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New Soapmaking Book + A Triple Butter Silk & Agave Soap Recipe

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July 17, 2017 By Rebecca D. Dillon

I’m super excited to be able to share not only a new soapmaking book with you but a new soap recipe as well! This triple butter silk & agave soap recipe is from Jan Berry’s new soapmaking book, Simple & Natural Soapmaking! As the author behind both The Nerdy Farm Wife blog and her previous book, 101 Easy Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home, Jan Berry brings her expertise as an herbalist to you in a new soapmaking book that offers a modern twist on creating truly natural, eco-friendly soaps.

A Must Have New Soapmaking Book

Simple & Natural Soapmaking is a comprehensive guide to creating your own natural homemade soaps using foraged botanicals, essential oils and other common ingredients. Beginning soapmakers will discover detailed soapmaking tutorials, soapmaking recipes and step-by-step photos to help guide them through the process of modern soapmaking. There are fifty unique soap recipes in total, all of which are inspired by her very own herb and vegetable gardens as well as the farm, forest and sea.

This beautiful soapmaking book covers both traditional cold process soapmaking as well the more modern hot process soapmaking method. In addition to these recipes, Jan’s new soapmaking book also features guides on the properties of various essential oils, oil and milk infusions with healing herbs and easy decoration techniques.

While suitable for beginners, Jan’s new soapmaking book is also a great resource for seasoned soapmakers as well. The beautiful photos, appealing soap recipes and in-depth tutorials make this new soapmaking book a treasure for any soaping library.

Right now, if you pre-order Simple & Natural Soapmaking, you’ll receive complimentary access to Jan’s 6 Weeks of Soapmaking Success eCourse! (Normally $47, yours free!) This soapmaking course dives deeper into six areas of soapmaking that are often challenging or intimidating to soapmakers. Each lesson will equip you with the information you need to experience further success in your soapmaking endeavors as well as provide inspiring soapmaking videos to demonstrate that lesson’s theme.

You can pre-order Simple & Natural Soapmaking here. Once you’ve ordered your new soapmaking book, you can obtain access to the soapmaking success ecourse here. Lesson 1, Success with Fruits & Veggies, and Lesson 2, Success with Flowers & Herbs, are available now with a new course releasing each subsequent week on the following schedule:

• July 20: Success with Alternative Liquids
• July 27: Success with Natural Colorants
• Aug 3: Success with Simple Soap Designs
• Aug 10: Success with Soap Label Design

Ready to give Jan’s triple butter silk & agave soap recipe a try? You’ll find her creamy conditioning homemade soap recipe below.

Triple Butter Silk & Agave Soap Recipe

By Jan Berry

Yield: 7 to 8 Bars of Soap (2.5 LBS/1.13 KG)

This sumptuous soap recipe is brimming with ingredients that your skin will adore. A trio of creamy conditioning butters ensures that your skin is well nourished, while silk adds an unparalleled touch of luxury. The natural sugars from agave syrup provides a small boost to lather, but if it̕s not available, honey can be used in its place.

Ingredients:

8.75 oz (248 g) distilled water
3.85 oz (109 g) sodium hydroxide (lye)
Small pinch of Tussah silk

7 oz (198 g) coconut oil (25%)
3 oz (85 g) cocoa butter (10.7%)
3 oz (85 g) mango butter (10.7%)
3 oz (85 g) shea butter (10.7%)
12 oz (340 g) olive oil (42.9%)

1 tsp (5 ml) agave syrup mixed with 1 tsp (5 ml) water
1.23 oz (35 g) lavender essential oil (optional)

Instructions:

Wearing protective gloves and eyewear, carefully stir the lye into the distilled water. Add a small pinch of silk, then stir thoroughly. Set the lye solution aside in a safe place to cool.

Melt the coconut oil and solid butters, then add to the olive oil. Add the lye solution to the warm oils. Using a combination of hand stirring and an immersion blender, stir the soap until it reaches a light trace.

Stir in the essential oil, if using, and diluted agave syrup. Pour the soap batter into a prepared mold or individual molds. Cover lightly with a sheet of wax or freezer paper, then a towel or light blanket. Peek at the soap every so often; if it starts developing a crack, uncover and move it to a cooler location.

Keep the soap in the mold for 1 to 2 days, or until it̕s easy to remove, then slice it into bars when it̕s firm enough not to stick to your cutting tool. Cure on coated cooling racks or sheets of wax paper about 4 weeks before using.

If you’d like more detailed information on making cold process soap from scratch, you can find my tutorial for cold process soapmaking here. You may also be interested in my own cold process green tea & agave soap recipe available here.

To discover more soapmaking resources as well as additional homemade soap recipes, be sure to follow my Simply Soapmaking Pinterest board. You can also find more great bath, body and beauty recipes as well as a collection of food recipes and DIY projects on my Pinterest boards here.

Don’t want to miss any of my new recipe posts? Be sure to also follow me on G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram. Or sign up to receive new posts directly to your email via FeedBurner.

Filed Under: Books & Reading, Soapmaking Tagged With: cold process soap recipe, cold process soapmaking, crafts, diy, natural soap, soap tutorial, soapmaking, soapmaking books

The Spa Deck – Rediscovering a Treasure of Spa Recipes

March 29, 2017 By Rebecca D. Dillon

The Spa Deck

I moved at the beginning of the year. However, I still had a lease on my old apartment until the end of February so not everything made it’s way over until recently. (We saved the furniture for last.) Anyhow, I rediscovered this deck of spa recipe cards with 50 spa recipes during the move.

The Spa Deck by by Barbara Close (Author) and Susie Cushner (Photographer) is a treasure filled collection of both simple and all natural spa recipes that you can make at home. It’s no longer in print, however, it is still possible to find used decks online and in bookstores.

Homemade Spa Recipes

Some of my favorite spa recipes that stood out while shuffling back through the cards included this super useful recipe for making a lavender & tea tree blemish remover. This simple oil acne treatment uses a blend of antibacterial essential oils proven to help fight acne including tea tree, lemon, lavender and rosemary essential oils.

Another favorite, especially for those with dry and/or aging skin, is this recipe for a neroli complexion serum. Neroli essential oil is commonly used to increase circulation and stimulates new cell growth and is suitable for all skin types.

Especially beneficial for dry, irritated or sensitive skin, neroli essential oil regulates oiliness and minimizes enlarged pores. It can also help to clear up acne especially in dry skin. While pricy, a little bit of this amazing essential oil goes a long way!

And let’s not forget those cuticles! My cuticles are the worst! And because I have a bad habit of biting my nails when I’m especially stressed, my cuticles tend to rip and tear. This calendula cuticle oil recipe is made with calendula essential oil, but you can also purchase certified organic calendula oil that’s made from infusing organically grown calendula flowers in organic cold pressed olive oil.

The Spa Deck contains 50 spa recipes in all with everything from face masks to papaya body butter. So if you can get your hands on a used deck, I highly recommend it!

Alternatively, you may also love the book, Hello Glow, by Stephanie Gerber (author of Hello Glow blog.) This recently released book contains over 150 recipes for creating your own fresh, organic, and effective spa, skin care, hair-maintenance, and cosmetics recipes at home.

This book includes recipes for fun skincare products like warming chai body oil, solid shimmering perfume, creamy marsala lip gloss and an anti-aging mocha mud mask. You can buy Hello Glow online here.

For more great homemade spa recipes and recommended beauty recipe books, be sure to follow my boards on Pinterest. You can also find and follow me on G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram for behind the scene sneak peeks. Or sign up to receive new posts to your email via FeedBurner so you never miss a post.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Books & Reading, Shopping Tagged With: beauty book, beauty recipes, books, diy, natural, organic, shopping, skin care, spa recipes

New Beauty and Skin Care Books

July 9, 2016 By Rebecca D. Dillon

New Beauty and Skin Care Books

Right now you can pre-order, Make It Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care, by Marie Rayma – creator of Humblebee & Me blog! Marie, of Calgary, Canada, shares a wonderful collection of beauty and skin care recipes for cosmetics, soaps, lotions, and lip balms weekly on her blog – of which I’m a long time fan – here. Her goal, with both her blog and her new book, is to allow us to ditch store bought beauty and skin care products and swap them for quality, homemade natural beauty alternatives. Marie posts new recipes to her blog, Humblebee & Me, twice a week and is super excited about the upcoming release of her first book, Make It Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care.

Make It Up walks you through the natural ingredients available in most kitchens, online, or at local food stores and explains how natural oils, butters, clays, and minerals can easily replace petroleum products, artificial colors, and lab-created mystery fragrances. It follows with starter makeup recipes for things like lip balm, lotions, and face masks, then moves into beauty recipes for foundations, lipsticks, eyeliners, blush, bronzers, and more. Detailed information on each ingredient used can be in Make It Up so you understand the strengths and benefits of each ingredient used. In addition, products can be tailored for you individual skin care needs—from swapping out ingredients not suitable for sensitive skin to whipping up the perfect colors suited to any complexion.

With easy-to-follow instructions, Make It Up includes recipes for more than 40 essential beauty and skin care recipes that will replace just about everything you put on your face and body with handmade, high-performance, healthy alternatives. Learn more about this book or pre-order it now here.

Another beauty and skin care book you may be interested in is Handmade Beauty: Natural Recipes for your Face, Body and Hair by authors Juliette Goggin and Abi Righton. This beauty book is a guide filled with skin care and hair care recipes you can make at home with a few basic materials and kitchen equipment.

Handmade Beauty begins by exploring the different ingredients, equipment and methods you need to make your own handmade cosmetics including basic principles, such as making infusions, as well as storage and safety. This is followed by 37 skin care recipes for the face, body and hair, plus suggestions for adaptations. These beauty and skin care recipes cater to all skin and hair types, and include recipes for face and body scrubs, cleansers, toners, moisturizers, hand creams, lip balms, body butters, bath bombs, foot sprays, shampoos and hair treatments.

In addition you’ll also find step-by-step illustrations and clear instructions throughout Handmade Beauty to ensure that all of the hair and skin care recipes are easy to follow. There are also ideas on how to package and present your completed handmade beauty products. Learn more about Handmade Beauty or buy it now here.

Other books by popular bloggers that you may like include 101 Easy Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home: A Nerdy Farm Wife’s All-Natural DIY Projects Using Commonly Found Herbs, Flowers & Other Plants (by the author of A Nerdy Farm Wife blog) and The Natural Beauty Solution: Break Free from Commercial Beauty Products Using Simple Recipes and Natural Ingredients (by the author of The Natural Beauty Workshop blog.)

For more great books to keep your creative side happy this summer, check out my collection of must read books for summer on my Tumblr blog here.

For a huge collection of natural beauty and skin care recipes be sure to follow my Bath + Beauty board on Pinterest here. You can also find and follow me on Blog Lovin’, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, G+ and Instagram.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Books & Reading Tagged With: beauty, beauty book, book, cosmetics, makeup, natural alternative, skin care

Homemade Beauty Recipe Books

May 17, 2016 By Rebecca D. Dillon

Love crafting your own natural homemade beauty recipes? Then you’ll definitely want to give the book, Homemade Beauty, a look! This book is a beautifully packaged collection of 150 all-natural skin, hair and body care recipes. From turning blueberries into a lush detoxifying mask to fresh lemongrass into a non-toxic bug repellent, Homemade Beauty takes the ubiquitous eat-local, farm-to-table concept and brings it to the beauty category. Learn more about this homemade beauty recipe book here. Have to own it now? You can purchase the kindle version of this book and save! (If you don’t have a kindle you can simply download the free kindle app for most devices here.)

If you like the aforementioned homemade beauty recipe book, you may also enjoy the beauty recipe book, The Natural Beauty Solution. The Natural Beauty Solution by Mary Helen Leonard is a step-by-step guide to replacing commercial beauty products with a 100% natural routine. It features two-dozen easy-to-follow, customizable homemade beauty recipes for natural skin care that are not only provide a healthy alternative to mass-produced products, but will also make your skin and hair look their best.

Common skin disorders, such as eczema, psoriasis,and acne are often aggravated by the chemical ingredients contained within commercial cosmetics while chemical-based hair care can cause frizz, breakage, and scalp irritation. And in many cases over the counter “cures” can worsen common skin and hair care issues. This book teaches you how to overhaul your medicine cabinet and create simple natural recipes that are both quick and affordable, as well as troubleshoot natural beauty methods to fit your specific skin and hair type. Learn more about The Natural Beauty Solution here.

To explore even more homemade beauty recipes be sure to follow my DIY Bath and Body board on Pinterest here. You may also be interested in my collection of soapmaking books and tutorials here. Or simply follow me on Blog Lovin’, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, G+ or Instagram to keep up with all of my new blog posts and homemade beauty recipe ideas.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Books & Reading Tagged With: beauty, beauty book, beauty recipe, books, kindle, natural alternative, skin care

Soapmaking Books and Tutorials

April 10, 2016 By Rebecca D. Dillon

Research, research, research is the best first step to getting started in soapmaking. But that research doesn’t have to expensive. In addition to online soapmaking tutorials, a collection of good soapmaking books can go a long way to providing more in depth information on the chemistry of soapmaking that will assist you moving forward to both more complex recipes as well as getting started creating your own custom homemade soap recipes.

Soapmaking Books

One of many helpful soapmaking books to get you started in modern soapmaking that won’t break your budget is Smart Soapmaking by Anne L. Watson. The kindle version of this soapmaking book is just $2.99! Not only does it contain a plethora of useful information on making cold process soap, it also contains both customary and metric measurements and a list of suppliers in FIVE countries, making it suitable for international soapmakers. In addition, after reading this book, Anne will personally answer questions you may have on soapmaking on her website.

Other great soapmaking resources include the 2016 release Pure Soapmaking: How to Create Nourishing, Natural Skin Care Soaps by Anne-Marie Faiola, The Everything Soapmaking Book by Alicia Grosso – You can read this book free if you sign up for an Amazon Kindle Unlimited Free 30-day trial – Soap Maker’s Workshop: The Art and Craft of Natural Homemade Soap by Robert S. McDaniel and Katherine J. McDaniel – this book comes with an instructional DVD, and the more traditional book, Milk Soapmaking also by Anne L. Watson, Ultimate Guide To Soap Making by Amanda McCarthy, The Soapmaker’s Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques & Know-How by Susan Miller Cavitch that includes a great troubleshooting section and a chart that lists the properties of the most commonly used oils.

Other books you may find of interest include The Modern-Day Pioneer: Simple Living in the 21st Century by Charlotte Denholtz – or read free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited –The Natural Beauty Solution: Break Free from Commercial Beauty Products Using Simple Recipes and Natural Ingredients by Mary Helen Leonard, Soap Queen Business Handbook by Anne-Marie Faiola for those interested in selling homemade soaps, Soap Queen Cold Process Soap and Soap Queen Lotions, Scrubs, Salts and More Projects by Anne-Marie Faiola – both also free to read with Amazon Kindle Unlimited – Beeswax Alchemy: How to Make Your Own Soap, Candles, Balms, Creams, and Salves from the Hive by Petra Ahnert and Honey Crafting: From Delicious Honey Butter to Healing Salves, Projects for Your Home Straight from the Hive by Leeann Coleman and Jayne Barnes.

As with most books, the kindle versions of these books, if available, are significantly cheaper in most cases than the paper version. If you don’t have a kindle you can read kindle eBooks using the free Kindle Reading App on most devices.

You may also want to read my online soapmaking tutorial on how to make cold process soap from scratch here which includes links to other helpful resources, tools and charts as well as my article on how to create your own custom cold process soap recipe using a lye calculator here. Or discover a plethora of homemade soap recipes on my Simply Soapmaking Pinterest board.

Filed Under: Books & Reading, Soapmaking Tagged With: books, cold process soapmaking, crafts, diy, soap tutorial, soapmaking, soapmaking books