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–+ servings

Cold Process Soap Recipe With Layers

This soap recipe it's the first cold process soap recipe with layers I've presented in my blog. It was created as a holiday soap gift for family and friends. Instead of using green and red, the holiday colors, I thought of making a more wintery/twilight soap, with blue and violet colors.
Difficulty: Advanced
Weight: 1 kg (35,20 oz)
Superfat: 6%
Lye Concentration: 30%
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Method: Cold Process
Cosmetic: Soap Bar
Servings: 12 soap bars (90g)
Author: Sofia Matias
Cost: $15 - $40 / 12€ - 33€

Equipment

Ingredients

Lye Water

Oils

After Trace Ingredients

Essential oil blend

Decoration

Instructions

Get Ready!

  • Wear goggles and gloves! Look at “Safety Precautions” in the video above or in Soap Making Safety Precautions
    safety equipment
  • 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
  • Remove 1-2 tsp of the measured liquid oils into a small cup. Strain the blue mica into the cup and mix well with the oil.
    300 g sunflower oil, 1 tsp ultramarine blue (CI 77007)
  • Repeat the previous step to the violet mica
    300 g sunflower oil, 1 tsp ultramarine violet (CI 77007)

Heat the Oils

  • Heat the oils until the solid oils are completely melted (it is not necessary to heat all the time).
    300 g extra virgin olive oil, 200 g refined or organic coconut oil, 300 g sunflower oil, 200 g RSPO palm oil
    Heating soaping oils in a microwave

Make the Lye Water

  • Make the lye water according to How to Make Lye Water. Stir the mixture until the vapors start to dissipate.
    320 g distilled water, 137 g lye (100% sodium hydroxide)
    A bottle with lye and a pitcher with water

Make the Soap Batter

  • Use as a target temperature 40ºC for the oil-solution mixture. If necessary, you can reheat the oils, but not the lye solution.
    measure-temperature-oils
  • Pour the lye water carefully into the oils. It's better to strain the lye water to catch any undissolved lye crystals. Mix for a while.
  • Reach a light trace with the immersion blender. If needed you can use the blender later.
  • Add the after trace ingredients: essential oil blend and anti-oxidant extract. Mix well with a spoon or spatula.
    10 drops grapefruit seed extract (GSE) (anti-oxidant), 3 tsp essential oil lavender, 9 ml essential oil/fragrance neroli, 1 tsp essential oil ylang-ylang, 0,5 tsp essential oil benzoin, 27,5 ml essential oils blend
  • Beware that the soap batter might start hardening fast after adding the essential oils. Be efficient from now onwards.
  • Divide the soap batter evenly into the 3 pitchers, more or less (no need to be precise).
  • Add the blue colorant into one of the pitchers and mix well with a spoon. You can use the immersion blender in case the soap is still too liquid.
  • Add the violet colorant into another pitcher and mix well with a spoon. You can use the immersion blender in case the soap is still too liquid.
  • Check the third pitcher (should have soap batter with its creamy natural color) and mix a bit to prevent hardening

Making the Layers / Molding

  • Use a soap loaf mold for this soap. Start by pouring the blue soap into the soap mold. Pour until the mold surface is completely covered.
  • Then pour the violet soap into the soap mold carefully and try to cover the blue layer (but it's not required).
  • Pour the creamy soap on top of the violet layer. Grab the blue soap pitcher and repeat the last 3 steps until your pour all soap batter.
  • If you wish to make some top effects, let the soap batter sit for a bit until it reaches a paste consistency (you might not need to wait for this). Use a spoon or fork to make the top effects. This video gives some ideas.
    soap designs
  • At last, sprinkle the top of the soap with golden mica and/or some poppy seeds, and finish it by sprinkling alcohol
    alcohol or witch hazel to sprinkle, golden mica and poppy seeds to sprinkle
  • Make sure you properly isolate your soap loaf mold (easiest way is to heat for a bit your oven, turn it off and then place the soap mold inside the oven)

Cutting and Cutting

  • After 48 hours, unmold and cut your soap into small bars
  • Unmold the soap and cut it into bars. See How To Cure Soap, in the chapter "Unmoulding And Cutting Soap". Let the bars cure for 4 to 6 weeks. See How To Cure Soap.
  • Let the bars cure for 4 to 6 weeks. See How To Store Soap.

Video

Tried this recipe?Send a pic to @herbalcochete!