What You’ll Need:
5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
Silicone Liner for 5 lb. Wood Mold
13.5 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
14.6 oz. Palm Oil (27%)
18.9 oz. Olive Oil (35%)
5.4 oz. Green Tea Seed Oil (10%)
1.6 oz. Castor Oil (3%)
7.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
17.8 oz. Distilled Water
3.5 oz. Rose Quartz Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Electric Bubble Gum
Snowflake Sparkle Mica
Pink Sea Salt, Medium
Optional: Powder Duster
If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Pure Soapmaking. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.
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 3 teaspoons of the colorant into 3 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in a separate container, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum Colorant into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Finally, disperse 2 teaspoons Snowflake Sparkle Mica into 2 tablespoons lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps. Have extra Snowflake Sparkle Mica nearby to dust on top.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 3.5 ounces of Rose Quartz 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: Fully melt and combine the coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, green tea seed oil and castor 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 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate. Stick blend the soap until it’s at a thin trace.
THREE: Add all the titanium dioxide to the soap and whisk to fully incorporate.
FOUR: Split off half the soap into a separate container.
FIVE: To the white soap, add all of the dispersed Snowflake Sparkle Mica and use a whisk to mix in fully.
SIX: To the other container, add a heaping teaspoon of Electric Bubble Gum and stir in with a whisk or spoon.
SEVEN: Add half the fragrance to each container. It’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to incorporate the fragrance.
EIGHT: Now it’s time to make an in-the-pot swirl! Pour the pink soap in various areas of the pot. Pour steadily from a high point to get the color all the way to the bottom of the container.
NINE: Use a chopstick or dowel twice through the soap, hitting each entry point. Only run the chopstick through twice! Too many swirls in the pot can muddle the colors.
TEN: Slowly and carefully pour the soap into one side of the mold. This will allow the soap to swirl as it pours.
ELEVEN: When the soap is thick enough, use a spoon to build the soap towards the center of the mold, and create peaks and divots. There is no right or wrong way to create texture on top of soap, so just have fun with it. We found our soap was still fairly thin when poured, so we waited about 30 minutes for it to thicken enough to hold the shape.
TWELVE: Once you’re happy with the texture, pour Snowflake Sparkle Mica into a powder duster and sprinkle on a thin layer.
THIRTEEN: Sprinkle on the pink sea salt, concentrating it toward the center. Gently press the salt into the soap with gloves hands to help it stick to the soap a little better. Add a little more than you want, as some will fall off when cut.
FOURTEEN: Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help avoid soda ash. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 3-5 days. Unmold and cut into bars. Allow the bars to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!
