Chamomile Soother

Finished Soap

I made 2 batches of soap on Monday.  One of them was a batch of English Breakfast the other was a batch of chamomile.

Poured in the mold

I started by measuring 10 ounces of water and steeping the tea in it.  Next I measured out 14 ounces of ice and my lye and mixed them.  I measured all of my oils next.  I decided not to melt my oils again.  I had good results with this.  I mixed the tea with the lye and added the remaining water.  After getting a light trace I seperated into 2 parts and mixed titanium dioxide in one and turmeric oil into the other.  I had cut a piece of cardboard to fit down the middle of my mold.  It was definitely interesting to try to pour both colors at once so the cardboard didn't move.

Right after swirling

 I managed to keep the soap fairly even amazingly enough.  After I swirled the soap itself, I mixed a little bit of cappuccino mica with a little glycerin.  I dripped the mixture around the top of the soap.  I used the very tip of a skewer to swirl it around drawing circles on the top of the fresh soap.

I have found that I don't need to insulate my wooden mold.  It almost always gels without any help.  The few times I have added heat it has backfired on me and my soap has ended up overheating.

Swirl after curing

I left the soap overnight to harden and saponify.  After pulling the soap out of the mold in the morning, I cut the loaf in half lengthwise.  I realized after I poured this soap that I should have used 2 dividers in order for the bars to have the swirl in each bar.  I am really pleased with this soap in spite of the swirl division.

Cut bars

Top of the bars

Love the lather

This soap still smells a little funky like tea soaps usually do for the first couple of days, but it should smell really nice in another couple of days.  When I went to trim and stamp the soap last night it had gotten pretty hard already.  I am really pleased with this soap.  It has a lovely lather.  And I am excited to add this soap to my available lineup.



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