Women's Menopause Health Center  March, 2008 Newsletter.

Menopause and Perimenopause Bath and Beauty Recipes.

 

LOOFAH SPONGE SOAP.

You can make your own loofah soap by adding bits of the chopped sponge to melted soap. The following recipe is for a simple loofah soap that makes an excellent scrubbing bar for your body. They also make nice gift tied up in pretty paper or fabric.

Ingredients:

• Petroleum jelly for greasing soap molds
• 1 bar bath soap, grated (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tab!espoon finely chopped loofah sponge (use kitchen scissors to cut up)

A simple rule of thumb when melting soap is to use only 1/10 the amount of water as soap. For example, if you have 20 ounces of soap, you would use 2 ounces of water. An average bar of soap is 3 1/2 to 5 ounces. I usually allow 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) per bar of soap.

Lightly grease the inside of the soap molds using the petroleum jelly. Place the soap and water into the top part of your double boiler or in an ovenproof dish in a saucepan of water and heat gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Heat until the soap is completely melted and resembles a smooth, fluffy white pudding. This may take up to 30 minutes. The soap starts out looking very dry and grainy, and then turns thick like pudding. Stir in the chopped loofah sponge and mix well.

It is important not to we direct heat, and do not allow the mixture to boil.

When all the soap is melted and smooth, carefully spoon the mixture into your prepared molds. It's okay if the molds overflow a bit because the soap may settle a bit; you can always trim away any excess after it has cooled. You will want to work quickly since the soap begins to cool immediately. Tap the edge of your molds gently to remove any air in the soap.

Allow the molds to sit until the soap is completely cool. Remove and place the soap shapes on a wire baking rack to dry. Let the soap sit for at least 24 hours; the longer the soap can sit, the better. If the soap seems a little bit rough around the edges, you can smooth it with a sharp knife.

Yield: 1-2 bars of soap depending on mold size.

Hint: Cookie cutters, muffin tins, and small cardboard boxes all make good soap molds.

Back to TLC Bath & Body recipes index.