Cherry Blossom Soap

Today I was walking with my friend Dave and we were admiring the Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom here in Victoria. From Victoria BC to Washington DC to Tokyo Japan celebrations of the cherry blossom and bloom counts are starting. My favorite trees have this blossom type...

 Edible flowers are among my favorite ingredients to use in soap and bath bombs. I also use cherry fruit puree to make fresh fruit smoothie soap which are always popular. The melt and pour base I use has a preservative quality that allows me to use fresh ingredients. I have yet to have a bar go 'bad'--even after a year or more.

It is always interesting to see how the acid fruits will change to a brownish colour as they react with the base in the soap. If you want a brightly colored soap make sure you pair it with the 'right' color. Green cherry soap for example just doesn't work for most people. It is 'wrong'. Instead use yellow, purple, pink or even red of course!

Using food dye isn't the best choice for soap making. Order soap dye. It is worth the investment and your soap will hold it's jewel colours so much longer. Store surplus coloured soap in a DARK place. Light will destroy the intensity of colour and it will fade (especially the reds).

 Here is an easy recipe that makes about one bar of soap:

 Cherry Blossom Soap 

100 g. clear melt and pour soap

 3-4 freshly gathered cherry blossoms

1/8 tsp or 20 drops bitter almond essential oil

10 drops red soap tint

Melt soap in the microwave. 1 min on high then 30 second bursts until soap is melted. Add the cherry blossoms (they will brown). Add tint and fragrance. Pour into a bar mold. Cool. Remove when hard.

 If you don't have any soap molds, you can use the bottom of a 500 ml pop bottle. Just cut off the bottom (about 3 inches). This makes a nice inexpensive and pretty round bar of soap. You can use any plastic 'mold' but just make sure it is flexible or you will have trouble removing it from the container. DO NOT place in freezer to hurry the process up. The soap will have a tendency to fracture. You can place it in the refrigerator for a short time which will facilitate easy removal.


Since I mentioned it earlier, here is a fun 'smoothie' soap that uses many of the same ingredients and is a personal favorite this time of year...

Cherry Smoothie Soap

100 g. melt and pour clear

1 tsp puree cherries

1/2 tsp yogurt

20 drops red tint

10 drops bitter almond essential oil

Melt soap in the microwave. 1 min on high then 30 second bursts until soap is melted. Add the cherry puree (it will brown). Add tint, yogurt and fragrance. Pour into a bar mold. Cool. Remove when hard.

As with all preparations for the skin, allergy test it on a small portion of skin before applying it to large areas of the body such as the entire face. Inside of the wrist application for 15 min then checking for redness or itch is an easy test to perform before using a new product.