Chapter 102 Homemade Bath and Body Products
The heated brick beds we have now are so hot that they stay warm until the next morning.
I just finished showering, my hair is fluffy, and my body feels clean and smooth. This is definitely the most comfortable moment of my whole day.
I took out clam oil from the closet and carefully applied it to my hands and face.
Working every day, you need to frequently apply clam oil to keep your hands from cracking and your face from becoming rough.
The snake oil and clam oil are now showing as expired, but since my skin hasn't experienced any problems after using them, I'm still using them.
I remembered that I dried a batch of flower petals in the fall. If all else fails, I'll make a batch of skincare products myself. I feel uneasy about always using expired products.
We're almost out of shampoo and soap, so let's make a batch first and see how it goes.
Once this topic came up, I wanted to get started as soon as possible, so I went to the bookshelf in the east room and found a book on making my own toiletries, and started flipping through it.
I didn't have many of the materials from the first few pages, so I had to keep scrolling down and finally found a few decent methods.
After reading through the excellent methods, it was already late at night. I put down the book with satisfaction and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, the sky was already turning blue, and before the sun had risen, the roosters began to crow.
I woke up to the sound of roosters crowing. It was the coldest time of day, but the air was so fresh that a deep breath felt like a healing treatment for my entire lungs.
After heating up the kang (heated brick bed), having a hot breakfast, and feeding the pigs, chickens, and dogs, I began preparing to develop soap, shampoo, and skincare products.
First, find out all the materials you can use today.
Wood ash, soapberry, mulberry leaves, dried flower petals, and a small amount of alcohol.
After scraping some white wood ash from the bottom of the pot, add a honeycomb briquette to the stove and heat a large pot of water in the iron pot.
Peel the skin off the soapberry fruit and boil it in water over a small stove for two hours.
The seeds of the soapberry tree don't need to be thrown away. Besides planting trees, they can be kept to make bracelets later. It is said that Bodhi seed bracelets can also be made from soapberry seeds.
Wearing a soapberry bracelet will bring you peace and protection from all dangers.
While boiling soapberries, render lard.
The fattest lard was placed on another small stove and rendered in an iron pot.
After simmering for about an hour, the lard will become increasingly clear in color and look almost dry.
First, scoop out the pork cracklings; you can save them to make dumplings later.
The lard is then filtered a second time using a mesh screen to remove all impurities.
Boil the wildflower petals that have been dried in the fall in water. After boiling for a while, the fragrance of flowers will begin to fill the air. At this point, add a few drops of alcohol and continue boiling.
Alcohol can bring out the fragrance of the flower petals to a greater extent.
The distilled water used to boil the flower petals should not be thrown away; it should be collected little by little and poured into a small bowl.
Once the flower petals have softened and the water in the pot has turned a beautiful deep red, it's ready.
Pour some of the pretty flower petal water into the lard, then whisk it vigorously with an egg beater.
Stir for a while until the lard solidifies, then put it in a steamer to melt. Continue stirring after it melts.
Once the lard and flower petal water have completely blended together and turned a light pink color, the flower lard cream is ready. It can be used as both a hand cream and a face cream.
It has a faint floral fragrance and a beautiful light pink color, which has a good moisturizing and protective effect on dry skin in winter.
Find a few nice-looking bottles and jars and pour the rose lard cream into them.
Through the clear glass bottle, you can see the light pink cream inside, interspersed with a few scattered red petals. It looks very pretty and has a high aesthetic appeal.
I was worried that it would spoil if I put it in a hot place, so I kept one bottle in the wardrobe in the east room and stored the rest in the small west room.
By this time, the soapberry extract had been boiled and was covered with a layer of white bubbles on the surface. I even felt that it was ready to use right away.
However, the soap-making process is not yet complete.
First, filter it once with a strainer, then filter it twice with cheesecloth, and then set it aside to cool.
Take out the prepared wood ash, pour in a small amount of water, and stir well.
Let it stand for a while, then take out the warm lard and pour it into the upper layer of wood ash solution and the filtered soapberry water.
The ratio of lard, wood ash, and soapberry solution is 4:1:1. If this ratio is not met, it will not solidify well.
Stir thoroughly with a whisk; the liquid will react for a while and turn whitish.
My hands were getting a little sore, so I rested for a while and then continued stirring, adding a little petal water. I didn't filter the petals; I thought that having the texture of the petals would make the soap look prettier.
Once the solution begins to thicken, pour it into a square box, smooth out the top layer of paste, and let it stand to solidify.
After it solidifies, cut the brick-sized bar of soap into appropriate sizes using a kitchen knife.
The soap, off-white with a yellowish tinge, has a pattern of red flower petals; it's very pretty.
It still feels a bit soft to the touch. I plan to let it sit for a while longer. The book says that the longer it sits, the firmer the soap will become.
There was some soapberry water left, so I made it all into shampoo.
I collected some mulberry leaves from the back mountain and boiled them in a pot with soapberry water. Mulberry leaves can effectively protect hair.
Boil for half an hour, then filter out the mulberry leaves. The result is a shampoo with strong cleaning power that is gentle on the scalp.
This can be used not only as shampoo, but also as dish soap and laundry detergent, so I didn't waste any of the two large bottles of soapberry water.
Soapberry water should be stored in a cool place, otherwise it will spoil easily.
After finishing everything, my back ached so much it felt like it was going to break, and my hands were white from being soaked in soapberry water.
After washing his hands with clean water and eating a simple meal, he lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) to rest, not wanting to move at all.
I woke up in a particularly good mood the next morning.
The thought of having new skincare products, shampoo, and soap, all smelling nice, makes me genuinely happy.
In the morning, I couldn't wait to wash my face with the freshly made soap.
The soap feels firmer now than it did last night, and it produces a lot of lather after just a few rubs.
I lathered the foam all over my hands and face, then rinsed it off with water. It felt like all my pores were clean.
Take a small piece of the flower-infused lard ointment with your finger. It smells wonderful. Gently rub it in your palm to melt it, and then apply it little by little to your face.
I didn't dare apply a thick layer. I'd heard that applying too much lard would clog pores, so I applied only a small amount to moisturize.
After applying it, my skin felt very moisturized and softer than usual. It felt so comfortable.
I really think this is an amazing thing. I never thought I could make some personal care products. I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
If we ever run out of supplies, we can even make a batch of soap and shampoo and trade them in the market. These things will definitely be in high demand and very popular.
When you go to the Baizhen base, you can also bring two bars of soap for Aunt Liu; she will definitely love them.
Thinking about it this way, I felt even happier.
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