So this is a new segment of my blog where I try things I see on Pinterest to test their real-world practicality. Over the weekend, I thought I would try an “easy” one and go for a simple melt-and-pour goat’s milk soap (adding my own flair of tea infusion). The original pin can found here.
The materials (soap molds and all) really weren’t so expensive, so that was a relief. This was especially great as it made 13 bars of soap! I also invested in soap stamps, because, you know, aesthetics are always a priority.
With soap base and melting apparatus at the ready, I began to divy up scents, colors, and, of course, teas. I made super concentrates of peach, mint green, and earl grey tea to add in after the soap melted. The first mix I tried was Earl Grey tea mixed with a citrus oil. The early grey tea was by far the most potent tea and the darkest, so it made a very brown soap, which not only scared the pants off of me (who wants brown soap?!), but also made me give up even trying to color that batch. Here is how it turned out:
The next batch was Mint Green Tea and lavender oil. This came out much lighter, as green tea doesn’t tend to brew dark, but still had a lightish brown tint. I attempted to add almost half a bottle of lilac coloring, hoping for at least a muted purple, but, again, I ended up with brown soap, albeit a slightly more pleasant shade of brown:
The final batch was Peach White Tea and rose oil. This turned a nice, sort of hot chocolate brown and the scent mixture was really nice. Again, any attempt to add color was futile, but I was already alright with what I had, so it didn’t really matter:
I let these all set for about an hour and a half. They had solidified, which made me extremely happy, as I didn’t know if adding the tea would have made them too liquidy. I popped each one out of their mold and lined them up neatly, very pleased with myself. Then, I went to smell them.
Oh...my...goodness. They smelled terrible. They absolutely reeked of chemicals. I backed away, trying to think of what I did wrong. Maybe the tea reacted poorly with the base? Maybe I had overheated the soap? But...they looked so pretty. They couldn’t possibly smell bad! I then remembered one important part of the soap-making process: soap has to cure overnight. There was still hope!
Sure enough, as time went on, the soaps started to smell much better. By Sunday, they actually smelled pretty nice (overall, it took about 48 hours for them to smell right). My favorite ended up being the mint green tea with lavender. The recipes will definitely need tweaking (maybe I’ll even attempt a more “natural” soap recipe), but this is certainly a decent first try :)
Have you ever tried to make homemade soap (or other hygiene products)?
I made soap once in Chemistry. Had to use the hexagonal sampling plates as molds but they came out well regardless. That was years ago though. :p
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