One of my brothers has a teen daughter who is struggling with acne, as we all do (welcome to hormones). He asked if I had anything that could help and wildly enough I had just been reading about natural items that help with acne and greasy skin, so I asked that he give me a bit of time and I would see what I could come up with. That night I found a recipe on my wholesaler’s site to start with, ordered the remaining items that I needed, and got them in the most recent delivery. I’ve kept researching in the meantime and finally got in to make my first attempt at acne facial soaps.
My kitchen smells fantastic right now! I used the Spa FO (Almond & Honey), which is one of the most relaxing scents I have ever smelled, along with oats (for mild exfoliation), lemon powder (which is a natural astringent, antiseptic, and kills bacteria, while clearing grease and oil), shea butter base (protects skin and super moisturizing), bentonite clay (removes toxins and absorbs oil, among other benefits), and even a little bit of refined sweet almond oil (moisturizing, yet doesn’t clog pores). I did a mixture of chopped oats and finely ground, too, which gives the soap a little more umph. I poured the thick brew (I created a quarter recipe, so I only used 4 oz of soap base, instead of the full pound) into a few rounds in my silicone mold for easy removal once they set. I figure that the oats and clay will make them very tough to remove, so I had to go with silicone. I learned with my Mechanic’s Soap, which has a lot of pumice, that thickening items make soaps very hard to remove from traditional plastic molds. *rolling eyes* That was a very frustrating lesson, let me tell you.
Anyway, they are sitting on the counter under a blanket of wax paper setting up. It’ll take a few days since it’s so warm (in the winter they can set in just a couple of hours sometimes), but I look forward to testing the tiny partial overfill soap. I really hope this works! I’d love to help my niece and I’d seriously love to get further into the teen market.
On a side note, some of the cancer ribbon soaps that I poured the other day were a total fail. *disappointed sigh* The super thin molds make it almost impossible to unmold the soaps without breaking the “legs” of the ribbons off. What made it through will be the ones that I donate to the survivors, since they actually smell really nice. The rest go into my “melting bowl”, which are scraps that become mysteriously scented soaps later when I melt the wild mixture down. That’s how I ended up with the “At the Fair” soaps. I’m sticking to my old mold from now on! *grin*
Georgia's Pampering 