# Show and Tell- Loofah soap



## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I just finished up the first scent for a custom order. I'm pretty happy with it. It was fun making the loofah soaps. I love using them!


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Nice! Love your packaging/labels.


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## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

very cool- love the label too! I haven't ever used a loofah soap. Is it super exfoliating? I had a guy ask me if I made any soap with grit. Grit? LOL, exfoliating *things*


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## carlidoe (Jul 30, 2010)

Very nice. I've always wanted to try this as well.


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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

Thanks, it's mega scrubby but not scratchy. The loofah softens up a bit when wet.


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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

carlidoe said:


> Very nice. I've always wanted to try this as well.


 They weren't too bad to learn how to make. I did ruin a couple of batches though. More of a problem with not used to soaping in PVC. I'm pretty sure both batches overheated and separated. There are oil pockets in the center. Luckily they are still useable soaps-just not salable. I thought I was going to ruin one batch because the soap thickened up too much. I just kept banging it until bubbles stopped coming to the surface. It did the trick because there were no air pockets when I cut.


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Did you wet your loofah first? I remember reading (here maybe) that you should soak them first, then squeeze out as much water as you can before stuffing them into the pipe. And how did you cut it? I made these once and had a very hard time cutting it. I used a serrated knife but if I ever do it again I'm going to have dh use his saw. LOL


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I've wondered about cutting the loofah up BEFORE making the soap and just putting the slices into the PVC pipe in layers.


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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I just stuffed the dry loofahs in the pipes. They were small enough to jam in dry. I read on here that to get the really big loofahs in the pipe it helps to wet them. Then they will squish in. My mom built me a miter box type jig to put the soap logs in. It has a cutting guide to make 1" wide soaps. I just used a serrated knife to cut. It sliced right through easy enough. I soaped with a 33% lye solution so my soaps were a lot softer too.


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## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

I soak the loofah overnight, take it out of the water when I am starting to make a batch, stuff it in the PVC before the lye goes into my oils. Pour, let sit a few hours, freeze....... Then I have found the best way to cut them (I use a miter box) is when you take them out of the freezer let them sit for about an hour, then take a "bread" knife, hold and saw. They turn out beautiful


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

I cut my loofas in 2" increments, lay them on waxed paper and pour the soap onto them. Super easy.


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Now that does sound easy, Caroline!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)




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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

tlcnubians said:


> I cut my loofas in 2" increments, lay them on waxed paper and pour the soap onto them. Super easy.


Do you pour at a thicker trace? I pour at as thin of a trace as I can manage so all the holes get filled up with soap.

Lovely soap Vicki. So what's the scent? We need the full mental picture here.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It's my Eucalyptus, I also do this in a bar soap. Herbs are ground into the soap with a stick blender so when the soap is cured all the pretty circles in the loofa are lined with herbs, the soap stays a pretty off green being a true castile and my olive oil is pomace. Essential oils of Eucalyptus, Lemon Grass, Tea Tree, a little Patch and Peppermint. My directions are exactly like Lynn's


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Vicki, tell me about those racks you have there? I know what that plastic shelving liner stuff is, but the racks themselves...where did you get those?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It's just what I had when I started soaping, it's actually stainless and they sell them at Sam's, but it was old and sort of green looking from electrolysis, so I spray painted it flat black...it's actually just the shelf in the soap room that customers get their unwrapped bars off of...If you peer through the back you can see the Gorilla shelves in the back? They hold the commercial dishwashing racks that self stack and the rubbermaid containers that I fill with each soap I carry unwrapped. There are two Gorilla units side by side which also hold lye in 50 pound bags, all my USPS boxes etc... there will be 4 of them in the new soap room, I love those racks!


On the left of the black shelves is floor to ceiling shelving which hold displays of all the soap wrapped, with one of the bars in soap dishes, I also display all of Lee's lotion bottles etc...and all the rest of the toiletries I do. It's super tiny, but there isn't a nook or cranny that doesn't hold something, and it's super efficient...but I will be loving it when I move into my new 8 times bigger area!


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Ugh. I can't see them. I need to take a trip to Texas. 

Kathy (Kalne) also uses the commercial dishwasher racks, I think. She even posted a link. I've looked at them, but I can't figure out how to rotate them easily. Here's my thought process on those:

1. Have a rack with soap.
2. Another batch, different day. New soap.
3. Again, another batch, even newer soap.

How do you rotate with stacking? I'm guessing you would place the oldest on top, but after a few racks, that would be hard and cumbersome. I'm just not getting how to efficiently use those restaurant dishwashing racks.


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Yes, I use them. Two of my batches will fit on one tray (64 bars). I stack them 12-14 high. (On the bottom are rolling frames that dh made so they are not sitting right on the floor, air can circulate underneath, and they are easily moved.) When I get a stack 12-14 high I simply restack it so the top is now on the bottom and the new top is the first to be ready. It only takes a few minutes to restack so no big deal (and sometimes I just have ds do it LOL). I could stack them higher but it gets awkward trying to lift them up much higher than that and I don't want to hurt my back or anything so that's my limit. These were an excellent investment as they take up so little space. A stack of 12 can hold over 750 of my size bars! I have enough for 2 stacks right now and sometimes I wish I had more. As soon as we get more work space I'll be ordering more.


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## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

I also use the dishwashing racks. The stacking part is a pain- but they do hold a lot of soap in a very little footprint. Someday, I would like shelving for them to slide into...


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

When you fill a new rack with soap it goes on the bottom of the pile, not the top, the tops are the next to be done curing. When I just made a few batches a week, the racks were a pain because each rack had 2 or 3 different soaps on it, I actually had stickies on the outside of them so I knew when they were done and what soap they were. Now that a cutting in the morning fills most of one rack for customers and 3 or 4 dishwasher racks, and then has to sit for 2 weeks, it's not as big of a deal as before because I stay pretty far ahead. My racks only hold them stacked 8 high, so they are super easy to deal with and I can feel of the soap to know if it's ready to be wrapped or not, and I have soaping nights and wrapping days. Vicki


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

So, how do you put a new rack on the bottom of the pile? I don't have mine on shelves, they are stacked on top of each other. To put the new one on the bottom would require either lifting the entire stack onto the new rack or simply re-stacking every time I add a new rack. By waiting until I have a full stack and then reversing them by restacking I only have to do it once. Or am I missing something here?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Don't yours have the indentations on all sides to lift them with? Plus on the racks mine are only 8 high so it's just 2 nights (or sometimes part of the third night) of soaping. Like I said I don't do a lot of the old tedious keeping track of everything like I used to have to do when making smaller batches of soap. By putting your new soap on the bottom of the stack, your top trays are what needs to be wrapped, and also become your trays that your soap you make today go on. 

I also would rather have 4 stacks of 8 trays than one stack of 24, even though they self stack.


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

*Eventually* I'll have space to have more but shorter stacks. I would prefer that too. But for now I have to stack them 12 or so high. 2 trays is a days worth for me and I don't soap every day, usually just 3 days per week unless I really need to build up inventory. I'm getting there! LOL


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I tried to take photos, but until my new soap room is done I can't stand far enough back to show you anything!  Vicki


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