Yesterday, I spent the afternoon playing with soap. It was the first time all week that I had a chance to do some experimenting. I started with Goat’s Milk Melt & Pour Soap, a bunch of different essential oils, and various powders that could be added to enhance the soap. Needless to say, it was lots of fun.
I ended up making three sets of four different types of soap. All told, I made myself 12 samples of soap.
In the first type, I added a bit of Fuller’s Earth to the soap. What is Fuller’s Earth? The term comes from the activity of “fulling”. Fulling is the process of cleansing and thickening cloth. A Fuller does this work and uses this type of clay to do the job. The title that we see today is derived from this process. Fuller’s Earth is known to tone up the skin, improve complexion, and smooth out wrinkles. It is particularly effective in treating oily skin and drawing out hidden oils. You can learn more about Fuller’s Earth at this website: http://www.fullersearth.com/about_fullers_earth.html. I scented this soap with a citrus/spicy scent.
I added Pink Kaolin Clay to the second type of soap. This clay is a blend of white and red kaolin clay. It is best used for sensitive or dehydrated skin. I give this one a spicy scent. ‘The third type of soap I made today had Green Clay. This is also known as Illite. This is known for its exfoliation power and is often used in masks. I thought it would be worth a try in a soap as well. Since this soap was green, I scented it with lime. I found this site helpful in choosing which clay to use http://www.sunclaytherapy.com/
The final soap that I made today was a repeat of the soap that I made a few weeks ago in a workshop. It’s a charcoal soap. I’ve been using the charcoal soap for a few weeks now and I really love it. It’s great at pulling out impurities on my skin and leaves my skin feeling clean, but not dry. I scented this soap with Sandalwood. I know that’s a favorite scent to some, so I thought I’d give it a try.
So, the soaps are made. Now it’s onto the test phase!
Au Naturel Essence 
July 21, 2011 at 6:23 pm
Really like the body wash. I’ve stopped using my shampoo after reading Dr. Mercola’s article on shampoos and lotions. The body wash is refershing and smells great, and works great as a shampoo also. Also love the deep citrus body lotion, its the best moisturizer I’ve ever used.
July 21, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Thanks for the feedback. I’m really happy to hear that you’re enjoying the samples. Any thoughts on the samples of hard soap?
July 28, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Tried the charcoal soap. Gives a good lather, but not overly so, and leaves my skin feeling clean. I like the consistency, it does not melt away, and go all gooey. The smell is very faint, which is nice, I do not like a strong smelling soap. It’s a hit, would not change anything.
July 29, 2011 at 9:44 pm
Another vote for the charcoal soap! I had scented that one with Sandalwood and it sounds like was just right for you. Thanks for the comment and feedback!
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