Jamaican Beer Soap

With only one successful batch of soap under my belt, I decided to dive in head first and make beer soap. I had read on other soap blogs that beer soap can be tricky and should only be attempted after you have been soaping for a while, but I'm far to ambitious to wait that long.

(Why is beer soap so tricky to make? Well, it turns out that if you attempt to mix fresh beer with lye you could end up with a beer volcano on your hands. For this reason it is important to let the beer go completely flat before you mix it with lye.)

Coming off of a bad soap loss (my next post will explain), I was pretty nervous about this batch so I took it slow, especially when mixing the lye solution in with the oils. I have to say I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

This was a batch of firsts for me. I used my new 2lb wooden soap mold, and incorporated the use of oatmeal, essential oils and beer.

Whew!



The essential oil blend includes black pepper, eucalyptus and tea tree oil. I chose to use finely ground oatmeal, instead of larger oats, so that the final bar will not be abrasive or exfoliating. I know that a lot of soap makers will add large bits of oatmeal, or other things, to their soaps for exfoliation and appearance, however, I have found that my personal preference is to have a smoother bar of soap.

Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Palm Oil, Jamaican Beer, Essential Oils, and Finely Ground Oatmeal.

I can't wait to try out this soap! The cure time is 4 weeks, so until then I will just have to look at it and sniff it as I walk by.

Have a great week!

Villainess Soap Review

Dulces en Fuego

Deep chocolate scent in the foreground, and subtle notes of black pepper and nutmeg rounding it out make this bar perfect for chocolate lovers. The top of the bar was spiced with a sprinkling of black pepper, which looked great against the dark chocolate color and added a nice finishing touch.

When I washed with the bar I noticed immediately that the lather was a brownish color that looked startling against my bright white tub. I had heard that darker soaps will often produce a dark, discolored, lather so I thought I would be prepared for that.. I wasn't.


As I have progressed further into the bar I am noticing that it is getting more and more exfoliating. It looks like there is black pepper, and possibly nutmeg or cinnamon, incorporated throughout the bar; this feels good on my back and other rough areas, but on more sensitive areas it is almost a little too scratchy for my taste.

Pyromania 

Villainess describes this soap as "Peculiarly spicy, warm black pepper, sweetened with brown sugar, and touched with a veil of smoke". I was really intrigued and pleased with the smell of this soap, and the description of it on Villainess' website is spot on in my opinion. The black pepper was warm and inviting, and yet the spicy qualities were subdued and just right. Lightly dusted over the top of this soap was a silver-grey color which I suspect plays the part of the "veil of smoke".

This soap looked and smelled like night and day when compared to Dulces en Fuego, however the two bars did have some physically similar characteristics. Apart from the lather being the same, I also had the same experience with this bar regarding exfoliation. As I have progressed and showered with this bar I have noticed a dramatic increase in exfoliation and roughness. This bar has poppy seeds incorporated throughout and provided a much more abrasive experience. Again, this feels great on my back and feet, but on everything else this was just a little too scratchy for me. I would not be able to shower daily with this bar, but rather limit its use to a couple times a week (like a special treat).

Sample Packaging

Along with my order I also received a couple soap samples, and I loved the packaging technique they used (I may consider borrowing this element in the future with my own soaps). Each sample came tucked into a small black envelope with a label sticker that coordinated with the larger soap bar labels. Very simple and contemporary in appearance, and it goes perfectly with the overall look and experience of the other Villainess products. I've already used up one sample, Silk and Cyanide, and it smelled lovely.




Overall, my impression of Villainess is that they are a soap company pushing the boundaries of scent combinations and soap branding. Everything that goes into these soaps is full of detail, and everything seems to support the branding vision of the company.

Click here to visit the Villainess website to see their full offering of products.

Villainess Soaps in the House - Soap Review Coming Soon

Bounty of Soaps and Swag from Villainess! 

Last week I ordered a couple bars of soap from a company called Villainess Soaps. The package arrived today and I eagerly opened it to check out the goodies. So what came in the package besides the two bars of soap I ordered? Samples and swag!

package contents..

• Dulces en Fuego (soap bar)
• Pyromania (soap bar)
• Silk and Cyanide (free soap sample)
• Embargo (free soap sample)
• Mini Villainess Button (swag)
• 2 Classic Candies (yum!) 

I am really looking forward to trying these soaps - Check back soon for my review of both Dulces en Fuego and Pyromania by Villainess.

First Batch of Unscented Soap - Success! (Mostly)

SOAP!

Check out this awesome unscented soap I made this weekend! What an incredible learning experience; I'm already planning on what I will do differently for the next batch.

This soap is made with Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, and Palm Oil. The recipe was for a small batch, very small, and it yielded 3 bars of soap approximately 5 ounces each.

I had decided that for my first batch I would re-use a large shampoo bottle as the mold, so I painstakingly cut the top off of the shampoo bottle so I could achieve these lovely round bars. The only problem with this idea was I didn't plan ahead on how I would extract the soap from the mold when I was finished!

Shampoo Bottle Mold
The only way to rescue my soap was to cut the shampoo bottle away one piece at a time.  Big mistake not to line the bottle with anything; I'm not sure why I thought the soap would just glide out of the mold.

After battling with the shampoo bottle I decided it would be a good idea to invest in a durable wooden soap mold. I ordered this 2lb wooden mold from Bramble Berry and I can't wait for it to arrive!

The Verdict on Batch 1
Overall I'm happy with the way the soap is looking so far, being my first batch and all, and I'm going to have to be patient for the next 4 weeks while these bars cure. Until then, I'm going to keep at it and make some more soap as soon as my new mold gets here. After this first batch I have a list of things I want to improve on - back to the soap lab!

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to Black Pepper Soaps, the Blog!

I'm Lindsay, and this is my soap blog. My experience in soap making up to this point is minimal, but I'm about to change all that. I've done months of research on cold process soap-making and now it is time to put my research into action!

Please join me here as I document my soap-making adventures. I'm starting tonight, with my very first batch of cold process soap. I'm going for something simple, unscented, and 100% natural.

Images will follow soon - Wish me luck!