Thursday, March 14, 2013

Peppermint Lemongrass Sage Swirl Soap


If you have been following this blog for a while, you may remember that I bought a bunch of essential oils last year and vowed to play around with more EO combinations.

I haven't done too much experimenting yet, but I did recently make a batch with lemongrass, peppermint, and sage EOs.

With spring coming, I wanted something fresh, clean, and light. And I wanted bright, outdoorsy colors. Peppermint is one of my all-time favorite essential oils, and I also love anything lemony. (Spring always gets me thinking about lemons.) I figured peppermint and lemongrass would be very nice together, and sage goes hand-in-hand with lemongrass.

So peppermint, lemongrass, and sage it was. And the colors would be bright yellow and green. I had been itching to use my vertical mold again, and I thought the yellow and green would look beautiful side-by-side.

I've also been wanting to experiment with some new recipes, too. I remembered that my blogger friend Cee Gee shared one of her recipes on her blog, Oil & Butter. I adore Cee Gee's soaps and was eager to try her formulation. I did not have mango butter, but that did not deter me from trying the Mango Butter soap recipe. I substituted shea butter instead, but I will have to obtain some mango butter (which I plan to do soon) because I have heard so many wonderful things about it. And, of course, since I changed the recipe, I ran it through a lye calculator to get the correct amount of sodium hydroxide for that particular list of ingredients.

For the essential oils, I chose a 1:1 ratio for the peppermint and lemongrass, and I used half as much sage. Lemongrass sticks pretty strongly, and I wanted the peppermint to come through as well. I didn't want to overdo it with the sage - I was going for a subtle hint of greenness, so I opted for half as much sage as peppermint or lemongrass.

It was hard for me to imagine any other colors than yellow and green for this scent profile. And I wanted the colors to be bold and bright. So I chose Bramble Berry's Fizzy Lemonade and Hydrated Chrome Green colorants. To make things a little more interesting, I decided to do two in-the-pot swirls - one green with yellow swirls, and one yellow with green swirls - and pour them into either side of the mold.

Here is a video I made of the process:


Overall, I am very pleased with how this batch turned out! I was hoping that the soap would be more swirly. Perhaps I was a bit too light-handed with the swirl colors. But the effect is still gorgeous. I think a vertical twist swirl would have been fabulous, too. I will definitely have to try this technique in the future as well.

The scent combo is nice. I mostly smell lemongrass, with peppermint coming in right on its heels. The sage is not as strong, but it lends a bit of herbal earthiness in the background.

The soap has been curing for about seven weeks now and I have been using a bar in the shower. Cee Gee's recipe gets two enthusiastic thumbs up! The soap has a bubbly, creamy lather and it feels great on the skin. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Cee Gee!


The Peppermint Lemongrass Sage soap looks and smells like happiness. It will be perfect for spring!

What kinds of scents, colors, and themes do you enjoy in the springtime? Anything in particular that says "spring" to you, soap- or otherwise?

38 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your video. I haven't tried making CP soaps but you make it look very simple. The colours are so spring-like and just in time for St. Patrick's Day. The scents sound fabulous.

    I like anything fruity for a scent and it evokes for me, springtime, no matter what time of year it is.

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    1. Thanks so much! I like the bright yellow and green together. I hadn't thought about St. Patrick's Day, but you're right, the colors are perfect for it, too! CP soaping is fun, and you'll quickly the hang of it. And I agree - fruity scents are great any time of the year, but they are especially nice in the spring!

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  2. Wow--it looks so zippy!!! I LOVE it! And I really wish I could smell it; it sounds like a great combination!

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    1. Thanks! I do like the scent combo, and I love the two colors side-by-side. The vertical mold is lots of fun!

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  3. Great video as always Jenny, love the fresh vibrant colours - I learnt heaps of tips, thanks for sharing. Interesting combo using peppermint with lemongrass & sage. I have tried lemongrass & basil before which was really nice and refreshing.

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    1. Thank you, Kathy! The scent combo is nice. Lemongrass and basil sound great together, too. I've started a list of EO combinations to try, and it seems the possibilities are endless!

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  4. Wow, those colors are beautiful and are so good for spring and summer. I have not been using EO´s in a long time, but maby I could try mixing something new. And even try lavender that I don´t like that much.

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    1. Thanks, Marika! I haven't played with my EOs too much, but I have plenty to keep me busy. I need to try some of the combos that I have jotted down in my notebook. And I still have lots of FOs waiting to be used! I have so many fragrances and I always end up buying more. Lavender is great in blends if you're not too fond of it on its own. My mom doesn't like patchouli by itself, but she likes it in a blend. :)

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  5. I want these colours!
    Perfect choice for the upcoming days! And the e.o.blend,as well! I love any mint and this combination makes you don't wanna stop with your bath! How does 29% of c.o. (I just saw Cee's recipe) feel in skin? Not dries it out! I usually go with less c.o., but along with castor oil.
    Great post,as always, Jenny!
    And you've started making videos on regular basis,I see! That's super!

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    1. Thanks, Maja! I love the bright yellow and green, too! And I am a huge fan of mint - this combo is very refreshing. Coconut oil at that percentage doesn't seem to dry out my skin. I usually use about 29% coconut oil in my standard recipe, along with 45% olive oil, 17% sustainable palm, 6% butter or oil (like avocado or sweet almond, etc.), and 3% castor oil. The percentages may vary a little, depending on which recipe I'm using. I seem to do fine with coconut oil at around 30%, but I know some people might find that too drying. I like to do a superfat of at least 7%, too. And thanks for watching my videos! Those are fun to make.

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  6. The colors are very "Springy"! Your fragrance combo sounds so uplifting and fresh. I bet they smell amazing :0)

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    1. Thank you, Kia! These colors are perfect for spring, and the scent combo is very refreshing!

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  7. Perfect colors for a spring soap..beautiful! I like lemongrass and sage, but have never tried peppermint with it..sounds like a lovely combo! Currently, I'm using Lemongrass and Lavender, and I really like it...I guess it's kind of "spring-y". :)

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    1. Thanks, Kalla! The scent combo is nice, and the peppermint gives it a bit of extra zing. Lemongrass and lavender sound nice together, too. I'll have to give that combo a try someday!

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  8. Hi Jenny,

    The colors makes loss of spring, i like it very much (green and yellow are the spring colors for me), the combination of the volatiles oils are fine, i love soaps with peppermint and Lemongras.

    That is one of the lemony fragrances, which holds good in cold process soap.

    Greetings,

    Krissi

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    1. Thank you, Krissi! The lemongrass does stick nicely in cold process - it's such a great scent! Now that spring and summer are coming, I need to get my brighter colors out.

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  9. I like how the swirls look like little ghosts of color in each side. Cool effect!

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    1. Thanks, Chrissy! I was hoping that the soap would be a little more swirly, but the wispy, subtle swirls are pretty cool, too. :)

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  10. Really refreshing combination of design, colors end eo blend. Soaps turned out really grate, perfect for the spring. The peppermint eo is one of my favorite but I’ve never tried sage eo so far. After reading your post I am definitely inspired to give it a try!

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    1. Thank you, Gordana! I am very happy with how this soap turned out, too. The colors are so nice and bright! I love peppermint in just about anything. This is my first time using sage EO, and it is very nice. I haven't played with EOs too much, and I've got a list of combos to try!

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  11. Beautiful soap Jenny....the scent sounds amazing!

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    1. Thank you, Gloria! The scent combo turned out very nicely!

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  12. Very creative as always, Jer, and the colors are gorgeous! Peppermint, lemon grass, and sage sound like wonderful scents for Spring. I am also partial to green tea and anything minty.

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    1. Thanks, Mom! Green Tea is a nice scent, too - I think I still have some FO left. And I'll bet a little bit of peppermint would go well with green tea!

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  13. Peppermint and lemongrass sounds to be a nice combination, Jenny!And the colors are so perfect for spring! Love the design too!
    Thanks for sharing with us your video's, it's always nice 'seeing' you!

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    1. Thank you, Natalia! I like the scent combo very much, and the colors are so nice and bright. And thanks for watching my videos! I'm glad that you enjoy them. :)

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  14. I really enjoy your videos! So well produced. I think the soap turned out beautifully!

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    1. Thank you, Milla! I'm happy with how this batch turned out, too. And thank you for watching my videos! I'm so glad that you like them. :)

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  15. Very pretty Jenny... I love the colors and design. I bet it smells wonderful too!!

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    1. Thanks, Kim! I love that neon yellow - it's so bright! And the hydrated green is another one of my favorites. The lemony-minty scent combo smells great!

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  16. I'm so pleased that you tried out the recipe, and even more happy that you've tested it and like it! I love the fresh two-toned colors you chose and the e.o. blend sounds divine!

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    1. Hi, Cee Gee! Your recipe is wonderful - I'm really enjoying the soap. It makes a nice, hard bar with lots of creamy lather. I'll have to try your Mango Butter soap recipe again when I actually have some mango butter. :D I like the yellow and green side-by-side, too, and the scent combo is lovely. Thanks again for sharing your recipe!

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  17. Gorgeous! I think that the colors you picked really compliment each other very well! =)

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    1. Thank you, Anne-Marie! I love the bright yellow and green, especially side-by-side. And I love the vertical mold, too! There are so many cool things you can do with it.

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  18. Wow, Jenny, this last soap of yours is really beautiful! I've been away for a while and somehow I've missed out on whats new ... The smell sounds fresh and citrusy, the way I like it ;)

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    1. Thanks, Iulia! I'm really happy with how it turned out, too. The scent is very nice - citrusy with a bit of zip from the peppermint. Definitely refreshing!

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  19. Hi there I saw this video and had a thought about how to achieve a more definite swirl. Pour your two colours as normal and then remove the middle divider. stick a chop stick into the soap mould all the way to the bottom and then swirl it between the two colours from side to side. Hope this makes sense. The problem with a pot swirl is that the colours mix too much - IMO.

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    1. Thank you for the suggestion, Odette! And thanks for checking out my blog and video - I enjoy your blog as well! I do wish that the two ITP swirls had been more pronounced. I also wanted the soap to be two-toned and have a definite boundary between the yellow side and the green side. I guess it's tough to achieve both effects simultaneously. Maybe the vertical mold's design also makes it tougher to get a distinct ITP swirl going. Pouring the two soaps and then swirling in the mold would create a beautiful look, too. Maybe that way I could still have the colors side-by-side but with some swirling in the middle, kinda like a mantra swirl. Thanks again for sharing your ideas! I will have to give that a try someday!

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