Starting with Soap - Day 5

Finished Soap

We have made a few batches of soap together already. Are you having fun? If you have any questions, let us know. We are here to help you succeed. Today I wanted to talk about when we would shift around our 6-5-4 numbers and why. Are you ready? Let’s get started!

Weighing Oils

I wanted to make soap with both Coconut Oil and Palm Kernel Oil. Both make hard bars of soap and both contribute amazing amounts of lather. This soap will be like a lather power bar. We run into issues if we use 6 oz of Coconut Oil and 5 oz of Palm Kernel Oil and vice versa. Why?

Weighing Oils

Well, the bar gets so hard that we can use the edges of our soap to shave with. Ouch! Who would have thought you could ditch a razor completely? Because those super hard and sharp edges are not desirable, we are going to use 6 oz of Olive Oil. This helps buffer how hard the bar of soap gets. The nice thing about using so much Olive Oil is that not only do the edges of our soap round nicely but we get a lot of dense creamy lather along with those big fluffy bubbles.

Measuring Water

Again I will be using 1 oz of Shea Butter as our luxury oil. It is a wonderful oil and while I am not trying to ignore other fabulous luxury oils, I think keeping your first few batches relatively similar allows you to choose which “base” oils you like the most and see how they affect your soap. From there it is easier to choose the luxury oils you enjoy the most. You will have already established what you like.

Recipe:

Mixing Lye Solution

Now for the fun stuff. Weigh your oils into a microwave safe container. While the oils are heating in the microwave, weigh out your lye and mix with your water. Remember to add your lye to your water, not the other way around. Safety first!

Heating Oils

Allow your two mixtures to cool. I like to put away my oils and set up my mold during this period. This helps keep my counters clean and my distractions to a minimum. When your oils are around 110°F to 130°F, add your lye solution to your oils. Using your immersion blender, mix your soap until you reach a light trace.

Adding Lye Solution to Oils

Remember, trace doesn’t denote a viscosity, it just means that we aren’t seeing the oils float to the top and separate out. Often we pour our soap into the mold when it is the viscosity of whole milk. That is pretty fluid!

Mixing Soap

Allow your soap to sit in the mold undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then cut into bars and place out on a shelf where they can dry. You can use your soap immediately but it will last longer if you allow it to dry completely. A great aid in determining if your soap has fully dried are our Cure Cards. The best part is you can have them included in qualifying order for free! Sweet!

Soap in Mold