Skip to main content

Making liquid Bay handsoap


What can you use bay flowers for



It all started with my bay tree, a 12 foot stern and shady addition to my tiny garden. 
Now I like an addition of Bay to my cooking. I also love the fact we have a free supply of the stuff to use as we want.  But in reality it produces more than one family could ever use,  but when it flowered I was desperate to find a use for the pretty flowers.  I was slightly disappointed to see that these flowers  aren't widely used.


They are (as are Bay leaves) completely safe for consumption. Bay is well known for its anti inflammatory, antibacterial , insect repelling and healthy skin inducing priorities.  Which in my books made the bay berry a must try ingredient for a batch of liquid soap. 

You will need:

Bay flowers (one cup)
Bicarb of soda (half cup)
Oil (half cup)
Rosemary oil (10 drops)
Teatree oil (4 drops)
Boiling water (4 cups)
Vegegel or gelatin (1 sachet)


To make:
Strain the boiling water over the bayflowers, really crush them to ensure you get as much out as possible.

Next add the bicarb and vegegel, stir well into all has disolved.

Finally  add the oils and stir again- the end result should resemble the usual hand soap consistancy.

Store in a suitable container and use within 3 months.

Popular posts from this blog

Little Bloom- Cloth Nappy reviews

If you are a newbie in cloth its hard to know what to buy. I've been using  Cloth Nappies  for 16 months with my first born, and am preparing to have two in cloth when my daughter arrives in May. You could say I'm somewhat of cloth nappy pro. I've moved on from my start up stash, and invest in nappies that will see us through til froggy potty trains, and ideally ones his baby sister can use afterwards too! Pocket nappies are great for this purpose and this week I'm reviewing the little bloom nappies You can grab little bloom nappies on  amazon  from as little as £2.89 delivered. So they are a cheap option but are they cheerful enough to do the job?

Starting our kitchen garden

Growing our own food has been an ambition of my husband and I. We both really value locally sourced produce,  and enjoy spending time outdoors.  In our first home together (a basement flat in the city centre) we planted anything and everything we could in planters on the windowsill.   I had green beans trailing up the bars of our windows. They bolted and twirled up the bars but never got enough light  to produce anything edible. Then we moved into our first pub which had masses of outdoor space, unfortunately,  all car park and no dirt. We managed to sustain some hanging baskets with strawberries and a few herb planters, but that was about it.  Now we are in our new home.  A lovely country pub in the new forest, whiich offers a private garden just for our little family.  We moved here when I was 8 months pregnants and ever since, I've been desperate to make the most of it.  Since the new year we've been planning what to do with this neglected space.  I found this

Sowing in January- kitchen garden and allotments

What can I grow this January? After the business of December, January has hit me like a sledgehammer. I'm bored. I need a new project, and what I really want to do is get on top of my allotment and kitchen garden.