Lye Calculation Using a Saponification Chart – Tutorial
A couple of weeks ago, just as I was pulling into a parking bay at the local mall here in Cape Town, my niece #4, who is in her final year of high school in Finland, called me on the … Continued The...
View ArticleLangbaken Beest and Beasts: Soap and Culinary explorations in the Karoo
The Karoo a magical place. It’s an endless region (one third of South Africa) of arid semi desert. Fields of sharp rocks as far as the eye can see with scarce, low, dry vegetation. An enormous bright...
View ArticleAfrican Clay: Local, Natural, and Ancient
Auntie Clara discovers local, natural African clay for spindle whorls and for breathtakingly beautiful natural colours in coldprocess soap! The post African Clay: Local, Natural, and Ancient appeared...
View ArticleGhost Swirl Soap Revisited. FAQs about High and Low-Water Soap Design.
Auntie Clara does a recap of the Ghost Swirl soapmaking technique and answers some frequent guestions about the Ghost Swirl Soap The post Ghost Swirl Soap Revisited. FAQs about High and Low-Water Soap...
View ArticleGreat Great Great Great Grandmother Mary and The Love Moment
Eighteen years ago we emigrated to South Africa. Then, like now, it was early October and the open fields around Cape Town were covered in thick carpets of purple flowers. I remember asking our driver...
View ArticleMy Black Wattle Woodpile – The Gift That Keeps On Giving
When it was really cold in September I ran out of firewood. Bad planning on my part – especially since all the local firewood suppliers were flat out of stock at the end of winter. Finally I got hold...
View ArticleBrine Design: Salt In Soap
Salt makes coldprocess soap appear opaque and therefore lighter in colour. Brine (Nacl salt solution) can be used as an alternative to synthetic brighteners like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. The...
View ArticleBrine Design Update: A Whiter Shade Of Pale
A month ago I posted about my brine design experiment. I put soap made with brine (saline solution) next to the same soap made with plain water and found that the brine turned the soap more opaque and...
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