Pumpkin Pie Cold Process Soap Tutorial

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means 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: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Copper Sparkle Mica and 1/2 teaspoon Yellow Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon of lightweight liquid oil. Disperse 1 teaspoon Sunset Orange Mica into 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Have 3 tablespoons of walnut shells nearby.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2 ounces of Pumpkin Spice Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Melt and combine the cocoa butter, pumpkin seed oil, sweet almond oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

THREE: Once the soap is at a thin trace, split off about 200-300 mL into a separate container. Add all the dispersed titanium dioxide and use the stick blender to mix in the colorant. Set aside. This will be the white topping, so don’t add any fragrance oil to this soap.

FOUR: Split off about 500 mL of soap into a separate container and add 3 tablespoons of walnut shells and 1/4 teaspoon dispersed Copper Sparkle Mica. Use a whisk to mix in the colorants. Add a small amount of the Pumpkin Spice Fragrance Oil (it’s okay to eyeball it) and mix in with the whisk.

FIVE: Pour about half of the walnut shell soap evenly into the Cake Pan Silicone Mold. Tap it on the counter to help disperse it evenly throughout the bottom. Set the remaining soap aside, it will be used for the crust on top.

SIX: To the remaining soap, add all of dispersed Sunset Orange Mica and 1 teaspoon of the dispersed yellow mica. Add the remaining fragrance oil and use a whisk to fully stir in the colorants and fragrance oil.

SEVEN: Carefully spoon the orange soap on top of the “crust” layer of soap. Be careful to not allow the orange soap to break through the “crust” layer. Once the layer below has been covered, carefully pour the remaining soap into the mold and tap down firmly to help get rid of bubbles. Use a spoon or spatula to help smooth the top.

EIGHT: Place the remaining brown “crust” soap into a disposable piping bag. Cut the tip off the bag and begin piping the soap around the edges of the mold. Don’t worry about making it perfect at this point. =)

NINE: Once you have gone all along the edge of the mold with the brown soap, use a spoon to create a crust-like texture.

TEN: Cut the tip off the other disposable frosting bag and place the frosting tip inside. Fill the bag with the white soap, and pipe eight little dollops in the center of where each slice will be. You will have some extra soap, depending on how big the dollops are. I piped the extra soap onto wax paper to use as toppings for another project.

ELEVEN: Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Allow the soap to harden in the mold for 1-2 days. Carefully remove from the mold, and cut into slices. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!