Red Clay Soap Recipe With Horse Chestnut

A 2-oil soap recipe coloured with red clay only, enriched with horse chestnut extract, and scented with a frangrace oil of roses. The yellowish color of olive oil and the red clay combined to give this soap a more brownish color than the red/earth one I was looking for.

Still, the soap, decorated with mallow flowers, has a very pretty and rustic look. The mix of soap salts and the fragrance oil gives this soap one of the most old-fashioned, wonderful soap scents I've ever smelled on my homemade soaps.

Difficulty: Easy

Weight: 1000g (35,27 oz)

Superfat: 6%

Lye Concentration: 25%

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Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 1

Method: Cold Process

Cosmetic: Soap Bar

Servings: soap bars

Author: Sofia Matias

Cost: $14 / 13€

Equipment

Ingredients

Lye Water

Oils/Fat

700 g extra virgin olive oil
300 g refined or organic coconut oil

After Trace Ingredients

16 drops grapefruit seed extract (GSE) (anti-oxidant)
26 ml rose fragrance oil or other (optional)
50 g horse-chestnut extract optional

Decoration

Instructions

Get Ready!

Wear goggles and gloves! Look at “Safety Precautions” in the video above or in Soap Making Safety Precautions
Watch the video above about "Cold Process Soap Making Tutorial" or read the post Learn To Make Cold Process Soap for instructions on cold process soap making before starting. These are generic but important steps for all recipes.
Assemble everything: ingredients, equipment, safety equipment. Prepare your workstations. Measure all the ingredients. Don’t start the recipe without having everything ready!

Heat the Oils

Heat all your oils in a pyrex bowl at the microwave until the palm oil melts. Use 1 min periods and check temperature. The oils shouldn't overheat (> 60ºC or 140ºF)
700 g extra virgin olive oil, 300 g refined or organic coconut oil

Make the Lye Water

Make the lye solution according to How To Make Lye Water. Add the red clay and fine salt before adding the lye. Mix it well until the vapors start to dissipate.
400 g distilled water, 4 g fine salt / sodium lactate, 2 tsp red clay, 141 g lye (100% sodium hydroxide)

Make the Soap Batter

Use as target temperature 30ºC-35ºC for the oil-solution mixture. It can be less than this, but the lye and oils should not have a difference of more than 10ºC between them.
Mix oils and lye with the immersion blender. The red clay in the lye water may accelerate trace. If it does, be swift with next instructions.
Reach trace with the immersion blender.

Add After Trace Ingredients

Add the extracts, the fragrance oil and the poppy seeds in powder form at this moment. Mix with a spoon or spatula. The soap might accelerate at this point, be ready to pour it in your mold afterwards.
16 drops grapefruit seed extract (GSE) (anti-oxidant), 50 g horse-chestnut extract, 0.125 g poppy seeds, 26 ml rose fragrance oil

Molding and Curing

Pour the dough in the large soap mold and sprinkle with alcohol or witch hazel.
NOTE: you can see the dough ricing slightly, due to the fragrance oil accelerating compounds, but the soap is still high quality.
alcohol or witch hazel to sprinkle
Decorate the soap top with shapes done with a spoon, and dried flowers or herbs. I've used dried mallow flowers.
dried herbs
Let it set for 48 hours.
Learn how to clean all equipment with How to Clean Soap Making Equipment.

Cutting and Curing the Soap Bars

Unmold the bulk bar of soap.
Cut the bulk bar into small soap bars.
Let the bars cure for 4 to 6 weeks in a ventilated place. See How To Cure Soap and How Do You Store Homemade Soap? Enjoy your soaps!!

Video

Tried this recipe?Send a pic to @herbalcochete!