Soaping Madness!!!

We've been trying to get our soap inventory bumped up before the holidays hit us too hard. Well, guess what, it's here! Orders keep coming in, shows are going well, and we keep scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to our soap inventory! We're making soap almost daily, usually double batches at least. So if you don't see what you're looking for in our shop, let us know you're looking! If it's not already on the curing racks, we'll do what we can to bump it up on the production schedule!

In the meantime, enjoy some soapy pictures!


Charcoal Cleanser: I just love how these swirls turned out! I don't want to cut them into bars!


Zebra Face: We've made extra batches of this one since it keeps selling out on us so fast!



Rebel: A new Mens Soap - this will be coming out hopefully the first of next week. We still need to take pictures of the final product.


Pakalana: Also a new soap we're adding to our line! Look for this early next week!

The Soap Creation Process

There is something about making soap, the creative process, that is inspiring. I love picking out the ingredients, the scents, the additives, and blending them together to make something unique and beautiful!

I am constantly asked about the soap making process, so I thought I'd take a few pictures along the way! This is our Mint Tea Handmade Soap. I didn't take pictures of every step, but took pictures of the more interesting ones! LOL!



I started by measuring out my oils and lye solution. I then added Green Tea Powder to the lye solution (as evidenced by the brackish muck in the pictures below!).


Once the oils and lye solution both cooled down, I added my essential oils to the oils (peppermint and rosemary essential oils for this batch). Then I added my lye solution to my oils and blended. This batch, because of the botanical ingredients, as well as the essential oils used, it tends to heat up very quickly. When oils & lye are combined they naturally produce heat. Certain ingredients can add to that heat. I always have to watch this soap carefully, or it will volcano up out of the mold on me!

But once the solution has achieved a light trace, I pour it into my pre-lined molds.


I then sprinkled green tea leaves onto the top for texture and aesthetics.


And after the soap mixture has thickened a little more in the mold, I took a knife and added some texture to the top of the soaps.


After several days, the soap is ready to cut into bars. They then sit in my curing rack for 3-6 weeks till they are fully cured. Once cured, they are wrapped and labeled, and ready for some lucky buyer to purchase them!!!


Each soap is a little different, with different scents, different colorants, different additives. They are all beautiful, they are all unique, they are all special in their own way!!!

Getting Into the Swing of Things!

We are working on getting back into the swing of things after our move. The move was hectic, crazy, insane, but it is almost completely behind us now! We still have a few random boxes here and there to unpack, but we mostly have things settled in. YAY!!!

I know I promised pictures of our new soap kitchen once it was set up, but I haven't taken them yet. *blushes*

I HAVE, however, been busy making soap. OMG, I LOVE MY KITCHEN! Having everything all in the same room, totally awesome! LOL! So I've been making soap as often as I can squeeze in around work, family, life, and lately... sick kids.

Several of them are new soaps, so I wanted to give you a little teaser to let you know what was coming!!! (sorry, all of the pictures are of the soaps still in the molds, not cut into bars)

MEI LI: A fabulous Asian scent of jasmine with hints of bamboo. It's absolutely beautiful, hence the name, Mei Li! It's not nearly as yellow now that it's done. This picture was taken while it was in the gel phase, which intensified the yellowness.


NO NAME SOAP: I haven't figured out what I want to name this one yet. It's a fabulous Orchid scent, deep, mysterious, enticing. The pink has also deepened to an awesome dark purple. But so far, a name for this beauty is absolutely eluding me!



I have several other new soaps made (no pics yet), as well as new batches of our tried and true line.

Also on the Curing Rack:

- Parisian Glow (fabulous new facial soap made with French Green Clay and a to die for Essential Oil Blend!)
- Tangerine Souffle
- Another No Name Soap - It's new, it's awesome, and it currently has no name.
- Mint Tea Soap
- Dead Sea Mud Facial Soap
- Gingered Orange Spice Soap
- I know there is something else, but I'm totally blanking at the moment and don't want to get up out of my comfy chair to go look! LOL!

Essential Oils vs Fragrance Oils

There is always going to be a debate over these two ingredients. Natural versus synthetic. You'd think natural would always win, but in this case, there are arguments to be made for both sides.


Fragrance Oils are synthetic, man made with essentially inert ingredients. Unless you happen to have an allergy or a sensitivity to one of the components they are very safe to use. In fact, they are often safer to use because so few people have any kind of a reaction to them. Also, they provide such a broad range of amazing scents, virtually anything your heart desires.

Essential Oils are natural, usually pressed or steam distilled from the natural plant material. They have wonderful medicinal properties. For example, Rosemary Essential Oil is wonderfully invigorating. It can help with exhaustion, muscle cramping, arthritis. It can revitalize dry and dull skin, help keep dandruff under control and encourage healthy hair growth. Sounds great, right?

(Mint Tea Soap - Peppermint & Rosemary Essential Oils & Green Tea)

However, you know how the medicine commercials are now filled more with warnings than the benefits? Essential Oils need to be treated the same way. Rosemary Essential Oil should be avoided by those with high blood pressure. It also should be avoided during pregnancy and those who suffer from epilepsy. It can cause severe complication for people with these conditions.

I've spent years researching essential oils and their uses. I also am very blessed to have a certified aromatherapist in the family (my mother in law). I've developed a very healthy respect for essential oils, all of their properties (good and bad), and use them carefully.

So which should you choose? That's completely up to you. I personally use both in my products. I love being able to use natural essential oils, and I also love to use unique and exotic scents that are only available to me in a fragrance oil. My only caution is this. If you choose essential oils, make sure that you trust the person creating your bath & body products. Ask them questions about their knowledge in the aromatherapy field. If they know their stuff, they'll be more than willing to share that with you.

500 Sales on Etsy!

500 Sales on Etsy!
Originally uploaded by blsoaps

After one year and one week on Etsy, I passed this wonderful milestone!!!

We've had such a great year. We've made some great friends, joined wonderful teams, had some rough bumps, learned a lot of new things, and have grown so much. It's been an awesome ride!

And I'm just thrilled that I get to spend so much of it with such wonderful people! Thanks for making this such a great year! And here's to hoping the next year is even better!!!