Chocolate Mint Layered Soap

Last week I decided that I needed to make a chocolate soap. I thought that if I acknowledged the craving in a way that wouldn’t be calorie laden, then the craving would subside. My only problem is that I’ve made a chocolate cold process soap before and I wanted to try something new. Looking for inspiration, I remembered a post that was released 2 years ago this month! I had visited Becky in her soap workshop and she showed me how she made soap. Her layered Fourth of July soap was the basic inspiration for my layered Chocolate Mint Soap. I made two separate batches of soap so I could have layers without dividing the raw soap. Each batch was 1 pound and I filled a mold that holds a 2 pound batch.

I’ve been finding any excuse possible to go check on my soap and take a big whiff. I’ve been told that it smells just like a York Peppermint Patty or a Junior Mint. All I know is that I still want chocolate and now I want to make peppermint brownies. Maybe I’ll make plain brownies. Either way, off to the blog kitchen to share the “how to” for this yummy soap.

Collect needed items:

Since this is a layered soap, I made two batches each weighing one pound. The fixed oils and essential oil were the same for both batches. The only difference is that I used Baking Chocolate to color Batch 1 and the Mint Green to color Batch 2.

Weigh fixed oils for both batches on your scale. Gently warm the fixed oils, one batch at a time, on the stove or in the microwave. I melted the oils in the microwave. Add sodium hydroxide to the water for both batches. Mix well. Weigh the Peppermint Essential Oil in two beakers and set aside.

Batch 1:
Add the Baking Chocolate to the melted oils. Mix until the Baking Chocolate has been completely melted. Combine the fixed oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. For me, this took almost 90 seconds to reach the thin trace. After the soap reached this point I added the Peppermint Essential Oil and mixed well. Once the fragrance was completely mixed into the raw soap, I poured the soap into the Guerrilla Mold. I allowed the soap to sit as I began mixing the second batch.

Batch 2:
Add the Mint Green Dry Color to the melted oils. Mix until the oil has completely suspended the Mint Green Dry Color. Combine the fixed oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Again, this took almost 90 seconds to reach the thin trace. After the soap reached this point I added the Peppermint Essential Oil and mixed well. Once the fragrance was completely mixed into the raw soap, I poured the soap onto a rubber scraper over the Guerrilla Mold to prevent divots in the chocolate layer. I allowed the soap to sit until was firm.

The next morning the soap was cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar.

Notes:
This soap has an ammonia like odor for the first 24 hours after cutting. After this time has passed, the soap has a chocolate mint odor. The colors will leave a slight coloration on a white washcloth, but it does wash out of the washcloth easily.

Thanks for joining me on my latest soaping adventure. I don’t think this soap helped cure my need for chocolate, but maybe it will help you! I at least hope this soap has inspired you to make something different. I know it has inspired me to try a few new ideas.

The Chocolate Mint Layered soap samples have been sent to the Shipping Department to send out in orders. I really want to hear your comments about this soap. I hope that anyone wanting a sample soap will request one and if we have any samples we will send them to you.

Enjoy!