09.25.

Sweet Tea and Lemon Soap Bar

 

I thought we would finish up “Sweet Tea Week” with one of my FAVORITE things.

SOAP!

I know what you are thinking, SOAP?  And to answer your question…….  yes, soap!

I started making my own facial/body soap about 6 months ago.  I was on my Anniversary trip which we like to call our “Staycation”.  Instead of going on a trip away from home, my parents came to my home and kept the little ones, while the hubby and I took our camper and just parked it at the beach 10 minutes away.  I guess I just couldn’t leave them for that long and go out of town.  (I’m working on this)  Maybe next year?

Oh well, while I was there, I ran out of my regular facewash.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot use the same facewash for too long.  It will work for me at first, but after about 2, maybe 3 months, something happens and it no longer works for my face.  I start to break out really bad and I have to move onto the next thing.

SO!

I went to the store and bought an Aveeno product because in my head, Aveeno was great for sensitive skin, like my own.  After washing my face a few times, I started to notice my skin was getting a little dry.  Then, the next morning, I woke up to complete HORROR!  I had all these little itchy red bumps on my face.  I have a rosey complexion anyway, so anything that is red on me, becomes blotchy and irritated looking.  I grabbed the bottle of facewash and only then noticed that it said Salicylic Acid as one of the MAIN INGREDIENTS!  It was clearly stated on the front, which I clearly ignored when purchasing it.

Let me tell you, all of this didnt go away for the rest of the trip.  I, of course, felt like the Prettiest girl in the world with my skin looking like I had some contagious disease!

I was pretty much done at this point with store bought facial cleansers.  I told myself that as soon as I got home, I was going to research and start making my own.  I basically had nothing to lose.  I ended up finding out that Glycerin, which is a moisturizing element that is produced during the soap making process with Lye, is often taken out of regular soap and added to things like lotion.   This is the reason that lotion is so moisturizing in the first place!  Soap companies end up getting more for their money by being able to produce more products.  Don’t get me wrong, their is still plenty of soap that contains Glycerin, but I wanted the main thing in my soap to be Glycerin because it is both gentle and moisturizing for the skin.

Which brings me to this recipe.  It is a lot of fun.  You don’t have to do sweet tea if you dont want to.  I just did because it was fun and I was finishing up Sweet Tea Week.  I have done Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint.  The possibilites are endless.

Here is what I did:

First, start with a “Melt and Pour” Glycerin base.   I picked this up at my local craft store for $9.99 › Continue reading

Tags: 1 pound brick, Almond Oil, Aveeno, Body, Double Boiler, Dry, Earthy, Facewash, Facial, Facial Cleansers, Favorite things, Glycerin, Granulated Sugar, Lather, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Essential Oil, Loaf Pan, Peppermint, Plastic Wrap, Red Bumps, Salicylic Acid, Skin, Soap, Southern, Staycation, Sweet Tea, Sweet Tea Week, White Glycerin Soap

09.19.

Sweet Tea

You know I had to do it.

The only appropriate thing to do when you do a week about sweet tea, is actually START with Sweet Tea!

I have tried a bunch of different versions.  Be it restaurants.  Be it grandma’s.  Be it mom’s.  You get the picture.

One thing I have figured out, is that I don’t really like my sweet tea………. well TOO sweet.

I mean, let’s be honest.  Sometimes, you come across some that are so sweet, it is literally like drinking a glass of syrup. › Continue reading

Tags: Family Size Tea Bags, Granulated Sugar, Lemon Slices, Light Brown Sugar, Recipe, Southern, Sweet Tea, Syrup