Re-purposing soap

I had a few A Dreamer's Bar soaps left and they just weren't selling. I think for some people the aniseed scent was just not to their taste, for others they just weren't pretty enough. I discounted them and sold a few that way, but I still had 5 bars left over and no-one seemed to want. I think people were sick of looking at them. I know I was sick of looking at them! So I decided to re-purpose them into some new soap.

The bars are mostly on off-white colour, so I wanted to grate them up and mix them into a fresh batch of darker coloured soap for contrast. Below you can see the grated soap (it looks like a lot but it's not really, only about 600g). I mixed up some purple ultramarine with a hint of pink & red micas for the base colour, and blended some essential oils: aniseed, lavender, lime, grapefruit and cedarwood. I also cut a few star shapes and cubes for decoration.

Here it is in the mould. I sprinkled some cosmetic-safe purple glitter on top too.


And here's the new soap! You can see the original grated soap throughout the bars. Much prettier, I think, and I really like the aniseed rounded out with the lavender and citrus oils too.

"Solstice" will be available to buy online in late December.

Delicious Hommus Dip

I recently made a batch of this Hommus Dip and I thought I would share the recipe with you. It's healthy, easy to make and it's delicious!

Ingredients
1 cup cooked chickpeas
3 tablespoons greek yoghurt
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 teaspoons tahini (sesame paste)
Juice of 1 lemon
Water
Salt & pepper, to taste

Method:
To cook chickpeas, first soak overnight in water. Rinse in cold water, then cook with 1-2 bay leaves (this will absorb the gases and prevent bloating), bring to boil and cook until tender (30-45 minutes).

Let it cool, then add all other ingredients and blend. Add small amounts of water until you get the consistency you like (I usually use 1/4 - 1/2 cup).

Enjoy! Serve with Turkish bread or celery/carrot sticks as a nutricious snack.

Soap Giveaway

I'm having a soap giveaway! Go in the draw to win a 3-Month Soap Subscription. The lucky winner will receive 2 of my handmade cold process soaps every month for 3 months - how good is that? Each parcel will be a suprise. The first one will arrive just before Christmas, like a little extra present!

To Enter:
1) Simply visit my Etsy Shop and leave a comment to say which soap or salt glow is your favourite.
2) Get extra entries for tweeting or blogging about this giveaway (please leave your twitter/blog address in your comment).
3) Giveaway closes at midnight on Sunday November 29th (Sydney time).
4) Giveaway is only open to Australian residents.
5) Winner will be chosen using the sophisticated method of Drawing A Name Out Of A Hat.

Good luck everyone!

Newly listed soaps in store

All the hard work I put a few weeks ago in is finally coming to fruition. I have some newly-listed soaps instore: some re-stocking of regular lines and some new ones.

Gardenia - a lovely floral fragrance that smells just like a real gardenia.

Gaia - patchouli, ylang ylang, rosewood, lavender, vetiver, clays.

Unwind - lavender & mint oils, french green clay.

Lemon Vanilla - lemon myrtle oil and vanilla fragrance.

Pomegranate - delightful pomegranate fragrance with notes of cranberry, apple and peach.

All of these bars are now available to buy in my Etsy Store (for international shoppers) or my Big Cartel Store (for Australian shoppers).

What's new in my soap pot this week?

First up is a batch of Lemongrass Ginger soap. Very earthy, yet fresh and citrusy, at the same time. Ginger essential oil isn't sweet like most ginger scents - it's extracted from the ginger root and it's strong and earthy. I really like the combination of these two essential oils together. The deep yellow colour comes from natural yellow ochre.

I also made a small experimental batch of soap with a combination of eucalyptus, peppermint and black pepper essential oils, with some poppy seeds for exfoliation. It's quite fresh at the moment - minty and herbal - but after a couple of days I'd expect to get more of the spicy black pepper coming through.

Special Offers for Blog Readers

From now until Christmas I'll be offering you, my blog readers, some very special discounts. It's my way of saying thank you for being such great readers :)

Receive 10% discount off any items in my store - use code "Blog Reader 10%" at the checkout.

OR

Buy 12 or more soaps in any one order - or more than $70 on any soap/scrub combination - and receive FREE SHIPPING! (you must live in Australia or have your items posted within Australia to receive this discount). Use code "Blog Reader Free Shipping" at the checkout.

Discounts are available from either of my stores:

Etsy (international): http://www.innerearthsoaps.etsy.com/

Big Cartel (Australian): http://www.innerearthsoaps.bigcartel.com/

*You must follow my blog to receive the discount.

*Both discounts can't be used in the same order, so please choose just one.

*Discounts are available as a refund via Paypal, or wait for a revised invoice.

*Offer valid until 20th December.

Commercial VS Handmade Soap

There are many people out there who have never tried handmade soap and don't understand why it seems so much more expensive, and why they should bother paying extra for what essentially seems like the same stuff you buy in supermarkets. On the other hand, there are those who use and love handmade soap and know that's it feels better on their skin - they just don't know why! So I thought I would take this oppurtunity to explain exactly WHY our handmade soap is so much better for you.

Inner Earth Soaps retain their natural glycerin content.

Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it attracts moisture to the skin. Glycerin is a natural product of the soapmaking process, and while it is extracted from commercial soaps (and sold to pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies - you will find glycerin in almost any moisturiser you can think of), in handmade soaps it is left intact. So handmade soap is much more gentle and moisturising on the skin.

Inner Earth Soaps don't use cheap oils as the main ingedient.

Check the ingredients list on any box of commercial soap and you will usually find that the main oils used are one of: sodium tallowate (tallow, or beef fat), sodium palmate (palm oil) or sodium cocoate (coconut oil). Why? Because they are cheap.

Tallow - we would never use any animal fats whatsoever, and that includes tallow. All our soaps use plant or vegetable based oils/butters and most bars are vegan (with the exception of milk/honey soaps).

Palm Oil - palm oil does have its place in soapmaking, as it lends hardness and stablility to the bar. Our soaps do contain some palm oil for that reason. But when used as a main ingredient - as it is in many commercial soaps - the bar has very little natural lather or bubbles. So to compensate they need to add foaming agents like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) - a cheap, chemical way to give the soap a good lather.

Coconut Oil - coconut oil also has its place in soapmaking, as it provides an excellent lather and high cleansing ability. But as a main ingredient in commercial soap it can be very drying on the skin, and leaves you with that dry, tight feeling after washing.

(NB: our Salt Spa soap is made with 100% coconut oil, but because it has a very high superfat and a large amount of sea salt, it does not dry out the skin.)

So what are Inner Earth's Soaps made of?

We use a custom blend of high quality olive, rice bran, coconut, palm and castor oils in our soaps, and often add nourishing butters such as cocoa or shea as well. These oils combine to make a mild, gentle soap that cleanses the skin without stripping it of its natural oils, and still maintaining a natural, bubbly lather. I have many customers with dry/sensitive skin conditions, those who say they can't use "soap" (supermarket soap of course), who have been pleasantly suprised to find that they can use my soap, without suffering any of the awful itchiness and dry, tight feeling that comes with using commercial soaps. Feel the difference of handmade soap today!