Servings: 11 soap bars
Cost: $15 - $45 / 12€ - 38€
Equipment
Ingredients
Lye Water
- 228 g distilled water
- 112 g lye (100% sodium hydroxide)
- 3 tsp dried calendula petals
Oils
- 200 g refined or organic coconut oil calendula-infused oil
- 400 g extra virgin olive oil calendula-infused oil
- 130 g lard
- 70 g castor oil calendula-infused oil
After Trace Ingredients
- 8 drops grapefruit seed extract (GSE) (anti-oxidant)
- 30 ml essential oils blend optional
- poppy seeds
- alcohol or witch hazel to sprinkle
Essential Oils Blend
- 15 ml essential oil lemongrass 1 tbsp
- 10 ml essential oil cedarwood Atlas 4 tsp
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!
- Prepare the infused oils in advance. Learn how to make them in How To Make Infused Oil With Dried Herbs. This will work as a natural colorant to your soap. However, the color obtained in this recipe's photo was given by adding calendula petals to the lye water, in addition to the infused oils.200 g refined or organic coconut oil, 70 g castor oil, 400 g extra virgin olive oil
Heat the Oils
- Heat the oils until the solid oils are completely melted (it is not necessary to heat all to the end).200 g refined or organic coconut oil, 400 g extra virgin olive oil, 130 g lard, 70 g castor oil
Make the Lye Water
- Make the lye solution according to How To Make Lye Water. Mix it until the vapors start to dissipate. Add the dried calendula petals in the end (optional).228 g distilled water, 3 tsp dried calendula petals, 112 g lye (100% sodium hydroxide)
Make the Soap Batter
- Use as a target temperature 35ºC for the oil-solution mixture. If necessary, you can reheat the oils, but not the lye solution.
- When adding the lye water to the oils, strain the water to avoid lye crystals in your soap batter.
- Start mixing the soap batter with the immersion blender. Although this is a balanced recipe in soft and hard oils, be watchful about trace accelerating (soap batter going solid quickly)
- Add the extract, essential oil (s) and poppy seeds after trace and stir with just a spoon.8 drops grapefruit seed extract (GSE) (anti-oxidant), 30 ml essential oils blend, poppy seeds
Molding and Curing
- Pour the soap batter into the soap silicone molds and sprinkle with alcohol or witch hazel.alcohol or witch hazel to sprinkle
- Wait 48 hours, keeping an eye on the hardness of the soap. Unmold and let the bars cure for 4 to 6 weeks. See How To Cure Soap.
Video
Tried this recipe?Send a pic to @herbalcochete!
