We really got in the spirit and made soap two days in a row, Dec 21 and 22, adding 50 bars to our inventory. A couple of weeks before that, we made 15 Fir Needle/Spearmint bars; and two weeks before that, we made Peppermint Funnel soap. No more bare shelves.

The latest soap, Lavender Swirl and Peachcicle Swirl, incorporates a recipe we learned to use in a soap-making class, but hadn’t used for a while. Because it adds cocoa butter, castor, and canola oils to our standard recipe, we believe the soap has nicer skin-loving qualities and a premium lather.

This much larger recipe allows us to split it, thus making separate colors and scents from the same batch.

We tried something new, cold process/oven process, which speeds up the process much like hot process, so the soap comes out of the mold with a lower pH than normal cold process
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We also tried a rectangular silicone mold for the first time (like it!) and got a new soap “knife” that makes the bars more uniform than our old cheese slicer. We’re gradually coming out of the stone age.

And is it ever fun!

We’re going to offer free 1-oz samples soon, if people request them.