She is having difficulty eating, has lost a lot of weight, and needs a lot of water to keep her hydrated because she only has one kidney. Three to four times a week, I mix canned cat food with distilled water and kitten milk. She isn’t eating because she’s feeling ill and hangs around under the bed. So I move on my hands and feet with this little broom because I know if I push it up in front of her and maybe get some on her nostrils for her to lick, she will usually lick that awful-looking dish of milkshake-smelling fish. It’s a shame, but I must lie under the bed and rub my fingers with my face pressed against it to get my daughter to come so that I can administer pain medication twice daily to Miss. The drug causes her to be groggy, and she will have accidents while sleeping. I must wash her bedding almost every day. It’s all so sad, but once we finish this process, Marla will be healthier.
I’ve had a lot of people tell me how silly this whole thing is, but I don’t believe in “just a” anything when you care about something or someone. Marla isn’t “just a” cat; she’s my little fluffy baby, and I’ll crawl around that floor five times a day until I can fix her 🙂 Unfortunately, and finally, for this project, it means my body is achy because I’m not built to crawl around and jam myself underneath Hollywood bedframes. Since I don’t have time to soak in a tub, I made a soothing Epsom salt soap bar that will help me feel better even if I take a quick shower.
The combination of these amazing bath bars with a hot shower will help you wash away your aches and discomforts. I promise. These things are AMAZING! You can make homemade pain relief for sore muscles. You will need the following materials to complete this project:
- Epsom salt
- I used clear Glycerine as well as goat milk bases for the melt-and-pour soap base.
- Soap colorant
- Oils that are essential or scented (I used the Beachy Ocean Breeze scent oil from this Summer Set).
- Spray Alcohol
- Simple soap molds
Add soap colorant-scented oil and melt your clear soap base as directed on the package. I used a teal-colored colorant and an Ocean Breeze fragrance oil that smells like the beach. Allow the floor to cool down before adding oils. The hotter the soap melts, the more the scent will be burned off.
In my hurry to make the tutorial, I grabbed the wrong bag. Womp, womp.
Photoshop allows me to pretend that I am right. Hahaha! Hahaha!
You’re now going to add A LOT of sea salt to your bars. It’s important to have enough liquid soap so that the liquid can move freely when stirred. This is so similar to Slush Puppies. Remember them? If you have a problem with too much salt, you can add more soap base to the mixture and then microwave it. This will result in some salt crystals being lost, but the final product will be better.
Pour the soapy salt into your molds while still liquid. Allow it to set up for 10 minutes.
Push the mixture into the mold tightly once the soap has cooled down but is still malleable. Push the edges in different depths to create a natural stone look.
Melt, color, and fragrance a soap that has a white/opaque basis.
Spray rubbing alcohol liberally onto the soaps in the mold. This step is necessary for the adhesion between the two layers. I buy 91% Isopropyl Alcohol at Walmart and refill the travel spray bottle I bought there.
Pour the melted base on top of your salty soap. Make sure that you have a nice flat surface to cool.
Once the soap bar is unmolded, spray a little alcohol on that opaque milky layer to remove any bubbles.
Transfer the soap to the refrigerator to finish it quickly.
To finish the project, pop the soaps from the molds.
If, like me, you are using clear molds and having trouble with any popping, put your soap into the freezer for no more than 15 minutes (because if it is left in there much longer, your soap will sweat, sweat, sweat), and then smash that thing on a surface. The front of the soap mold will start to show white, cloudy areas. There is air trapped between the soap and mold. You can easily pop out the mold by pressing on these areas.
That’s it, my friends! If you use the right Epsom salts with your soap, then you will have these beautiful Epsom salt soaps. They not only cleanse but also soothe aching muscles. Genius, right?!? 🙂
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