Second Batch of Soap

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that i don't always succeed and am happy (sad) to write about my failures as well as my successes. After the great success of my first batch of soap: happy friends, happy me-skin, happy customers - i got a little too confident and decided to add some goat milk powder to the recipe. I'm not sure if the milk messed up the recipe, if i didn't blend long enough, or if i started mixing at the wrong temperature or what. Whatever i did, it was not right, and the soap is not good. I'm very hopeful that in a day or so it will firm up and the ph will lower - but i'm not optimistic.

2 hours and $20 in supplies later, i sure hope it becomes usable.

My husband was nice enough to take pictures of "Beeker at work," so at least i have some documentation of the soap making attempt.

I'll give it another day to dry out, then i'll slice it and retest the PH. Right now the PH is at a high end of the safe zone, so i hope it gets a bit milder and firms up. We may have to wait the full 3 month curing time to get a good lather though - so hold your orders for this batch of soap until i'm sure it's ready to go.

South Austin Urban Farmers Market

We had a lovely time with Robin and the other south Austin vendors this Saturday at 5109 Manchaca - a lovely, treed front yard just north of Fair Oaks. We hope to be sporadic regulars to this venue, and are applying to the Cherrywood Market happening in early December.

It was really great to bring our projects out to the open air and get responses from the public.

I would also like to make my soap, salts, and hair rinses available for online orders - pick up locally, or pay a little extra for shipping (within the usa). I'm working on a banner link for the side of this blog to make ordering easy - for now click the 'contact me' at the top of the page and let me know what you would like to order. Currently in stock:

• Herbal hair rinse, 3 blends - all natural with homegrown, organic herbs to sooth and beautify your scalp and hair   $8 - 8 oz
• Growth
• Shine
• Dandruff relief
• Aromatic bath salts   $6 - 10 oz

• Lemongrass/Rosemary for an invigorating bath (or foot soak)
• Lavender/Jasmine for a relaxing bath (or foot soak)
• Castile soap with soothing oats, calendula oil, and lemongrass essential oil (among other delightful ingredients)  $4.50 - 4 oz bars

My next batch of soap will be a shea butter soap with lavender essential oil, followed by another castile soap with tea tree and perhaps sandalwood. Feel free to email me at any time to see what i have in stock! And of course, thanks for supporting your local (or not so local as the case may be) gardener and budding herbalist!