Aromatherapy/Botanicals Tip of the Week

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I know I've been remiss in posting my Weekly Tips and believe me, I've really missed working on them! My day job has been insane, leaving me zero extra time to research a new topic. But I've finally put something together for you guys!

Ever since I did homemade soaps and shampoos for Christmas presents, I've been really excited to dive into the world of soap-making. In the bit of research that I've done so far, I could only really find details on making soap using lye (which can be very dangerous and kind of scares me as a newbie to soap-making) or pre-made bases (which often include a lot of synthetic ingredients, although I have found one or two places that make all-natural soap bases).

Finally, I stumbled across this post on an awesome blog called Crunchy Chicken, which features tons of information on sustainable and non-toxic living. In her post, Deanna Duke (the creator of Crunchy Chicken and author of The Non-Toxic Avenger) talks about a few plants that are naturally high in saponin, making them suitable as natural soap ingredients.

Bouncing Bet (also known as soapwort) is a great option because it grows in most areas of the United States, plus it has really pretty flowers  ;) Deanna also mentions that soapwort smells like cloves, which makes me so excited to start growing it! I am definitely adding this plant to my garden this spring. And when  I finally do try making soap with it, I'll be sure to share my own recipe and photos with you guys!

Here is the recipe that Deanna shares on her blog:

Bouncing Bet Natural Soap

1/2 cup fresh leaves and/or root (or 1/4 cup dried) soapwort

4 cups water (preferably distilled or rain water)

Add the leaves (and/or root) to the water and simmer until it becomes sudsy, about 20 minutes. 

For the full post on Crunchy Chicken, click here.