What You’ll Need:
Embeds:
10 oz. Clear LCP Melt & Pour Soap
Kermit Green Mica
Shamrock Green Mica
Base:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
Hanger Swirl Tool
1 oz. Castor Oil (3%)
7.3 oz. Coconut Oil (22%)
1.7 oz. Moringa Seed Oil (5%)
9.9 oz. Olive Oil (30%)
8.3 oz. Palm Oil (25%)
5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil (15%)
4.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
10.9 oz. Distilled Water
1.4 oz. Lemongrass Mojito Natural Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Chrome Green Oxide Pigment
Hydrated Chrome Green Pigment
Kermit Green
Make the Embeds:
ONE: Chop and melt 10 ounces LCP White Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 15-second bursts. Split the batch evenly into two containers – it’s okay to eyeball it. To one container, add 1/2 teaspoon of Kermit Green Mica and stir to combine. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Shamrock Green Mica to the other container and stir to combine. Pour both containers of soap at the same time into a mold cavity of your choice. The exact shape is not super important because the soap will be chopped into small pieces. We used the 12 Bar Square Silicone Mold. Wait for the bars to cool and harden.
TWO: Once the melt and pour has fully cooled and hardened, remove from the mold. Use a sharp, non-serrated knife to chop the soap into small square pieces. The exact size of each embed is up to you. Set pieces of soap aside until you’re ready to use.
Make the Base
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 check out 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 soapmaking 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 that this is optional, but it does prevent the titanium dioxide from 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 1 teaspoon of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Chrome Green Oxide, Hydrated Chrome Green Oxide Pigment, and Kermit Green Mica into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 1.4 ounces of Lemongrass Mojito Natural Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance-oil-safe container. Set aside.
MOLD & TOOL PREP: Bend the Hanger Swirl Tool to fit inside the 10″ Silicone Loaf Mold.
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, sweet almond oil, castor oil, and moringa seed 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, add 2 teaspoons sodium lactate. Stick blend the soap until it’s at a thin trace.
THREE: Once you reach a thin trace, pour 200 mL of soap batter into three separate containers. To the remaining soap, add 1 tablespoon dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to mix together.
FOUR: Add 1 teaspoon of dispersed Kermit Green Mica, Hydrated Chrome Green Oxide Pigment, and Chrome Green Oxide into each 200 mL container – one color per container. Use a whisk to mix in the colorants completely.
FIVE: Add the Lemongrass Mojito Natural Fragrance Oil into the containers proportionally. It’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to mix in the fragrance oil.
SIX: Pour about 1/3 of the white soap into the mold. Firmly tap the mold on the counter to release any bubbles.
SEVEN: Pour about 1/3 of one of the containers of green soap into the mold. Pour several inches above the mold; this helps the soap to drop to the bottom of the white soap, rather than sitting on top and creating layers.
EIGHT: Continue pouring the soap from above the mold, using all the colors. Pour enough of each color to ensure you can pour all colors at least three times. Continue to pour from various heights to help the colors reach various depths. Don’t worry about being too precise when you are pouring.
NINE: Insert the Hanger Swirl Tool into one side of the mold. Then, use loop-de-loop motions to swirl the soap. There is no right or wrong way to do this! Just keep moving the Hanger Swirl Tool in circular motions. Some “loops” should be big and some small. Once you’ve swirled the soap about 5-7 times, remove the Hanger Swirl Tool by bringing it up and out on one side of the mold.
TEN: Begin dropping in the melt and pour embeds. If you drop the embeds from several inches above the mold, they will fall into the soap. We let the first “layer” of embeds fall into the soap, then placed the remainder on top so they stuck out from the top of the mold.
ELEVEN: Once you’ve placed all the embeds into the soap, spritz with alcohol to avoid soda ash. To prevent the embeds from melting, this soap needs to be kept at cool temperatures. If you live in an extremely hot climate, place the soap into a fridge or freezer for several hours to keep temperatures cool. Allow the soap to sit in the mold for 2-3 days. Unmold, and use a sharp non-serrated knife to cut into bars. Allow the bars to cool for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!
