OPINION: Soapy treatments for change of season skin: Beer Soap

This seems like a beer lover’s dream come true.

But, actually, beer soap is wonderfully cleansing and moisturising for your skin. Some people are just amazed by beer soap because it was made with beer. For others, they seek out the thick and super creamy elements that a bar of beer soap provides them every time they wash. And, even still there are others out there that know the great conditioning aspects that beer soap contributes to their skin. This is a very popular skin treatment in Texas.

Beer has also been used for thousands of years to refresh the skin and reduce the risk of skin conditions as beer sediment (brewer’s yeast) can help improve the symptoms of acne by slowing down sebum production and killing off the bacteria that triggers acne and also helps maintain a balanced pH level in the skin. Since beer is made primarily with hops, the properties and benefits of this herb become part of the soap. Hops are known to sooth irritated skin and contain skin softening amino acids. Beer soap is great for shaving and moisturising the skin, and because of the sugar in the beer, it makes a very bubbly soap. Beer soap takes relaxing with beer to a whole new level.

Beer soap is easy to make, you just replace all or part of your water with cold flat beer when making your soap.

How to make beer soap:

Beer soap has a nice light scent along with deodorizing exfoliates to clean your hands from even the most stubborn dirt. If you want to add extra exfoliates, try ground coffee and or walnuts. Ground coffee makes for a powerfully deodorising ingredient and walnut is a relatively soft nut and acts as a nice counter exfoliate to the slightly sharper, harder grounds of the coffee.

Ingredients:

• 720ml coconut oil

• 720ml olive oil

• 1 140ml Crisco

• 960ml FLAT Beer

• 360ml lye

Nice fragrances or dyes to add are honey, pumpkin pie spice or fresh orange zest!

Directions:

• Melt/heat the Crisco in an enamel pan.

• Place cold water in a glass bowl and slowly add lye. Stir until water is clear if you can.

• When the Crisco and lye are warm to the touch, pour lye into Crisco while stirring. Keep stirring until you are able to drop some of the mix back in to itself and it leaves a trail – this is how thick it should be.

• At this point add any extras and pour into your mould. This recipe fits nicely in a bread pan lined with plastic wrap container, but other containers, such as Pringle chip cans work just as well.

• Put moulds in a warm, insulated place.

• Allow to set for 24 hours and then cut.

• Place on to rack and let cure for 2 to 3 weeks.

Now you have a delicious beer soap to enjoy.