And what is it actually?
Shower gel, you say? Why should we have it at home? Because it's fun! Shower gel is a cosmetic product that has recently become popular with many people, both adults and children. And no wonder! It is something that looks like a strange gelatin soap, but acts like a shower gel on the skin. It smells beautiful, lathers richly, and washes well. Plus, it comes in all kinds of crazy shapes, colorful colors, it can sparkle, and everyone wins with it in the shower. And most importantly, you will make it absolutely simply and cheaply!
Cruelty free
If you were to browse the internet and look for instructions for homemade shower gel, some recipes will surely pop out at you. In most of them, the main ingredient will be gelatin. But we wanted to make a jelly that would suit even people who avoid animal products. But how to make jelly without gelatin? Using agar!
Agar-agar?
Agar is a natural powder obtained from seaweed, which has an excellent gelling ability. It's often used in Asian cuisine, so you can make a lot more things with it than just our shower gels! With agar, you can cook an excellent pudding, make a great topping for fruit cakes or sweet cupcakes, and even use it to conjure up excellent homemade gummy bears or gelatin candies. In short, you can use agar wherever you would put gelatin.
Win it!
Shower jelly is a lot of fun not only during the bath itself, but also during its production! You can get away with it perfectly. Win with different colors, add sparkles or glitter to the mixture, make rainbow jelly, layer different colors or simply leave it minimalistic in its natural color. There are really no limits to imagination here. Using essential oils, mix a scent that suits you exactly. And you can also pour the jelly into all kinds of moulds, be it soap or chocolate moulds, so you can conjure countless different shapes to suit you, your loved ones or children. But enough talking, let's get to it!
What does it take?
- 6 teaspoons of agar
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/2 cup of castile soap
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cup of vegetable glycerin
- 10 drops of your favorite essential oil (jasmine with bergamot, geranium, ylang-ylang and lemon or classically lavender with eucalyptus or mint never fails)
- 1 teaspoon of vitamin E
- Colors , sparkles or glitters
- Molds
- A jar with a lid for storing jelly
How to do it?
Pour the agar into the saucepan and cover it with water. Let it rest for about 15 minutes, then add soap and salt and bring to a boil. Bring to a boil and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring. Keep an eye on the mixture and check that it doesn't run out of the pot. Then add the glycerin and cook for a while longer. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down a little. Then add vitamin E, essential oils, possibly liquid dye and sparkles or glitters. Stir. If you want to produce more different scents and colors, divide the mass into small bowls and create the desired color and scent in each. When you are happy with the look and smell of the jelly, pour it into molds and put it in the fridge to harden for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight. Then it is enough to simply remove the shower jelly from the molds and go to soap! The shower gel will do best in the fridge in an airtight jar or bag, so it won't dry out. In the hot summer, cold jelly taken out of the fridge is also wonderfully refreshing on the skin. Use the jelly within 3 weeks.
TIP
If your jelly tears or crumbles, slide it into a silicone sock. It won't run away and you'll lather up just as well!
Have you ever heard of shower gel?
