Whipped Lavender Soap ~ Sisterhood Saturday

It's been a while since I shared a new soap recipe and I knew I wanted to make something for Mother's Day this year.  I scoured Pinterest (shocking I know) and found lots of pretty lavender soaps although most were cold-pressed soaps.  Not my forte.  I'm a die-hard Melt & Pour girl.  So I settled on trying to make a faux cold-pressed soap but instead ended up with this silky smooth soap that I now call my perfectly intentional mistake.  It's amazing!

Half way through my soapmaking session I realized it was not going as expected.  And I heard my Moms mantra ring through my head of "Try harder then your hardest & do better then your best!"  Matter of fact Do Your Best is posted on my Family Rules.

So I didn't, and am soooo glad I didn't!  Just look!

Seriously, you can not go wrong with Melt & Pour soap.  Die-hard fan ladies, and I'm not talking about Bruce Willis here.  I  even made two batches exactly the same just to make sure that I have indeed created a new recipe and not just sharing a fluke,

know matter how awesome it is!

This is NOT a sponsored post, but I was given Stephenson Soap to use.  Thanks Stephenson =)

Basic Materials:

Stephenson Melt & Pour Soap Base (or any M&P would work!)

Soap Colorant (I went with Lavender)

Lavender Essential Oil (or oil/scent of your choosing)

Lavender Flowers

Vitamin E (used as a preservative)

My soap came in a 2lb box and I used the whole thing.  But instead of melting it all I only melted about 25% of it.  The rest I shredded using a manual shredder.

Why the heck didn't I melt it all?  Well I had this hairbrained idea that if I only melted and colored a little bit of soap, then mixed it with softish-shredded soap it would kinda meld together to look like a *cold-pressed old fashioned soap.  *I haven't given up on this, and if I find a way to make it work I'll share it with you, believe you me

Last minute I decided to add in an oil to make the soap extra moisturizing (perhaps this was the non-faux culprate!).  Any oil would work but if using coconut oil, heat it up in the microwave to turn it into a liquid first.

In the small bowl I pre-mixed:

3 dropper fulls of Lavender Essential Oil

4 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

1 good squirt of Vitamin E (approx 2 capsules)

In the medium bowl:

Melted soap

15 drops of colorant

Here is the process...Step 2 is when I knew faux was not meant to be =)

1.  Add the melted soap to the bowl of shredded soap

2.  Mix with a fork until colored soap just starts to melt into shredded soap

3.  Press soap into a mold

4.  Sprinkle and press Lavender Flowers to the top of the soap while still warm

 

So I figured when the soap all melted together in Step 2 I would just have a pretty soap topped with flowers that I would cut and wrap in pretty paper for my Mom.

Try harder then your hardest, remember?!!  However when I went to check on the soap it had not hardened.  Weird.  Dang it!  Shoot!!  But then I heard my Moms mantra again and I pressed forward.

The soap was silky to the touch (maybe it was the oil!!) so I thought I could use it more like a body butter.  So I dumped the whole thing in my mixer, sprinkled a bit more flowers on top for good measure, turned that sucker on high and it was like magic.  For my love of Mason Jars I always have a few on hand and these squatty little half pint cuties were made for Whipped Lavender Soap.

It's so beautiful!  And looks good enough to eat.  Did I ever tell you the story of the lady who actually ate a piece of my Almond Butter Oatmeal Soap?  I guess that's a compliment...

I love the barely-there purple color this soap has too.  And the scent is very light as well.  According to the directions on the Essential Oil package I could have used 5 droppers full, but I didn't want it to be too overpowering so I just used 3.  It suds very nicely and doesn't dry out your hands (that's why I love to add oils in my soap).

A little bit of ribbon and a sprig of fresh Lavender adds a pretty touch for a special handmade gift for Mom.  Or your sister.  Or your Aunt.  How 'bout a teacher!  If you want to make sure they don't ingest the soap, print one of these free labels  =)

Printable available HERE

I don't think this was just a coincidence that my plans diverted and I had to stay the course.  My Mom probably knew I needed a little test & reminder and used her SuperMom powers to do so.  THANKS MOM!  I hope you enjoy your Mother's Day gift this year.  I love you!

Find more of my Soaps & Such recipes HERE!

Does your mom love Mason Jars?  Check out these great handmade gift round-ups!

Part 1 HERE

Part 2 HERE

Do you make your own soap?  Are you a Melt&Pour'r or Cold-Presser?  =)