My latest Listing-Oatmeal Soap

This soap by me (Thebalmshoppe) is Oatmeal, Milk and Honey with organic ground oatmeal.

The fragrance is Oatmeal, milk and honey, which is a sweet creamy oatmeal with a hit of cream, honey and cinnamon. It smells delicious.

This is a Cold Process soap. After pouring it into the molds and letting it set, I popped it out. I didnt like the smooth bar that was produced. I wanted something a little "rougher" and natural looking. So I grated the bars, reheated and reworkd them and hand milled them into bars. They are nubby, nobby, bumpy and much more what I had in mind for natural oatmeal soap.

Normally I do make smooth bars of soap, that is true. But this is my oatmeal exfoliating soap, I wanted something a bit more "homespun" (I guess that is the word I am trying to think of.)

When it was too smooth, it just didnt seem right to me. ( I am trying to do a better job of trusting, and acting upon, my instincts.) So I jumped in, destroyed my smooth bars and reworked them.

I love the new bar and texture. It fits perfectly into your hand, the oatmeal gently exfoliates and the lather is frothy, yet stable. The bar itself is semi hard,( not too hard but not soft.) I made them 3 x 2 x 1, which is the perfect scrubbing size.

The base is soybean oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil. I added golden jojoba and shea butter along with castor oil. This soap also moisturizes and nourishes you skin. I ground up organic oatmeal and added it as a gentle and natural exfoliant

It is gentle for your skin, too. Oatmeal soap is great for those with eczema, as it is a soothing additive.

I hope you like my latest addition to The Balm Shoppe.If you are interested in this soap, you can purchase it here. I have 6 bars available. Once they are gone, they are gone!!

The Joy Of Soap

I LOVE making soap. It is a newfound passion of mine. For years I made Melt and Pour(MP) and glycerine soap. The bases they have out now are really wonderful and luxurious. you can add any oils or butters, colorants, herbs, fragrances etc. You can do some really beautiful things with Melt and Pour Soap. You can use them immediately after setting and the clean up is quick and easy...after all it IS soap! Generally MP soap is glycerine soap. MP soaps hold color the best. You can get the best colors out of glycerine and MP soaps.


This is a GREAT example of Melt and Pour Soap. This is from thekeepershouse . MP soap can be made into beautiful layers, fragrances and scents. MP soap comes out of molds really beautifully.



These Astro Pops from SoapyLove are wonderful! They remind me of when I was a kid and getting my favorite Popsicles from the Ice cream Man that came through our neighborhood.







These "turqoise gemstones" are actually glycerine soap! They are from AmethystSoap over on etsy. These look JUST like turquoise gemstone nuggets dont they?? So cute and creative. It is amazing what can be done with Glycerine soap base.


Last year I started making Cold Process Soap (CP). After my first trace,(where it first starts to thicken) I knew I was hooked. CP soap is the process of heating and mixing together lye, fats and oils, cooling and stirring until they thicken.(or saponify) Pour into molds, let sit for a day or two, and pop out. BUT because it is made with lye they need to sit and "cure" for about 4 weeks. The longer they sit out and cure, the more gentle the soap will be. If you were to use the soap right away, you would have very dryskin. The soap would be excessively harsh. Different oils give the soap different properties. Some oils and fats create great lather. Others give great moisturizing properties. Some make the bar of soap hard. The right combination of these fats and oils can give you amazing results. I like my bars a little on the hard side. I like lots of lather. I love shea and jojoba in my soap. 2 weeks ago I made oatmeal milk and honey soap. I made a great base and added ground oatmeal. The fragrance I used was Oatmeal Milk and Honey.. After I poured it, I cut it into bars. But I didnt like the smooth look of it. It is Oatmeal soap. So I grated it, reheated it and re- molded it into nubby, more earthy organic looking bars. I love it. So in 2 weeks when it is ready, I will have it listed in my shop.



These CP beauties are from DennisAnderson.

His soaps are really beautiful and very natural. This is Tango with Mango soap. The colors are beautiful and his swirling is very nice.






Daisycakessoap is the best B&B seller on etsy. She has sold more soaps than Proctor and Gamble practically! Her soaps are beautiful, unique and the packaging and display are out of this world.





This layered CP soap is from Pinkparchmentsoaps.

It is called raspberry parfait. I think it is beautiful. I love the layering and the slight swirl on top. Raspberry is a favorite soap scent of mine.




There is Also Hot Process Soap Making (HP). Hot Process is like Cold Process, except you cook or crock pot your soap ALL DAY. The bars are bumpy and more "handmade" looking AND you can use the soap as soon as it is set. BUT there are so many talented soapmakers that make the bars as smooth as CP soap, it is amazing. Practice makes perfect!!




This is HP soap from Dragon06.
Vegan friendly Mocha Cappuccino.







LilyBaySoap makes a goat milk HP soap. It looks so luxurious and creamy! Obviously, this is a non vegan bar.




No matter what your soap preference, there can be something found for everyone. Please check out some of the uber talented soapmakers on etsy. You wont be disappointed.

So I have to brag a little on myself right now.

These are my first glycerine soap attempts. They are 4oz bars.

They are pure glycerine soap with avocado, cucumber and olive oils.

I think they turned out great! And they SMELL freaking awesome.

I was REALLY pleased with how vibrant the colors were. The lather is so aundant and they leave your skin just silky smooth and hydrated and really lovely.

The Blue one is OXYGEN. It is a very green and clean smelling fragrance.

Neroli, bergamot, sandalwood and cedar. Reminds me of clean linen and irish spring all rolled into one. The blue color is a Carolina Blue and reminded me of a spring day and seemed the perfect color for this outdoorsy scent.

The Yellow Swirl is CHOCOLATE OBSESSION! This is sweet and wonderful milk chocolate mixed with jasmine, honey and a bottom lingering note of vanilla. A very grown up, indulgent chocolate. I dont like to color my soaps brown. I really like color. So yellow was the next closest thing to brown. It is a beautiful buttercup yellow.

Fuchsia Swirl is OATMEAL MILK AND HONEY. The heart of the fragrance consists of delicate notes of rose, lilac, carnation, cinnamon and nutmeg. Creamy, powder and vanilla base notes.

I really like pink, so my favorite fragrance of the three gets my favorite color approval! The fuchsia really colored the soap beautifully.

Plus I am LOVING the pictures the new camera takes, and THANK GOODNESS for Photoshop. I feel like a real pro and that my pictures can really show how lovely they are.

You can link to my shop at http://www.thebalmshoppe.com/

As you can see by my banner the pink gerbera daisy is a running theme. I actually just got that as business cards printed up through gotprint. i think they look great. (see below)

So in all of my pictures i will have the pink Gerbera Daisy. It is kind of my trademark and running theme throughout my shop. It is really the one unifying theme.

Thats all, I was just really happy and proud at how well they turned out and I hope you like them too!(obviously they are for sale at my shop)