pine soap recipe

by tim
(buffalo,mn)

Would you happen to have any soap recipes that use a pine scent? One that would not use fats, but still natural?

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You cannot make soap without including some amount of fats or oils to your caustic soda. In addition the presence of fats or oils, doesn't make soap any less "natural".

With regards to getting a pine smell to your soap you have one or two options. You can either go through the process of taking some pine needles and then distilling your own essential oils through steaming. Not a difficult process but a hassle to set up.

Or you can do what I do and that is take 1 1/2 cups of any herb or rose petals etc. and allow it to steep for a month in 1 cup of olive oil. I then drain out the vegetable matter and am left with a lovely, inexpensive essential oil that didn't take too much effort to make.

Of course, by steaming you will get a far more concentrated smelling oil, but really I can't be bothered by getting all the equipment together and setting it up.

If you are going to use the oil-based essential oils in your soap making then you can add 1 - 2 teaspoons per batch of soap. If you are using the steam method, then you only need a few drops.

You can add any essential oils to any basic soap recipe to create something entirely different.

You will see from time to time recipes for a pine tar soap. However, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of pine tar in soap making as it contains creosote which is a known carcinogen, and although some will argue that the pine tar used by the veterinarians is so low in content that the presence is negligible, which is the grade that most soap makers use, it is still best to avoid pine tar altogether.

Besides, the smell is really strong, and probably not what you are after if you are just wanting a forest-floor pine smell, which you will get if you use the pine needles. Those from the Scotch/Scots Pine work best in creating nice smelling soaps if you have access to it.

Regards
Countryfarm Lifestyles