Spring Subscription of Soap Crafting Club. For more information about the club, head over to this post. This week we also announced a contest to win a Soap Crafting Book and Soap Crafting Kit for your mom or other loved one. Entering the contest is easy; simply upload a photo of a crafty gift you have made to Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter with hashtags #ShowMomLove and #BrambleBerry. Don’t wait, the contest ends April 20th!

Speaking of handmade gifts, this recipe for Cherry Blossom Solid Perfume would make the perfect, quick and easy present. Not only is solid perfume easy to make, it’s easy to use. If you’d like to learn more about making solid perfume, check out the “How to Make Solid Perfume” Soap Queen TV Video. If you’re interested in making liquid perfume, this tutorial for White Ginger and Amber Spray Perfume will show you how.

The Cherry Blossom Solid Perfume is a perfect spring gift.

This tutorial for the Natural Colorant Taiwan Swirl proves that natural colorants are anything but dull. If you need more convincing,  look at the Facebook Photo of the Week from Herbolution Natural Body Care.

Look closely! The soap stamp says, “Chocolate: It’s not just for breakfast.”

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Natural Colorant Taiwan Swirl

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

This beautiful technique is called the ‘Taiwan Swirl’ because of the first YouTube video that showcased this style of soapmaking. The most difficult part of this recipe is keeping the batter at a light enough trace to get wispy lines. You can change the look of the design by changing the size of the dowel/chopstick/skewer or swirling tool. This recipe used a larger tool and a thin to medium trace to achieve the final product.

Bonus! The new Multi-Pour Sectioning Tool makes it a breeze to separate the 4 colors in this recipe that create the unique design. Scroll down to step 7 to see how to use the dividers.

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Soothing Baking Soda Oatmeal Bar

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

For the ultimate skin-soothing bar of soap, you can’t get much better than this Baking Soda Oatmeal Bar. Made with Castile Rebatch, Oat Extract, Colloidal Oatmeal and baking soda, it has some serious nourishing power. Baking soda provides gentle all-over exfoliation, and oatmeal is renowned for its ability to calm irritate skin. Some customers may prefer this bar unscented so they can enjoy the gentle exfoliation of the baking soda and soothing effect of the oatmeal, but you can certainly add Lavender or Chamomile Essential Oil to give it a mild scent.

Regular soap has a pH anywhere from 8.5 – 10, and this soap is definitely on the low end of the spectrum with a pH of 8. It’s gentle enough for sensitive skin but strong enough to provide plenty of exfoliating cleanliness.

This is also a great recipe for beginning cold process soapers. It uses a rebatch base, which means the soap arrives pre-made and pre-cured; no dealing with lye!  This tutorial uses the double-boiler method, but you can experiment with the plastic baggie technique too. For more on making rebatch soap, check out this Soap Queen TV video.

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Natural vs. Organic

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

With so many buzzwords used in beauty product marketing, sometimes it can be hard to discern what you think you’re buying versus what you’re actually getting. “Natural” and “Organic” are often thrown around to tout the purity of many beauty products — soaps especially — but the two terms mean very different things. One is a legally regulated term, and the other is much more vague. Read on to learn more about the important differences between these two labels.

Bramble Berry carries several certified organic products. From left to right: Organic Rosemary Essential Oil, Organic Melt and Pour Base and Virgin Coconut Oil.

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Sunday Night Spotlight: Natural Colorants

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways. ”
― Oscar Wilde

Herbs impart natural color to soap

The first thing anyone sees about your soap creation is its color and shape. The thing that will intrigue a customer and get them to pick up a bar of soap is not the scent; it’s the color. From LabColors, to micas, color blocks for melt and pour and pigments, there are many options for coloring your soap. If you prefer to use natural ingredients in your soap, you can still achieve vibrant, beautiful colors using natural colorants. Natural products that impart color include clays as well as herbs and botanicals.

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Baby Massage Oil Video

Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

Really, this could be called ‘Human Massage Oil’ since it’s not just good for babies but boy oh boy, little babies do love it. =) In this Soap Queen Short, I show how to make a baby massage oil and then try it out on Lily. She loved it. If you don’t have a baby, this recipe is also a wonderful massage oil for anyone, especially those with sensitive skin. By the way, Lily nailed her part in this video on the first take – she’s a natural.

Note: The Bulgarian Lavender Essential Oil has been discontinued. The kit now includes Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil. 

To make this recipe you will need:

To make the infused Calendula oil follow the instructions in this video or in this e-book and use:

   Get everything you need to make this project added to your Bramble Berry shopping cart by clicking here.

 

Soothing Bath Soak with Oat and Lavender (video)

Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

In this quick little short I show how to make a lovely bath soak. It’s filled with skin-loving ingredients like Calendula, Lavender, and Colloidal Oatmeal. It’s so fast and easy to make you’ll never take a plain bath again!

 

   Click here to get everything you need for this project added to your shopping cart!

 

To make this recipe you will need: