Dead Sea Mud and Peaked Tops

The other day, I made some more of my Dead Sea Mud Soap. This time, I decided not to separate the salt and the mud into different layers, it was all going in the pot together. I also decided that I wanted to add a little lemon essential oil to the blend of peppermint, rosemary, and tea tree.

I chose to add sea salt to the mud bar because sea salt offers some of the same skin care benefits that Dead Sea mud does. It is detoxifying, exfoliating, and good for skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne. I do not add Dead Sea salt, just regular sea salt because the extra mineral in the Dead Sea salt makes the soap "sweat." I originally chose peppermint, rosemary, and tea tree essential oils because they are all good for skin; they can help fight acne and dry skin! Plus, they smell so good together. I decided to add a little lemon because it also fights oily skin, but can also increase circulation and exfoliation. It can cause irritation, but I used it at a relatively small percentage.

I looks so fun! The trick is a REALLY thick soap...

I also decided to try my hand at "peaked tops" for soaps. I got the idea from a wonderful soap challenge at Great Cakes Soapworks, I didn't participate because of time constraints, but I loved reading! I watched several videos and read a couple of posts, so I just had to give it a try! I kept it fairly simple; I used a spoon to push the soap into peaks in the center and then I poked, prodded, and pushed until I was happy with it.

I unmolded and tried to cut the soaps today. I thought it was a little hard, but I didn't worry about it. As I started to cut, I noticed the first bar start to crack! DUH! Salt makes the bars a little more brittle, plus it was much harder than normal. So, I popped it in the oven to warm it all back up. They cut better, but the bottom edges did start to crumble a little. I don't think it will be a problem once they are cured and cleaned up though. I also decided that I won't do peaked tops until I get a wire cutter :)

Not a great picture, but I did it with my phone. I love them!

These will be ready around June 29th. I usually let them cure a bit longer, but as hard as these already are, I think that will be long enough. Mark your calendars because these usually go fast!