Monday, April 29, 2013

Bacon Soap

Yep, bacon soap!

I don't usually eat bacon. I tend to stay away from red meat and pork. Occasionally, I'll eat poultry or seafood. But I remember bacon. And it was good, especially when crisp. Soggy, fatty bacon is disappointing. And gross. But then, life is full of disappointing, gross things. But I digress.

So, anyway, this former bacon-eater was cruising around the Nature's Garden website one day and noticed that they had a bacon fragrance oil. Now, I probably shouldn't be buying fragrance oils because I already have so many that I still need to use. But I couldn't pass up bacon FO. And if I bought 10 one-ounce bottles, I could get 50 cents off each one.

You know where this is headed. I bought a bunch of fragrance oils. But I limited myself to ten and told myself that I had done a very good thing.

Out-of-the-bottle, the bacon FO smells just like frying bacon - smoky and meaty. It kinda reminds me of beef jerky. The scent holds up fantastically in soap, and it is very strong. The soap is sitting on my curing shelf now, and I can smell it from a room away.

I wondered, though, would anyone really want to use bacon-scented soap? Is it a novelty thing?

So, I asked my husband, Ken, "Would you use a soap that smells like bacon?"

"Sure," he said. "I'd use it."

"What if the neighborhood dogs start following you around?"

"That's okay. I like dogs."

Hopefully, we won't be attracting dogs. Especially since I don't need any help attracting dogs - they already love me and they will follow me to the edge of the world. If I charm any more dogs, I'll look like I'm leading a big, slobbering canine parade. They'll follow me home in droves and it will look like Dr. Dolittle up in here.

And how to best convey bacon through soap? I decided to use the tiger stripe technique, figuring that it would give me those wavy lines that you see on bacon strips. To do the tiger stripe, you split your batch into two or more colors and then pour lines of soap down the center of the mold, one on top of the other while alternating colors. For my soap, I lightly colored one portion with brick red oxide and left the other portion uncolored.

I used a recipe that would allow for a nice, slow trace: 45% olive oil, 29% coconut oil, 17% palm oil, 6% avocado oil, and 3% castor oil. The fragrance oil behaved beautifully - no ricing or acceleration, and I had plenty of time to work.

Here is a video of me making the Bacon soap:


I'm very pleased with how it turned out! I tried to use the brick red oxide a little sparingly, and it mellowed into a lovely reddish-pink color. And the fragrance oil discolored the uncolored soap to a perfect bacon-colored light beige.

And the scent is spot-on and sticks very well.

This seems like a guy soap, and I'll bet my dad and brother will get a kick out of it when I take some home soon. I just hope that my brother's dog doesn't eat the soap. Or him.

So whaddaya think? Pretty cool, huh? Have you or would you use bacon soap? Who do you think it would most appeal to?

36 comments:

  1. I have used this FO. No I will not use it but it is popular with kids and guys, if not for actual use it's fun as a "gag" gift! My whole soap cave was over taken by the smell of bacon! Love the tiger stripe technique.

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    1. Thanks, Autumn! The scent is strong - I can see it taking over your soap cave! Seems like Bacon soap would be a great gag gift. And the tiger stripe is fun! I will have to play with that technique some more in the future.

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  2. Hmmm...bacon soap -- definitely sounds like a guy thing. You're right, Jer -- your Dad and Kyle will get a kick out of it...if they don't eat it first!

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    1. Thanks, Mom! Yeah, bacon soap probably most appeals to guys. It's different, that's for sure! T.K. will probably like it, too. I hope he doesn't eat it!

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  3. Wow, Jenny, this is something I have never heard before: a bacon soap! Gorgeous swirls and the fragrance sounds so delicious!

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    1. Thank you, Natalia! I am really happy with how the tiger stripe swirls turned out. And the scent is very nice even if it is a little strange in soap!

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  4. I would try it,why not, but doubt I would ever go buy it! It's interesting that there is such a fragrance,at first place! Beautiful soap,Jenny,as always!

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    1. Thanks, Maja! It is interesting that a Bacon FO exists. I saw some other scents at NG's site that seem just as interesting: Leather Jacket, Money, New Car, Tobacco, Beer. I may have to try some of those, too!

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    2. Oh,really! I'm pretty curious to know what the scent of money is- maybe if I smelled like this one,the 'other' (real) money, would be sticking at me! Hi,hi...

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  5. Jenny, that is so funny! Your bacon soap looks almost the same as the bacon soap I made last month - same technique and almost the same colors! :)
    My daughter told me not to make her BF any more bacon soap because it makes everything in the linen closet smell like bacon.

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    1. Hi, Linda! How funny! I thought about doing layers, but after seeing all of the tiger stripes in Amy's soap challenge, I realized that it would be perfect for recreating the wavy lines in bacon strips. I can see the linen closet smelling of bacon if you put this soap in there. My mom puts hers in the linen closet, too - I'll have to give her a heads up!

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  6. I haven't had meat in 25 years but I still remember that feeling of crisp juicy bacon in my mouth. Not sure if I would use a soap that smells like it though. But I do like the colors and swirl!

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    1. Thanks, Marieke! It's been a long time, too, since I've had bacon. This FO definitely nails the scent! Thanks for the compliments - I'm happy with the look of this batch, too. It looked like a giant slab of bacon before cutting!

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  7. I think it´s a funny present for every man, really :)

    Greetings,

    Krissi

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    1. Thanks, Krissi! It seems like most guys like bacon. I'll bet they'd get a kick out of bacon soap!

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  8. I can easily imagine situation when you plan to by new FOs: trying to limit yourself but end up with much more than planned, although I always find good excuse for this:) Honestly, this is the first time I heard about bacon FO! Soap design turned out really authentic – no doubt that this will be grate present for every man.

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    1. Thank you, Gordana! It is always difficult to stick to a plan when buying FOs. Even if I go to buy something specific, something else will also catch my eye. Bacon FO definitely caught my eye, and I couldn't pass it up! I think guys will especially like this soap, and I like how it turned out, too!

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  9. Your bacon soap turned out fabulous...love the tiger stripe technique! Hmm, I don't know if I would use bacon scented soap..I could see guys liking it though. :)

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    1. Thanks, Kalla! The Bacon FO isn't appealing to the ladies much, but it seems everyone agrees that the guys would like it! When I think of the people I know who might enjoy this soap, everyone that comes to mind is a guy. We shall see what they think!

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  10. I bet a lot of guys would get a kick out of it, especially for Father's Day or something. I can't imagine I'd like my house smelling like bacon, but my husband keeps asking for something like this. Maybe one day I'll break down, buy the FO and make him some bars :) Great idea, and a good looking soap, Jenny!

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    1. Thank you, Chrissy! It would be great for Father's Day. How cool that your husband has asked for bacon soap! If you make him some, I hope he enjoys it!

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  11. Awesome soap design, Jenny! I have a ton of guy friends who would adore this soap, not to mention family members. I'd imagine bacon soap would do well for southerners -- we seem to love our pork. :) Awesome video, too! Did you use a certain type of editing software for it? I havent found one Im happy with, and would love to record my soaping, if only for later critique! Once we get out house anyway, and have more counter space. :)

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    1. Thanks, Ashley! I would imagine that Bacon soap would probably sell well in the South. I use Windows Movie Maker to edit and create my videos. It came preloaded on our computer, and it's easy to use once you get the hang of it. I look forward to seeing your soaping videos!

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  12. That's such a great idea Jenny! The tiger stripes definitely convey the look of bacon. It's bound to be a great hit because who doesn't love bacon. ;)

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    1. Thanks, Teresa! I thought that the tiger stripes recreated the look of bacon quite nicely. The FO is so true-to-scent, too. Bacon fans should like this one!

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  13. What a cool soap Jenny, great choice to use the tiger strip technique to mimic bacon. I must try some of this f.o...how fun!!!

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    1. Thanks, Cee Gee! I like the tiger stripe technique - I'll have to give it a try with several colors someday. And the Bacon FO is fun and unique!

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  14. I love how you chose the tiger stripe to convey the scent in this batch, it turned out great! =)

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    1. Thanks, Anne-Marie! The tiger stripes turned out just as I had hoped they would. They work well with the bacon scent!

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  15. Oh wow! Bacon soap. That is a first for me for sure. Beautiful soap! The Tiger Stripe came out really nice. What software did you use for the pic collage. I want to do something like that :)

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    1. Hi, Roxana! And thanks for your kind words! The Bacon FO smells like the real thing, and I really like how the tiger stripes turned out, too. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner - I was out of town for the past few days and didn't get on the computer much. I used iPiccy (ipiccy.com) to make the photo collage. iPiccy is a nifty online photo editor, and it's free to use. I like it, and I use it a lot.

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  16. Now that I've had the chance to actually try out your bacon soap, I have to say that it smells exactly like its smoky, meaty inspiration. I have to admit I don't particularly want to smell like bacon, but it is definitely a novelty!

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    1. Thanks, Mom! I'm glad that you had a chance to try the soap. It is very bacon-y and the scent is strong. It makes for a cool novelty soap!

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  17. Hi Jen,

    i am looking for a good recepy that does not have palm or castor oil since here where I live they are not easy to find. I have olive oil, corn, soy, avocado, almond, apricot, coconout, what do you recomned that will turn in a nice combination? what i have been seeing in my soaps is that they trun ligh yellow and the white just go.

    thanks!!

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    1. Hi, Eugine! You can make a great soap using those oils. If you do a web search for palm-free soap recipes, you'll find some great resources to help you get started. Here are a few of my favorites:

      http://thenovastudio.blogspot.com/2012/11/3-palm-free-soap-recipes.html

      http://www.lovinsoap.com/2012/06/palm-free-recipes-day-1/

      http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/palm-free-vertical-twist-tutorial/

      Hope that helps!

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