DIY Soap!

Today I'm posting quite a few new posts. I'll start with the DIY soap project that I.F. (Imaginary Friend) and I embarked on last night. First, here are all of the items I will apparently need in order to make any kind of cleaner I want to.

Excluding the essential oils, these items cost less than $50! That's amazing considering how much money 1 standard household cleaner costs. I can make everything from laundry detergent to face wash with these and each item will make multiple batches. 

Listed here: goat's milk suspension formula, raw unfiltered honey, soap molds, vitamin E oil, jojoba oil, Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castille Soap (Almond), aloe vera gel, Borax, super washing soda, castille soap, tea tree oil, xanthum gum powder, vegetable glycerin, sweet almond oil, and essential oils of grapefruit and lemon. 

From here, I.F. and I made two products that we had just run out of: his favorite oatmeal soap and some body wash for me. I have pictures of the soap, but I regretfully did not take a picture of the body wash. 

The body wash recipe was found at this website. We used jojoba oil, Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castille in Almond, with essential oil of lemon. The scents were surprisingly harmonious. After sampling the concoction, I.F. found it to feel like it was drying the skin (which he enjoys) but that his skin did not lose any moisture, and was not dry after toweling off. He did however feel that it was too thin, so future versions of this product will contain 1/4tsp of Xantham gum power per cup of body wash. I have been told by internet DIY soap-making experts that this is what you do when you want a thicker texture to you products. I will say that the product comes out in a decidedly unappetizing translucent brown color - like a cheap beer that has not been filtered. It leaves nothing to the eye, but does everything you want it to, for $1 a bottle, and you can pronounce all of the ingredients. No harsh or unnatural chemicals here folks! Yeah, that's how I beat the man. Suck it, corporate America!

The oatmeal soap was an absolute breeze to make. It has a lovely, silky texture and a heavenly oatmeal scent. Those of you who are die-hard carbohydrate fans like myself should understand this addiction to oatmeal; its smell, texture, everything. Whether its toasted, made into a cereal, or used as a foot soaking agent, it is clear that oatmeal is a superior food. A product truly sent down from the proverbial heavens. I digress.. 

The recipe I used is here: I think the only thing I would change is that I would add some vanilla and tea tree oil as I.F. loves his tea tree. We went to Hobby Lobby to find all the ingredients. The website says to go to Michael's, but Hobby Lobby has it all too for roughly the same price. Joann's should not have anything you're looking for here, sadly. I have not tried Walmart or any other large department store. 

Lately, I.F. has been addicted to watching Babar on Netflix, so the minute he saw the jungle animal soap molds he had to have it. You should have seen him in Hobby Lobby. Truly, it was ridiculous. Thus, I now present to you, 4 bars of soap that look like milky white versions of jungle animals. Enjoy!

I.F.'s beloved Babar

A hippopotamus!

Zebra

The King of the Jungle

The mold has a 5th animal, a Giraffe, but a single batch of the soap recipe did not fill him completely so I abstained from presenting him to you. If you're not so much into the jungle creatures, then you will be glad to know that Hobby Lobby has various other, more elegant molds. I chose a square mold with a picture frame edge for a little more class when I feel like it. Although, if I.F. loves his elephant soap, I doubt he will want it in any other form. 27-year-old male turned 3-years-old in a matter of seconds. At least shower time will no longer be a chore!

The next installment should be shampoo and conditioner as we're about to run out of those. I sadly, still have another bottle of icky Dawn dish soap that I need to use. I'd just hate to throw it in a landfill. At least this way, since I live in a city, the water will get treated at a facility that will eradicate those impurities. Right? This is what I have to tell myself in a state that still doesn't believe in recycling. There is literally no where to take your old chemicals, or your plastics/cardboard recycling. 

If you live in Ames and you know how to dispose of items in an eco-friendly way, please write it in the comments!

That's all for now, folks. See you in roughly 30 minutes when my knitting post is completed.