Ooh La La

I've been reading about this technique in soapmaking called hand milling or rebatching.  I've also seen it referred to as French milling.  i love how you can add the word "French" to something and it immediately increases the ooh-la-la factor.  Whatever the object or act is, it immediately seems to gain a certain amount of rustic sophistication.  I mean, think about the french fry.  Okay, maybe it doesn't work for the french fry.  No, wait, it does work for the lowly fry.  In Quebec, they dip fries in mayo, real mayo.  It's really good actually.  And it does make me feel a little more shii-shii than plain old ketchup.  Not that a fry needs a lot of help but I can imagine that I can dip my fried in mayo and still drink a glass of red wine with it.  Anyways, I digress . . .

So back to hand milling.  Hand milling can be used when a batch of soap is good but didn't quite turn out the way you had hoped, thus the term "rebatching".  But what really has me interested in hand milling is that you can continue to add ingredients to your soap after the initial soap making process.  And because the soap has already gone through the saponification process, more of the benefits of the additives are retained.  There is some debate as to how much of the benfits of such ingredients as botanicals are retained after the cold process of soap making.  Another bonus:  it gives the soap a nice rustic look.  Okay, enough words.  Let me show you what I have been up to.

pink grapefruit poppyseed

honey almond milk 

    
I added real honey, milk powder and ground almonds to this soap.  No added scent.  It is just what it is.  it reminds me of Cleopatra.

fudge soap

For my fudge soap, I took the chocolate soap I had made a few weeks ago and added whole milk to it and a little more orange essential oil.  I am so excited about this soap because it looks just how I wanted it to look -- like a big old piece of chocolate fudge.

My soap making adventures this week haven't been just about hand milling.  I also experimented with using PVC pipe as a mold.

The light coloured disc is simple unscented soap.  Absolutely no scent.  The other two discs are vanilla bean with a hint of orange essential oil.

I received confirmation last night that I will be participating in a craft sale in April, just a month away.  I'm really excited because it's my first time.  I'm also really nervous because it's my first time.  With my Etsy shop, there is still a certain amount of annonymity even though I'm putting myself out there.  A craft sale?  it's just me and my soap.