Local Yocal Ingredients - Special Soaps Using Special Ingredients

Using local ingredients adds a holistic approach when making handmade soap.  Not only does it feel great to use your own soap in the shower when you're supporting your local businesses or using ingredients from your own garden.  When someone purchases your soap with local ingredients, it adds an element that many who seek the pure, the handmade, love to see special ingredients added to a soap.  Why?  Perhaps it stops a piece of their vacation in time, like if you added sand to your soap and sold it where people typically come to escape the ice storms up north.  Then when they take it back home and use it, it brings them back to the town they loved so much and brings them a sense of relaxation.  I know when I visit an area that is new for me, I love to see local artisan's work, especially when they incorporate their immediate environment's elements.

We had a challenge called LocalYocals and it challenged all the soap makers to incorporate a local ingredients into their soap.  I thought it would keep people thinking about ingredients and how simple one local ingredient could transform a regular soap into a gem.

We had some great entries with unique ingredients!  Here are some to give you an idea of what YOU can do to spark it  up.


Curtis Hayden used multiple ingredients from his area in Charleston, South Carolina:

Basic Beach by Curtis Hayden

"This soap features a cold pressed juice from my local juice shop Huriyali which gets the majority of its produce from local farms. The juice is their "Aloe-Ha" juice consisting of raw unpasteurized coconut water, raw local honey, and much more! I don't see how I could get more local than that! But then I figured out a way to get even more local, I used sand from one of the local beaches I go to all the time on the bottom of the soap!! Scented with 3 different scents and made with a lot of love! The juice shop is actually featuring this soap in their store and the pictures I am featuring of the soap were taken at their store!"

Bhakti Iyata lives in Phoenix, Arizona and used her local ingredients:

Desert Flower Soap by Bhakti Iyata 

"Desert Flower Soap, made with Prickly Pear Cactus Extract (Prickly Pear Products, LLC Mesa, Arizona) and scented with Cactus Flower FO. Hand molded flowering cactus and little hummingbirds on top."

Leanne Timm-Chevallier lives in Southwest France and used THREE local ingredients!

Soap by Leanne Timm-Chevallier

 "Love this challenge ! For the Local Ingredient challenge, I used local organic french green lentils from a farmer down the road here in SW France.... I also used local Duck Fat.  Makes a nice scrubby soap. Colour is Chlorophyll powder."

There were so many good entries......great soaps, but I can only choose a few to feature.  Thank you everyone, for trying out new ingredients!  It always feels like you all take these challenges to heart and that makes me happy.  :D

We will be taking a break from Challenges until well after the holidays, but I'll be back with some beautiful pictures as I spot them.  So keep it real and send me pictures anytime!  Maybe YOU will be featured in my Soap Porn!  Send pics of YOUR soaps to me at joannaschmidt@live.com.  Leave your name, email, where you live and if you'd like to share, ingredients you used.   Have a great Thanksgiving holiday and stay clean!

xox Joanna

Natural Magic

Natural Magic Soap is a one person operation in my state, sunny Florida!  I tried to find out her name, but I can't find it on her website.  She has a family with three children, she is a co-founder of Craft Revolution, an online magazine with a mission to restore an awareness and appreciation of crafts, and she is an editor of The Saponifier Magazine!  Very impressive.

When I find soaps that look this beautiful, I have to share.  The smells are coming through my flat screen, especially the Pina Colada soap....wish it was in my hand, as I need to go shower in a minute.  Here are some soaps she makes in Fort Pierce, just a hop skip and a jump from me.

Pina Colada

"The latest in our tropical soap line, this delicious blend of pineapple and coconut is sure to be a hit in your house! Artifical color and fragrance are combined with our all-veggie base to achieve the perfect blend of natural soap and oh-so-tasty scent!"

Mountain Spring

"...warm and spicy mixture is a blend of lemon, eucalyptus, rosemary, jasmine, patchouli, clove and powdery musk. The scent is a favorite with both men and women."

Spa Bar 

"...all natural spa bar features Green Tea and Feverfew infused into the base. It is then combined with Organic Sea Salts, scented with Ginger Essential Oil, Bergamot Essential Oil and Lime Essential Oil."

 

Tequila Sunrise

"Tropical delights await you... The fun layers of color are a perfect match for the scent, a warm citrus base and floral top notes."

Perhaps she gives soap making classes...  ;-)

Raven Moon - Coconut Whipped Soap

I received a bar of coconut whipped soap from Nikki of Raven Moon Soap.  I have a thing about coconut.  I think it is one of the finest smells on the planet.  My all time favorite scent, but as a body products maker (is that what I am?) I have tried coconut fragrance oil from umpteen suppliers and haven't found a coconut scent that actually smells like coconut. The bar didn't really smell like true coconut but lightly sweet and soothing, nonetheless.

So the other day, I get in the shower and open her soap from the plastic shrink wrap.  The color was a soothing light brown with a pinkish brown top, lightly scented and clearly whipped. With whipped soaps, there is a "fluffier" look to the bar which I find to be so appealing to look at.  I am a very visual person, so looks matter when it comes to soap, but it is only one part of the whole experience obviously.  Then there is slip, suds, shaving abilities and scent....the 4 S's.

I took the whipped soap under the water and there was instant lather, big and full bodied. Ooooooh.  It felt great, the slip action was perfect so I slid it down my legs in hopes that this could be a good soap for my legs.  If you don't already know about my leg issues, I'll share.  My legs are so so sensitive and shaving or choosing not to shave (having stubble) has a tendency to irritate my entire lower legs so badly, I start scratching out of control, then my legs welt and then finally, I look as though I am a 9 year old who climbs trees all day.  It's just not a pretty sight.

I hate shaving cream smells, so I use soap to shave, always.  Otherwise, I would be hairy like a beast and my husband would be bummed out.  

So back to the soap.  I went to use it for shaving my lower legs and right away I knew there would be plenty of lather to make the shaving experience a nice one, but then there is the after shave dryness/irritation that can often occur after a soap shave.  Not this one.  This whipped soap performed so well I think this will be my staple shave soap.  It was moisturizing enough that when I completely dried off and got dressed, but legs didn't feel tight and dried up.  I suggest to anyone who has lower legs shaving issues, like myself, should definitely pick up a bar of this for shaving.

This was a great all around good soap, for the body, face and shaving.  Bravo Nikki!

Nikki also makes cupcake and cake soaps for the holidays.  Don't they look good enough to eat??

Naked Lady

My first soaps came in the mail!! Fuzzy Navel and Olive Oil Oats & Honey came today. What gorgeous boxes, don't you think?

Naked Lady Natural Soap is owned by a mother daughter duo right here in Tequesta. They are such lovely people. Frances Vaughn started the soap business as a home schooling project with her daughter, Hayley, and it took off from there. Now Hayley is away getting her Masters in Business while her mom holds down the fort and continues the soap making in her home. Speaking with Fran was so nice, hearing her soap stories along with the hardships of being a business owner (I can relate to that!). Her first batch of soap ever was made with beef tallow - wow. She quickly realized people did not want to rub beef on their skin while getting clean, especially the people who were looking for a more vegan approach.

I will jump in the shower now and give a report on the Fuzzy Navel!
10 minutes later....... I am still dripping, but I had to share because I am so excited about it. The Fuzzy Navel smelled delightful, but not quite as strong as I imagined it would be. I found myself holding the bar to my nose and smelling very deeply. Yum. There was copious foaming action, lovely scent and I used it for shaving my legs, which did very well. Most soaps I use don't have the "slip" I need and leave me feeling dried out after shaving. Fuzzy Navel was perfect for my legs and my whole body feels clean and refreshed. The shower experience was truly a delight!

Naked Lady also makes a soap called Sea Sprite where she uses dead sea salt and dead sea mud. I have to try that one for a complexion facial soap. Also, the Havana bar with tobacco, black pepper and vanilla. Sounds unusual and tempting.

For info on the Naked Lady go to her website at www.nakedladysoap.com or visit her online shop . If you all try any of these, I'd love to hear your feedback!

More on the Olive Oil Oats & Honey Soap wwhen I get a chance to try it.