Organics/Natural living consumers: What kind of facial soap/cleanser do you use?

[QuilterMom]

I use the Burt's Bees garden tomato complexion soap and love it.

[homesteadmamma]

Thanks Kim.

[forestdale]

I'm making my own soap now. It's olive oil and coconut oil soap. It's very mild and I'm using that for everything.

[bridge]

I use Calendula Care soap from http://www.farmatcoventry.com/

[QuilterMom]

Originally posted by forestdale
I'm making my own soap now. It's olive oil and coconut oil soap. It's very mild and I'm using that for everything.

I'd love the recipe when you have time.

[forestdale]

Kim, I'm not sure if you've made soap before so I'm unsure if you know about the safety issues when making soap. If you need more info on this, you'd best go to one of the many soap making sites. suffice to say you need rubber gloves, glasses or safety goggles, steel pot and stirer NOT aluminium and ALL animals and children need to be well away from the area. Please ask me if you need any more information. Soap making can be dangerous with little ones around but it is well worth the effort.

BTW, all soap uses lye or caustic soda - even "natural" soaps. The process of making the soap neutrilises the caustic effects.

This is basically castile soap with coconut oil added, for its good lathering qualities. Here is the recipe:

800mls of cheap organic olive oil - the low grade sutff is fine for this.
200mls organic virgin coconut oil - we sell this in our shop. I believe you can get it from health food stores.
130g caustic soda
400mls water

Put the water into a STEEL pot and slowly add the caustic soda. Try not to breathe in the fumes and don't splash it. Stir to dissolve.

This mixture will get very hot, which is normal. Allow it to sit and cool for one hour.

When it's cool add both the oils in a slow stream, stiring while you do it. When it's all combined, get your stick blender or hand mixer, and on the lowest setting, mix the soap. and mix, and mix, and mix. If the setting is too fast, pulse it. It will take 10 - 15 minutes of mixing. You should mix until it reaches trace. Trace is when it's firm enough to leave a trace on the surface when it's drizzles back into the mix. Like when it's gone from being a liquid to a more solid liquid. The colour will be slightly lighter too and creamier. When it's reaches trace, you can stop mixing.

Then pour it carefully into pre-oiled molds. I find plastic molds to be the best. I use two large plastic containers and I cut the soap into bars when it's solid but you could also use large single piece ice block molds.

After 24 hours the soap will be solid. You can pop the soaps out now and reuse the molds if you want to make more soap, but the soap needs to mature for 3 - 4 weeks before use. During that 3 - 4 week period, turn the soaps over a few times a week. The caustic soda will be gone after one day. I cut my soap with a warm sharp knife when it's two days old.

If you need different quantities or wish to use different ingredients, there are a lot of soap calculators on the net. The ingredients MUST be accurate. This is the one I use:
http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocen...w_soapcalc.php

Good luck Kim, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

[forestdale]

I can't edit at the moment.

You should use rain water or non-chlorinated water in the above recipe. If your water is cholinated, fill an open container with the amount of water you need and allow it to sit for 24 hours.

[QuilterMom]

Thank you, Rhonda! I haven't ventured into soapmaking yet so I appreciate all the warnings. It's something I hope to explore in the future (probably won't happen this year though, but I'd like to start gathering info).