Soap of the Month

At the end of each month of 2019 I will be publishing a video of my own soap creations, and at the end of the year I will be auctioning a set or two of soaps for charity... This is the continuation of my experimentation with the process of soapmaking, and I expect to be making many more mistakes as I go along, each of the recipes and variations I'm using will be listed below.

January - Snowy Morning

Soap Base - Castile (Ingredients Below)

Lye - As original recipe, mixing at room temperature

Fragrance - Winter Spice - a fabulous warm spice scent that does not fade much during curing. It becomes stronger in cinnamon-spice and loses some of it's lower notes, but not in a bad way.

Decoration - Blue mica in the soap for a pale winter sky shade. Pearlescent mica-coated Epsom salt scattered onto a paper template in a snowflake shape.

After Curing -Slight soda ashing on a couple of bars, but tests at a safe pH of 8. Fragrance is still very spicy and pleasant.

Notes - This castile recipe is pretty much guaranteed to be successful, although you'll have to be prepared to wait for it to thicken before decorating and again before it is ready to use. I am not certain that the decoration technique really worked, particularly as the paper templates left marks on the soap surface.

February - Chocolate Kiss

Soap Base - Milk (See Below)

Lye - Frozen whole milk (4% fat) with 50% extra water added, mixing at 35C

Fragrance - Equal ratio of Cocoa Butter, Marshmallow and Chocolate Chip Cookie. Really sweet initially, with occasional wafts of creamy, vanilla-richness that does not fade after curing.

Decoration - Some base mix left natural for a drop-swirl, the rest coloured with 2-3tbsp cocoa powder. Topped with Melt and Pour embeds.

After Curing -Chocolate scent overtaken by sweet mallow and cocoa butter, but not unpleasant. Discolouring has produced a rich dark brown in contrast to the creamy drop swirl. Tested pH 8.

Notes - For this batch I used my 2lb loaf mould for the first time (As well as making a couple of the bars for the set). the loaf cracked slightly across the top, which doesn't seem to have caused a problem in the long run. The contrast between the cocoa and swirl is rather pretty and has a nice creamy look. The loaf was still rather soft after 2 days, I would perhaps consider waiting for 72 hours, or even dripping the loaf into the freezer for a few hours next time to make cutting easier.

March - High Tea

Soap Base - Shae Butter (See Below)

Lye - Extra water added, up to 300g

Fragrance - Bergamot and Orange in one half, Lemon in the other. Really citrussy kick, but the bergamot is a bit weak.

Decoration - Yellow mica in the lemon side, actual Earl Grey Tea in the other with an oven-dried lemon slice on top.

After Curing - Citrus to the max, but subtle bergamot is lost. Slight soda ash on the tops, but a good contrast of colours.

Notes - I have used this shea butter base a couple of times now and I can clearly say that it accelerates excessively after blending. Attempting to make separated mixtures was difficult because it just went thick in minutes. Minimal blending in future I think, but overall a good soap to use.

April - Hayfever

Soap Base - Milk (Made with Soya) (See Below)

Lye - Extra water added, about 50g to help milk start reacting

Fragrance - Cut Grass - very pungent, bringing up sympathetic sneezing during mixing!

Decoration - Green tinted melt and pour. Poured into a puddle on a silicone pad and raised to form texture on spoons. Light blue tint to the soap.

After Curing - Quite hard, still grassy, but pleasantly reduced to a less hayfever-inducing intensity.

Notes - Generally ok in terms of design, could have done with spreading the m+p a little thinner and arranging the grass more tightly together - didn't really need to be a wavy sheet for the loaf mould, but it did help to keep the pieces upright. Some bubbles around the edges and between the pieces of grass, could have done with a solid thump on the ground or better control of the spacing.

May - Bubbling Spring

Soap Base - Shea Butter (See Below)

Lye - No Extra Water added, hence the acceleration, I think, see Notes

Fragrance - Pink Champagne, Rose Musk and Fresh Linen

Decoration - Glycerine Soap bubbles filled with dried rose, cornflower, marigold, magnolia and lavender.

After Curing - Very creamy soap, fragrance really fresh and flowery with a touch of bubble. Glycerine soap balls bled colour stain into the main soap, and didn't really keep the colours of the flowers they contained... generally disappointed, but it's a design I might revisit.

Notes - Design failed me here, the dried flowers bled rather unpleasant brownish stains into the main soap. I might try again using the flowers in the batter itself and piping the M+P instead.

June - Sea Scrub

Soap Base - Castile (See Below)

Lye - Made as stated, no particular changes or added water.

Fragrance - Sea Breeze and Eucalyptus

Decoration - Loofah! and a bit of blue mica

After Curing - Slight soda ashing, I probably should have kept it covered for longer, or sprayed more alcohol. Great combination of scents that blended nicely.

Notes - I chose a castile recipe because I was concerned that a thicker batch wouldn't soak in and around the loofah pieces. This is not a bad soap overall, although I would endeavour to slip a string around the loofah so that it can be hung to dry when not in use.

July - Safari

Soap Base - Milk (See Below)

Lye - Mixed with frozen whole milk, plus 50g water.

Fragrance - Eucalyptus and Sandalwood

Decoration - Charcoal and kaolin clay, piped alternately to create zebra stripes.

After Curing - The sandalwood scent is very much reduced, and the different soap mixes seem to have reacted in different ways.

Notes - Something I didn't think about - charcoal absorbs certain chemicals, slowing reactions and absorbtion... in this soap the charcoal seemed to absorb the scent, and dropped down in the mould... this doesn't seem to have affected the soap in terms of lather or pH. The stripes design wasn't as successful as I'd like, I think I should have waited for it to thicken a little more before piping.

August - Oh Canada!

Soap Base - Shea Butter (See Below)

Lye - A little extra water, but not excessively different to the recipe.

Fragrance - Treacle Tart and Sugar and Spice (as close as I could get to Maple Syrup)

Decoration - Hand cut and sculpted maple leaves. Shea butter is a difficult recipe to colour, it has a certain leaning towards yellow that changes the mica colour after curing.

After Curing - I had expected that the red portion would ash or show some sign of having been played about with, but it was a pleasant surprise when it didn't! Some difficulty with getting the right shade of red, I think I need to be braver with the mica to overcome the base shades in future.

Notes - Despite not looking precicely as planned, this technique actually worked rather well, I will deffinitely be using shea butter as a sculptable soap in the future, alongside melt and pour pieces.

September - Coffee Break

Soap Base - Intended to be Milk, (made with frozen latte) but ended up making it with plain water and adding cold coffee instead.

Lye - Lye and water mixed in equal quantities, made up with cold coffee.

Fragrance - Triple-hit of Coffee Mocha, Cafe Latte and Coffee fragrances

Decoration - Graduated layers of brown mica and kaolin to create a latte look, topped with ground coffee.

After Curing - After the initial saponification, after 48 hours, there was a lot of water on the surface of the loaf. This did not seem to affect the final soap after curing.

Notes - Next time be sure to label ice that is intended for soaping AND tell the coffee drinkers in the house that it's out of bounds!

October - Carrot Cake

Soap Base - Bastiel recipe - as demonstrated

Lye - According to recipe, lye and water in equal quantities, remainder made up in pureed carrot.

Fragrance - Pumpkin Spice and Cinnamon

Decoration - Base layer coloured with cocoa (probably too much), 'icing' coloured with kaolin.

After Curing - Really smooth, easy to cut even with a waffly blade. Scent not as strong as I'd like.

Notes - This recipe will work with any pureed vegetable or fruit, and leaves things open for further variations in the future.

November - Fireworks

Soap Base - Shea Butter (See Below)

Lye - Batch made as indicated, no extra water.

Fragrance - Witches' Brew

Decoration - Base coloured with 1tbsp Charcoal, farious scraps of soap stirred through.

After Curing - Slightly sticky after 3 days, but cuts well.

Notes - Fabulously dark base colour, could have done with more and lighter colours of scrap for contrast and effect.

December - Three Gifts (Or Three Kings)

Soap Base - Shea Butter (see below)

Lye - Plus 20% water to help slow the reaction.

Fragrance - Frankinsense and Myrrh

Decoration - 3 layers of bold colour, blue, green and purple, with M+P imbed diamonds and mica lines galore.

After Curing - Still rather sticky after 3 days, caused the mica to blur a bit on cutting, but the lines are bold and contrast well between the layers.

Notes - I love this design, it was a challenge to bring together, but deffinitely one I'll try again.

Soap Recipes

Castile Soap
71g Lye
170g Water
453g Olive Oil
57g Palm Oil
57g Coconut Oil
25-35g Fragrance Oil

Milk Soap
112g Lye
200g Milk (Dairy, Nut or Oat - FROZEN)
150g Olive Oil
125g Sweet Almond Oil
175g Palm Oil
468g Coconut Oil
15-25g Fragrance Oil

Shea Butter Soap
119g Lye
227g Water
298g Coconut Oil
298g Olive Oil
255g Shea Butter
35g Fragrance Oil

Look After Yourself - Lip Balm and Deoderant

Video HERE

Lip balm is a really basic make, requiring only 3 ingredients; beeswax, cocoa butter and an oil. A small change in the ratio of wax to oil can change the density of a balm, making it suitable for either a tube or a pot.

Pot 1 [Makes 14x15g Pots]

110g Sweet Almond Oil

50g Cocoa Butter

20g Beeswax

Pot 2 (Nut-free) [Makes 18x15g Pots]

120g Sunflower Oil

40g Cocoa Butter

40g Beeswax

Tube-Friendly [Makes 20 Tubes]

110g Sunflower Oil

45g Cocoa Butter

45g Beeswax

The method is basically the same for either recipe, just melt everything together then pour into pots and allow to cool before adding lids.

For tubes, inspect each tube and ensure that the mechanism works – and that the lifting platform is at the bottom of the tube. Fill 4/5 of the way up, then allow the surface to set. Reheat the remaining balm and poke a skewer into the middle of each tube to break through the surface before topping up to an even layer.

Video HERE

This is a very easy, aluminium-free deodorant. It has a mild antiperspirant quality, but does not block the pores like the stuff you get in shops.

Ingredients: [Makes 2x100ml Pots]

¼ cup Baking Soda

¼ cup Coconut Oil

¼ cup Ground Arrowroot or Cornflour*

4-5 drops Essential Oil (optional)**

*Some people have a mild reaction to cornflour, but arrowroot works just as well.

**I like a bit of peppermint or teatree, but you can go without if you prefer.

Method:

1.       Mix the powders together, then mash in the oils until combined to a paste.*

2.      Transfer to jars, being sure to press it into the bottom and exclude air pockets.

*If your coconut oil is cold and hard to mash then heat in the microwave for no longer than 2x10 seconds to soften it, you don’t want it to be liquid.

To use: Rub a little of the paste into your underarms, wait for 2 minutes before dressing.

Look After Yourself - Lotions and Potions

Basic – and more complex lotions – are always well received. All of these will last for at least 6 months, probably as much as a year if your ingredients are fresh or cupbord safe and you treat the containers as described below.

Glass, plastic or metal containers each need slightly different treatment to clean them for the safe storage of lotions…

Glass – Wash in the dishwasher, remove and pour in the lotion whilst still hot – do not touch the inside of the jar.

Plastic – Plastic jars can be washed in the dishwasher, but plastic has a tendency to gather drips of water even after the drying process. Often the lids have paper or rubber liners, but a spray with rubbing alcohol is usually enough to ensure both are safe.

Metal – Adding water to metal jars is definitely not ideal, so a couple of sprays of rubbing alcohol is usually sufficient.

All of your utensils should either be direct from a hot dishwasher or sprayed with rubbing alcohol and set on racks to dry.

Video HERE

This balm is a thick unguent which is soothing for dry, cracked skin on heels, hands and elbows. A little goes a long way. I usually leave this unscented – it has a very strong scent of beeswax which isn’t unpleasant, but is perhaps not quite right for a gift-worthy item – but this time I decided to try a little experiment. I have a collection of melting cakes, which are very vibrantly scented and made of mostly paraffin wax, which blends quite well with a beeswax base…

Ingredients: [Fills 6x100ml pot]

½ cup Beeswax, chopped or grated*

½ cup Olive Oil

½ cup Coconut Oil

½ tbsp. Vitamin E Oil

1tbsp Essential Oil or ½ a Wax Melt, chopped**

*Beeswax takes a long time to melt, I would suggest coarsely grating it rather than chopping so that the whole mix doesn’t have to get quite so hot to break down.

**This scenting experiment was actually quite successful, although in future I would add a little more as the scent is milder than I would like. Adding the cake to the melted waxes rather than melting them all together reduces the amount of fragrance lost, but I think that perhaps ¾ of a cake would be better overall.

Method:

1.       Melt together the beeswax, olive and coconut oil in a bain marie.

2.      Remove from the heat, then stir in the vitamin E and fragrance.

3.      Pour into jars and leave to cool before adding lids.*

*Don’t seal the jars whilst the balm is still hot or you might have a problem with condensation. Cover loosely until the surface sets.

 

Video HERE

This recipe is a more complex one, requiring a rather scientific process and much more precision, but it makes a completely cupboard-safe lotion which is good for at least a year.

Ingredients: [Makes 3x100ml pots]

[Oil Phase]

30ml Jojoba Oil

12g Emulsifying Wax

12g Cetyl Alcohol

20g Shea Butter

[Water Phase]

110ml Floral Water

10ml Glycerine

[Cooling Phase]

1ml Preservative

10ml Essential Oil

Method:

1.       Put the oil phase and water phase ingredients into separate jars.

2.      Melt the oil phase in a bain marie, then heat the water phase. Bring both phases to around 60C (or within 5C of each other)

3.      Remove from the heat and add the water to the oil. Stir to combine.

4.      Place the jug in a bowl of cold water and stir in the preservative and essential oil.

5.      Stir until reduced to 20C and thickened, then pour into jars. This should be cool enough to lid immediately.

 

Video HERE

This lotion is really easy to whip up – as it were – and makes a pleasantly light cream.

Ingredients: [Makes 6x100ml Pots]

½ cup Coconut Oil

½ cup Shea Butter

½ cup Cocoa Butter

½ cup Sweet Almond Oil

½ tbsp. Vitamin E Oil

30 Drops Essential Oil

Method:

1.       Melt the coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter and almond oil together in a bain marie or the microwave.

2.      Remove from the heat and stir in the vitamin E and essential oil.

3.      Cool, then transfer to the fridge for 1 hour.

4.      Whip until soft and white.

5.      Transfer to jars – I like to use a piping bag for easy dispensing.