Soaping Soaping

Many of us crafters are preparing for Christmas and Festive season already. Soap has a four week “curing period” in which the chemical reaction takes place, all chemical leaves the soap and the soap bars harden up. So, I have to give a lot of thought to keep up stock levels for wholesale orders, markets and my loyal customer base.

So, back to the soap kitchen for me and on the agenda today – Goats Milk and Lavender. Made with local Busselton Goats’ Milk, Margaret River olive oil and Lavender essential oil, this is a creamy bar of soap, which soothes skin and smells devine. By far, it is one of my best sellers and personal favourites.

Lisa xo

Loofah Love

I have been looking at a big box of supplies I ordered for over a month now and all the goodies in there temp me to get my soap mojo back and start creating again. I have had a steady range of luxury soaps for a few years now and really want to start  expanding and experimenting with some different product lines. 

These beautiful, natural loofahs have been staring me in the face for a while, but today – today we make them into Loofah soaps! 

I wanted to try two different techniques in the pvc pipe - one lined with baking paper and the other not lined.

I have used one of my favourite soaps - Green French Clay - and it not only looks calming, with the pale green contrasting the loofah, but is super nourishing with added sweet almond oil, rice bran oil and sunflower oil. 

Here is the soap hand cut with a very sharp knife. I love the patterns the loofah makes!

I cannot wait for this soap to cure four to six weeks, to give it a whirl in the shower and get rid of all that dead Winter skin!

Lisa P

Olive Oil & Goats' Milk

This all natural, Olive Oil & Goats Milk bar is great for sensitive skin and many of my customers use this creamy bar for their children or babies, with great results.

Soothing... with Lavender Buds and Organic Calendula Petals on top.. mmm

Back in Action - Green French Clay

Today we picked ourselves up and starting re-stocking and re-creating some luxury soaps. I started with one of my favourites - Green French Clay. 

Bergamot, Clary Sage and Lime essential oil - these earthy, crisp scents ground me, comfort me and remind me why I love aromatherapy and making soap.

Here is the freshly poured batter - 

Castile Bar - change of design

I love the gentle and mild Castile Bar.... we are fortunate to be able to source local Olive Oil from the Margaret River region of Western Australia and with the some of the finest and freshest olive oil, we think our Castile Bar is really quite special!

Our previous design of Castile Bar had a rose bud of the top of the bar, but this "egg-shell skull" soap needs to be treated soooo gently, to ensure the rose bud it not knocked off the soap or broken off, leaving a small brown dimple where the bud was.

Bare Naked Body Castile Bar - handle with care FRAGILE

So the Castile Bar has been re-designed, with a slightly textured top and sprinkle of luxury Lavender buds on top... what do you think?

New Bare Naked Body Castile Bar

This Bare Naked Lady

It is hot in Perth, Western Australia at the moment and this meant that this palm-oil free soap traced very quickly, so the red French clay tops are not as pretty as I usually like. The smell is fantastically romantic and sensual, with sweet orange, ylang ylang and grapefruit essential oils. The red French clay is also great for dry or mature skin.

At markets, people think this soap looks like fudge or white and pink chocolate... mmm.... Don't try to eat it though!

Cut into generous bars for ultimate bath time pleasure !!!

Perth Upmarket - 4 March 2012

Perth Upmarket  - www.perthupmarket.com.au  - is a brilliant market with handcrafted, artisan, locally made wares. On Sunday, Bare Naked Body had a stall on the verandah at UWA and we had a great time, talking about our soaps and launching our new range of Bath Salts and Lip Balms.

Bare Naked Body market stall set up before the shoppers arrive!

We had a brilliant day, meeting other people with similar dedication to luxurious and handcrafted products and had great feedback on our soaps!

Here is a sneak peek at the Nourishing Lip Balms which will shortly be posted on the website for sale...

In the meantime, I have to get going on setting up the Bare Naked Body Etsy account shop with our many luxurious items.

Freshly Cut Soap - Bare Jojoba Bar

I love cutting fresh soap! You just never know how the glorious patterns will turn out and how the textured tops will look. My Jojoba Bar is one of my best sellers – with nourishing jojoba oil, which is similar to our skins natural sebum, it is a fantastic bar for body, face and shaving.

The Bare Jojoba Bar does not contain any essential oils, making is especially soothing for sensitive skin and great for shaving your legs!

Beautiful! Cut into long logs of soap and then hand cut into individual bars.

This batch will be ready on 6 April 2012 and I have this is stock at the moment after a sell out Christmas Season. Lesson: I must make much more soap to keep up with post Christmas demand!

Recent market photos - Bare Naked Body Soaps

It turns out that everyone likes natural soaps! One of the biggest Bare Naked Body supporters took some excellent photos of us at the Christmas Upmarket and sent them through to me...

The Bare Naked Body stall was busy all day and here I am selling a bar of Goat's Milk and Lavender - which was one of the best sellers on the.... this and the Refresh bar.

I also displayed the Bare Naked Body logo carving, which I had hand carved when I was in India a few months back. It looks great and I love the craftsmanship which went into it.

Bare Naked Body Market Stall - Christmas Upmarket - 27 November 2011

Bare Naked Body was at the Christmas Upmarket at the University of Western Australia on Sunday 27 November 2011. Here are some photos in case you missed the event. 

We had a great time showing our soaps off and everyone enjoyed getting hands on and up close and personal with Bare Naked Body soaps. A good time was had by all and we had  a very successful market. 

The turnout was fantastic and everyone was in the Christmas spirit! Soap for stocking fillers, Christmas presents for family and school teachers and my limited edition Soap on a Rope made of Green French Clay was going to be used as Christmas Tree baubles before being given out as gifts on Christmas Day!

Perth Upmarket really helps handmade and handcrafted artisan products get out there to the public. 

Castile Block

I am fortunate enough to be able to use local West Australian olive oil in all my products. The olive oil is sourced from the Margaret River region of Western Australia – which is one of my favourite areas, from the clean air, beautiful views, good food and wine, I always find clarity of mind in the South West.

I make this Castile Block to honour the beautiful local olive oil and keep it completely bare and naked, with no essential oils or clays. White beeswax hardens this bar and provides the beautiful white, creamy colour. Excellent for sensitive skin, the gorgeous rose bud sets off this soap with elegance and luxury.

Bare Naked Body tries to source as many ingredients from the local area as possible…I feel privileged to use some of the best olive oil in the world in my products. Enjoy…  

Castile Block