Laundry Soap (Batch #2) -- Cucumber Melon

This morning the 2nd batch of laundry soap had completed gelled and started to cool down. So I took it out of the mold and cut it before the soap became really hard. It was actually still a little warm... It was so much easier to slice than the first loaf.

The color is very pretty but I can't really smell the scent very well at all. It might be that when the soap going through the curing phase, the scent will begin to come back out, or at least I hope so! I really liked the cucumber melon scent...

I still have one more loaf of this soap to make that will be completely unscented for those who require unscented laundry detergents.

And I have some cool news - I cut mini "stain sticks" from several of the bars of the cucumber melon laundry soap... and as soon as they are cured out, I will be sending these as free samples in my Etsy orders :-)

Here's a couple of pics of the soap slices... the color isn't showing up very well in the pics - it's actually a very pretty light teal green:

Update on Laundry Soap

I'm glad I peeked at the laundry soap that I had in the mold.... the gel phase was completed and the soap loaf had cooled down. AND it was hardening up very well.... so I got it out of the mold ASAP and cut my slices LOL So now it's curing up. I'm got to remember now that I shouldn't wait a full 24 hours on these laundry soaps because they do gel quite quickly and the bars start to get hard quickly as well.  Here's some pics of the peppermint laundry soap (notice the center "gel" ring):

The 2nd batch of the laundry soap I made, I colored it with a green teal color mica. So it looks very pretty. I added 0.5 oz of Cucumber Melon and the soap did find. But when I added the 2nd 0.5 oz, the soap started seizing on me. I quickly got it into the soap load mold and covered with plastic wrap. It's already curing right now! The entire center is a hot gel... So, I'm think that sometime tomorrow morning, I will need to check on it and as soon as it has cooled down, I will need to immediately get the soap log out of the mold and sliced. I can't wait to see how the fragrance turns out.

Laundry Soap

Just to let you know what I'm soaping today.... Laundry Soap!

Yes, laundry soap - this is the soap that I personally use to make my homemade laundry detergent. Laundry soap is made from 100% lard and lye... that's it!

There are two different ways to scent your homemade laundry detergent - the first way is to start with scented "laundry soap". So, for this batch (in keeping everything natural) I scented this loaf with peppermint essential oil. This is the first batch that I've made scented with peppermint EO. So, I'm a bit anxious to see how the homemade laundry detergent that I make with it turns out :-)

The 2nd way to scent your homemade laundry detergent is to start out with unscented, plain laundry soap and add essential oil to your completed batch of laundry detergent. I don't prefer this method because it seems to take so much more essential oil than the first method.

Laundry detergent is easy to make from laundry soap, borax and washing soda. And it's a natural product that isn't filled with lots of chemical names that you can't pronounce. I've read that it's safer on septic systems and also better for the environment. An added benefit is that it is low sudsing and great for the new high efficiency washing machines!

I just checked on the laundry soap loaf and it's beginning to heat up and gel. I also poured several small sample sizes that I will be giving away as freebies in my Etsy orders about a month from now (after the soap has had time to cure out). I will also include the appropriate amount of borax and washing soda with the soap samples so that customers can make their own homemade laundry detergent and give it a try in their washing machines.

My plans for the future include offering an unscented, an essential oil scented (like the peppermint or maybe another EO) and a fragrance oil scented laundry soap. I will keep everyone updated on when these will be available in our Etsy soap store.

Tonight I have several soaps to make - first, the Christmas Sugar Cookies. I can't wait to make this soap. It's in the fragrance dup of Yankee Candles "Christmas Sugar Cookies". I LOVE LOVE LOVE that smell!

The next one that I am planning on soaping tonight is the "Iced Cranberry Citrus". I'll be doing the "mantra" swirl which I love doing. I just love how the swirls turn out. Plus, it's a fun swirl to do.

The last one (that I hope I have time to soap) is going to be our Lush "Karma" dup - which I'm calling "Love & Peace". This scent so reminds me of the 60's! I can barely remember the 60's with the "love & peace and not war" thing going on. I can remember the vivid, bright colors, the peace sign... So, I'm going to incorporate hearts and flowers into this soap loaf! I really think it's going to be a fun soap to make and I can't wait to share it with you!