Lavender Peppermint and Honey began as a custom order for a woman who approached me at market. If it weren’t for her request, I may have never created this oil combination or this lovely, nourishing soap. At one of my very first markets, an elderly woman approached me and asked if I would be interested in making soap for her. She told me she had always made her own soap, but she felt at this point in her life, soap making was just a bit too much for her. My response to her was I would happily make her soaps and lotions too if she would like. She was a bit taken aback and informed me that she had approached every other soap maker at the market and they had either told her no or they did not have time. We discussed what she was looking for and it was very specific; she wanted a Lavender Peppermint and Honey soap and lotion for gift baskets she was putting together. She told me she would need thirty bars and she would be back in a few weeks to see what I had made. She gave me her contact information and away she went.
Back then, thirty bars of soap were a lot of soap for me. I immediately went home and began formulating my soap recipe and working on the ratio of oils to blend. It was also my first time adding raw honey to my soap batter, so I was rather apprehensive. The first batch had too much honey, the lovely white soap was filled with little brown spots that were burnt sugars. That was a batch for us to use. The next batch seized on me, it got hard in the pot. That was a real mess, to say the least. I waited for the seized batter to turn to soap and just chiseled it out of my pot. Third time is a charm, the third batch came out well. I poured my three loaves of soap and I finally got to use bubble wrap to make the honeycomb design on the top. I remember feeling a great sense of accomplishment when it finally turned out the way I imagined.
I tried to call the woman who had contacted me at market but there was no answer. I left a message, waited a few days and called her again. There was still no response and I did not receive a return phone call. This went on for two weeks and finally, I gave up. When the soap was cured, I called the woman again to let her know I would take the soap to the market if she would like to stop in to see it. Yet again, I was met with silence. I took a few bars with me for more than a month in hopes she would appear but I never heard from her. I worried that perhaps she was unwell or had suffered some sort of medical emergency…or worse. I still to this day have no idea what happened to her. I ended up boxing the soap and selling it a few months later. It was the first time I had ever sold out of a soap at market. The little lady was absolutely spot on, people love the combination of lavender and peppermint.
With my research of essential oils, I found that the combination of lavender and peppermint are used for migraine relief and to aide in the treatment of cold symptoms. My little bean suffers from migraines on a fairly consistent basis, so this was very helpful information. I now keep a bottle of preblended lavender peppermint in the house and we use it in the diffuser, as well as rub it on her temples when she has a migraine. I also have her take a warm bath using the soaps and she puts the lotion on after the bath. I don’t know if it is the relaxing routine, the essential oils or a combination of the two but it does bring her some relief from her migraine. She does not like the tingly feeling the peppermint oil creates on her skin so we usually use the lotion on her temples and her chest.
I recommend the Lavender Peppermint and Honey soap and lotion to those who suffer headaches, have sinus issues and during cold and flu season. It is a comforting, relaxing, yet invigorating scent that lingers on the skin. The scent combined with nourishing goat’s milk and soothing raw honey make it a truly natural luxurious bar.
I hope you have enjoyed this insight into the creation of one of my favorite soaps. Perhaps the little lady who gave me the idea was divine intervention or a little soap making fairy godmother. I would like to talk with her again to thank her for her insight and the idea. I hope she is well, thriving, and continuing to make gift baskets. The Lavender Peppermint and Honey Soap and Lotion are on special this week at 50% off on the website. As always dear reader, stay safe, stay smart, don’t be afraid to say yes to opportunity, and of course wash your hands.