gardener's/potter's/artist's soap additives?

[jax1962]

hi folks - me again!

spurred on by the success of the salt bar recipe from irishlass, i was thinking i'd love to make some specific bars for friends for christmas :shock: and i was wondering what does everyone think the best ingredients are for gardeners, potters and artists (oil and acrylic paint)??

thanks to all on this great site - i am now becoming addicted and find myself scouring the supermarket and junk stores for ingredients and moulds. found a lovely small wooden drawer the other day which the junk store man gave me free but when i lined it with wax paper and poured in my castille it all peed out under the wooden dividers :x at least it taught me to put some sealant on before using!

 

[Genny]

Are you using wax paper or freezer/parchment paper? I've never had freezer paper leak before. Can you explain how you're lining it?

For my MIL who gardens, I add cornmeal & rosemary mint fo (although you could use eo's if you wanted) to my regular recipe.

 

[jax1962]

hi genny

i'm using normal waxed cooking paper (it translates as sulfurised paper) - i'm in france and so far i haven't been able to find that nice, shiny freezer paper you have over there. him indoors says he'll seal all around the bottoms of the drawer with wood glue for me so that should hopefully solve the problem.

rosemary and mint sounds lovely - i think i might have seen your recipe on the site if it's the goats milk, rosemary and mint? Could i leave out the EO and just use fresh herbs as i always have problems with EO - i'm trying to scent my soaps just using natural things like citrus zest etc.

 

[green soap]

I garden a lot, and make soap using ingredients from my garden. I have different ones, some like triple rosemary (rosemary tea, infused rosemary oil and rosemary EO); I also make triple mint, calendula, and so on. I have made soap with infused marjoram and many different herbs and spices. People that garden usually appreciate ingredients from the garden.

Lately I have been making citrus soaps where I infuse the freshly zested rinds. I have made a batch with minneola, one with Eureka lemon and one with meyers lemon. It is citrus season here. They look and smell good, but I still have not tested the degreasing power of the soaps (still curing). If they work really well for cutting grease this would be more for mechanics than gardeners, but we'll see. Oil paint is really hard to wash so maybe for artists too? I will start a thread on citrus infused soaps after I have a chance to try them (and photograph them).

Dirt is very drying to the hands, not so hard to wash out. What I need after a good gardening session is lots and lots of lotion, in addition to a gentle soap.

 

[LauraHoosier]

I just made gardener's soap and I used Rosemary and Lemongrass EO's for scent and it smells good . I added some poppy seeds for scritch and cleaning power.

 

[dirrdee]

I frequenly oil paint and the only thing that will get oil paint off my hands is more oil. I usually use olive and it works fairly good. Some scrubbies in there would work too. I need to make my own soap to use also! So much soap, so little time!!

 

[carebear]

my gardener's soap has pumice

 

[kharmon320]

I've added dried lemon peel or dried orange peel to my garden soap. Looks pretty as well.

 

[ilovedoxies]

Definately an exfoliant. The possibilities are endless here. I use finely ground cornmeal. I buy red popping corn from the Amish Food store and grind it up in the blender. TYou could use poppy seeds, coffee grounds, ground pumace (sp?), the list goes on and on.

I make a "kitchen soap" but in reality it could be a gardener's soap or a fisherman's soap. "Kitchen Soap" just stuck with me. I use (per lb) a teaspoon of french green clay, teaspoon of ground red corn, lemongrass, and basil essential oils.

 

[soapsydaisy]

What is the best way to dry out citrus peels?

Just wondering, how do you all dry out your citrus zest?

 

[Robbiegirl]

Re: hi genny

rosemary and mint sounds lovely - i think i might have seen your recipe on the site if it's the goats milk, rosemary and mint? Could i leave out the EO and just use fresh herbs as i always have problems with EO - i'm trying to scent my soaps just using natural things like citrus zest etc.

Jax, would you mind telling me where this recipe is? I absolutely love rosemary as well as mint and I am looking for a goats milk recipe. Thank-you for helping this newbie.

 

[sosocal]

I use shredded loofah from BB which is really very abrasive; IMO too abrasive for much else than a gardners/mens soap. But it feels amazing and cleans so well. I do the bottom half of the bar with a bunch of loofah in it and the top half of the bar just normal soap, so each bar has a smooth and a scrubby side.

 

[kharmon320]

Re: What is the best way to dry out citrus peels?

Just wondering, how do you all dry out your citrus zest?

I just buy the dried lemon peel or orange peel in the spice aisle. A little goes a long way.

 

[Robbiegirl]

I bought a bag of dried lemon peel from Camden grey

 

[jax1962]

robbiegirl, here is the link

http://www.pureandnaturalsoaps.com/reci ... ksoap.html

you just click on the recipe icon at the top right hand corner of the page, under where it says 'the soap making forum' and it takes you to a pink recipe page - have fun!!

lots of lovely ideas folks - it's gonna be difficult to choose which one to make first.

on the subjest of citrus zest, i just grate mine fresh and add it at trace - is this not allowed?!?

 

[Robbiegirl]

It's easier for me just to have a bunch of it already done and nearby especially since I am learning.

Thank-you for steering me to the recipe. It looks like it will smell and feel so good.

 

[moosie]

Great thread! I love all the ideas

 

[scouter139]

Ground apricot pits or beach sand...painting my mom's house...my soap with the ground apricot pits works great!

 

[eleraine]

Fresh citrus zest or anything fresh and lumpy or not fine enough could end up growing mold. I grate my zest and dry it first before adding it to my soap at trace with superfat oils or EOs.

 

[Maythorn]

I have a gardeners' soap concept I shouldn't wait too long to do because Spring is finally here. Mint with pumice. Colored green, naturally. I want to add ground peppermint to it but I know it will just turn brown so might not.