Skin | Beespoke Info

Beeswax Soap Recipe

Gimlet — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 17:15:54 +0000

I used to think that homemade soap would be a great way to use up some of that beeswax mountain. That is until I started to look into the subject and it turns out to be a bit more complicated than I thought.

For a start there’s the matter of CAUSTIC SODA. Note the capital letters there; those are there as a mark of Respect. When using Caustic Soda, be on your Toes because it is a VERY NASTY chemical indeed. Wear gloves, don’t spill it and don’t blame me if you do.

When mixed with water it gets hot and when you then mix that solution with a mixture of fats and oils you get a very strong chemical reaction during which more heat is produced and the end result is soap.

Then there’s the beeswax. Beeswax, as we know, is about the most recalcitrant substance known to man so don’t spill that either. It is also flammable – click here for more beeswax facts. Its effects on soap and the making of it, even in tiny quantities are profound.

For a start, in order to melt the beeswax you have to heat the oils much hotter than you normally would. Then, even a 1% addition of beeswax will cause the soap to thicken very quickly. If you are an experienced soap maker you will have gathered I am not! Nevertheless, here is a recipe for beeswax soap I’ve concocted – it works, it makes a lovely sudsy soap and I’m still here to tell the tale.

Ingredients

65g NaOH (Caustic Soda),
116g Water;
70g Olive oil;
263g Coconut oil;
112g Sunflower oil;
10g clean, grated Beeswax;
2 tsp Lavender oil.

Method

Put beeswax, sunflower, olive and coconut oils in a pan and heat very gently till the beeswax has melted;
Weigh the water and put it in a pyrex jug or similar;
Get your rubber gloves on;
Carefully weigh caustic soda;
Carefully pour the caustic soda into the jug with the water and stir with the butt end of a wooden spoon – get all the grains aloft and swirling then put the jug somewhere safe and leave it alone;
Grease your soap mould – such as an old loaf tin – with a lump of coconut oil;
Get your hand blender ready;
When the beeswax has melted, stir the oils with a spatula just to get them well mixed;
Allow the mixture to cool a little, you can stand it in water bath or just let it cool naturally, till you see it beginning to congeal on the base of the pan;
Pour in the caustic soda/water mixture and stir gently (with the mixer turned off) then add your lavender;
Now turn the mixer on and give it what-for. It should turn a nice golden colour and start to thicken;
When it looks like a cake batter, pour it into your soap mould;
Wrap the whole thing in clingfilm and old towels to keep the heat in and leave it till it’s set;

Once set and still a bit warm turn it out of the mould and cut it up into bars. If yours is like mine you will notice that the lovely golden colour has gone away and the soap is now a warm ivory.

If you are unsure of what quantities of ingredients to use, there are several online resources for soapmakers. soapcalc.net has an online soap calculator which allows you to add in your oil ingredients and water as percentages of the total oils and it will give you the correct amount of caustic soda to use.

The table below shows the output when I input the oils and beeswax in my recipe above. The pink row (Lye – NaOH) shows the amount of Caustic Soda to use.

Soap calculator output for the recipe above

Click here to go to the soapcalc soap calculator

Click here for simple beeswax wraps

Click here for how to render beeswax

Click here for beeswax facts

Click here for beeswax lipbalm recipe

Click here for beeswax handcream recipe

Click here for beeswax furniture polish recipe

Click here for beeswax soap recipe

Click here for beeswax candlemaking

Click here for emergency home dental repairs with beeswax

The post Beeswax Soap Recipe first appeared on Beespoke Info.

Lip Balm Recipe

Gimlet — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 17:28:05 +0000

Here is a recipe for lip balm – it won’t help much with the beeswax mountain but if your lips are in tatters this is the stuff for you. If not, well it does have tatter-prevention properties if you smear some on before you go out in the elements. At the very least it will give you a nice glossy pout.

It’ll calm your hair down in an emergency as well.

You can add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice – lavender is good, it has healing properties. Some people prefer peppermint. Or there’s always orange. Put essential oils in last of all and don’t get your mixture any hotter than it needs to be or all those special properties will vaporise.

Ingredients

65g sunflower oil;
25g clean beeswax – grated;
vitamin E oil as preservative – about 10 drops;
essential oil of your choice – about 12 drops. Lavender is very healing – I recommend it.

Method

Put oil and beeswax in double saucepan or water bath;
Heat gently until wax is just melted;
Add vitamin E and optional essential oils and stir;
Pour into pots – this will make enough for about 15 x 10ml pots.

As always be careful with beeswax and heat.

Click here for beeswax facts

Click here for rendering beeswax

Click here for a simple way to make beeswax wraps

Click here for beeswax handcream recipe

Click here for beeswax furniture polish recipe

Click here for beeswax soap recipe

Click here for beeswax candlemaking

Click here for home dentistry with beeswax

The post Lip Balm Recipe first appeared on Beespoke Info.

Easy Beeswax Handcream Recipe

Gimlet — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:38:47 +0000

This is a really simple and nourishing handcream recipe – in fact you could probably eat it.

If you’re not planning to eat it you could add fragrance but it’s lovely as it is. Just apply sparingly as possible and try and keep it off your palms because it doesn’t contain those chemicals that make it vanish into your skin.

If you do get greasy palms – rub it on your head. Your hair will be glossy as a colt’s back and even on a very windy day – it’ll hold it all down nicely.

Weigh everything including the water.

Ingredients

50g spotlessly clean beeswax
200g jojoba oil
200g almond oil
200g soft water
10 g borax

Method

This will make 9 x 50ml pots so get them ready first;
Measure oils into a pyrex bowl;
Break up beeswax and add to oils;
Set pyrex bowl in pan of hot water and set on low heat to melt wax;
When beeswax is melted put water and borax into a jar, mix then warm this mixture so it is the same temperature as the oil etc;
Pour oil/beeswax mixture and boraxed water both together at the same time into a bowl and stir;
A creamy mixture will form and you need to get it into pots before it sets and it will set quite quickly.

Click here for how to render beeswax

Click here for simple beeswax wraps

Click here for beeswax facts

Click here for beeswax lipbalm recipe

Click here for beeswax furniture polish recipe

Click here for beeswax soap recipe

Click here for beeswax candlemaking

Click here for emergency home dental repairs with beeswax

The post Easy Beeswax Handcream Recipe first appeared on Beespoke Info.