By Mistie
ShoptobeGreen.com
In honor of Valentine's Day I decided to create a new soap. Chocolate and Strawberry are very popular for this holiday and I know that my special someone is a total chocoholic so I decided to combine these two flavors. Plus there are a lot of benefits for your skin in chocolate and strawberries that I will mention later in this post.
How did I make this delicious looking soap? While my white glycerin (approx. 2lbs) was melting in my double broiler I chopped up and mashed about 3 large organic strawberries in my pestle. I mashed the strawberries until they were a gooey pulp. I then took the melted glycerin off the stove and added the strawberry pulp along with 2 large tablespoons of coco powder (recommend organic fair trade coco powder). I also added a tablespoon of cold pressed olive oil to the mixture.
I decided to whisk my mixture vigorously. Typically you try not to get too much air into your soap mixtures but I decided that I wanted the top of my soap to have a bubbly and frothy texture like a warm hot coco. I whisked it until the coco powder was thoroughly mixed with no clumps and then poured it into a nine mini loaf pan, the perfect size for a soap bar. I left my soap to harder overnight and cure for the next few days. Below is the result.
I am very pleased with how this soap came out. Not only does this soap smell VERY delicious but there are many benefits to using it as well. First this soap is natural and detergent free with no parabens, preservatives and dyes. Chocolate and strawberries both contain antioxidants, which is, known to fight cancer. Strawberries are extremely high in Vitamins C and K as well as pantothenic acid, Vitamin B1, folic acid, and iodine. Bonus, the strawberry seeds have been mixed into this soap making it a great exfoliate for that dry winter skin. According to Marlies Spinale, director of Tru Spa, "Like many other antioxidants, cocoa polyphenols are thought to offer the skin protection from free-radical damage caused by sun, pollution, stress, alcohol consumption and other factors." Let's not forget the olive oil, which is rich in vitamin E and beta-carotene. Olive oil is also suppose to stimulate new cell generation, plus it makes a good moisturizer.
Chocolate and Strawberry Lover's Soap makes a great Valentine's Day gift. So try to make some of this soap for your chocolate lover this Valentine's Day or you can purchase a bar at Shop to be Green under the 910 Joy Avenue label, which I created in honor of my grandmother.
Happy Valentine's Day!
