I have been making some men's scented soaps for my son for Christmas because he's finally decided that body wash is not kind to his skin. This is one of the first I made for him. I was thrilled by how easy it was to create a decorative touch by simply layering a bit of powdered cinnamon between pouring layers of the soap.  I like to think is reminiscent of the hiking trails local to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where I reside. And the scent? Well, it's equally amazing. I scented this masculine soap with a blend of Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Cedarwood, Lemon, and Petigrain. I decided to name this one Fragrant Woods.

I also used the same layering technique with these soaps.


This one is eucalyptus and tea tree. I layered it with fine ground, green colored loofah.


And this one is scented with cedarwood and sage essential oils. I layered it with ground apricot kernel meal.

I've just unmolded and cut two new handmade shea butter soaps - Citrus Cilantro Shea Butter Soap and Vanilla Bean & Clove Shea Butter Soap.

My handmade Citrus Cilantro Scented Shea Butter Soap is a fresh, clean smelling blend of Lemon, Cilantro, Cut Grass, and Green Tea. It is colored a decorative yellow and green and contains bits of loofah for light exfoliation. My handmade Vanilla Bean & Clove Scented Shea Butter Soap - which will turn a solid dark brown once it cures - smells like crushed vanilla beans enhanced by clove & cinnamon on a dry down of musk.

Handmade Red Currant Shea Butter  Soap by soapdeligirl, on Flickr

This is my Red Currant Soap. It's just about done curing. The scent reminds me of the outdoors in summer when everything is in bloom! It's a little fruit, a little tart, and a bit of that good, fresh green summer smell.

Handmade Mango  & Papaya Scented Luxury Shea Butter Soap by soapdeligirl, on Flickr

My newest soap I just unmolded. This moisture rich shea butter soap is handmade specifically for those with normal to dry skin. The scent of this soap is a fruity blend of ripened mango and juicy papaya. It contains shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, rice bran oil and other skin loving ingredients.

I used yellow oxide and red oxide pigments for the orange color and added soaps bits from my last several batches of soap for visual interest. The red is from my Red Currant Soap and the yellow from my Lemon Mint Soap. I like the way it turned out.

[Peppermint Foot Cream Recipe]

I sold an all natural foot cream down on the Roanoke City Market for years. It was highly popular year round, but I could only sell it during late fall to early spring because it would melt during the summer while I was vending outside. Since I have decided to no longer produce this product despite its popularity, I figured I would pass the recipe on to my faithful readers. It's rather easy to make and yields about 2lbs. of product. You can divide this up into eight 4oz. jars or four 8oz. jars and keep them stored in the refrigerator for longevity or gift the extras. Or, simply halve the recipe to make less.



My Peppermint Foot Cream is comprised mainly of natural shea butter. It's a great, all natural moisturizer with peppermint oil to refresh your feet and anti-fungal tea tree oil to keep your tootsies in tip top shape.
Shea butter is a natural fat that is extracted from the fruit of the Karite Tree found in West Africa. It is a wonderful moisturizer and emollient, and also has anti-inflammatory properties. Apply liberally to the skin to treat scars, eczema, burns, rashes, acne, severely dry skin, chapped lips, stretch marks, and wrinkles.

Peppermint Foot Cream Recipe

Ingredients:
4oz. unrefined cocoa butter
16oz. unrefined shea butter
8oz. fractionated coconut oil
3oz. Japanese peppermint essential oil
2oz. tea tree oil
.02oz. Liquipar Preservative (optional)

Directions:
You'll want to weigh all of your ingredients using an accurate scale. Melt the cocoa butter and shea butter together in a pot on the stove or in the microwave. Once melted, stir in your fractionated coconut oil, peppermint essential oil - I use triple distilled Japanese peppermint oil because it has more of a peppermint candy smell than a medicinal smell, tea tree oil, and liquipar if using a preservative. Mix well with a spoon, then pour into your final containers. Screw on the lid and set in the fridge to cool until hardened.

I have two new soaps curing. I made these last week. Both are Rosemary Mint. However, one is just a plain jane bar scented with rosemary mint fragrance and sprinkled with rosemary leaves. The other is a shampoo and body bar created for my friend Leah. It's scented with rosemary mint but then also has natural rosemary, peppermint and tea tree oils added. I added unscented goat milk soap balls added for extra love and decoration.

The shampoo and body bar is specifically for my friend Leah who suffers from seborrheic dermatitis. I used essential oils known to help aid in the relief of this problem.

Rosemary essential oil is used often for aching muscles, arthritis, dandruff, hair care, and poor circulation. While tea tree oil is great for acne, oily skin and even athlete's foot and cold sores. It's touted as being anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Peppermint essential oil is often used for  skin irritation and itchiness as well as dermatitis and acne.

[How to make solid sugar scrub cubes.]

Strawberry Champagne Solid Sugar Scrub Cubes

I love making solid sugar scrub cubes! They're quick and easy and a whole lot of awesome in the shower. I made five scents the other day. Pina Colada, Lavender, Chamomile Neroli, Strawberry Champagne, and Cucumber. I make mine with extra moisturizing shea butter, fine sugar, fraction coconut oil, and an all natural glycerin, shea butter soap base and then add either a fragrance or essential oil for scent.


Natural Chamomile and Neroli Solid Sugar Scrub Cubes

How to make solid sugar scrub cubes.

Solid Sugar Scrub Cubes have become the new trend and are now taking the place of traditional sugar scrubs. One of the main reasons is that these scrubs are in a solid form so there's no separation and less mess. It also means it's less likely that you will transfer water into your sugar scrub during usage since you are simply removing one or two cubes at a time for use and then resealing the container before use.

While there are a handful of recipes for solid sugar scrubs floating around, I came up with my own recipe that I'd like to share with you. It's not greasy when applied and easy to make.

Solid Shea Butter Sugar Scrub Cube Recipe
© Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen - For Personal Use Only

Ingredients:
2.5oz Natural Shea Butter Melt and Pour Glycerin Soap
4oz. Refined Shea Butter
16oz. White Sugar
2 Tablespoons Fractionated Coconut Oil
1 Tablespoon Fragrance Oil (or 1/2 Tablespoon Essential Oil) of Choice
Pinch of ultramarine or oxide pigment (optional)

Instructions:
I use my soap molds to make these. One batch fits into two molds. You can use a square baking pan or two disposable tin loaf pans instead. Line your molds with plastic wrap or food service film taping the film at the top of the mold. (Alternately you can use decorative silicone molds for this.)

Weigh out your melt and pour soap base using a scale, then melt in the microwave or a double boiler. Weigh out your shea butter and melt. Stir the shea butter into the melt and pour soap base. Measure out your fractionated coconut oil and fragrance if desired using a Tablespoon measurement and stir into the melted shea butter and soap base. In a separate bowl, weigh out the sugar. If using a pigment for color, cut in a pinch of color using a butter knife or spatula. (Keep in mind if your fragrance oil contains vanilla, your sugar scrub cubes will darken and turn brown depending on amount of vanilla content.) Finally, quickly pour the sugar into the shea/soap mixture and mix well. Scoop into your mold and level with a spatula, then place in the refrigerator until solidified.

Once your scrub has solidified, gently remove the scrub from the molds by lifting it out of the mold with the plastic wrap from the top edges of the plastic wrap. Then remove the plastic wrap from the scrub. Use a Chef's knife to then cut the scrub into cubes. Place cubes in an airtight container until use.

To use these scrub cubes, simply crush one or two cubes in your wet hands and slather over your body.

My new honeysuckle and morning glory scented soap. Smells heavenly. Still trying to figure out a name for it. I thought about something cool like “Bird Crap on Buttered Toast” but I’ll probably opt for something cheesy like “Sunshine Fields.”

I made this cold process soap with a combo of shea and cocoa butters, olive oil, rice bran oil, palm kernel oil, and palm oil. Colors are from yellow oxide and blue ultramarine.

This is a photo of my new all natural unscented, banana oatmeal shea butter soap that is currently curing. It's a twist off my classic oatmeal and shea butter soap that I usually make. It has rolled oats and fresh banana added into each batch. I didn't add any scent so it smells very natural.

Media: Chalk Pastels. 5"x7"
This is a local band called "Earnhardt"