What Soap Ingredients Can I Grow?

In the last post I talked about a lot of ingredients I like to use in my soap. Many of them are costly, so I asked myself "What Soap Ingredients Can I Grow?" A few that I have grown in my garden are:

lavender - In Wisconsin, many varieties are not perennial, so I tend to re buy this plant a lot.
calendula - This plant is part of the marigold family and it is prolific. It self seeds!!!!
poppies - You need to grow a special variety to harvest seeds. I had trouble getting this one started.
loofah - Gourd family plant that has a long, long growing season. Loofah is the dried inside membrane of the gourd.

You can also grow herbs that you can infuse into your olive oil. I have infused St. John's Wort, Lavender, and there are many others that you can use. Herbs are easy to grow and can be grown in a window sill or in a small container on a patio.

It takes some advanced planning and time to be able to use your own ingredients, but it is worth it! Even though you may not be certified organic, you can let people know you grew your ingredients in your soap without chemicals.

As you browse through all the seed catalogues that are arriving in the mail, ask yourself, "What Soap Ingredients Can I Grow?"

You can learn how to make soap at How to Make Soap.

Homemade Goat Milk Soap Special Ingredients

We already discussed how you can turn any recipe into a homemade goat milk soap recipe. But what special ingredients can you add to your goat milk soap to make it unique and different from other soaps? A few ingredients I like are:
poppy seeds
dried orange peel
dried calendula petals *
dried lavender flowers
oatmeal (baby food kind *)
seaweed *
loofah (luffa)

I like using these ingredients in my homemade goat milk soap. But you have to be careful. Less is more whenever you add anything in your soap that will make it abrasive or exfoliating.

The very first coffee soap I tried to make, I put actual coffee grounds in the soap. That soap was SO bad. It was rougher than Lava Soap. I through most of it away. That was my first lesson in "less is more." I know I re-learned that lesson several times and now have a handle on that issue. Most folks want a creamy bar of soap on an every day basis. But a few cool, gently exfoliating soaps are definitely sure to be good sellers.

I marked with an asterisk the items that do not cause abrasion in your soap. Be creative and have fun experimenting!

Please check out my website at How to Make Soap.

Oatmeal Exfolliating Soap

Oatmeal exfolliating soap is a must in the arsenal of seasoned soap makers. I have lots of clients who suffer from dry itchy winter skin and oatmeal exfolliating soap helps slough off dead flaky skin, revealing skin that is smoother and more radiant. There are several different ways you can incorporate oatmeal into your soap. I will list a few ways:
Put some whole rolled oats into your soap. A litle goes a long way when it comes to exfolliating properties. I usually make a batch of soap that cuts into 32 - 4 oz. bars. I would add about 1 cup of whole oats to this size batch. You can adjust the amount for the batch size you make. You can add these oats to one of your very best selling soap recipes and wah....lah.... it is now an oatmeal exfolliating soap.
Put a layer of whole rolled oats on the top of your soap right after you pour the sold in a big soap loaf mold. Push down slightly so it will adhere. When you cut the soap into bars, one end will have the oats on it. This will be the scrubby end of the bar, the rest will be smooth and creamy.
Blend your oats in a blender for finer particles. This makes the soap even more abrasive as you have many more (be it finer) particles in the soap. Again, a little will go a long way.
Blend your oats very fine and sift them. Use only the fine particles. The oatmeal is still noticeable in the soap, but less abrasive. If someone has sensitive skin, they can still use this soap by lathering the bar on their hands and then soaping their body with their hands. For more exfolliating power, just rub the bar on the skin.
You can add oatmeal to any soap recipe and you can use whatever fragrance you want in your soap (I prefer Lavender Essential Oil). These are just some ideas how you can turn any soap into an oatmeal exfolliating soap. I tend to branch off in new directions in soap making using best selling fragrances and recipes, because you know customers will buy them. Try adding oatmeal to your best selling soap and see what happens!
If you are not a seasoned soap maker, and need help with basic soap making, check out my website at How to Make Soap