Wonder Wednesday 150: Garden Soap
It's Spring!
Spring officially hit the northern hemisphere March 20, so this March Wonder Wednesday we're making Garden soap! The gardening season is about to kick into high gear (or if you're in the deep south like me it already has) and that means lots of hands in the soil and dirt under the fingernails - so what better project to make than some nice natural soap that we can incorporate some of our our garden herbs into - full circle gardening at it's finest!
For my soaps, I chose 3 flavor combinations-
- turmeric chai rose (dried rose & powdered turmeric chai tea mix)
- lavender sage lemongrass (fresh lavender & sage leaves and flowers, + lemongrass essential oil because I don't have fresh in my garden right now) and
- rose sage lavender (dried rose petals, fresh sage & lavender leaves and flowers, + clary sage essential oil for an extra kick)
The dried rose petals were actually left over from our Wonder Wednesday 145: Desiccated Rose Candy project!
This type of soap making is quick and easy (unlike making soap completely from scratch) and it can be done with most age groups. The soaps make a great Mother's Day gift project - and could even look quite fancy if you had a little mold, perhaps in the shape of a flower. But the rustic look is cute too and definitely fits the spring garden theme!
Tips:
Depending on where you sit, you'll want to choose either a tallow based soap flake or an animal free oil based soap flake. I chose a coconut oil based flake for my soap, but there are many types out there on the market. So just be sure to read the ingredient list and make sure the flakes you choose align with your personal ethics.
You'll notice in the step-by-step photos below I used different batches to show the steps. This is so you can see how even though the soap flakes are the same, the various herbs & spices added change the color of the soap. The more brown soap is the rose turmeric chai, the more gray is the lavender sage rose, and the lightest is the lavender sage lemongrass. The color of the soap may or may not effect your decisions.
You could always strain the plant material and add a natural based food coloring too if you want a smoother more posh looking type of handmade soap, but I was going for a full garden-rustic look.
Herbs:
Feel free to use fresh herbs, dried, essential oils, and powdered spices in your soaps. As long as you don't have an allergy or sensitivity and it is non-toxic and even edible you are good to put it into your soap!
I used a combo of each listed in my 3 flavors of soaps. Explore the beneficial properties of herbs, spices, and various plants for skin health and aromatherapy and go from there! But remember if using essential oils, there can be some contraindications for use - for example, clary sage is not recommended for people who are pregnant.
Wonder Wednesday 150: Let's Make Garden Soap!
Materials
Stove top or electric burner
Saucepan
Measuring cups and spoons
Stirring spoons
Parchment paper
Tray/s
Soap Flakes
Water
Herbs, Spices, Essential oils
Optional: rubber gloves, soap molds, fancy packages with ribbons to wrap the soaps as gifts
Preparation
Gather your herbs and spices & prepare accordingly if you are using fresh from your garden (aka wash and dry them)
If doing this with students, take precautions not to use any herb, spice, or essential oil anyone has a sensitivity to, as far as you can know.
If doing this with young students, talk about how to be careful around heat sources/electric burners/stovetops
The recipe proportions below make approximately 6 golf ball size soap balls, adapt your proportions accordingly.
Procedure
Warm up 1/3 cup of water, it doesn't need to boil or be near boiling, just make it comfortably hot.
Then add in the fresh, dried, and/or powdered herbs and spices, turn down the heat to low and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
If using essential oils, do not add them at this point (they get added at the very end as heat can destroy their properties).
Next, Mix in the soap flakes. Turn the heat back up to medium/medium low (depends on the powerfulness of your burner) and stir.
This stage takes a little while. The soap flakes should melt-ish and mix with the water and the herbs/spices into an integrated, soft, and pliable mixture. Don't let it burn or boil!
Once the mixture is fully combined and integrated, no extra water is left, and it is clumping together, but very soft in texture, remove from the heat and let it cool until you are able to handle it comfortably.
Then, turn the mix out onto a parchment lined tray. Begin to form into golf-ball sized soap balls.
If using essential oil add a few drops at a time and mix in during this stage.
Once all your soap is made and formed into balls, let them set for about a week to harden and age. (Depending on the humidity levels where you live the hardness of the soap may vary, but once they are ready to use the balls shouldn't be mushy anymore.
Then, set them by the sink or in the shower & start using them - or package them up to give as gifts!
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Rose Candy 🙂
Have extra rose petals left & haven't made rose candy yet? Revisit this Wonder Wednesday 145 gothic inspired project and make some tasty candied rose petals to enjoy on ice cream, in tea, or wherever you like!
It's Garden Time!
Get ready for garden season and never forget what you planted where with this super fun (partially) up-cycled and totally reusable garden plant marker sign Wonder Wednesday 138 project!
Garden in a Jar!
Don't have space for a garden, but want to enjoy the lovely smells and tastes of herbs in your cooking, home, or classroom? Well, check out this Wonder Wednesday 51 Glass Jar Garden project and up-cycle those old spaghetti sauce jars to good use!
You could even grow herbs to put in your next batch of spaghetti - now that is full circle!