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–+ servings

Rice Water Soap Recipe

This recipe uses rice water as the main star ingredient. Rice water is very mild and nourishing, commonly used in asian countries in skincare. It is said to help reducing age signs on your skin and to calm down irritated skin, namely, for eczema.
This time I didn't use any colorant, so the soap will be naturally colored from the oils. Scent comes from a rich essential oil blend of lavender, ylang-ylang, rose geranium and amyris ("sandalwood"). The soap was enriched with oat flour, as a scent fixer.
The oil mixture contains palm oil, sunflower oil, castor, oil, sweet almond oil and shea butter. It's a winning mixture for soap without coconut or olive oil.
Difficulty: Easy
Weight: 450g (16 oz)
Superfat: 5%
Lye Concentration: 30%
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Method: Cold Process
Cosmetic: Soap Bar
Servings: 6 soap bars
Author: Sofia Matias
Cost: $5 - $10,20 / 4€ - 10€

Equipment

Ingredients

Lye Water

Oils/Fat

After Trace Ingredients

Essential Oil Blend

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.
    Pouring essential oils into soap batter
  • Prepare the rice water in advance: check Google for recipes on how to do it, there are several ways. I have simply added a cup of rice into 200 ml/6.76 fl oz of water and let it rest, mixing every now and then, for 30 minutes. I didn't let the rice to ferment.
  • Assemble everything: ingredients, equipment, safety equipment. Prepare your workstations. Measure all the ingredients. Don’t start the recipe without having everything ready!
    soapmaking-workspace-preparation

Heat the Oils

  • Heat all your oils in a pyrex bowl at the microwave until the palm oil and shea butter melts. Use 1 min periods and check temperature. The oils shouldn't overheat (> 60 °C)
    75 g sweet almond oil
    Heating soaping oils in a microwave

Make the Lye Water

  • Make the lye solution according to How To Make Lye Water. Add the citric acid before the lye. Mix it well until the vapors start to dissipate.
    151 g rice water, 65 g lye (100% sodium hydroxide)

Make the Soap Batter

  • Use as target temperature 25 °C 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/ºF between them.
  • Pour the lye water into the oils carefully, using a spatula or the edge of the bowl
  • Mix oils and lye with the immersion blender.
  • Reach trace with the immersion blender.

Add After Trace Ingredients

  • Add the extract and the essential oil blend. Mix with a spoon or spatula. The soap might accelerate at this point, be ready to pour it in your molds afterwards.
    6 drops grapefruit seed extract (GSE) (anti-oxidant), 16 ml essential oils blend

Molding and Curing

  • Pour the dough in individual soap molds and sprinkle with alcohol or witch hazel. Let it set for 48 hours.
  • Learn how to clean all equipment with How to Clean Soap Making Equipment.
    soap making equipment to clean up

Cutting and Curing the Soap Bars

Tried this recipe?Send a pic to @herbalcochete!