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Herbal soap
You can replace the water in soap recipes with herbal tea, but to be honest, most of the
properties (colour and fragrance) are lost. The best way to use herbs in soap is to add
dry, finely powdered herbs to the fats before adding the lye/water. Use anywhere from 1
tablespoon to 1/4 cup dried herbs to 1 lb soap. Restrict coarsely-ground herbs to about 1
or 2 tablespoons per lb soap because they contribute a coarseness to the soap that
sometimes makes it uncomfortable during use.
The nicest way to add properties of herbs to soap is the addition of pure essential oils.
Over time, soap can develop a "lye-fat" odour, which essential oil prevents. Use
anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons essential oil per lb soap (depending on the
strength of the oil).
Colour is an illusive thing as far as soap is concerned. Natural colours can be obtained
by adding 2 tablespoons red clay, Calendula petals, or yellow palm oil.
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Pure Soap Mink Oil Shampoo
16 oz weight coconut oil
1/2 cup mink oil or (4 T. Castor oil)
2.9 oz lye
1 cup water (8 fluid oz.)
Oil room temperature. Mix and use lye when the water turns clear. Put all ingredients in
the blender. Follow the instructions for "Blender Soap" Don't let this soap
trace. Process until the mixture is smooth (no oil streaks) and pour it into moulds.
Leave in moulds 2 days
Freeze soap 3 hours to release it from the moulds.
Age 3 weeks.
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Pure Soap
This is the recipe I've discovered that remains scent-free without adding fragrance to the
recipe. This soap is a bit too harsh for bath soap, but great for cleaning, washing
dishes, delicate laundry, etc. Great lather and no fragrance.
16 oz coconut oil
2.8 oz lye
1 cup water (8 fluid ounces)
Fat and lye/water temperature about 120 degrees F
Estimated tracing time: 1 1/2 hours
Time in moulds: 48 hours
Age: 3 weeks
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Beeswax Castile
16 oz weight olive oil
1 oz beeswax
1 oz palm oil
2.1 oz lye
1 cup water (8 fluid ounces)
(melt the beeswax with the fats)
Fat and lye/water temperature about 150 degrees F
Tracing time: about 12 minutes FAST! (This is not a good blender soap candidate!) Time in
moulds: 48 hours
Place the soap in a freezer for 3 hours, then remove it from the mould.
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A traditional and blender soap combination.
The fats are expensive, but milk allows for about
12 bars, vs. only 6 bars of the same recipe without milk.
8 oz weight cocoa butter
5 oz weight palm oil
3 oz weight castor oil
2.2 oz weight lye (sodium hydroxide)
1 cup cold milk (I used 2% right from the frig)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon essential oil (I added 2 chamomile tea bags and 2 jasmine tea bags, dry)
Fats: 100 degree range
Lye/water/milk combination: 125 degree range
Dissolve the lye in the water. Add all ingredients to the blender. Process about 30
seconds, or until the mixture looks smooth and a uniform colour. It will not trace. Pour
it into the moulds (it won't separate, trust me).
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I like to make
my own bubble solution! Although the commercial solutions may be fine for general use,
really big bubbles require lots of solution which can get quite expensive.
Detergents: I have tried hundreds of soaps and detergents as a basis for my
mixtures. The more expensive detergents seem to work best. Since climate and other
conditions vary widely, you must use recommendations made here only as a guide. You need
to experiment to get the perfect mixture for your use.
Additives: When I need to make really colourful, sturdy bubbles, I add glycerine to
the mix. Glycerine is available at most drug stores, but be forewarned, it is expensive!
Glycerine sold in rose water or other solutions is pretty much worthless. A much more
practical and less expensive additive is white Karo Syrup which is available at the
grocery store.
Water: A key ingredient, varies widely in its quality. Soft water is good for
bubbles. Hard water, well water, and any water containing high levels of iron is bad for
bubbles. To get the best mixture, try using distilled water which is available at the
grocery store. The tap water where I live is good so I usually use it in my mixtures.
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This method is suggested for experienced soap-makers only.
Save the blender soap technique until you are
familiar with basic soapmaking and safety precautions of handling lye.
I'm sure you will see the great chance of accidents. Please be careful! Follow all safety
guidelines provided with the basic soapmaking directions and with your blender!
(one-pound batches only)
Use liquid fat at room temperature. Heat solid fats only until melted.
Dissolve the lye in cold water and wait until the mixture turns clear.
Put all ingredients into the blender (lye/water, fragrance--everything).
Lock the blender in position, *secure the cover* and process at the lowest speed.
Stop the blender and check the soap often to watch for a thin-trace stage. When you stop
the blender, wait a few seconds before removing the cover. Sometimes the soap
"burps" when it stops (as a large amount of trapped air comes to the top).
At the thin trace stage, stop the blender. Stir the soap to check for tracing and to allow
bubbles to escape. Pour the soap into individual moulds. That's all there is to it
There are many advantages in using a blender.
First of all, no thermometers. You're going to experience very short tracing times. Soap
that requires a 30-to-45-minute tracing time by the "cold-stir method" can trace
in 30 seconds in the blender. Soap that takes 2 days to trace can trace within 15 to 20
minutes in the blender. Tracing times are so short, that I don't recommend you use recipes
with "cold-stir" tracing times shorter than 30 minutes.
I suggest you use the blender method instead of the "oven method" outlined in
some of the recipes above. The texture of blender soap is more opaque and
smoother-textured. You'll also discover less problems with separation. The only
shortcoming of blender soap is that this process can produce tiny bubbles in the soap
mixture. That's why it's important to pour the soap into individual-bar moulds at the
thin-trace stage. Stop the blender and stir the soap. The soap should be thin enough so
that bubbles can escape the mixture and come to the top of the soap.
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