Avocado Soap

I've been super excited about this! I mean, what could be better than rich and creamy avocado for skin?

It took me a while to feel confident enough to design my own recipe, but I learned a lot about working with fresh fruit back in Autumn when I made Pumpkin Soap.

The biggest thing is accounting for the water content- there's some in the fruit itself, plus you will want to use a bit in mixing the puree to ensure it's super smooth with no lumps. So if you're going to make a soap like this, factor in a water discount so your soap doesn't end up too soft. The oils you choose can make a difference here too. I had some difficulty un-molding my Pumpkin Soap from its cool coffin shaped custom mold. This time I took greater care, formulating my recipe with an eye fatty acid profiles that contribute hardness to the bar.

The soap batter was a lovely pale green thanks to the creamy flesh of a whole avocado! Sadly, this pretty hue won't remain on its own in the final soap. Fresh purée like this will fade as the soap cures. So I decided to give the color a little help with some chromium oxide pigment. This is a natural pigment that has been filtered of harmful impurities that I get from a reputable soap supply. I really like this color for its stability in cold process soap. Just a little pinch whisked into a splash of water to help it evenly incorporate into the batter was perfect.

This recipe also includes Tea Tree Oil and Rosemary Oleoresin Extract. Tea Tree is fantastic in skin care, it also adds freshness to the soap. Rosemary Oleoresin is super concentrated and a powerful antioxidant. The neat thing about working with Oleoresin instead of an Essential Oil is that you add the benefits and freshness to your soap without having to use very much or impart a strong Rosemary scent. I chose to add Japanese Peppermint Essential Oil as the main scent of this batch. It's super fresh smelling but not as strong a mint smell or as skin sensitizing as some other mints.

I don't know about you, but I always appreciate help with clean up.

My dog really likes avocado. When I began mashing it he smelled it, and took it upon himself to silently perform a series of tricks including rolling over while gazing at me hopefully. It was entirely ridiculous, kinda brilliant for a one year old pup, and completely successful. I know, I'm such a softie! But since he never invaded my space, whined, or did any annoying begging behaviors, I let him have his own spoon of fresh avocado when I was done. After all, a working breed should be paid for his work ;) By the way, just in case anyone is concerned over this, avocados are not toxic to dogs. I know there's conflicting info out there on the internet, but I assure you Griffin's avocado snack is 100% veterinarian approved. He also like carrots... I have yet to make carrot soap. Hmmm.... maybe a future adventure there...

Here are the finished bars!