Soapmaking and Flower Drying

Happy New Year 2020 Everyone!! After a few months of blogging break, I finally had some quiet moment to put something together. And, I'm hoping I'll be more active in updating my blog this year. 

In the last few months I had a busy learning experience in making my own soap. After hesitating for a few years, due to the fact that I will need to handle chemical during the soapmaking process, I finally did some more research and read about the process. 

I already dried herbs and flowers gathered from my own garden. So, I already have the ingredients needed to make the infused oils for the soap. My adventure started with shopping trips to buy a few safety equipment and lye at the local Bunnings store and some utensils from Kmart.

This is the first batch of soap that I made using rose petals and calendula infused oil.

And here are some Lavender and Calendula drying on racks.

Ever since that batch, I made 2 more batches of soap. A batch for my son who has on and off eczema. I made the soap with Calendula and Chamomile infused olive oil and oatmeal. I'm happy to see his eczema hadn't returned ever since. Although, it could also be the weather warming up in Melbourne.

Another batch of soap that I made was for the purpose of replacing the liquid dishwashing soap. I made this soap with fresh Aloe Vera that grows in my garden and Lavender infused oil. I have been using this soap bar for dishwashing and happy to reduce packaging waste from the liquid dish soap.

The last batch that I made was shampoo bars. I can't wait to use these bars as my store bought shampoo bar was finishing up soon. I used Rosemary and Mint infused oil for this as I wanted to reap the antibacterial benefit of both plants. Again, I have them growing in my garden as well. 

So, I think this is a natural progression for my passion in gardening. I had planted quite a collection of beneficial flowers and herbs since I started gardening and now I use them for other things than just tea and cooking. 

I will try to remember to take photos the next time I collect, dry and infuse flowers and herbs and post them here. Most of the time I enjoyed the moment so much that I forgot to take my mobile with me to capture the moment. Also next time, I will post the link to my favourite website that I use as reference to learn to make soap.