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It doesn't smell like pig.
Smells like the sage, lemon, Neroli orange blossom and
bergamot essential oils I used.
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I've read all this stuff about lard—both in books and on the net. It's supposed to make a really good soap, doesn't clog pores and it's inexpensive.
I'm not a vegetarian (but I have been in the past) and I know that the very first soaps were accidently made when it rained on the carcasses of sacrificed animals. So when I saw the tub of lard in the store (and the price—5 pounds for $4.98), I said why not? My other justification is, if you're gonna kill an animal, you might as well use all the parts for something.
Anyway, this was really an experiment on so many levels. I didn't super fat in the recipe, instead I added about two tablespoons of olive oil that was infused with annatto seeds (and ground orange peels) after trace, poured a layer into the mold, added more infused olive oil that made the soap batter darker, poured another layer into the mold and so on. The last layer (the darkest) actually has some annatto seeds in it because I got panic-y that it wouldn't have enough contrast.
While this was going on, I did notice a kinda piggy smell happening. That put me in a panic as well, but once the soaps were cut, I couldn't smell it. And when washing with scraps, I didn't notice anything. It lathered well (although the lather did have an orange hue) and made my skin feel really nice.
The green sage layer was pretty straight forward. Had a lot of leftovers. I'm not going to re-batch though. Worried about heating up the lard again and it getting that piggy smell. Next lard batch, I'll keep everything very, very, cool.
Citrus Stripes:
olive oil (infused with annatto seeds and orange peels)
palm kernel oil
coconut oil
lard
castor oil
Sage Layer
olive oil (infused with sage)
palm kernel oil
lard
coconut oil
castor oil
