Description
Look at that pink colour!!!
With the beautiful scent of Rose Geranium (essential oil)
A soap for purists: 100% tallow (The fat came from an organic farm here in the Marlborough Sounds and was rendered by us - we do render all our tallow ourselves).
I infused the tallow with rhubarb powder (harvested from rhubarb roots from our garden - they were cleaned and processed, than dehydrated and milled into a fine powder and then infused with the tallow).
I put a lot of care into the recipe - because normally 100% tallow soaps don't lather very well, I added some sugar and citric acid, which helps to get more lather and also decided to use the dual lye method. I used mainly the usual sodium hydroxide (NaOh - lye), but added a part of potassium hydroxide (KOH - lye) as well. This is usually used for liquid soaps, but has the advantage here of producing a bit more lather than a 100% NaOh soap usually would.
The biggest surprise with this soap is the colour - from a sort of ochre yellow in the infusion it turns red when I add the lye - these are the things that make you feel like a proper witch behind the cauldron...
Please be aware that natural colours do fade after a while, so might not look as bright and crisp as on the photo. The rhubarb colour also looks more beigy (if that is a word?!) when you start using it.
Just to clarify:
The tallow that I use for the soaps is organic, but it's not officially
certified. The farm I get it from used to be certified, but they now
planted heaps of native trees on their property (because they are very
environmentally conscious). Unfortunately they needed to spray roundup in these places (not on their paddocks, where the animals graze though) and therefore lost their organic certification.
I use tallow from our own sheep as well (which are organically kept - no
chemicals involved), but again, we are not certified.
So the tallow is organic (not certified), but the whole soap is not.
I use Essential oils from reputable sources
(Pure Nature and Zen Aroma), but they are not organic either.
Soap ingredients:
Saponified fats: 100% Organic Tallow (infused with rhubarb powder - organically grown in our garden here in the Kenepuru Sound). Water, Glycerine*, Citric Acid, Sugar, Essential Oil
Essential Oil: Rose Geranium
*Please note that I don't put any extra glycerine into the soap - this is just the glycerine that is created naturally during the soap making process.
According to NZ labelling rules the final ingredients of a product have to be listed
Properties of oils / materials used:
| Tallow | Provides excellent hardness to soap for long-lasting bars. Produces a creamy lather with good cleansing properties. Contains skin-friendly vitamins A, D, E, and K. Natural antioxidants help protect the skin. |
| Citric acid | in your soap serves a dual purpose. It helps your soap perform well in hard water by preventing mineral build up, ensuring a rich lather. Additionally, it acts as a natural preservative, extending the soap's shelf life for a longer-lasting product you'll enjoy. |
| Sugar | Added to soap recipes to increase lather and bubbles. Acts as a natural humectant, attracting moisture to the skin. |
| Rhubarb | infused in tallow gives a vibrant color, and because of it’s natural sugars, it may also contribute to lather, adding a potential bonus to your soap experience. The rhubarb roots were collected from our garden in the Kenepuru Sound. |
| Essential Oils | It's important to note that while essential oils have gained popularity for their natural origins, they can be potent and should be used with care. Essential oils may trigger allergies or skin sensitivities in some individuals, and their usage often requires dilution and proper knowledge. Which is why we’re very careful in our usage of them and often prefer to use Fragrance oils. We adhere to European safety regulations and never put more than 3% into our oils and usually use a mix of Essential oils to really be on the safe side here. As with our fragrance oils, we only buy from reputable sellers. |
