Lavender & Tea Tree Soap

How do you feel about tea tree oil?  I think it really stinks! 
However, some people dearly love the fragrance.  A friend of mine used it in her hand made baby wipe formula since it is good for minor skin irritations and it has antiseptic properties.  Tea tree essential oil comes from the leaves of the tea tree which is grown in Australia.  This has nothing to do with the green or black tea we drink.  Tea tree is placed on the skin (topically) and used as an antiseptic for minor cuts, burns, skin irritations, eczema, and many other things.  I am camouflaging the smell of tea tree with lavender in this batch of soap.  My home smells heavenly!  Aside for a little color, everything in this soap is natural.  Since there is no real definition of natural in soap, it may not mean much to you. lol  When I mixed the lye, I added the sea salt.  About 1/3 does not mix totally.  This does not pose a problem for me.  I use salt totally mixed into the water and the opposite way where the soap is crunchy and needs to be cut right away. As the soap cures, it will have a white film on it due to the salt. 

I visited with a lady not long ago that had a son with eczema.  She said that his eczema (on his neck) cleared up when they were on vacation and he was in the salt water at the ocean daily.  That healing could be a result of many things other than salt, including stress, food, clothing he wore, soaps and shampoos he used, laundry soap and fabric softeners, etc.  The mother thought it was the salt and salt makes my skin feel awesome.  I am not a doctor and I can't tell you what does or does not work, but I have skin issues and so do many of my friends and family members.  I would like to say that my soap is used because everyone that uses it loves it and wants his or her skin to feel great!  Unfortunately I am realistic.  Many of my friends and family members use it because it is free.  LOL

Soap Ingredients:  Coconut oil, Tallow, Water, Lye, Sea salt, Shea butter (Unrefined and organic), Sunflower Seed Oil,Cocoa butter (unrefined and organic), Grapeseed oil, Colloidal oatmeal, Lanolin,  Purple and lavender oxide

Every once in a while, handmade soap may have a problem setting up.  With this soap, I had lye pockets.  This is something that I rarely ever have.  I noticed a small hole in the soap when I cut it.  I also noticed a little hole/pocket in the bottom of the soap, almost at the bottom of the mold in another loaf of soap.  There was some liquid in these holes.  I usually cut out these areas of the soap and the bad areas become family soap, or scraps used to re-batch.  This is what lye pockets look like:

I have been spinning a little.  I will keep you posted in case I make anything with the yarn.  I am intentionally making it look like tweed.

 

Have a great weekend!!!  Dawnie

PS  Don't forget to go to my website at: https://www.slipperywhenwetsoaps.com or my website at: https://www.custercottage.com or my Etsy shop at:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/CusterCottage