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french-green-clay-soap-recipe

French Green Clay Soap Recipe

Try this handmade natural olive oil soap, colored with green clay and scented with lemongrass essential oil. This essential oil, used to cleanse oily skin, combined with green clay and the softness of olive oil, will create a natural handmade soap ideal for purifying and cleaning any type of skin!
Difficulty: Easy
Weight: 450 g (15,84 oz)
Superfat: 5%
Lye Concentration: 36%
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time: 30 days 1 hour 10 minutes
Method: Cold Process
Cosmetic: Soap Bar
Servings: 6 soap bars
Author: Sofia Matias
Cost: $5 - $16 / 4€ - 15€

Ingredients

Water Lye

Add After Trace

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
  • 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
  • The green clay is a natural colorant for this soap. It also acts as a deeper cleaner agent, absorbing oil and acting as a very mild exfoliant. It is an optional ingredient.
    french-green-clay

Heat the Oils

  • Heat the olive oil to approx. 45ºC
    Heating soaping oils in a microwave

Prepare the Lye Water

  • Make the lye solution according to How To Make Lye Water. Add the fine salt and the green clay to the solution. Mix it until the vapors start to dissipate. The solution will take a dark green color.
    green lye water
  • If you are using sodium lactate, add it only when the lye water is cooled (at around 50ºC - 122ºF).
    lye-water-with-sodium-lactate

Make the Soap Batter

  • Use as a target temperature 38ºC for the oil-solution mixture. If necessary, you can reheat the oils, but not the lye solution. Strain the lye water into the oils to catch the clay and any undissolved lye crystals.
    measuring the temperature of soaping oils with a thermometer
  • Reach trace with the immersion blender.
    reaching-trace
  • Add after trace ingredients: the extract and essential oil (s). Stir with just a spoon.
    adding-after-trace-ingredients

Molding and Curing

  • Pour the dough into the rectangular molds with a pitcher and sprinkle with alcohol or witch hazel.
    spritzing-soap-with-alcohol
  • Let it set for 2 to 7 days, keeping an eye on the hardness of the soap.
    setting-soap
  • Unmold and let the bars cure for 6 to 8 weeks. See How To Cure Soap.
    cure-soap4

Video

Tried this recipe?Send a pic to @herbalcochete!