What You’ll Need:
Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
10.7 Coconut Oil
15.1 oz. Olive Oil
10.7 oz. Palm Oil
4.3 oz. Rice Bran Oil
2.2 oz. Chia Seed Oil
6.1 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
14.2 oz. Distilled Water
2 oz. Dragon’s Blood Fragrance Oil
Activated Charcoal
Merlot Sparkle Mica
Electric Bubble Gum Colorant
Fizzy Lemonade Colorant
Tangerine Wow! Colorant
If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, check out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. Bramble Berry also carries a wide range of books on the topic, including Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads.
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safety! That includes goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
COLOR PREP: Using separate containers, add 1 teaspoon of the Merlot Sparkle Mica, Electric Bubble Gum Colorant, Fizzy Lemonade Colorant and Tangerine Wow into 1 tablespoon of a lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil. Next, mix 2 teaspoons of the activated charcoal in 2 tablespoons of the lightweight oil. Use a mini mixer to smooth any clumps of color.
MOLD PREP: Using freezer paper, line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold. Make sure the shiny side is facing up. To learn how to line the mold, click here.
ONE: Carefully and slowly add the lye to the water and stir gently until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set the lye and water aside to cool.
TWO: Put the lid of the mold on the counter and put the mold on top. That will create an angled look in your soap.
THREE: Melt and mix the rice bran, coconut, chia seed, palm and olive oils. Make sure to fully mix and melt the palm oil before adding it to your oils. When the lye water and the oils have cooled to around 130 degrees or below, and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other, add the lye water to the oils. Stick blend the oil and lye until it reaches thin trace. If you’d like a firmer bar of soap that releases faster from your mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water mixture. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in your recipe. In this recipe, you’d add about 3 teaspoons of sodium lactate total.
THREE: When your soap is at a light trace, split it into five separate containers. Three containers should have about 200 mL. One container should have about 800 mL, and the last container should have about 300 mL.
FOUR: To the container with 800 mL, add 5 tsp. of the dispersed activated charcoal color. For the 300 mL container, add 2 tsp. of the dispersed charcoal. Using a whisk, fully mix the colors. To the other three containers with 200 mL, add the amounts below and whisk them in.
- Container 1: All dispersed Tangerine Wow Colorant for orange
- Container 2: All dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant for yellow
- Container 3: 2 tsp. Electric Bubble Gum Colorant + 3 tsp. Merlot Sparkle Mica for red
FIVE: In the large container of black colored soap, add about 3/4 of the Dragon’s Blood Fragrance Oil and whisk to fully incorporate.
SIX: Pour all of the black soap with Dragon’s Blood Fragrance Oil into the mold. It will pool in the corner of the mold. With the mold still at an angle, tap it gently on the counter to evenly disperse all the soap. Put the mold back on the lid. The soap will be about medium to thick trace, which helps the layers stay suspended.
SEVEN: On the black soap, pour about half of the red soap. Allow the red soap to slide down the side of the mold at an angle.
EIGHT: Next, pour about half of the orange colored soap over the red colored soap. Allow it to fall down the side of the tilted mold.
NINE: Pour about half of the yellow colored soap over the orange and down the side of the mold. With the mold still at an angle, gently tap it on the counter to even out the colors.
TEN: Repeat the layers, starting with the red soap and ending with yellow. Reserve a small amount of each color for the top of the soap.
ELEVEN: When all the colors are in the mold, remove the lid and set the mold on the counter. Tap it firmly to pop any air bubbles.
TWELVE: Add the rest of the fragrance oil to the last container of black soap. Mix in fully with a whisk.
THIRTEEN: Pour the black top slowly on top, covering the entire surface. Using a spoon, even out the black soap. Make sure not to disturb the colors below.
FOURTEEN: Plop spoonfuls of orange, red and yellow soap on top. Don’t worry about being precise!
FIFTEEN: Create a peak in the center using your spoon. You can add more texture if you like, just make sure not to blend the colors too much.
SIXTEEN: When you like the texture, spray the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. If the peaks aren’t too tall, place the lid on the mold. We covered the soap with bent cardboard and covered it with a blanket. Put the mold on a heating pad set to medium for around 20-30 minutes. Switch the heating pad off and keep the soap covered for 24 hours. After that time, uncover the mold and and let the soap sit for about 3-4 days.
