How to color bath bombs naturally.

I usually leave my bath bombs white, just as they are. Sometime I decorate the bath fizzy bombs by coloring sugar (for cake) or dried flower (lavender, calendula, rose petals) to add unique feature. 

I also occasionally use special colorant for bath bombs. But now I decided to try to color the bath bombs naturally. Many clays and herbs give beautiful colors when included in bath bomb recipes. For example, beet root powder will add pink/red color while parsley or spinach leaf powder will add green color to your bath bombs. 

I've chosen Zeolite clay and Sea buckthorn oil. 

Zeolite is a Greek word meaning "Stone that boils". Zeolite is a mineral that gives off negatively charged ions. This is its unique chemical characteristic of attracting positively charged ions that allow a chemical reaction to occur and to neutralize toxic matter. Zeolite clay has the ability to absorb, store and neutralize toxins making it a valuable detoxifying ingredient for beauty and spa products. It is rich in silicon, calcium, potassium and iron. Zeolite clay has light pink/brown color. To intensify this color I've added sea buckthorn oil.

Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil is a deep reddish orange color as a result of the high amount of beta carotene it contains.  Sea Buckthorn berries are rich in vitamins A, B₁, B₁₂, C, E, K, and P; flavonoids, lycopene, carotenoids, and phytosterols.
Due to its free radicals scavenging and tissue regeneration properties, Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil should be considered for addition to formulations intended to help to combat wrinkles, and to sooth dry, irritated skin. Studies have shown that the oil's use on the skin can improve antioxidant levels and reduce the levels of reactive oxygen species.  Clinical studies have further shown that the oil can actually improve skin metabolism and retard skin maturation, thereby slowing down the aging process. It can also contribute to the reduction of the damaging effects of sun radiation due to the wealth of nutrients it contains.

To get two colored bath bombs I've divided the batch of mixture into two about-equal parts. The one part I left white, just added Apricot oil as emollient. Into second part I've added Zeolite clay and Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil. So, there it is! We've got nourishing, useful and the same time beautiful, naturally colored bath fizzy bombs!

Spring inspirations - green color in your bath products.

March is often represented by the color green, from St. Patrick’s Day to the beginning of spring.Tomorrow, March 20 will be the first official day of spring! There are a few common things that come to mind when we think of spring time: flowers blooming, songs of birds and green color around us. 
There is so much beauty in spring and it can help inspire some decorations for your bath products.

Spring is the perfect time. Bright shade of green color is pleasant and fresh. That's why I've used green chrome oxide for coloring of the Rosemary soap. This is old-fashion, rustic soap made with rosemary-infused olive oil by hot process soapmaking. Rosemary oil has powerful disinfectant and antiseptic properties. It is also very soothing and healing to skin.

   

We can all agree that spring is a beautiful time of year, right? And also this is time for renewal, replenishment and regeneration of all life in nature. Similarly we want to change our skin care routine and to add extra benefits to SPA at home. For example, soak in your tub with healthy Eucalyptus Bath Fizzy, which stuffed full of the nourishing ingredients and delicious fragrances of eucalyptus and fresh, green aroma.

 Let's enjoy spring time with green bath products!

Additives in handmade soap - beer.

Beer in soaps??? For what?

The main purpose of soap is cleaning.
But every soapmaker try to make soaps with additional components to produce beneficial action of soap.
Let talk about beer. Beer has a lot of helpful components by itself - the hops, grains, malt, different extracts. If you are going to use beer in cold process, all these useful components of the beer will react with aggressive lye and WILL NOT keep their features. But, of course, beer will add a great lather to the soap and a great texture!
However, you can use hot process method and add beer after gel phase, when saponification (reaction lye with oils) ends. In this case, almost all beneficial ingredients of the beer will be saved and they will keep their compassionate functions. Hops are a valuable for treating dry or stressed skin, humulone in hops can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin. 

Oatmeal Stout beer soap.

Amber Ale beer soap.

Guinness beer soap.










All of these beer soaps shown above are made by hot process method with different compositions of butters and oils. But all of them will have a lot of lather as on the picture below!

New Bath Bombs! Romantic Fresh Rose Bath Bombs.

Let me introduce my new creation - Fresh Rose Bath Bomb.

Powdered goat milk will make the water milky so softening your body skin and creating a luxurious soak. It's fantastic for rehydrating of dry skin!
Sea salt is famous attribute for SPA-salons.
The sweet almond oil will leave your skin feeling silky smooth.
Our NEW Fresh Rose Bath Bomb will remind you of fresh roses in your garden, it's very romantic aroma.

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Corn Starch, Goat milk, Sea Salt, Sweet Almond oil, Fragrance, Colorant.

Perfect for gifts or just treating yourself.  It’s so important that we take some time for ourselves…and just relax. Run a warm bath, drop a Bath Bomb in the water. You can also light some aromatherapy (or regular) candles and place them in your bathroom and around the bathtub for extra relaxation. And you can also find relaxing music and listen to it while you are soaking... 

New batches of soap! Weekend soap.

 I made two new batches of soap yesterday using cold process method.

Chocolate and Goat milk Soap on the left and Coffee Soap in the right side of picture.
For Chocolate and Goat milk I applied the same recipe as my previous soap which is almost sold out. I just changed fragrance oil using combination of chocolate  and coconut aromas. Hope, coconut notes will stay longer during curing time.
Coffee soap is completely new creation. I used freshly brewed coffee and coffee grounds which have caffeine, which is excellent for the skin.
Tomorrow I'm going to cut these soaps into bars and the curing time will start.
I had very good weekend and hope you too!

Lavender and Goat Milk Handmade soap.

I love to use goat milk in soapmaking. It gives nice texture and smooth feeling. But usually I make soap by cold process method. Now I decided to try hot process utilizing some benefit of that - using goat milk as additive after gel phase (end of reaction of lye and oils). So, I enriched soap by shea butter, avocado oil and goat milk. And all these ingredients didn't react with sodium hydroxide (lye) keeping their nourishing function!

The lavender essential oil gives light aroma and complements with rustic look, old style of soap.
If you decide to try this soap, you can find it in my Etsy shop.