The difference between body and facial soaps

At Seven Cactus, we understand that human skin is created in such a special way, there are many kinds to cater to. From oily to dry, normal or sensitive, we try to realize this situation and created soaps according to that.

Generally, all soaps offered at Seven Cactus are safe to use from head to toe. Blessed are you, if you were born with normal skin that can take almost anything. On the opposite end, there are some (like me), who are blessed with a sensitive skin that is prone to breakout. It is because of this exact reason that we chose to create body and facial soaps.

So, what makes both of them different?

The answer lies with the ingredients (especially the oils) used to make the soap. Some oils (like coconut, cocoa butter, wheatgerm and soybean) are classified as high comedogenic (will clog pores), therefore we chose not to incorporate those oils into our facial soaps. Bear in mind, that coconut oil is one of the main oils for soap making, and it is present in almost every formulation.

We take these little things seriously. Making soap for us is as easy as counting 1, 2, 3, but we don't wan't to just make soap. We try to take it one step further by understanding our ingredients and match them to a particular skin type. In other words, we try to make soap that has meanings...

.... A soap with a purpose.

Understanding the word "organic" and "natural"

Several customers have asked me whether my soaps are organic. I flatly told them: NO. Yes, there are a few ingredients I am using that are organic (organic hemp oil, organic goatmilk, organic red rice), but they are not in every formulation. An example is one of my shampoo bars which used organic hemp oil. It is only the hemp oil that is organic, and that is it. Due to that, I don't feel it is right to state that that particular shampoo bar is an organic one, because only one ingredient is organic. 

I admit, I don't know much about the rules surrounding the term organic and so on. I'm just using my common sense. If my main ingredients are not organic, then I won't call my product organic. Simple as that. 

Then there is the word "natural". Natural is an unregulated term in its own, and at the end, it all comes back to one's perception about what the word means to them. I believe handmade soaps are properly labeled natural if compared to commercial soaps. The absence of detergents and sulfates in handmade soaps is an argument that one can use to support it. Another case is the use of synthetic colorants and fragrance oils in handmade soaps versus those that use only essential oils and natural colorants. This is another angle to argue what natural means. Again, as I am a simple person, I prefer to use common sense. As the percentage of synthetic ingredients is a small one, I chose to argue that those kinds of soaps are semi natural.

Again, there is no right and wrong in this. No laws broken no nothing. It all comes back to one man's (or woman in this case) perception.

Rebatch Instructions

This post is made to assist those who wanted to rebatch their soap (and those who have purchased a rebatch base from Seven Cactus).

Here we go...

Instructions:

1. Grate your soap using a cheese grater. You can also cut it into thin slices, but grating is better. The smaller, the easier it will be to melt. Note: if you buy a rebatch base from us, you can skip this step as the soap comes to you already in grated form.
2. Melt it using a crock pot or double boiler (bain marie). Use low setting/low heat. You can also use an oven (use the lowest temperature setting). Please make sure you have an oven proof container.
3. Add a bit of liquid (water, milk, goat milk) to help melt the soap and make the batter more pliable. For a 500 gram batch, add 3 table spoon-1/2 cup of liquid.
4. Stir every 15 minutes or so. When the soap have the consistency of a porridge, you are ready for the next step. If you still see soap gratings, cook it for a bit more, stirring in intervals to make sure the batter is smooth all around. Add more liquid if needed.
5. Turn off the heat. Now you are ready to add colors/essential oils/fragrance/herbs/extracts. Again, stir well.
6. Put it in a mold of your choice. It is best to use a loaf mold. Don't forget to line your mold with freezer paper. If you are using a loaf mold made from silicone, you don't have to use a liner. Please refrain from using small molds with lots of details. If you must, please make sure to spray the mold first with a non-stick cooking spray. This will help with unmolding.
7. The batter won't be as smooth as cold processed soap made from scratch. You will have to glop/spoon the soap into the mold. After each glop, tap the mold to the floor to make sure there are no air bubbles.
8. Wait 1-3 days before unmolding (more if you are using small, individual molds that has details). You want to make sure all the water has evaporated and the soap is hard enough. Put the soap in the freezer for a few hours prior to unmolding.
9. Let it cure for 7-14 days
10. That's it, your soap is ready to use

Instruksi:

1. Parut sabun anda menggunakan parutan keju atau iris setipis/sekecil mungkin. Apabila anda menggunakan rebatch base dari kami, anda dapat melewati langkah ini karena sabun anda sudah dalam keadaan diparut.
2. Lelehkan sabun anda menggunakan crock pot/slow cooker atau double boiler (bain marie). Gunakan setting temperatur terendah. Apabila menggunakan oven, gunakan panas yg paling rendah. Pastikan wadah yg anda gunakan tahan panas/oven proof.
3. Berikan sedikit cairan (air, susu, dll) untuk membantu proses pelelehan. Untuk 500 gr sabun, anda dapat memberikan 3 sendok makan - 1/2 cup cairan tambahan.
4. Aduk setiap 15 menit. Apabila sabun sudah dalam keadaan menyerupai bubur, matikan api/crock pot/oven. Apabila anda masih melihat ada sabun yg belum hancur, masaklah lebih lama lagi sambil tidak lupa diaduk setiap beberapa saat. Tambahkan cairan apabila dirasa perlu.
5. Matikan api. Sekarang anda dapat menambahkan pewarna/pewangi/essential oils/rempah/ekstrak/dll. Aduk rata.
6. Masukkan ke dalam cetakan pilihan anda. Disarankan agar tidak menggunakan cetakan yg mempunyai tingkat detil yg tinggi.
7. Konsistensi sabun rebatch tidak akan sehalus seperti sabun cold process maupun melt and pour. Masukkan sabun anda kedalam cetakan menggunakan spatula/sendok, sambil tidak lupa mengguncangkan cetakan anda ke lantai untuk mencegah gelembung udara.
8. Tunggu 1-3 hari (lebih apabila anda menggunakan cetakan individual dengan tingkat detil yg tinggi). Masukkan sabun yg masih terletak di dalam cetakan ke dalam freezer selama beberapa jam sebelum dikeluarkan dari cetakan. Ini akan mempermudah anda mengeluarkan sabun dari cetakan.
9. Diamkan (curing) selama 7-14 hari untuk memastikan seluruh kandungan air telah menguap dengan baik dan sabun telah keras.
10. Selesai, sabun anda siap digunakan.

Today's New Soaps: Goatmilk Jasmine & Aloe Poppy

A few days back I already made a batch of goatmilk jasmine. The poor thing got overheated quite badly, gaping zombie teeth in some of the bars (pretty scary looking!). Stupid me forgot that I was using more water than usual, a floral FO, and TD = overheating tea party.

Oh, and did I mention glycerin rivers too?

I was so disappointed and decided that I gotta make another batch ASAP! This time I'm being extra careful, placing the mold in the freezer first, and next to a fan after pouring. Crossing fingers everything is peaceful and cool inside.

Freshly poured: Goatmilk Jasmine

Next is a remake of aloe-poppy, with a slight change in the formulation by the addition of soymilk. I also decided to use a natural colorant this time: spirulina. I was using quite a lot (4 capsules), because from what I've read around, spirulina can fade after a while, especially if the soap is being exposed to sunlight. So far it has the most beautiful greenish hue which I really really like.

Still on the topic of spirulina, I decided to add the powder directly to the soap right after the lye mixture was in. An oil infusion doesn't make a strong green, plus I was lazy to wait 2 hours for the hot infusion to be done.

Freshly poured: Aloe Poppy with Soymilk

The design itself is pretty basic, nothing fancy at all. It's dedicated to scrubby soap lovers out there (me included!). I am so going to steal a bar from this batch, as I love milk and aloe vera in soaps. 

Taking Product Photos

One does not need a fancy SLR to take decent pictures of soaps. Well, if you have one that is a major advantage, but one must work with what one has, right?

I do have an SLR, but it's big and bulky and I just can't be bothered taking it out of the closet every time I want to take pictures of my soaps, which is like, almost every day. My faithful weapon of choice so far is my iPhone 5, it has a pretty decent camera and all you need is few pieces of white paper and a good lighting. Natural light is good, I usually take my pictures outside in the afternoon, where the sun is not so bright anymore. I also like a wooden colored background, because certain colors don't do very well in an all white setting. The wood makes a real nice contrast.

With a few simple edits here and there, mainly for contrast and brightness, the pictures came pretty decent.

Outside, natural light, afternoon

Inside, artificial light, evening

Outside, natural light, afternoon

You can also do a black background and play with some stuff like rose buds to make it more interesting

Inside, artificial light, evening

As you can see, the options are actually endless. Creativity has no limits. Look around you, things like a simple wooden spoon filled with lavender buds can make a big difference at the end when taking pictures of your lavender soap.

The examples above are only very simple pictures, requiring almost no effort to set up. Like I said before, creativity has no limits, the key to good product pictures does not lie with expensive equipment.