Have you ever smell the neem oil? If I have to describe it, the best I can do is garlic peanut butter. Neem oil looks muddy green and is very viscous, often solidified at lower temperature.
"Neem carrier oil has been reputed for its antiseptic,
dermatological and dental properties. It is rich in fatty acids and glycerides
and together with its healing properties, provides an excellent natural
moisturizing base for skin care formulation. This oil has been used for
centuries in traditional Indian Medicine to aid in the healing of topical skin
disorders such as eczema, psoriasis, rashes, burns and acne."
In this experiment I want to use more than 20% neem oil in soap since no matter how small amount you use it stinks just as much so why not go all the way?! Use olive oil, coconut, beef tallow, and apricot kernel oil in this made up recipe. I also used essential oil mix of rosemary, basil, patchouli, and vanilla oleoresin 20x. I was hoping the herbal scenting from the essential oils would somehow mask the strong neem oder, but it didn't work as well as I expected .. sigh. In addition to the neem oil in this soap I also used carrot juice and heavy cream as liquid to dissolve lye. Carrot juice and the vanilla oleoresin gave that earthy taupe color to this simple soap.
It sure stinks! ha ha I have some but haven't been brave enough to use it yet. This recipe sounds moisturizing. Did you test the soap? How does it feel? They look beautiful, rustic and simple. Thanks for sharing! : )
ReplyDeleteI tried it, can't tell the difference, :) But then I only used it to wash my hands. I will try it again in the shower to see how it performs, hopefully it won't stink that much.
DeleteI use neem oil for my daugthers acne. Works great but boy does it stink.
ReplyDeleteParecen quesos, te han quedado preciosos. A mi aunque apeste me encantan sus propiedades y cada día me sorprende con algo nuevo. Seguro que es buenisimo para la piel. Un saludo
ReplyDeleteHi Shieh - I've made literally hundreds of thousands of bars of neem soap over the years. I love your idea of using carrot juice and cream (beef tallow - well...to each her own). Neem soap takes quite a bit longer than other soaps to fully cure and the scent rapidly reduces as it cures. You might consider cutting your neem soap thinner than normal to help speed up the curing process, and give those neem bars a little more time before using. If someone has acne, a rash, or any chronic skin problem, it shouldn't take long for them to start appreciating their 'peanut butter' neem bar :-)
ReplyDeleteAutumn
Neem isn't a favorite of mine either but many do swear by the goodness of it on skin. I have a bar and haven't tried it yet! LOL These soaps look so beautiful like the perfection of an aged cheese. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI made a 1 pound loaf soap with neem oil a few months ago. I used a very low percentage. The oil certainly is stinky. At some point i will get around to using neem oil again, but at a higher percentage. My mother used the oil directly on her skin after being exposed to something in her garden that caused her to itch. Could have been poison ivy, but as we have never seen the bush before, we couldn't tell. Overnight it stopped the itch and decreased her blisters, so great oil despite the smell.
ReplyDeleteYour ingredients sound lovely. I also use Neem oil in some soaps, and I found that Peppermint does cover the neem scent quite well.
ReplyDeleteyes, the smell of neem can be a bit overpowering. i have some bars with neem that are currently curing, and i swear the smell is dissipating slowly. before it was overpowering, but now not so much. i'm pretty sure it's the real thang and not just my nose playing up with me.
ReplyDeletebtw, hi, i've read your blog for a while but this is the 1st time i comment. your soaps ARE fab! you did raise the bar, you surely do. thanks for being such an inspiration.
Neem soap and oil saved me from bedbugs.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how you used the Need soap and oil for the bed bugs? I just found out it also kills mange mites on dogs. Did you spray it on infested areas?
Deletewhere do you get your neem oil, can you use the stuff you buy at the garden center?
ReplyDeleteI get my neem oil from bath & body ingredient suppliers. I assume if the neem oil get from the garden center is pure 100% no additive you can use it to soap.
DeleteRocky mountain oil company. They are on ebay
DeleteI've been using been soap since before I even thought of starting to make soap. I adore the smell. It's my favorite to bring on my expedition camping trips. I cut it into little bitty pieces and pack a piece in each of my daily food bags. I checked and the one I like doesn't have any EOs added either. I'm formulating my first batch of neem soap and I might add a little lavender to it but well see.
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