The Lathered Lamb
Find me here:
  • Blog
  • About
  • Store
  • Contact Me

Adding Snakeskin to Soap and Why You Might Want To

1/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Adding snakeskin to soap!? Eww. Just the thought of snakes creeps some folks out, let alone actually seeing one. Why would anyone in their right mind add snakeskin to soap, and why would anyone want to wash with that soap?

​Admit it, if you can get past the ick factor, snakeskin soap does sound rather fascinating, doesn't it? And for those who do like these cold-blooded slithery reptiles, a soap made with snakeskin might be another cool snake-related item to have. After all, snakeskin boots, belts, and purses are considered a valuable high end product with particular appeal. Why not snakeskin soap?
Snakeskin soap from The Lathered Lamb Picture
Ophidian Forest Soap
Not long ago, I found a shed snakeskin stuck in a bush in my front garden bed. Having learned that snakeskin could be used in soap, I decided to give it a try. Over the years, I have seen harmless black snakes in the yard now and then. They don't bother me, and I don't bother them. 

Snakes shed their skin one to four times a year. This process, called molting, removes the old, worn skin to reveal a fresh skin underneath. The old skin is left behind and disintegrates or is eaten by other critters. Snakeskin is mainly composed of a fibrous structural protein called keratin, which provides structure to hair, nails, feathers, claws, scales, and hooves, and horns. The silk fibers that are produced by insects and spiders are also composed of keratin. Keratin is insoluble in water.

So what does this have to do with soap making? Many soap makers, including myself, add silk fibers to the lye water when making soap. The fibers are dissolved in the extremely hot lye water, but the keratin protein remains, and this protein adds a lovely silky feel to the lather of the soap bar. Silk in soap is a luxury ingredient. Snakeskin in soap is also a luxury ingredient, with its similar properties. 
Picture of a shed snakeskin
This curled snakeskin reminds me of a T Rex!
Still interested to learn more? Here's how to add snakeskin to handmade soap.

1. Tear off a piece, or use the whole snakeskin. I used a 12 inch segment.
2. Add the snakeskin to the amount of water needed to make the batch of soap.
3. Stir the measured lye into the water. Best to do this in a well ventilated area because melting snakeskin stinks. But it's no more stinky than when using goat milk.
4. When cooled to an appropriate temperature, pour the lye water through a strainer into the oils. This catches any visible dark bits of material that might show in the finished soap. 
5. Stir the soap batter to trace and pour into a mold. 

Easy peasy! That wasn't scary at all now, was it? And the results will have a definite high end appeal to some potential customers. Ophidian Forest handmade soap is scented with a fragrance oil with notes of wild cypress, ozone, makrut lime, sea salt, oud, elemi, leather, amber, ocean moss, and frankincense that is fresh, woody, and masculine. It will be available for sale in my little soap shop the first week of February 2021.
Snakeskin Soap from The Lathered Lamb Picture
Snakeskin soap has silky lather
By the way, ophidian is another word for snake. The inspiration for my Ophidian Forest soap came from seeing a large black snake in a wooded forest in western Pennsylvania several years ago. He didn't bother me and I didn't bother him, but I did take a picture.
Picture of a large black snake on a tree trunk in a forest
A big black snake in the woods
​I have a little more snakeskin left and plan to make more snakeskin soap. Finding a shed snakeskin in the yard doesn't happen very often, so I'll continue to stick with silk fibers until another snakeskin comes my way. If you happen to have a snakeskin and would like a custom batch of soap made with it, contact me. I'd enjoy making a batch for you!
Snakeskin soap from The Lathered Lamb Picture
Limited edition Ophidian Forest Soap from The Lathered Lamb
A snake in the woods is quite a sight. Snakeskin in soap is pretty cool, too! What do you think?

​~ Debbie
0 Comments

Certification Success Plus

5/25/2019

0 Comments

 
Welcome sign at the Gaylord Texas Resort
A plus size welcome
This year's Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild conference was at the Gaylord Texan Resort in the town of Grapevine, north of Dallas, Texas. It was the fourth HSCG conference I've attended and was notable in that I tested for and received Advanced Soapmaker certification and was also  recognized as being a five year member of the guild. (Plus I got to see my two daughters and little granddaughter who now live in Texas, and she recognized me as her grandma!)
HSCG 5 years Member Badge
HSCG Advanced Soapmaker Certificate
I've been making soap for over 10 years but wanted to be certified to show that maybe I really do know a little bit about making soap. Plus my friend Carol of Skinkist Soap encouraged me to go for it. She was my soap buddy at the conference, and she is my soapmaker friend here in Jacksonville. We have fun making different kinds of soap and talking soap together. Plus we often eat biscuits together at Maple Street Biscuit Company. That's a lot of pluses, and biscuits!

But I digress.

The Gaylord Texan Resort was a great venue for the HSCG conference, as well as a great place for a reunion with my daughters and granddaughter. The atrium of the Gaylord was the center of activity for hotel guests who could experience family-friendly activities connected with a Peter Pan themed Summerfest, which included the roaming characters Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell. Plus it was Prom Weekend for the local high schools, and the atrium and restaurants were filled with roaming wanna be princesses and their Prince Charmings - and their picture taking parents. Quite the sight. Plus 500 soapmakers, but who noticed them?
Atrium of the Gaylord Texas Resort
Can you find the pirate flag and Peter Pan?
There were numerous speakers at the HSCG conference including Anne-Marie Faiola of Bramble Berry Soap, Charlene Simon of Bathhouse Soapery, Clyde Yoshida of Vibrant Soap, Zahida Map of Handmade in Florida, and many others. Plus Dr. Kevin Dunn, who is HSCG's own soap scientist extraordinaire. He and I had a short conversation during one break. I enjoyed hearing their perspectives on the business and art of making soap and appreciate what they contribute to the soap making community. In the universe of soap makers, they are all stars in their own right.
Lone Star of the Gaylord Texas Resort Atrium
Even stars are bigger in Texas
The Advanced Soapmaker certification process includes making a batch of plain soap from scratch using SAP calculations, keeping a weight record as the soap cured, labeling it correctly per FDA standards, submitting SDS sheets of each ingredient, and passing a multiple choice test. Yes, there is math involved. Thankfully online practice tests are available. And the math isn't too bad once you figure it out. Just ask Maggi, the gal I gave an impromptu math lesson to during a break. She did the math and passed the Basic Soapmaking certification test. Yay!

(Here's a helpful soapmaker math hint: remember to multiply by 40 and divide by 56.1 to convert KOH SAP values to NaOH SAP values. Oh, and pay attention to the instructions on how to round the answer.)
Moving right along.

​There is the soap making universe and then there is BrickUniverse. Yep. Both have conventions - one is for building the network of soap makers and the other is for Lego builders. And unlike a basic soap recipe, creating with Legos is never simple. But for a moment at the Gaylord Texan Resort, both of these worlds collided as I stopped to admire this treasure:
Lego replica of the Gaylord Texas Resort
A replica of the Gaylord Texan made out of Legos
And here is the soap I submitted for certification. I call it Simplicity, because it's pretty simple. Unlike a Lego replication.
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
The soap I made for HSCG Advanced certification
You may notice that my label has a new updated look. Plus it's now 100% FDA label compliant. I rather like the easier to read font and will continue to update my soap labels as I make more batches. If you'd like a bar of Simplicity, there are a few available in my shop.
The Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild convention filled 3 1/2 days. Whenever I had some time to spare, I took off my soapmaker name badge and put on my other name - Grandma. My granddaughter doesn't care that I'm a certified Advanced Soapmaker. Maybe when she's older I will show her how to make soap. Or how to build with Legos. Or how to do simple math. Regardless, she is a star who lights up my universe. With or without boots.
A child at the Gaylord Texan Resort
Those boots. Plus they light up.
So let your light shine in someone's universe. With or without boots.
​
Thanks for stopping by!

​~Debbie, aka Grandma
State flag of Texas and the United States Flag at the Gaylord Texan Resort
Blue skies over the Lone Star State
0 Comments

A Sample of Soaps

4/13/2019

0 Comments

 
For me, making handmade soap is a creative pursuit that satisfies my desire for simple, practical beauty. A bar of soap is functional. It cleans. ​It serves the every day necessity of personal cleanliness. Yet it can also serve in providing a pleasant sensory experience of touch and smell. Not taste. You don't want to taste soap. Even if it does look good enough to eat.
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
Wrapped and labeled soap bars
After ten years of making soap, I still enjoy the endless possibilities of combining color, fragrance, ingredients, and texture in different ways to create a bar of soap that is unique from every other bar of soap, even one that comes from the same batch. I like the prospect of serendipity - the act of finding something valuable or delightful when you are not looking for it - because not every batch of soap behaves itself in the making. Sometimes a batch decides to deviate from the original plan. But that's okay. I like soap with personality. It can go ahead and express itself, but I know that in the end it gets the job done. Even when things go exactly as planned, there is often an unexpected pleasant surprise in the design of the finished soap.
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
Feldspar - because it looks like that type of rock
Every soap has a story that is only known by the soap maker. A batch of soap is made for many reasons. It may be for an upcoming event - a baby shower or a wedding, a craft show or arts market, a fund raiser or charity auction. Sometimes it's to try a new swirling or layering technique, a different colorant or additive, a particular fragrance oil. When a soap really misbehaves, it can be rebatched - melted down and remolded - kinda like a make over. That's something else I like about making soap - that it's flexible enough to change. After a little bit of fuss, eventually it gets the job done. It cleans, and it smells good while it's at it.
Handmade Soap from The Lathered Lamb
Quietude - a state of stillness, calmness, and quiet in a person or place
I am a member of the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild, a non-profit trade association serving the handcrafted soap and cosmetic industry. Last year I tested and received Basic Soapmaking Certification. At the guild conference next month, May 2019, I plan to test and receive Advanced Soapmaking Certification. As part of that process, I had to make a basic soap from scratch. This entailed doing all the formula calculations by hand, getting safety documentation of all the ingredients, and submitting information on the soap making process. Such a far cry from the inexactness of making soap in times past! As I wrote in an earlier post, "For the pioneers, making soap was a hot, exhausting process involving wood ashes from their cooking fires and animal fats from their livestock or leftover cooking grease. It was an imprecise process at best but did result in a functional soft soap that was good for cleaning clothes but rather harsh for cleaning skin." Instead of dealing with all that mess, the basic simple bar of soap (pictured below) I made in the comfort of my kitchen is gentle and beautiful without added color or fragrance. 
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
Simplicity - an unscented natural bar of soap
Every soap maker adds a heaping tablespoon of their own personality and experience into the soap they make. I enjoy the differences. The market for handmade soap is huge because everyone benefits from using handmade soap. My soap isn't necessarily better than soap made by another soap maker. It's just different. And that's okay. Well made soap does what it's made to do. It cleans. It looks good and feels good. I like that. 
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
Sedona Rose
When I look back at the first soap I made, I am pleased with how much I have learned and am satisfied that making soap still brings me pleasure. When others enjoy using handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb, I am happy. They are happy. And clean. What a simple pleasure! To be happy and clean. So if you haven't used one of my happily made soaps yet, get yourself a bar soon. We'll both be happy.
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
The first soap I ever made - unscented and colored with paprika.
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
Romance - one of the latest soaps I've made
Thanks for stopping by!

​~Debbie
Live simply. Use Soap.
0 Comments

The Story of a Lamb Who Makes Soap

6/26/2018

2 Comments

 
Recently I updated the About section of my Facebook page, so this is a good time to include some of that info here.

My name is Debbie Lamb and I make soap. This is my story.

There was a time when I didn’t even know there was such a thing as handmade soap anymore. I thought the days of soap making from scratch was confined to that period of time when early settlers of the United States had to make do with what they had, or when hardy pioneers forged paths across the country in search of a new piece of land to call home. Who made soap from scratch in these modern times?
Picture of a Pioneer soap maker
If I were a pioneer, I would make soap
But in my search to find a better way to care for my curly wavy hair and my aging skin, I began to learn that handmade soap did indeed exist and that it is a superior option to the sulfate laden detergent based body bars and shampoos that are readily available. So after reading all I could find about soap making in 2009, the little available online and in books, I gathered all the necessary supplies, overcame my fear of using lye, and made a simple batch of cold process soap. I was hooked. And after using my soap, my skin was no longer dry and itchy. So I joined the ranks of soap makers who link the past with the present and offer a better future for safe, gentle body care around the globe. Who knew that something as ordinary as soap could be extraordinary?
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
Handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
For the pioneers, making soap was a hot, exhausting process involving wood ashes from their cooking fires and animal fats from their livestock or leftover cooking grease. It was an imprecise process at best but did result in a functional soft soap that was good for cleaning clothes but rather harsh for cleaning skin. Today soap making is both an art and a science. Ready made lye is available in convenient pellet or flake form. Vegetable oils, animal fats like lard and tallow, and exotic butters like shea and cocoa are easy to find. A myriad of formulas can be formulated with online soap calculators to ensure the bar isn't harsh from too much lye. Micas, oxides, clays, and other colorants are used to add beauty to each bar, and an ever growing library of techniques is evidence of just how artistic soap making can be. 
Aquarius handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb
The sparkly top of Aquarius
Since I first made that simple batch of soap in 2009, hundreds of bars of soap made in my kitchen have been used and enjoyed. Today handmade luxury soap from The Lathered Lamb is still being made in small batches from scratch with good for your skin ingredients like shea or cocoa butter, goat milk, and silk. I formulate each batch of soap to gently clean the skin while delighting the senses with wonderful fragrance, beautiful design, and silky lather. My handmade soaps embody my commitment to create an extraordinary everyday product that is a wholesome combination of natural beauty, simplicity, and usefulness. My motto is: Live Simply. Use Soap.

Experience the simple pleasure of using handmade soap from a Lamb who makes soap! See what's new in my little shop and get yourself a bar today. You'll be delighted you did. 

~Debbie, a Lamb who makes soap

​
2 Comments

Soaps for a New Year

1/24/2018

0 Comments

 
For the new year, some things remain the same, but some things change. Isn't that the way most every year begins? As for The Lathered Lamb, I've simplified my soap production with slightly smaller bars and standardized recipes. The quality remains the same, but I've narrowed my recipes down to just a few favorites, and the bars are now the industry standard of 4.5 oz rather than 6 oz. This keeps my costs down and the price per bar compatible with other soap makers. After all, I'm just making and selling soap - but soap from The Lathered Lamb is unique to me, the soap maker.

​Handmade soap is a treat. Mine isn't necessarily better, but it is different from other handmade soaps because I made it. Just like any other handmade item. I strive to make my soaps extra ordinary, a delight to the senses, an affordable luxury for anyone who uses bar soap. So enjoy the simple pleasure of using handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb. After all, a new year is the perfect time to make some changes!
Sweet Pear Handmade Soap from The Lathered Lamb
Sweet Pear - a delicate green bar with a shimmery top, scented with the tart and juicy fragrance of ripe pears.
Lemon Soap from The Lathered Lamb
Lemon - a pale yellow bar highlighted with a dusting of white mica, scented with the tart, chilled notes of sugared Meyer lemon, mandarin and pineapple.
Honeysuckle Soap from The Lathered Lamb
Honeysuckle - with green and peach swirls on a yellow base, this bar is scented with the beautifully enticing spring aroma of golden honeysuckle nectar.
Lavender Soap from The Lathered Lamb
Lavender - topped with lavender buds, this soap has a lavender swirl and is scented with the best lavender fragrance oil I could find.
White Tea Soap from The Lathered Lamb
White Tea - creamy white with a subtle swirl, scented with the soothing fragrance of white tea.
This is just a sampling of the delightful handmade soaps available in my shop on Etsy. Of course, you can order directly from this site by clicking the ENTER STORE button. Local folks can contact me directly and save on shipping. This is just the beginning - more soaps will be added soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

​~Debbie
0 Comments
<<Previous
    The Lathered Lamb
    Debbie the Soap maker Enjoying simple pleasures

    Blog Categories

    All
    Beautiful Places
    Face Mask Tutorial
    History
    Soap Making

      If you'd like to receive my blog posts or get first dibs on my latest soaps, sign up below. 
      ​ I promise not to spam you.

    Subscribe to Blog

    Handmade Soaps - Free Shipping - Courage

    Discover the benefits of using handmade soap - gentle cleansing, luxurious lather, soft skin. Handmade from start to finish, with beautiful color and wonderful fragrance, natural ingredients are combined to produce a simply unique bar of handcrafted soap.


    You are sure to be delighted with my handcrafted artisan soaps. Due to the handmade nature of these beautiful soaps, individual bars may vary from the photos shown. Each bar of handmade soap from The Lathered Lamb is truly one of a kind!


    My handcrafted artisan soaps are made using the cold process method of soap making from scratch. Vegetable oils and butters are mixed with sodium hydroxide, resulting in a chemical reaction which produces natural soap. Small batches are made in my kitchen with care and attention to detail. Some batches are limited edition, so snag a bar while they are available because once they're gone, they're gone!


    My original soap formulas produce luxury soaps with silky, bubbly lather that gently cleans the skin. These handmade soaps are scented with body safe fragrance or essential oils and are colored with natural pigments. Each bar of my handcrafted soap weighs over 4 ounces and comes wrapped in an attractive label with a complete ingredient list. Shrink wrap protects the soap while ensuring the fragrance can be smelled through an opening in the back.


    Did you know that body wash is made with detergents? Sodium lauryl sulfate and other sulfates strip the skin of beneficial body oils. Sure a body wash smells great and looks pretty. Plus the plastic container is convenient, even if it usually ends up in a landfill, but many folks don't realize that they could wash their dishes with that bubbly body wash!


    Handmade soap is a simple solution. Sometimes the old ways are better after all. Detergents have only been around for 100 years, after being developed in Germany during World War 1. Soap making, however, has been an ongoing craft for thousands of years. 


    Handmade soap is an affordable luxury. Pamper yourself or someone special today with a bar of soap from The Lathered Lamb. Live Simply. Use Soap.


    To order other fragrances, see individual product listings.



    Courage - 4 oz net wt

    6 available

    Price includes shipping


    Courage handmade soap is scented with masculine notes of black peppercorn and leather are carefully crafted with warm woods, patchouli, musk and citrus. The slate blue soap has a textured top.


    Ingredients - palm oil, coconut oi, olive oil, sodium hydroxide, castor oil, shea butter, fragrance, ultramarine blue, silk



    To order other fragrances, see individual product listings.





    Local customers, enjoy the reduced price of $7 a bar, 4 bars for $25, or 12 bars for $70. Please contact me for either pick up or meet up delivery, and I will refund the shipping.

    Up to 12 bars of soap from The Lathered Lamb will fit in a flat rate padded envelope.

    See What's New

    Blog Archives

    September 2022
    November 2021
    May 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    June 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Enter Store
Proudly powered by Weebly