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.

What to do with left over soaps?

The other day I was making some soaps and I had this left over batter that I poured into individual molds. They were pretty blah, just some plain old round and square soaps. Some of them were also the result of "FO gone nasty" that gave me instant trace I gotta squashed it into the molds.

Well, after some trimmings here and there, I decided to make some frosting... and....

At least now they are easier on the eyes, with some pretty rose embeds and some clever cutting... voila... individual soap cakes! Granted, they are not the most neat looking cake soaps, but if you see what they were look like before, LOL!

So, next time you got some left over batter, you can easily do the above and make yourself some soap cakes.

Raspberry Rose Soap Cake

I love making soap cakes and soap cupcakes, it is very fun and relaxing to do. I only make them for special orders, and when I get such order I am so very happy!

This time, a customer of mine requested a rose scented soap. Now, rose is not my favorite scent to soap with coz you know how florals are.. they give you a headache!

A lil tweak here and there, I then came up with raspberry rose, which is basically a blend of black raspberry vanilla, rose geranium, and fresh cut roses.

This soap is a combo of CP and MP. For the cake itself, I did a thin MP base that I put some oatmeal to replicate a real cake. Then a couple of layers of CP, CP frosting, and MP embeds. I am pretty happy coz the MP is safe so far, no sweating, no nothing.

Soaping with real fruits

A while ago, I finally took the plunge to soap with fruit purees. Avocado and mango were my choice for the day.

The first one here is mango and yogurt soap. Scented with fresh mango from BB, it is truly the ultimate mango soap!

The second one is avocado and green tea. Now I love everything matcha! Matcha kitkat, matcha brulee, matcha ice cream, matcha whatever. So, naturally, a matcha soap is not that surprising to make.
Last time I soaped using matcha powder, the batter turned brown on me I was heartbroken and devastated. It was one of my early batches, where I had no clue that the lye monster will eat just about anything and everything. This time I am ready with my concoction of french green clay + a dash of green oxide. You better stay green, you!

Avocado in soap is supposed to make it extra creamy and delicious!

Brother and sister together:

Ebru inspired soaps

If I haven't told you yet, I got bored real easily.. not long before I was obsessed with tiger stripes, all I want to do was make tiger stripes soap! And while doing my usual youtube browsing (for more tiger stripes!), I came across a video about a Turkish painting technique called Ebru. Ebru means paint on water, yes water! It's so amazing, and needless to say, I was smitten!

The technique is definitely can be applied into soap. All you need is a thin batter

You can also do just mica in oil, it will give you a different effect and the colors pop out more

I did simple swirls to begin with as my hands were not the steadiest when doing those lil dots. Actually, there is a lot more you can do with this technique. You can basically paint whatever you want. 

Another Edition of Tiger Stripes Galore

I am OBSESSED with tiger stripes! It is so fun to make, and this time I've decided to try a bright yellow color as a base. Without further ado..

This one is scented with lemongrass EO. Looks like it won't be my last time making tiger stripes. I have a purple lavender batch just unmolded as we speak. Pics later!

Milk Soaps

I have to be honest, I love milk in my soaps. So far, I have tried goat milk, cow milk, coconut milk, soy milk, buttermilk, fresh cream, and yoghurt. Which one is my favorite? Hmmm, this is so hard coz I practically love them all, but if I have to choose just one I will go with coconut milk. I love the feel of coconut milk in soap so much, it makes the lather so extra creamy and my skin is loving it. I once made a 100% coconut oil soap with a high superfat and substituted the amount of water with coconut milk. It is amazing! I can stand in the shower for hours and play with it.. okay, maybe not hours, but you get the picture.

My first try with milk soap was with goat milk. It was a pretty basic recipe, with only three oils (palm, coconut, and olive), and I substituted half the water amount for the milk (coz I kept scorching the milk while trying to add the lye into it! patience is not my strong virtue I must tell ya). After that, I moved on to coconut milk, then soy, cow, cream, etc. My fave so far is the three milks soap, which had goat, coconut, and yoghurt inside. Overkill? I don't think so. I've seen others do up to five milks in a batch.

Making milk soaps has an art of its own. It can cause overheating if you aren't careful, and when you HP it, it often gives you separation. But that's easy to tackle, you just gotta utilize the stick blender one more time till everything is nicely blended once again. You also want to make it as creamy looking as possible, and it can be hard with gelled soaps. Not a problem, a dash of titanium dioxide will take care of this problem nicely :D Yeah, I do cheat sometimes, ha!

One of my unscented goats milk soaps done in a fun, rabbit's head

Since patience is not my strong virtue, I rarely substitute the full amount of water with the milk. Half is enough for me coz it's more practical. Some say it's not a true milk soap if done this way, but I chose to disagree. We all have our own ways of doing something, and as long as the customers like it, then you must be doing something right with it.

Dontcha love sudden orders?

A customer is having a birthday party this week, and she just told me she needed 250 soaps as party favors last night. She gave me only 1,5 day to prepare, wrapping each and every soap, putting labels, etc. I am lucky I have that many stock lying around, and double lucky that I just made a few HPs lately, which does come in handy in times like this.

I slept for only 4 hours this morning. I am cranky and tired as hell... yet, I am happy :D Soap God has been very kind to me lately with good offline orders.

Doing it candy style

70 down.. 180 more to go!

My online store is practically non-existent coz it rarely has stocks, LOL!

Tiger Stripes Galore!

I looovvveeee tiger stripes soaps! I really do. I like making them, and I like looking at them. Yes, the process can be a tedious one, as you gotta pour each color layer by layer, bit by bit. But when you succeed, the beauty is there in front of you to enjoy.

Here are a couple of soaps I did lately..

The above screams bright, fresh, and colorful. It is scented with the equally fresh sex on the beach fragrance (one of my fave!)

A different story with this one, where the colors are more muted, with the exception of the contrast of the black and white stripes. I really like this soap, and each bar is different. Thinking of adding some gold mica on top as it is very plain looking at the moment.

Scented with a blend of eucalyptus and peppermint EOs.

These soaps are currently curing and will be ready soon in my online shop.

Totally unrelated to soaping...

But, I just miss my dog so much today it ain't funny :( Bhobho passed away on November 2012 from kidney failure. He was 13 yrs old, and was adopted when he was only 2 months old. It was love at first sight for me when I saw him. I knew at that moment that he was THE one.

I can still remember his last days, when he was sick, IV on his paw. He would not eat at all, and was drastically losing weight. It took only a week, and at the end, we brought him to the vet to be put to sleep since he was already breathing so heavily, like each breath was difficult for him.

I'm crying as I'm typing this. I miss him so much...

He's buried in our backyard. I really want to have another dog, but honestly, I can't bear the heartbreak of losing another one.

When Bhobho was around, I haven't started soaping yet. I can just imagine if he's still here, he will be my best friend to accompany me in the wee hours, alone in the house, enjoying myself making some soap. I always soap after everyone is asleep. I prefer to work alone in the dark, without others bugging me this and that.

Okay, nuff with the soap box. I just had to let it out. I feel better now.

RIP Bhobho (1999-2012)