October 2023 | Unscented Luxe Hair Mask | KCK Soapery

    My daughter has a very long and thick hair that tangles a lot. She's been searching for products to help condition and make her hair easier to manage the frizz. Upon looking at my soaping suppliers, I realized that hair masks is now a thing.  This Luxe hair mask base is from Brambleberry.  Click on the link if you want to make it yourself and look at the ingredients.  Brambleberry was my first soaping supplier.  They don't offer affiliate programs but they have really great products to choose from.  I always love their products and trying out a new line for hair care is very much interesting for me.

    To make a test batch with the base, I used 95 grams of mask base. Then, I added bubble boost and calendula extract. Bubble Boost is derived from coconut oil and some people use it to add gentle and stable bubbles to soap and other products.  It draws in moisture and keeps skin and scalp hydrated. Calendula extract is full of Vitamin B and helps the growth for thick hair.  Massaging the scalp with calendula oil stimulates the hair roots or follicles and ensures the growth of robust, dense and silky tresses. 

    Here's an article from Netmeds about the many skin and hair benefits of Calendula.

I have a video and a reel posted on my facebook page .  

The verdict as my daughter used it tonight is that it feels great! It also rinses very well and makes her hair easy to comb.  I think my hubby and I should start using it since our once very thick hair is now showing signs of thinning as well.

I will let you guys know of any improvements on our hair for sure.

Thank you for dropping by!

Glynith

September 2017 | Kentish Rain | KCK Soapery

This batch was scented with Kentish Rain fragrance oil from Brambleberry.  They described the fragrance as rainy, salty mist green notes made up of basil, green leaf and ozone notes with added notes of muguet lily, rose and jasmine bring out the touch of violet in the blend for sweetness. Our perfumer added bottom notes of Sandalwood and tonka to round out the earthy, coast like feel.

White using titanium dioxide and black using activated charcoal and a blue mica.

My favorite recipe of coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, palm oil, mango butter, and castor oil.

Divided the batter into the small colored cups and two containers for the white.

Poured white for the base.

Blue line in the middle.

Alternately poured black, blue and white on the same middle line.

This was how it looked after I poured most of the colors.  The batter thickened faster than I was expecting.

As usual, I love covering my colors and hide the design.  Just to have something more to look forward to when cutting the loaf.

Sprinkled the leftover colors.

Made random chopstick swirl on the top.

Off the mold the next day.

Since the batter thickened faster than I anticipated, I did not get the effect I was going for.  But this turned out good as well.

Thank you for dropping by.

May 2017 | Gardener's Soap | KCK Soapery

I mentioned to a friend at work that I will make a Gardener's soap for her since she is starting her garden and herb farm again.

As I search for the perfect gardener's soap recipe, I noticed two recipes that caught my fancy.  I used the recipe from soap-making-resource  since I have all the ingredients on hand and try to make the soap look like the one from Brambleberry's soap queen's super gardener's soap.  I also combine additives like rose clay, lavender buds, activated charcoal and titanium dioxide from both sources.

Oils used were coconut oil, palm kernel oil, olive oil, avocado oil and castor oil.  This soap is chuck full of essential oils of Lavender, Rosemary and Tea Tree essential oils.

This is the largest amount of oils, essential oils and additives I have ever used.

I decided to add the lavender buds to the white soap batter and poured it first to be the base of the soap.

In went the rose clay layer.

Last layer was the soap batter mixed with coffee grounds.

Topped with white I set aside and lined with some leftover rose clay soap batter.  As you can see, some of the batter start hardening as I was spooning the batter.

Managed to swirl it before the top completely harden.

Off the mold.

This is the biggest soap bar I have ever made.

Thank you for stopping by.  

March 2017 | Shamrock Soap | KCK Soapery

Good Luck soap made with shamrock melt and pour soap on one side and treasures on the other.  This part came out as envisioned! The challenge was in the making of the rainbow. 

As you can see above, the rainbow got a little distorted.

The project started out with the preparation of the rainbow colors, the shamrocks, and the treasures.

Ingredients include the following oils, coconut, olive, rice bran, palm, mango butter, castor oil, and Cranberry Chutney fragrance oil from Brambleberry.

Blue was dropped to the white to create the sky.

Red was poured on top of the sky.

Yellow and green.

Blue soap.

Treasures added on top of purple.

Covered the rainbow with a layer of sky and sprinkled with green and red glitters.

Added the clover leaves when the soap batter was not too soft and can keep the leaf upright without sinking.

Removed from the mold a day after.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all!

April 2015 | Woodland Elves | KCK Soapery

 

A craft group friend hosted an event for me to do a demonstration of my soap making.  She also hosted the event at her house and a group of my crafty friends were there to watch how I make my soaps.  Thank you very much "S" for hosting and to all my crafty friends who were there.

 

 

This was a small batch using Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Rice Bran oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil and Mango Butter.  I melted the oils and butter the night before and water bath the container for a few minutes before leaving my house on the day.  The sodium hydroxide and water mixture were mixed the night before as well.

 

 

Fragrance Oil used was "Woodland Elves"  I received from Bramble Berry as a sample described as  the perfect combination of Christmas trees and Christmas spices including Siberian Fir, White Pine, Clove Buds and Mistletoe Berries. The pine and spice is tamed down by Pink Grapefruit, Frosted Lily and ripe Pineapple.  It was my first time to use this fragrance oil and it stayed fluid.  In fact, I think this fragrance would be perfect for those design technique I was attempting but was not able to achieved because of the batter thickening too fast on me. 

 

 

Ready to be cut.

 

 

As usual, every bar is unique and different. 

 

Thank you very much to all.



March 2015 | Kentish Rain | KCK Soapery

 

This batch is scented with "Kentish Rain". Bramble Berry described this fragrance oil as rainy, salty mist green notes made up of basil, green leaf and ozone notes with added notes of muguet lily, rose and jasmine bring out the touch of violet in the blend for sweetness. Our perfumer added bottom notes of Sandalwood and tonka to round out the earthy, coast like feel.

 

 

Oils used were Olive oil, Coconut oil, Palm oil, Rice Bran oil, Castor oil, Shea Butter and Mango Butter.

 

 

Poured the batter into just two colors, titanium dioxide for white and blue.

 

 

Did an "in the pot" swirl but the batter started thickening.   Some of the batter did not penetrate down the deeper layer.

 

 

I can't help myself and gave in to the temptation - had to make a design to this layer even though I know I will just be covering it up.

 

 

The above swirls were hidden by a layer of white batter.

 

 

Topped with thickened blue batter.

 

 

Tried to swirl some designs using a chopstick.

 

 

These days, I waited for at least three or more days before unmolding.  I like how the soap is more settled and less tacky.

 

 

I love how most of the bars showed a "rain drop".  I still have a few more ounces of the fragrance oil and I am afraid I will not get the same effect next time.

 

 

Love this fragrance and how the swirls can be interpreted the way I envisioned - clouds and rain.

 

Hope you like what you see.  Thank you very much!