Hey Love Buds!
The July challenge in my DIY Facebook group is to make a detoxifying scrub. Really simple, for this challenge you can pick any ingredients and any type of scrub the only requirement is that at least one of the main ingredients is a detox agent.
Now I know, you can't make claims about a product actually changing the condition of your hair, skin or body without FDA certification, but these detox items are not being made for the retail market and therefore, the challenge is proceeding with the creator's own research and understanding of this criteria.
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| courtesy www.helloglow.co |
I will also participate in each challenge and send the chosen winner the product I created as a prize. However for this month's challenge, I'll be sending up to 3 participants my entry for this month's challenge!
What did I come up with for the July Challenge?
Pink Ginger Lime Salt Bars!
The detox ingredients for this recipe include pink himalayan salt, grated lime and ginger. Usually fresh food additives are not recommended in soap recipes because they may cause the soap to develop Dreaded Orange Spots (DOS), which is a sign of rancid oils - the soap is still ok to use, just doesn't look as nice and if there is enough DOS it may change the smell. However, the high salt content of these bars acts as a preservative to the very small amount of shredded ginger and lime.
This is a cold process soap, if you are unfamiliar with how to make cold process soap, please check out this free beginner's guide to soapmaking from the Soap Queen that introduces cold process soap making or try to attend a soap making class locally. Safety is paramount when working with lye.
RECIPE:
I'm sorry I did not take any pictures of this process, I will do better next time!
Yield about 25 ounces of soap which fits in a one pound soap mold with extra to make sample bars in 2 to 3 individual 3 oz molds.
12.80 oz Coconut Oil
2.4 oz Olive Oil
.80 oz Mango Butter
4.8 oz distilled water
2 oz coconut milk
2.36 oz Sodium Hydroxide (lye)
1 oz ginger lime fragrance oil
14 oz fine grain pink himalayan salt
Soapmaking tools (bowls, spatulas, swirl tools, scale, thermometer, rubber gloves, goggles, apron, closed toe shoes)
OPTIONAL ITEMS
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp grated lime peel
1 tsp aloe vera 100x powder
1 tsp sodium lactate
pinch of silk fiber
tsp of chromium oxide dispersed in a tablespoon of thin oil (green)
tsp of bright yellow raincoat mica (from Mad Oils) or other bright yellow mica dispersed in a tablespoon of thin oil (yellow).
If you know anything about soap making, too much coconut oil can be irritating to skin and there is not a lot of other moisturizing oils to help this batch. However, salt is a lather killer and coconut oil creates lots of bubbles, so the coconut heavy recipe helps to maintain some lather. While the silk, coconut milk and aloe vera provide some skin conditioning properties.
Step 1: To use coconut milk, I freeze it in ice cube trays, then put them in a bowl and add the lye to create the lye solution. But, to decrease scalding of the milk (some is needed to superfat the soap after trace), you can use 4.8 oz of water to make the lye solution. I also add the silk fibers to the solution and stir ensuring they have all dissolved and set aside.
Step 2: Combine and warm oils and butters in a separate bowl until everything is liquid.
OPTIONAL STEPS: While you wait for the next step to happen, here are some optional steps. Warm the coconut milk a bit and add the aloe vera powder and sodium lactate. Prepare your colors if you haven't already. Make sure to have a separate container to mix each color into your soap batter. I used 3 one for some uncolored soap, one for yellow and one for green.
Step 3: When both the lye water and liquid oils/butter reach between 90 and 105 degrees (and are within about 10 degrees of each other) Add the lye solution to the oils (never the other way around) and stick blend to a THICK trace. Thick trace is necessary to keep the salt suspended.
Step 4: Once you reach thick trace, add 2 oz of liquid coconut milk and mix until incorporated. Add fragrance oil and mix until incorporated. Using a spatula to mix, slowly add in your pink himalayan salt and optional grated ginger and lime. Once fully mixed in, separate batter into containers for coloring. Add the colors and mix well.
COLOR/MOLD/SWIRL: For my color combination, I poured the uncolored batter in the mold first. Then I poured the 2 colors in simultaneously down opposite sides of the mold until full. I used a gear tie, which is great because you can bend it to fit the mold, to do a hanger swirl.
Sodium lactate really helps to have them come out of the mold smoothly. I did not include it in my first batch and I tried to unmold too soon....too, too soon...
That was a lot and pretty complicated for a non-soap maker. But this month's challenge does not have to be soap - it just has to be an exfoliant with a detox ingredient.
To qualify to win one of my Pink Ginger Lime Salt Bars, there's still time to participate in the July challenge. The rules and details are in the Facebook group, just send a request. to join.
That's all for now Love Buds. Until next time ~
Peace, Love & Lots of tangy exfoliating Bubbles!
A.
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