 Makes 125 ml
45 ml hemp seed oil (best found at HOPE Eco Farms, cold-pressed and local) 45 ml sunflower seed oil ((best found at HOPE Eco Farms, cold-pressed and local) 25 ml olive oil 10 ml avocado oil *Use organic and cold-pressed oils when possible Directions: 1. Blend oils together. Keep in a dark bottle in a cool place. 2. Gently roll bottle before use between the palms of your hands before each use (never vigorously shake) 3. After a bath or shower, apply your body oil to slightly moist skin.
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 from learning herbs How to Harvest Fresh Aloe Vera Gel
Trim the aloe Take a good look at the plant you intend to harvest and be sure that it is strong and healthy. Choose a thick, long leaf from the bottom of the plant. Use a pair of sharp, clean scissors or a sharp knife to cut off the leaf as close to the trunk as possible. Let the aloe drain Set the cut aloe leaf upright in a small jar or dish, with the cut side down. After a few minutes, you’ll see a red or yellowish liquid draining out of the leaf. This is normal, and it is called aloin. This mucilaginous gel can cause stomach pain and diarrhea, so give it about 10-15 minutes to drain out. Harvest the aloe gel Place the drained leaf on a clean cutting surface and carefully slice off the spiked edges with a sharp knife. Use the knife to carefully cut and lift the top of the green part away from the clear aloe flesh. Once done, you can flip the leaf over and repeat on the other side. You will be left with a clear, gooey, but mostly solid slab of aloe. That’s all it takes! You can use your fresh aloe gel immediately to soothe burns or to make a smoothie, or add to homemade shampoo. If you have harvested more aloe leaves than you currently need, you can freeze aloe vera gel to use later. Recently, I had to harvest many leaves from my aloe plant as it was being transplanted to a new pot. Rather than let the bounty of my necessary harvest go to waste, I froze the gel. How to Freeze Aloe Vera Gel Once you have sliced your aloe free from the green leaves, add the slabs of clear gel to a blender. A few gentle pulses is all it takes to change the solid aloe gel into a more pourable state. Pour the gel into ice cube trays and place the tray into the freezer and let it rest until the cubes are solid. Use a clearly labeled jar or bag to store the aloe cubes in your freezer. Having a stash of frozen aloe means that you are well-prepared! A gentle healer is right at hand. You can add one or two aloe cubes to a smoothie, or rub them on sunburned shoulders.  Ingredients
Instructions
 5 oz. aloe vera juice
2.5 oz. witch hazel 0.5 oz. vodka Place your large glass measuring cup on to your kitchen scale. Tare your scale (bring it to 0). Add the aloe vera juice. Tare. Add your witch hazel. Tare. Add your vodka. Stir. Pour into 8 oz. coloured glass bottle and seal. TO USE Shake before every use. Pour a small amount into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together, then pat onto your face and neck.  1 oz. coconut oil
1 oz. Shea butter 1/2 oz. beeswax Melt all ingredients in a 3 oz. container using a hot water bath (placing your container in a pot of hot water that only rises to 1/2 way up the container) never boiling. Stir well and let sit until hardened. To use, dip fingernail into pot and take out a small amount, place on lips and gently rub all over until fully covered. Repeat when needed.  4 oz. cane sugar
2 oz. hemp seed oil 1 oz. sunflower seed oil Measure all ingredient into your 8 oz. glass mason jar, stir until fully mixed. Seal and store in a cool dry spot lasts up to 9 months HOW TO USE Use your fingertip to transfer a small amount of scrub onto your lips. Spread the scrub around, making sure you cover everything. Then, simply use your finger to exfoliate away any dry or dead skin. For a little extra exfoliating power, use a soft bristled toothbrush instead of your finger. Lick away any remaining scrub (yes, its edible)! Or use warm water to wash off anything left over. Pat your lips dry with a towel and follow up with your favorite lip balm.  3 Tbsp Kaolin clay 2 Tbsp dried pulverized sage leaves 1 Tbsp dried pulverized mint leaves 1 Tbsp baking soda
Brushing with Dental PowderUsing tooth powder is similar to brushing teeth with toothpaste. Simply wet your toothbrush and dip it into the powder. Brush teeth holding the brush at a 45 degree angle, thoroughly cleaning your teeth. Brush for at least 2 minutes. Then, rinse your toothbrush and mouth with cool water. You can use this multiple times a day.  LIGHT 19 oz. sunflower seed oil 11 oz. Shea butter LUXURIOUS 11 oz. Shea Butter 10 oz. sunflower seed oil 4 oz. hemp seed oil 4 oz. olive oil 1 oz. castor seed oil
This product keeps for up to 9 months under normal conditions.  BASIC SOAP BAR 2.4 oz. sodium hydroxide 6 oz. water 10.5 oz. olive oil 5.25 oz. coconut oil 1 Tbsp. castor seed oil LUXURIOUS SOAP BAR 2.4 oz. sodium hydroxide 6 oz. water 2 oz. Shea butter 4 oz. sunflower seed oil 5 oz. olive oil 5 oz. coconut oil 1 Tbsp castor seed oil PURE CASTILE SOAP 2 oz. sodium hydroxide 6 oz. water 16 oz. olive oil Simple Steps to Soap Making – Cold Process
What You Need
To make soap, you need to have lye, aka sodium hydroxide Every recipe we showcase has the proper lye measurement for the specified oils so do not change out the oils or it will affect the end-result of your soap. It is very important that when you combine the lye and water that you always add the lye to the water and not the other way around. The reaction between the lye and the water is immediate and intense – making the solution heat up to near boiling almost instantly. It will create a chemical cloud so do not inhale it (I always lower myself so that I am under the fumes and not standing over them. If you can, make this solution outside. If indoors, open a window and turn on a fan You may see other recipes suggest you melt your oils and have both the oils and the lye at the exact temperature. I have never done that. I pour the lye solution into the glass cup holding the oils and butters, the Lye will melt the oils and butters so that you can start working on the next step. Instructions In your crock pot (slow cooker), measure your oils and butters (each time you add a new oil or butter tare the scale bringing it back to zero. Turn your crock pot to low Put on your gloves and goggles. In the glass container place your water . Weigh the lye into a small glass container (large mouth mason jar works best). Stirring and leaning away from the steam, sprinkle the lye onto the surface of the water a little at a time. Stir until the lye is dissolved. Put the container you used to measure the lye in the sink and rinse without splashing. Pour the hot lye solution in a stream into the oil/butter mixture, stirring constantly. Place the empty lye solution Pyrex into the sink and rinse without splashing. Go back to the soap and begin stirring with your silicone spatula or immersion blender. Keep stirring with the spatula (immersion blender) until the mixture is the thickness of crepe batter or heavy cream, this could happen anywhere from right a way to over an hour. You want to reach ‘Trace’ When you think it is getting thick, lift the spatula and let the “batter” dribble back onto the surface of the soap. If it sits on the surface of the batter for a little bit before sinking in, it is tracing. You want to pour it into the mould before it gets so thick that you have to scoop and glop it. If you have gotten to the scoop and glop stage you are still good, it is just harder to get into the moulds, that is why I feel it is best to use the bread pan method until you have a few of these soap making sessions under your belt Scrape all the mixture out of the crock pot, put the crock pot and spatula in the sink. Spread out the towel on a surface where the soap can sit undisturbed. Fold the towel over the filled molds, and let it sit while you clean up. Wipe any leftover soap out of your glass measuring cup with a cloth and put it in a sealed container. When the soap on the cloth finishes saponifying, you’ll have a nice soap-permeated cleaning cloth. Be sure to never rinse blobs of raw soap down the drain, as it will make a terrible clog. Be sure you wear your goggles and gloves during clean up. Very hot water and detergent will take care of the clean up in no time. Wash everything and set it out to dry. NEXT STEPS Your soap will get firmer as it sits and will probably cool off and heat up a couple of times over night. Wait two days before taking it out of the mould. An easy way to remove the soap from your silicone mould is to put in the freezer for about an hour. Wearing your protective gear (remember you soap is still lye activated) place them upside down on a cloth covered surface. Push on the bottom of the mould and the soap should come right out (if not place in the freezer for another hour) When using the parchment and bread pan, it is much easier to remove. Just grab the 2 long sides of the parchment paper and lift out. Place on cloth covered surface. Use a stainless steel knife to cut it into bars, choosing the size that appeals to you. Sit the soap to dry and cure for about 4 to 6 weeks (some say 2 weeks but I have always waited longer as it creates a longer lasting soap that lathers beautifully) on brown paper in an out of the way place, turning the bars every couple of days.  originally from Spruce Crafts This is one of my favourites to create as you have to be all in to create this for at least 3 hours. When done you have a concentrated liquid soap you can use for hand washing your dishes, body wash, hair shampoo, soap foamers and so much more. I am old school so I use ounces as I did not want to convert and estimate. Your kitchen scale offers both metric and old school. If you have never made soap before, you may fail the first time but keep going as you will perfect it 16.5 oz. sunflower seed oil
7 oz. coconut oil 5.5 oz. potassium hydroxide KOH 16.5 oz. distilled water for the lye mixture 40 oz. distilled water to dilute the soap paste 2 oz. citric acid mixed into 10 oz. of water You will need a glass mason jar for mixing the KOH and silicone spatula for stirring protective eye wear, rubber gloves and long sleeves large crockpot stick blender silicone spatula metal potato masher Measure your oils and add to the crock pot. Turn your crock pot on low While the oils are heating up, measure your KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) and pour into your measured water. It is very important that when you combine the KOH (potassium hydroxide) and water that you always add the KOH to the water and not the other way around. The reaction between the lye and the water is immediate and intense – making the solution heat up to near boiling almost instantly. It will create a chemical cloud so do not inhale it (I always lower myself so that I am under the fumes and not standing over them. If you can, make this solution outside. If indoors, open a window and turn on a fan If you've never used potassium hydroxide before, don't be alarmed. It's a bit more volatile in the water than sodium hydroxide. It makes an odd boiling/groaning sound as it's dissolving. This is normal. When the lye-water is completely mixed and clear, slowly add it into your oils. Don't turn the stick blender on just yet. Just stir the oils and lye together. Then, start using the stick blender. At first, it will seem to want to separate. Keep blending. Keep stirring with the stick blender until the mixture is the thickness of crepe batter or heavy cream, this could take up to 30 minutes. You want to reach ‘Trace’ When you think it is getting thick, lift the spatula and let the “batter” dribble back onto the surface of the soap. If it sits on the surface of the batter for a little bit before sinking in, it is tracing. Once the soap has reached trace, you'll need to give the soap one more good stir, shake off your stick blender, put the lid on the pot, and wait. Check on the soap in about 15 to 20 minutes. If there's any separation, just stir it and put the lid back on. Keep checking on the soap every 20 to 30 minutes. In the 3 to 4 hours it will take this soap to cook, it will transform and go through several "stages." Don't worry if you don't see one, sometimes a stage will be brief and you'll miss it. The "stages" usually are:
Keep stirring every 30 minutes or so through each of the stages. It will be difficult to stir through the taffy stage. Do the best you can. The potato masher will help break the taffy up. Then, just when you think it's never going to finish, it will start to get creamy and move into the Vaseline stage, getting more translucent. Once you've reached the 3 to 4-hour mark and the soap has softened and turned translucent, it's time to test it to see if it's cooked long enough. Take two ounces of boiling water and add one ounce of your soap paste. Stir the soap, breaking it up and helping it dissolve in the water. Once it's completely dissolved (several minutes) check to see how clear it is. If it's just very lightly cloudy, that's ok. The soap will "settle" after it's finished and get even clearer. If the dissolved soap mixture is milky or very cloudy, you've either not cooked it long enough or you've were off on the measurements If the test mixture stays clear as it cools, it's good to continue. The last measure of patience is needed when diluting the paste. Take the remaining 40 oz. of distilled water and bring it to a boil. Add the water to the soap paste. Stir it in a bit with a spoon or the potato masher. Turn the heat off on the crockpot. Put the lid on and wait. After an hour or so, stir it some more. It should have softened some by now but will likely still be very chunky and gooey. Put the lid back on and wait some more. You can put the lid on and leave it to sit overnight and dissolve. If you prefer a more active role, just keep waiting and stirring, waiting and stirring. The potato masher will help to break up some of the larger chunks of paste, but nothing will help more than just waiting. In addition to the different alkali, and the cooking of the soap, liquid soap is different from bar soap in the way it is formulated. If you run most recipes through a lye calculator you'll see that there seems to be way too much lye! Indeed, liquid soap recipes are usually formulated with about a 10% lye excess. This is to ensure that all of the oils are saponified. After the soap paste has completely dissolved in the water, it's time to neutralize the soap. Turn the crockpot back on and bring the mixture back up to 180 degrees or so. In a separate container, mix the neutralizing solution. take 8 oz. of boiling water and add 2 oz. of citric acid. It's important to stir very well and make sure that it stays very hot. As this mixture cools, the citric acid will start to precipitate out of the mixture and it won't mix into your soap! Add 2 oz. of the neutralizer solution. Too much neutralizer can cause cloudiness, so it's best to round down and err on the conservative side. Slowly pour the neutralizer into the re-heated soap mixture and stir well. Add one ounce first and let it sit for a bit. Then add another half ounce. Then, if you still have no cloudiness, add the final half ounce. Let the soap cool and pour it into large bottles or jars. Put them aside in a cool place and just let it rest. During this resting phase, the insoluble particles should settle to the bottom and any minor cloudiness caused by insoluble particles in the oils should clear up. It will need to settle for one week. When you are pouring your soap into their final bottles or tubes, be careful not to disturb the settled solids, or you'll have to let them settle out again. Enjoy Your Homemade Liquid Soap |
Create It YourselfFor you, your loved ones, your home, your business. Recipes to help you have control over the ingredients that go into the things you use. Recipes that have been created for myself, friends and clients. . Archives
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