Elderflower & Reship Salve (The Nerdy Farm Wife)

I was wondering why I bought elderberries and elderflowers. This post was the reason. I really enjoy Jan's posts.
The following information is from:【Elderflower & Reship Salve】

Elderflower & Rosehip Salve

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This salve features elder flowers, which are an old-fashioned remedy for softer, more evenly toned skin. Elder flowers are also traditionally used to heal scrapes, scratches and wounds, and as a treatment for dry skin.

I like to include rosehip seed oil in this salve, for its well known effectiveness against scarring, wrinkles and signs of aging.

The rosehip seed oil is optional though; if you don’t have any or don’t want to include it, just use more elderflower infused oil in its place.

NOTE: To print this post, scroll down until you see a green “Print Friendly” button. Some links on this site are affiliate links. I only promote products I personally use and like. :) 

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Elderflower Infused Oil

To make elderflower salve, you’ll first to need to make an infused oil.

To do so, fill a canning jar about 1/4 full of dried elder flowers and pour your favorite oil over them until the jar is almost filled. (I like sunflower oil best, but you can use sweet almond, apricot kernel, olive or another type of oil if you prefer.)

For a quick infusion: Set the uncovered jar down into a small saucepan filled with a few inches of water. Heat over a low burner for one to two hours, keeping a close eye that the water doesn’t evaporate out. Remove from heat and strain.

For a slower, more traditional infusion: Cap the jar of dried elder flowers and oil and tuck away in a cabinet for around 4 to 6 weeks, shaking occasionally as you remember to. When the infusing time has passed, strain.

For an alternative option: You could also set the jar of elder flowers and oil in a sunny windowsill for several days to a week to jump start the infusion. (Don’t store for long periods in sunlight though, as it tends to fade flowers and herbs over time.)

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Ingredients for Elderflower Salve

• 3 oz (85 g) elderflower infused oil
• 0.5 oz (14 g) rosehip seed oil
• 0.5 oz (14 g) beeswax

For best results, use a scale to weigh the ingredients. If you don’t own a scale, it may be helpful to know that 3.5 oz (99 g) of oil is roughly 1/2 cup, 0.5 oz (14 g) of beeswax is around 2 tablespoons loosely packed pastilles, and 0.5 oz (14 g) rosehip seed oil is around 1 tablespoon.

If you don’t have elder flowers at home, you can purchase high quality dried flowers from Mountain Rose Herbs. I also love and use their rosehip seed oil.

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How to Make Elderflower Salve

Combine the elderflower infused oil and beeswax in a heatproof container, like a canning jar or pyrex pitcher. Set the container down into a pan filled with a few inches of water, forming a makeshift double boiler.

Place the pan over low heat until the beeswax melts. Remove from heat and stir in the rosehip seed oil. If you have a favorite vitamin E that you like, you can squeeze the contents of a capsule into the salve to help lengthen shelf life.

You can also add a few drops of essential oil, such as lavender or rose, if you’d like your salve to be scented.

Pour into tins or jars and allow to cool completely. This recipe fills one 4-ounce tin.

To Use Elderflower Salve

Apply a thin light layer to hands, face and throat at night. This salve is best suited for those with dry and/or mature skin.

Light Body Lotion 清爽身體乳

This recipe is from https://thenerdyfarmwife.com
After Bath Sleepy Time Lotion Recipe {for kids, or all ages!}

It's easy to make and quite suitable for hot weather.

Stir and stir and stir till it is completely cool down.
The texture will become very smooth.

1. Calendula infused sunflower oil: 23g
2. Emulsifying wax: 7g
3. Rose hydrosol: 70g
4. Rose essential oil: 5 drops
5. Preservative: based on the description of use

Swedish Cinnamon Buns (Jamie Oliver) 肉桂麵包捲

Since my daughter loves it,  I made more!

Today's first try.

The following information is from {Beautiful vegan Swedish cinnamon buns}

Ingredients

• 7g fast-acting yeast
• 250ml almond milk
• 60ml boiling water
• 50g demerara sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 400g plain flour, plus more for dusting
• 4 tbsp corn flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

Filling

• 100g demerara sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 60ml vegetable oil

Glaze

• 1 tbsp boiling water
• 1 tsp demerara sugar
• Pearl sugar or chopped almonds, for sprinkling (optional)

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My adjusted recipe:

Ingredients

• Yeast 高糖速發乾酵母：2g
• Milk 鮮奶：150g
• Brown Sugar 蔗糖：20g
• Salt 鹽：1/4t
• All purpose flour 中筋麵粉：200g
• Corn flour 玉米粉：2T
• Vegetable oil 無味植物油：2T

Filling

• Brown Sugar 蔗糖：50g
• Cinnamon 肉桂粉：1/2T
• Corn flour 玉米粉：1T
• Vegetable oil 植物油：30ml

Glaze 適量即可

• 1 tbsp boiling water
• 1 tsp demerara sugar
• Pearl sugar or chopped almonds, for sprinkling (optional)

A twist of Baby's Breath Soap (from Soap Queen)

Used elderberries and elderflowers infused sweet almond oil to replace baby's breath flowers.

1. Elderberries & flowers infused sweet almond oil
2. 3g sodium lactate
3. Purple clay oil, gold powder
4. Lavender, geranium rose, sweet orange essential oils
5. 95% alcohol spay 

Explaining and Preventing Glycerin Dew (Soap Queen)

This explains why my last batch was so easy to unmold from the acrylic mold without any effort. The following information is from Soap Queen's post: {Explaining and Preventing Glycerin Dew}

Explaining and Preventing Glycerin Dew

 March 27, 2018  Filed Under: Tips & Tricks  26 Comments

Are there beads of liquid on your melt and pour soap, or do the bars look powdery? Are they slippery and wet to the touch? This is a common reaction referred to as “sweating” or “glycerin dew.”

In this example, the glycerin dew is concentrated around the outside of the bars. 

Melt and pour soap has extra glycerin added during the manufacturing process. It makes the soap easy to work with and also acts as a humectant. When you wash with melt and pour soap, a thin layer of glycerin is left behind. That draws moisture from the air onto your skin. Learn more about what the bases are made with in this Sunday Night Spotlight.

As melt and pour soap sits on the counter, glycerin draws moisture onto the bars and forms glycerin dew. It’s more common in humid climates.

Glycerin dew has formed around the corners of this bar. 

The good news is that it’s easy to prevent with the following tips.

• The Like Cold Process (LCP) Clear and LCP White bases have less glycerin, which means there’s little to no sweating. They’re a good option for extremely humid climates. We also recommend the LCP bases if you’re embedding melt and pour in cold process soap because they don’t morph or sweat as the bars cure.
• Let the soap harden and cool at room temperature. If it’s placed in the fridge or freezer for long periods of time it’s more likely to sweat.
• Wrap the bars tightly with plastic wrap and use a heat gun to shrink it on tightly. This Soap Queen TV video shows you how.
• Run a fan over the soap once it’s out of the mold. This is a good option for moderately humid climates but likely won’t work for extremely humid climates.
• Buy a dehumidifier and use it in your soaping space. It’s a good investment because it creates a dry environment for other products like cold process soap and bath bombs.
• You can also place the wrapped bars in an airtight container with rice or silica packets. Learn more in How to Store Handmade Bath Products.

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Another good information: A QUALITY BAR OF HANDMADE SOAP WILL OFTEN "SWEAT" IN HUMID WEATHER

酪梨米糠保濕皂 Moisturizing Avocado Soap

1. This soap bar was surprisingly easy to unmold from the acrylic mold, don't know why yet, just slipped out without any effort.
2. 2.3g sodium lactate (can omit)
3. Green clay oil, yellow clay oil, pearl clay oil as colorants
4. Lavender and cedarwood essential oils total 11g
5. 95% alcohol spay on finished top. Loosely covered with plastic wrap 

甜杏仁三重滋潤皂 Almond and Butters Soap

1. The soap has high possibility to crack since it contains high percentage of butters. Check every other hour after pouring into the mold.
2. The 32% Shea butter included Shea butter + olive butter
3. 3.5g sodium lactate (can omit)
4. Orange and lemon essential oils
5. Gold powder, pink clay oil
6. 95% alcohol spray on finished top

Aloe Vera Facial Soap (The Nerdy Farm Wife)

The following post is from https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/fresh-aloe-vera-soap-recipe/
{How to Make Fresh Aloe Vera Soap + Aloe Vera Facial Soap Recipe}

How to extract fresh aloe for soapmaking

1. Cut the aloe leaf into several sections.
2. Use a sharp knife to run along the inside edges of each section, separating the inner gel from the outer skin.
3. Use your fingers or a spoon and press the aloe gel from the leaf.
4. Place in a small food processor or blender.
5. Process until smooth. (It will get fluffy, almost like egg whites.)
6. Store in the refrigerator if you’ll be making soap within a few days, or freeze in ice trays for longer storage.

Ingredients for aloe vera soap

• 2.5 oz (71 g) distilled water
• 1.92 oz (55 g) lye (sodium hydroxide) – 6% superfat
• 2 oz (57 g) fresh aloe gel
• 6 oz (170 g) olive oil
• 3 oz (85 g) coconut oil*
• 2 oz (57 g) sunflower (or sweet almond or apricot kernel)
• 2 oz (57 g) tallow (or shea, mango or cocoa butter)
• 1 oz (28 g) castor oil

洋蔥麵包捲

1. 高粉：200g
2. 奶粉：4g
3. 酵母粉：2g
4. 棕梠糖：15g
5. 松露鹽：1t
6. 綜合香料：適量
7. 冰水：135g
8. 松露橄欖油：15ml
9. Trader Joe's：Bagel Sesame 加入麵糰一起攪拌。
10. 炒洋蔥（調味）：1/2 顆

• 第一次發酵完成後，鬆弛15分鐘，桿平，鋪上材料 10，捲起，放入圓模，第二次發酵約45 分鐘。

Miele 6260 層一，加濕一次，210 度Ｃ，5 分鐘，200 度，16 分鐘

Baby's Breath Soap (Soap Queen)

This soap looks nice. The following post is from: {Baby's Breath Soap}

Another information is about elderberry: {接骨木花茶}

Baby’s Breath Soap Tutorial

 March 5, 2018  Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap  44 Comments

Baby’s breath flowers are a delicate addition to any bouquet. They usually play second fiddle to larger flowers, but for this soap we let baby’s breath take center stage. We kept the design extremely simple – the entire batch is colored white and dried baby’s breath flowers are placed on top.

To get the bright white shade, we used only light-colored oils. We also added plenty of titanium dioxide, which does pose a few obstacles. Using a large amount of titanium dioxide can lead to glycerin rivers. They can be prevented by using a water discount, so this recipe is discounted by 15%.

Titanium dioxide is similar to clay in soap – it tends to dry it out. The wood mold also insulates the soap, causing it to become quite warm. We found the combination of titanium dioxide, heat, and a water discount led to cracking. After tweaking the recipe a few times, we found an amount of titanium dioxide that led to extremely white bars without cracking. The key was soaping with slightly cooler temperatures (100-110 ° F) and placing the soap in the freezer for 24 hours.

The soap is made with Baby’s Breath Fragrance Oil, which is a soft and delicate scent that doesn’t discolor. The Baby’s Breath Fragrance Oil is part of our Modern Floral Collection, which includes four new scents, extracts, dried botanicals, and more. Click here to see all the new products.

The baby’s breath flowers used on top were purchased fresh and allowed to dry for several weeks. We picked off the flowers to sprinkle on top prior to soaping. Interestingly, we found that the flowers bled a yellow hue onto the soap.

Baby’s Breath Soap Tutorial

What You Need:
Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
6.8 oz. Canola Oil (17%)
1.2 oz. Castor Oil (3%)
10 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
8 oz. Palm Oil (20%)
6 oz. Shea Oil (15%)
8 oz. Sweet Almond Oil (20%)
5.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
11.2 oz. Distilled Water (15% water discount)
2.5 oz. Baby’s Breath Fragrance Oil
2 tsp. Titanium Dioxide
Dried Baby’s Breath Flowers

Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!Find the supplies you need for this project below

If you’ve never made cold process soap before, stop here. We highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on cold process soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2.5 ounces of Baby’s Breath Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

MOLD PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold, click here.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add 5.6 ounces of lye to 11.2 ounces of water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 2.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

TWO: In a large glass bowl, combine and melt the 10 ounces of coconut oil, 6.8 ounces of canola oil, 1.2 ounces of castor oil, 6 ounces of shea oil, 8 ounces of sweet almond oil, and 8 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning).

THREE: Add 2 teaspoons of titanium dioxide to the oils and use a stick blender to fully combine until there are no chunks.

FOUR: Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to about 100-110 degrees F, add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until a thin trace.

FIVE: Add the 2.5 ounces of Baby’s Breath Fragrance Oil, and use the stick blender to mix in. Continue blending until you reach a medium trace.

SIX: Pour all of the soap batter into the mold. Firmly tap it on the counter to help get rid of bubbles. Use a spoon to manipulate the top and add a very light texture.

SEVEN: Sprinkle dried baby’s breath flowers on top of the soap, concentrating them toward the center. Use a little more than you’d like, as some may fall off during the cutting process. Use gloved fingers to gently press the flowers into the soap to help them stick better.

EIGHT: Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. To prevent cracking and glycerin rivers, place the soap in the freezer for 24 hours. Allow the soap to fully thaw and harden for another 2-3 days.

To remove, slide out the bottom piece of the mold and gently push the soap down and out. You can also grab the freezer paper and lift it up and out. Peel away the paper and cut the soap into bars. To avoid drag marks, lay the soap on its side and cut. Allow the bars to harden and cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy.

Soap Crack (Soap Queen)

The following information is from {Soap Queen}:
{Why Did My Soap Crack?}

Why Did My Soap Crack?

 June 20, 2016  Filed Under: Tips & Tricks  64 Comments

You poured your soap into the mold and everything looks wonderful. But, when you look at the soap the next day…ack! There’s a huge crack down the center. What happened? There are several reasons why your batch may have cracked. Below are some of the most common cracking culprits, and how to avoid them.

Too Much Hard Oils, Butters, WaxOne reason why a batch of soap might crack is because of the recipe. Soap is more likely to crack if it contains a large amount of solid oils, butters or wax. The potential for cracking is greater with more brittle butters and waxes, such as cocoa butter and beeswax. In general, I recommend limiting the amount of butters to 15% of your total oils, and the amount of beeswax to 8% or less of the total oils. This post has more information about various butters and how to use them in your soap and other beauty products.

Lots of firm butters like cocoa butter can cause soap to crack. I recommend using no more than 15% butter in your recipe to prevent this.

Lye HeavinessTo make cold process soap, lye and oils are combined to begin the saponification process. In a balanced bar, there is no lye leftover in the final product – it all gets transformed into soap! If too much lye is added, this can lead to a “lye heavy” bar. Lye heavy batches of soap tend to be dry and can crack. Think your soap might be lye heavy? Click here for information on how to test the pH and how to use it to make laundry soap.

Lye heavy soap can be brittle and may crack. Learn how to test the pH of your soap here.

TemperatureIf soap gets too hot, it may crack. The average soaping temperature is around 110-130° F. Once the soap is poured into the mold, it may go through gel phase. ‘Gelling’ and ‘gel phasing’ in cold process soap refers to a part of the saponification (soapmaking) process where the soap gets warm and gelatinous in the mold. During gel phase, the soap can reach temperatures up to 180° F. Click here to learn more about gel phase.

The soap becomes hottest in the center and tends to cool down toward the outside. As the heat makes its way out of the soap, it causes the soap to expand slightly. This can cause a crack on the outside. Temperature is perhaps the most common reason why a soap cracks. It’s even more likely to happen if the soap contains a high percentage of butters, waxes or dry ingredients.

Adding honey to cold process soap can cause an extreme gel phase, which can lead to the soap cracking.

Adding ingredients to soap that contain sugar, such as purees, honey or milk, promote gel phase. In the photo above, honey was added to the soap at trace. The honey caused the soap to go through gel phase and crack in the center. Learn more about adding honey to your cold process soap here. If you add ingredients with extra sugar such as honey, place the soap in the fridge or freezer directly after pouring for 5-24 hours to help prevent gel phase and cracking.

Dry IngredientsSoap can also crack if it contains ingredients that absorb moisture, such as clay. To compensate for the moisture clays absorb, I recommend dispersing them in distilled water. I usually use a dispersion rate of 1 tsp. clay to 1 Tbs. distilled water. While clays are the most common culprit for cracking, adding too much of any dry ingredients can contribute to cracks. For example, if you were to add lots of colloidal oatmeal, activated charcoal or arrowroot powder without additional water or oil, it may cause the soap to become dry and brittle.

To prevent clays from drying out your soap, disperse them in distilled water. Above, dispersed French green clay is added to soap batter in the Avocado + Spearmint Cold Process Tutorial. 

If you experienced a crack in your soap, don’t get discouraged! While it’s not ideal from an aesthetic standpoint, the soap is still safe to use. Just check the pH of the soap to make sure it’s not lye heavy. About 9 times out of 10, a crack is due to heat. Next time, soap a little cooler or place your soap in the fridge or freezer. In my experience, I’ve found cracks are rarely noticeable once the bars are cut! =)