Friday, March 18, 2011

Perfect Polka Dots

I love the new mold that we just got in from Mold market, it inspired me to make some creative polka dotted soaps! They were so easy to do and they look so sharp, I just had to share the idea.

Here's what you'll need:

15 oz Natural White Melt and Pour Soap Base
2 oz Pre-Coloured Melt and Pour Soap in various colours and/or
3 x .15 cc scoops of Black Iron Oxide
Denatured Alcohol for spritzing
Polka Dot Mold Market Soap Mold
1 tbsp Fragrance Oil of your choice
Soap Injector Tool


Instructions:
1. Prepare your work area. You’ll need at least one glass measuring cup or microwaveable container and smaller containers for the different colours of Melt and Pour, and a large clean workspace lined with newspaper or paper towel.
2. Decide how many colours you would like to use and melt about ¾ of an ounce of coloured melt and pour in total for each cavity’s polka dots. For example, if you are just doing black dots then you would melt 1.5 ounces for all three cavities in the mold, then scoop the iron oxide in and mix well. If you are doing many colours like the rainbow soap above, you will only need about a teaspoon of melted soap base per colour.
3. Take your soap injector (we recommend cutting the tip of it so the opening is about 2 mm wide) and suck up some of the coloured soap. Squirt the soap very gently into the recessed dots in the mold, being careful not to push down on the plunger too hard. Keep a glass of hot water handy in case the soap starts to solidify in the injector and to rinse it out in between colours. If you have any bubbles forming on the tops, spritz the mold with denatured alcohol.
4. Repeat until you have coloured all the dots, then let the layer harden fully or approx. an hour.
5. Melt the 16 ounces of white melt and pour soap, then add your fragrance. You’ll need to pour this soap at as low of a temperature as possible so the coloured dots do not melt and bleed into the white soap. Stir the melt and pour frequently to cool it off, pouring just before it starts to solidify. Spritz the coloured dots with denatured alcohol before pouring the white melt and pour soap to help the layers adhere.
6. Wait 24 hours then gently de-mold your soaps. If you find they are sticking, place the mold in the freezer for 5 minutes before trying again.

Have fun with this project, try using different colour combinations or micas for pearly soaps!

Tawnee

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Cream Soap Project Ideas

You may or may not be familiar with our Cream Soap Base... In a nutshell, Voyageur's Cream Soap Base is an all-natural product, made with a unique soapmaking technique that is a blend of natural cold process and liquid soapmaking to yield a wonderfully creamy soap that is both gentle and moisturizing for the skin.

Sound good so far?

We think so!

But wait... there's more!!!

Voyageur's natural cream soap base can be used on its own or in combination with other skin nourishing ingredients to make luxurious facial soaps, natural shaving creams, garderner's or mechanics hand cleansers, and much, much more. Customizing is extremely easy and let's face it, it is rather fun to get creative AND practical!! I know my skin certainly has reaped the benefits of this wonderfully moisturizing product -- the cool, dryness of winter plays havoc on the skin, robbing it of vital moisture -- so I kind of like to think of this as my own little magic defense buddy, lol.

In all seriousness, though, cream soaps are so easy to work with. They do not have a tendency to go rancid, so it is perfectly acceptable to leave out preservative if you are simply making small batches for personal use. That being said, we recommend adding preservative in any recipes that incorporate the addition of water to thin the soap base as a preventative measure to resist the potential for bacteria growth.

If you like what you've read so far, I'd love to share one of my favourite recipes for a Luxurious Facial Soap. As pictured above, the finished product is a rich, whipped facial soap that can be used as an every day cleanser. The addition of AHA or Lactic Acid, sloughs off dead skin cells while the Australian Pink Clay provides gentle exfoliation to contribute to creating a brighter complexion and more even skin tone.

Here's what you'll need:

1). 50 grams Cream Soap Base
2). Water if required
3). 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Australian Pink Clay
4). 1/4 tsp AHA (Lactic Acid)
5). 1/8 tsp Preservative of your choice
6). Fragrance or Essential Oil (optional... I'm a scent girl!)
7). One 2 oz Container or Two 1 oz Container (perfect for a little gift)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1). Measure out the cream soap base into a glass measuring cup.
2). Add water to create a smooth consistency one tsp at a time, gently stirring in between. This step can be omitted if the desired finished product is a stiff cream.
3). Add AHA, preservative, and desired amount of clay. Stir gently to combine.
4). Add fragrance or essential oil if desired... stir to combine.

I really love the finished product -- it works amazingly, it's pretty, and it smells great!! Hope you will have fun trying it out too. It's a good feeling knowing exactly what we are putting on our skin, and if the end result product works great, then it's a win/win situation in my books :-)!!

We have posted additional recipes on Voyageur's website... Here's the run down:

Pump Hand Soap -- cleanses and moisturizes at the same time!!

Exfoliating Gardener's Soap -- Perfect for all that Spring Time Yard work --Can't wait to get out there!!

Mechanic's Hand Cleanser -- Utilizing the natural grease cutting properties of d-limonene, together with fine pumice and french red clay, this soap will get rid of the grime and dirt without drying out the skin.

Natural Shaving Soap -- A great alternative to store bought shaving creams!!

Well, we hope you have fun checking out the recipes and decide to give it a go. It really is just that easy... and we think you will love the gentle, moisturizing properties of our wonderful Cream Soap Base. Have fun! Your skin will love you back :-)

Happy Thursday... hope you are having a wonderful day!

Joanna

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