This helpful reference chart covers 45 soapmaking oils and their characteristics, including hardness, conditioning, bubbly, cleansing, and longevity properties. It will be helpful to use as a guide when you want to swap out oils in a natural soap recipe! Before we get into the chart, let’s cover what each column means, as it relates…
Learn how to make helpful herbal salves using fresh basil from your garden! While basil (Ocimum basilicum), also called sweet basil, or garden basil, is more commonly used for food purposes, it also contains healthful components used for digestion and respiratory issues. Basil is also loaded with anti-inflammatory properties, making it useful for topical skin…
Have fresh corn? Don’t throw away that corn silk! Corn Silk can be used to help alleviate symptoms that go along with: bedwetting, cystitis, prostatitis, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, gout and hyperglycemia. It’s also a natural source of vitamin K and potassium. Few things in life are more delightful than discovering the goodness in…
Learn how & why to add diatomaceous earth to soap. Directions for adding DE to both cold process and melt & pour are included! Diatomaceous earth, also called DE, is a natural fine silica-rich powder that’s formed from the fossilized remains of algae. Food grade diatomaceous earth is used both internally and externally for natural…
Learn how to make small test batches of soap to try out new colorants, additives, and essential oil blends. I will cover how to make test batches of soap for both cold process soap (CP) and melt and pour base (MP) in this article! 😊 I frequently get questions about adding various things to soap…
From sore throat gargle to wound spray, here are 14 useful things to make with calendula tea! Calendula is loaded with powerful skin-healing, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, yet is gentle enough for most people and animals to use safely. You can make all sorts of things with calendula, including soap, salve, lotion bars and lip…
Calendula salve is an all-purpose, gentle skin remedy that’s suitable for diaper rash, scrapes, scratches, razor burn, dry skin, insect bites, and more! This week on my site, I’ve been sharing ways that you can use calendula. What I really love about this sunny flower is that it’s: extremely easy to grow from seed is…
These recipes for skin soothing calendula bath melts and rich calendula body butter are perfect for dry skin in need of some TLC! Their overlapping ingredient lists means you can also easily make them as a set, if you’d like. Calendula Bath Melts First up, are the bath melts and they are super easy to…
Looking for a pretty soap mold for your next melt and pour project? This list of over 15 soap molds should help! (Many of these will work for cold process soap too!) When my print book, Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps, came out, I received a bunch of questions about where to find the…
Learn to make elderberry lip balm by infusing dried elderberries, along with alkanet root for a soft color. Peppermint essential oil adds all natural flavor! I’ve also included a page of printable labels that will fit standard lip balm tubes. I’m not a fan of lipstick. (It tastes weird to me, and the ingredient list…
Are you new to making melt and pour soap with natural ingredients? These quick tips for beginners will get you started in the right direction! Tip #1 Spritz the inside of an intricate mold with rubbing alcohol right before filling with soap base. The alcohol will help the soap base settle into all of the…
Learn how to make homemade elderberry syrup using fresh (or dried) elderberries and honey. (Updated for 2021, since I’ve reduced water amounts and cooking time since my original recipe in 2015.) 😊 Over the past few weeks, we’ve been harvesting from our elder bushes, making lots of goodies, including tincture, oxymel, and salve. Check out my article…
Turn sunny yellow flowers such as calendula, sunflowers, chamomile, and/or dandelions into skin soothing sunshine lotion bars! These sunny lotion bars are infused with a combination of sunflower, calendula, dandelion, and chamomile flowers and the tiniest pinch of turmeric. They’re perfect for rubbing over dry hands, feet, knees, elbows, or other dry spots. The recipe…
This homemade cold process natural shave soap recipe features castor oil and rich butters to make a bubbly, creamy, moisturizing bar! While I have recipes for making dual lye shave soap on my site, some have asked for a simpler shave soap recipe that uses just one type of lye, so I was excited to…
Infuse Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa) flowers and leaves in oil, then combine with shea butter, to make a super-healing hand butter for dry, chapped, or achy hands. Smooth this rich butter over dry, sore hands at night and wake up to softer skin! Featured Ingredients Shea (or Mango) Butter – protects and smooths chapped or…
For this recipe, I gathered bee balm flowers and leaves, dried them, then made an oil infusion and a tea. I also had some additional bee balm infused honey on hand (it’s a good herbal remedy for sore throats), so added that to the mix as well. Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa), also called wild bergamot, is…
Learn how to make old-fashioned-style pine tar soap with melt and pour soap base; no handling of lye required! Old-fashioned pine tar soap (and pine tar salve) is often used by those with difficult to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and other dry, itchy, flaky skin conditions. While I have a recipe for…
Covered in itchy insect bites? This article is filled with all natural remedies and things to make for bug bite relief! It’s summer time which means lots of outdoor fun in the sun, but also – pesky bug bites! I’ve tried all sorts of natural ways to get bug bites to stop itching over the…
This cold process herbal soap recipe features an infusion of yarrow – an herb that’s excellent at calming irritated and itchy skin. It’s naturally colored with French green clay, palm free, and vegan! When yarrow flowers are at their peak, and there’s plenty for me and the pollinators to share, I like to gather some…
This melt and pour soap is 100% naturally colored with sunflower petals! Sunflowers are often added to body care products for their skin-conditioning properties, but they also add a gorgeous natural yellow color that will last for many months. If you’re new to infusing melt and pour soap with fresh herbs and flowers, this is…