Teach Soap

I'll be awake all night higher than a kite hallucinating again so I figured I'll just put my time to good use. Of course after my wife falls asleep so I can get out of bed without her zapping me with one of those electric fly swatter tennis rackets.

I did a search for this but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. Found a lot of info on lemon-infused oils but not directly into the mix. I want to make a lemon-zest kind of soap and I want to use some ground lemon rind to make it a little exfoliating.

I have a two part question:

1) I have both lemongrass and lemon verbena FO's from BB. Do I need to mix the litsea to stabilize either of them for staying power? I've used lemongrass mixed with other scents and it performed well.

2) Obviously lemon rind has citric acid but I'm not concerned about it throwing off the pH because I can calculate the exact differential of a tribasic acid (C6H8O7) (thank you biochemistry). My exact question is if it will turn black from the lye? I plan to color the soap yellow and it will have neutral color rind that would be ok. But black colored rind would throw off the charisma of the soap. Hope I'm making sense here. Darn 30 mg percocets are making me weird. Ok.....more weird than I already am.

Anybody ever use lemon rind as an exfoliant?

No. But I have a great recipe for Lemon Bread.

Well....are you going to share or tease us with it?

Just as long as the lemon rind is completely dry and ground fairly fine, you will be ok. Lemon could use a little Litsea, but Lemon Verbena FO will be fine as is.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thanks soapbuddy.

And plschrader.....you get the first slice.

Yipee

I think we need to start a new category to share edible recipes instead of soap recipes!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Not even in the same league to share with you guys I have never had luck with anything lemon. Please post pics would done, sounds great

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Four Seasons Fine Handcrafted Soaps
& Specialties, Inc.
Laugh, Love, Live!

I don't know about actual lemon, but lemongrass sticks very well for me without any litsea.

After getting soapbuddy's reply last night I realized it would be a few days until I could try the recipe. I grated the lemon rind but as of this morning, it's still very moist. I'll need to let it dry out for a few more days before I try it. Ended up making Ale & Aloe shampoo bars instead. I'll keep you posted when I try the lemon drop. Thanks all for the advice.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I have used dried lemon rind and lemon verbena infused in olive oil, then strained to make CP soap. Fragrance via lemongrass EO. Turned out pretty sweet, with a light yellow color. I think it was beginner's luck. I've just jinxed myself. McDaniel has a lot of good tips for using botanicals in his new workshop book.

I've used fresh lemon zest and so far (fingers crossed) haven't had the rind turn black. I added it to my oils when I was warming them up. I haven't noticed too much in the way of exfoliation. I used it for a swirl with BB Energy FO. I used the zest from 3 lemons in a 1 pound batch. It's pretty yellow.

As soon as I come down from my drug induced stupor I'm going to try it. You guys have been a wealth of info and I'm very grateful. Think I'm going to stick with the verbena.

Sandy....good idea for soaking them in oil before using. I do that will lavender buds with good results. Thanks for the tip.

Selena....get out there, get your hands dirty and try something new tonight.

Hairdo.....great info cause I'm hoping for a good deep yellow.

And soapbuddy you were right. Low oven temp and the cookie sheet did the trick. They were ready to use this afternoon. As soon as my wife goes to sleep I'll sneak out of bed. She's getting really upset every time she see's me standing or walking around. Stupid staples. This is all on the QT (YES!!!! Idiom-Man strikes).

In case you guys are wondering. I'm not a native English speaker and any of who learned English as a second language will attest that the use of idioms in writing or speaking takes your understanding to a new level. I grew up reading and writing English as a boy in Italy and the same with Russian. But didn't have the opportunity to speak English until I was in my 3rd year of University. I'm just tooting my own horn (HA....strikes again) because I've really been trying lately. Even found an app for my phone that teaches me 3 new idioms a day.

I love this place and am very thankful for everyone's input.....and that's not just the pain meds talking. Ok....maybe a little cause I'm getting sappy now. Thanks again.

Glad to hear that the low oven worked out for you. I don't add the citrus rind to my oils first because it softens the rind.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.