Saturday, May 7, 2016

DIY-ing Update


A while ago I posted a recipe for a homemade body wash. It turned out pretty well, but my last batch started acting funny. Strange smell, extra clumpy, not lathering very well. Not sure which of the ingredients was the culprit, but I suspect the gelatin. So, I've discovered a slightly different version that I think will be better.

Body Soap

1 4 oz. bar of Castile soap (bought a three pack from Amazon)
Up to 12 cups water (start with about 10 cups)
2 Tablespoons vegetable glycerin (bought from Amazon)
1 heaping Tablespoon sea salt

Grate soap into fine bits. Fill large pot with about 10 cups of water. Add grated soap. Heat on high until soap melts (doesn't need to boil). When soap is melted, remove from heat, add glycerin and stir. Let sit for 24 hours. The mixture will have thickened slightly. Add sea salt (I used pink Himalayan bought from bulk section of WinCo) and stir. The salt will start to clump. Stir occasionally until the clumps grow. After about 30 minutes, use an electric hand blender or regular blender to thoroughly mix soap, smoothing out clumps. The soap will be frothy and rather thick. Add more water until you like the consistency. Transfer to storage containers. I like to add essential oils like grapefruit and frankensense, but I only add them to the bottle I'm currently using to keep the oils fresh. Since this is a new recipe, I'm not sure what long term storage will be like.