Coconut Plum Lip Balm

Love lip balm?  Here is a delicious recipe from The Natural Beauty Workshop called Coconut & Plum Lip Balm that you have to try. It has the natural aroma of Virgin Plum Oil and Virgin Coconut Cream Oil plus it has Sacha Nichi Oil which brings a nutty note to the balm.  This recipe makes 15 eight ml jars of lip which makes great gifts.

Real, Rumor or Really? Claims for Lye Soap

Have you heard of any rumors of lye soap?  There maybe some myths of about it but in a recent posting on the Soapmaking Forum called Real, Rumor or Realilty goes into some of them.Have you heard other rumors etc. that you would like to share?  Please do. Would definately love to hear them all.

Black, White and Gold All Over Cold Process

When I saw this cold process soap tutorial from the Soap Queen called Black, White and Gold All Over I thought it looked really cool that I had to share.  For those beginner cold process soapmakers, this is a recipe that you can handle.  It makes about three pounds of soap and only 45 minutes to put it together.

How to Clean Oily Containers

Do you find it difficult to clean oily containers?  I think most of us do.  The Soap Queen recently shared a video on her site called How to Clean Oily Containers.Check it out to see what helpful tips and tricks to assist you with this dirty task.

African Black Soap Salt Bar

Do you love making your own cold process soap?  Is coconut oil your favorite ingredient?  Here is a really simple recipe that combines the two.  It is called African Black Soap Salt Bar and it is brought to you by Lovin' Soap on their blog called Learn How to Make Soap.  Instead of using a large soap mold that you will have to cut into individual bars, Lovin' Soap uses individual cavity bars for this recipe because they want to have them harden a lot faster than the coventional mold.  The salt bar mold is used because it is the author's favorite. Give it a try and see you like it.

How to Make an Herbal Vinegar Hair Rinse

Totally Tutorials recently shared a recipe from Herbal Lifestyle  on How to Make an Herbal Vinegar Hair Rinse.  According to Herbal Lifestyle, no matter what type of shampoo you use, vinegar rinses are helpful in restoring your hair's pH balance.  They are also great for oily hair, itchy scalp, dandruff, full hair and other scalp conditions.  If you suffer from any of these conditions you should try to make this recipe.  Would you believe it is easy to make your own vinegar rinse?  Just by adding dried herbs allows you to customize the rinse to the needs of your particular hair issues.

Merlot Wine Soap

I have heard of making cold process soap with goat's milk or beer, but this is the first time I have heard of using wine.  In this post from I'd Lather be Soaping called Merlot Wine Soap Jenny tells her experience making soap with Merlot wine and has a video that shows you how she did it.

Gelled vs Ungelled Soap - What's the Difference?

Have you ever heard of gelled or ungelled soap?  I really never had heard of either until I came across this posting from Bath Alchemy.  In a recent post called Gelled vs Ungelled Soap - What's the Difference? , Bath Alchemy had said that they had a lot of questions on what was the difference between the two and there seems a lot of confusion on this subject.  This posting intrigued me and I hope you will read this like I am going to because I am interested in learning more about this. 

Argan OIl

Would you believe that five years ago Argan Oil could not be found in many beauty products?  Now you can find alot of bath and beauty products touting its magical properties.  Never heard of Argan Oil? Well, I found a posting from The Soap Queen called Saturday Night Spotlight:  Argan Oil that tell you all about this carrier oil and its benefits.

Herbal Soap Recipe from Mountain Rose Herb

Have you ever made handmade liquid soap before?  The closest I came to making liquid soap was taking a class at The Nova Studio, but I have never tried to do it on my own.  But I have found this recipe from Mountain Rose Herb called Theives Herbal Soap that really looks tempting.

Beginning Soaper Resource Roundup

Are you new to soap making and looking for a good resource?  I want to share this posting from The Soap Queen called Beginning Soaper Resource Roundup.  It has a variety of video and text links for cold process and melt and pour information that are really helpful to the beginning soap maker.  And who to better get it from but Anne-Marie, The Soap Queen, herself.

Easter Egg Hunt Candles

Can you believe that Easter is Sunday?  Time flew by so fast.  But this weekend there will be a lot of Easter Egg Hunts around the country.  Brambleberry is having their own Easter Egg Hunt by creating these adorable Easter Egg Hunt Candles. It maybe too late to create these candles for this year's egg hunt but keep this in your mind for next year.  But if you cannot wait you can make them for a different occasion.

Carnation Cube Cuties Melt and Pour Tutorial

Along time ago I took a class at The Nova Studio to learn how to make single use sugar scrubs from Erin Pikor. When I saw this melt and pour tutorial on how to make Carnation Cube Cuties I thought of Erin's sugar scrub recipe.

This project is great for beginners and a great way to build some melt and pour soap skills. It requires you to keep your eye on the temperature of your soap because you do not want to melt the delicate jojoba beads or break the smooth layers.

Ten Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients to Help Soothe Your Skin

Are you a person who makes their own body products?  Do you suffer with redness, itchiness and dry patches on your skin?  According to The Natural Beauty Workshop, the best thing you can do to combat irritated skin is to diagnose its cause, soothing it with natural ingredients can help out too.  They have rounded up some of their favorite ingredients to help with irritated skin.  In their recent posting called Ten Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients to Help Soothe Your Skin lists some really great ones.  If you have any favorites they would love to hear from you.

Soap Tutorial - Pot and Drop Swirl (AKA Holly or Swirl in a Swirl) With Mica Swirl

If you love making cold process soap, here is an interesting technique you may want to try.  This Pot and Drop Swirl (aka Holly or Swirl in a Swirl) with Mica Swirl project is basically demonstrating a technique on how to do it with you favorite cold process recipe. If you do not have one, then find one that works for you.

Domino Soap Video Tutorial

Do you know someone who loves to play dominoes?  Then you may want to check out this melt and pour soap project from The Soap Queen would be perfect to make and give as a gift.  This Domino Soap Tutorial  comes in a video format so you can follow along.

Is there a general rule about increasing/decreasing beeswax in lotion bars?

Love lotions bars?  But you have wondered about tweeking the amount of beeswax in your recipe. In a recent posting from Point of Interest called Is there a general rule about increasing/decreasing beeswax in lotions bars? explains that there is really no general rule but you just have to see when the recipe has been hardened.  But if you are going to do some trial and error, remember to take good notes on the amounts that you use so that once you find the consistency that you like that you know how much you used.

Soap Making Instructional Video: Melt & Pour Envelope Soap

I know that Valentine's Day has long past, but I saw this instructional video on how to make your own Melt and Pour Envelope Soap from Go Planet Earth.  I could imagine that you can decorate to your needs whether it is a wedding favor or baby shower.

Easter Egg Bath Bombs

Easter is just around the corner.  I saw this Easter Egg Bath Bombs recipe on The Natural Beauty Workshop site and thought they were so cute that I wanted to share.  Wouldn't this be a cute idea for an adult Easter Egg Hunt?

Margarita Epsom Salt Scrub

Cinco de Mayo will be coming up soon.  So why not celebrate with this recipe for Margarita Epsom Salt Scrub from The Soap Queen. One thing about this salt scrub is that you will never get a hangover. Even if you do not celebrate Cinco de May or drink this is still a great addition to your bathing experience.

Melt & Pour Soap: Make a Minion Soap

Love the movie Despicable Me? I loved both versions plus the song Happy by Pharrell.  If your kids go gaga over the minons here is a melt and pour soap project from Go Planet Earth called Make a Minon Soap.

Blackberry Seed Oil

Awhile back I posted a link to Point of Interest's post on Raspberry Seed Oil.  Now there is a post on Blackberry Seed Oil. Did you know that Blackberry Seed Oil had some great levels of tocopherols (Vitamin E) which is why it might have a slightly longer shelf life than all the linoleic and linolenic acid might indicate. So are you wondering if you can use this oil in a lotion or soap recipe?  Read the information in the post and see if you can.

Soapy Nesting - Easter Soaps Part 2

Since Spring is here, I have been trying to look to bring a variety of springtime projects.  If you are a melt and pour soap maker, here is a cute project called Soapy Nest project which appears on Soap and the Finer Things.

Neptune Column Pour + free template

Here is a really cool looking bar of cold process soap. This tutorial is part of the Havana series from the Soap Queen. This Neptune Column soap is an intermediate project that makes six pounds of soap. To get this look you will have to pour the soap batter over a weighed column shape.  Want to give it a try?  I think it would be a cool bar of soap to give as a gift or if you are in the soap making business it would be great to sell.

Learn to Make Hair Conditioner

Wanted to learn how to make your own hair conditioner and cannot find a place to learn how to make it:?  Point of Interest has created a video and posted on You Tube called How To Make a Rinse-off Hair Conditioner. The presenter has chosen to focus on the process rather than the actual recipe so you can choose any recipe you wish.  But the presenter is using a Coconut Oil Conditioner recipe in the video if you like to follow along and make later.

Springtime Room Spray

Now that Winter is long gone and Spring is here, why not create this Springtime Room Spray to freshen up your home with this easy to make spray.  This simple recipe from The Soap Queen takes only 10 minutes to make.  Since it is so easy to make, you can make enough to give out as gifts at any party or how about at a housewarming party.

All Natural Perineal Massage Oil

Have you ever heard of Perineal Massages?  Well during birth your most sensitive parts are forced to stretch in more ways than one.  A lot of this stretching relies on the perineum and pelvic floor relaxing when then the time comes. For most women, this area of the body isn't used to consciously relaxing. And according to The Natural Beauty Workshop says that the practice of Perineal Massages comes in. What does this mean?  It means stretching and conditioning the skin of the perineum and the muscles of the pelvic floor which can be possible to help prepare your body for the stretching that will occur during childbirth.

In a recent post, The Natural Beauty Workshop has a simple recipe for All Natural Perineal Massage Oil and a couple of links that you can learn more about how it works and how to practice this technique. So if you are pregnant or know someone who is then you may want to pass along this information.

What is Raspberry Oil?

Raspberries are one of my favorite fruits.  When I saw this posting from Point of Interest titled Raspberry Oil, I could not believe that an oil was made from it. From reading the article, I can be an expensive oil to use but it maybe nice to try in a lotion recipe.  I will have to try this oil in the future.

Making Silicone Mould Liners Tutorial

Riverlea Soap's Silicone Mold Creation

Do you have wooden soap molds for cold process soap that you would love to have a silicone liner for?  Well, you are not alone.  Riverlea Soap had the same problem and wanted one for so long and was tired of lining her molds with plastic or paper.  In a recent posting, Riverlea Soap wrote a tutorial on Making Silicone Mould Liners. In this step by step tutorial shows you how to make silicone liners with pictures and instructions.  They say it is easy peasy so you many want to try this out and let us know how it comes out.  Hopefully, it will be easy to find the supplies.