Last night I made banana milk; I stickblended
equal parts banana and milk, and froze the banana milk (into cubes) in
preparation for my banana soap tonight. For my lye solution I used equal parts frozen banana milk and frozen water, and I was careful to add the lye very slowly
so that it didn’t overheat the banana milk (thank you soaping101 and newt + fig!). I hot processed this soap, and
couldn’t believe how divine it smelled when I pulled it out of the oven…like
banana bread! This would make a great unscented soap; however, I know how the
lye monster likes to eat natural fragrances, so I ended up adding some Honey
Pear and Praline fragrance oil….I cannot tell you how good this smells! The
discoloration of the soap is natural from the bananas:
Do you think the banana adds extra moisture so the soap is more gentle? Have you used this soap already? I have to say that I just love your soap. I can never make soaps nice if I hot process it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kirppu, I really enjoy making hot process soaps :) I think the banana adds a really nice quality to this soap, I have used it and the lather is amazing! It seems to be a very gentle soap, and I think that it really helps to blend the bananas (which are slightly acidic) with milk and use it with equal parts water for your lye liquid - this really helps keep the pH level neutral. Soaping101 did an excellent video explaining why and how to make banana milk soap here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBogNZ7BjoE (you'll have to copy + paste, I'm not sure how to make it clickable!) Bonus - the video also shows the hanger swirl technique! Happy Soaping!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advise. Now I have watched almost every Soaping 101-video. I tend to put too much vegetables or fruit in my soaps and they get really soft. My cucumber-honey soap is still soft after 4 days, but at least it's green :D
ReplyDeleteYou're most welcome! Aren't those videos great?! Your cucumber-honey soap sounds so nice, did you incorporate the cucumber at trace or as part of the lye water?
ReplyDeleteI did put the finely chopped cucumber peel at trace and mixed even smaller with my stick blender. I usually put honey in the water before I ad lye and I´m glad that it has never overheated.
DeleteI´ve been only making soap for 7 months now, but it´s so addicting. If you want to see what I´ve made you can check it out at kotikemistinpienipaja.blogspot.fi It´s in finnish, but there is pictures of all the soaps.
Thanks so much for posting your blog Kirppu, I hope I added it right! Wow - you have been very busy and creative in just 7 months, good for you! I see some tooth and shampoo soap and lovely hair conditioner too! I'll have to translate your posts so I can try some of your recipes! That's what I love about soap making, you can never learn enough...always something new to try :)
ReplyDeleteIf you want some help with the translations, I will be glad to help :)
DeleteThank you, I might take you up on that!
ReplyDelete