Cold process soap variations

There are SO MANY variations on cold process soap. It's crazy! People ask me what kind of soap I make, and there are so many ways I could answer that half the time I don't even know what to say. And that's not even counting the non-exactly-strictly-cold-process soaps I cover in this previous blog post. So I thought I would run down a few of them here for the soap-curious :)

• Regular! "Regular" cold-process soap doesn't mean plain and  boring. It's just not one of the specific variations below. It can be solid or layered or swirled, colored or fragranced, with any number of additives. For more details on cold-process soap, what it involves and how it's made, see our other blog post on the subject.
• Silk Soap has an extra-luxurious, silky texture because I dissolve real silk into the lye solution before I blend it with the oils. 
• Milk Soap substitutes milk (often goat's milk) for water, and while it can be tricky to make, the result is worth the effort. Milk soaps are gentle and moisturizing, and a lot easier to manage than
  soaking in a whole pool of milk like Cleopatra :)
• Craft Beer Soap explores (you guessed it!) craft beer. You can read more about the process here, but by using craft beer instead of water in the lye solution, and using ingredients and additives that reflect the attributes and flavor profile of the beer in question, you end up with a great-smelling soap with all the fragrance notes of a good beer and none of that boozy smell. And the ingredients, hops in particular, are great for your skin!
• Honey and Beeswax Soap is my first and favorite soap. Using honey and beeswax from our own bees, these soaps are fantastic for the skin and are especially good for those with skin sensitivities that keep them from using many commercial soaps. 
• Specialty Soaps are soaps made with a specific purpose. Some of ours include Jewelweed soap, because Jewelweed is a natural and extremely effective poison ivy remedy, or our Citronella/Peppermint/Lemongrass/Grapefruit soap, which was specially requested by a customer because of those essential oils' insect-repelling properties. 

Of course, there are many more kinds, but these are some of the main ones. We come up with new
ideas and get requests constantly, so there's no end to the new varieties we try out!