Sacred Moments Handmade Soap
submitted by Kristerae

An exotic and sensual blend with a silky lather.

You should only make soap like this if you are familiar with the soapmaking process. Lye is a very dangerous chemical and should not be used around children, pets or by adults who don't take precautions. Only make this product and any other handmade soap if you are an experienced soapmaker. Try this recipe only after taking a soapmaking class or watching an experienced soapmaker make soap.

Yield: 12 5-ounce bars Prep Time: several hours from start to finish Price Category: 3 Difficulty Level: 3 Shelf Life: Indefinite Rating: Add your rating! Ingredients: 520 grams (about 18 ounces) lavender hydrosol 180 grams (about 6 ounces) sodium hydroxide 16 ounces  virgin coconut oil 9 ounces unrefined shea butter 5 ounces palm kernel oil 14 ounces olive oil 6 ounces cocoa butter 1 ounce jojoba oil 1 ounce jasmine wax 2 tablespoon blood orange essential oil 1 tablespoon patchouli essential oil 1 tablespoon sandalwood essential oil 1/2 tablespoon clove bud essential oil

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Blending Procedure:

1. Assemble all equipment and ingredients materials and cover work area completely with newspaper. Measure the cold hydrosol into a Pyrex glass measuring cup. Put on rubber gloves, face mask and safety goggles. Carefully measure the lye into the cold hydrosol. Immediately stir the solution with the end of a wooden or heavy-duty plastic spoon. Stir gently and continuously, and do not slosh the liquid. Slowly stir until the liquid begins to clear and the lye is completely dissolved. If some lye hardens and settles at the bottom of the glass, gently loosen it with the spoon and continue to stir until all lye is dissolved. The hydrosol will heat up considerably during this process so be sure to start with cold water. Be extra careful when handling the solution at all times, especially while it is hot. Additionally, avoid the unpleasant fumes that will be emitted during the mixing process. Your facemask should be sufficient to insulate you from the fumes, but you might want to mix the lye with water in the open air to be on the safe side. You may remove the facemask after a few minutes, as the fumes will subside. After the lye has dissolved, remove the spoon. Rinse the spoon under cold water and save it for clean up. Set aside the lye solution to cool to 110 degrees.
   
   
2. As long as you do not come into contact with lye or lye solution, you may remove your protective gear until Step 5. Measure the shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil and palm kernel oil. Those oils that are solid at room temperature (such as coconut oil, lard, shea butter, cocoa butter, etc.) will need to be liquefied. Measure the appropriate amount of the above-mentioned oils into your soap pot and place the pot over a low flame to warm and melt the solid oils. After the oils have liquefied, remove them from the heat source and stir gently to ensure they are thoroughly mixed. Add the olive oil last and stir again. Set aside to cool to 110 degrees.
   
   
3. In a separate container, gently melt the jasmin wax into the jojoba oil and set it aside. (This will be added to the soap mixture later.)
   
   
4. While you are waiting for the oils and lye solution to cool, you can prepare your molds. You can use almost anything plastic or wooden for a soap mold. You can use a shoe or envelope box, but a thick wooden box is best because it insulates better than a thin cardboard box. You can also use Rubbermaid or Tupperware containers, plastic drawer utensil holders, plastic candy molds, Solo cups and plastic molds designed especially for soap making. If you use a plastic mold, you need not grease or line the mold. If you use a wooden or cardboard mold, you will need to line it with plastic.
   
   
5. When the soap comes to trace, add the jasmine wax that has been melted with the jojoba oil. Gently stir to incorporate. Add the essential oils last and stir.
   
   
6. Set your spoon or mixing apparatus aside and pour your soap mixture into the prepared mold(s). Scrape the soap from the pot using the spatula. Cover the mold completely with a lid of some sort (cardboard or other heavy paper will do), and completely cover the top and sides of your mold with your towel to insulate your soap. A sudden drop in temperature at this time could inhibit saponification so you will want to make sure to cover the mold completely. Leave the soap along for at least 48 hours, and try not to peak to allow the temperature to drop slowly.
   
   
7. Clean the soap pot and all utensils immediately before the soap hardens. Clean up all items that came into contact with lye solution and raw soap by washing them well with hot water and detergent. This includes counter tops, utensils and the floor. Set aside your utensils and use them for soap making only. Take up the newspaper carefully, ensuring that all spills are disposed of. After at least 48 hours, remove the coverings from the soap mold. You should now have a beautiful block of soap, firm and fresh. Allow it to sit uncovered for another day or so before removing it from the mold If your mold is a plastic-lined box, remove the soap by lifting the plastic from the box, and gently peel the plastic away from the soap. If your mold is a plastic container of some sort, you may have to place it in the freezer for a period of time in order to loosen the soap from the sides of the mold. The freezing process will cause the soap to pull away a bit from the sides of the mold. It can then easily be removed. The freezing process does not hurt the soap, but you should avoid leaving your soap in the freezer for a long time. Thirty minutes at the most should be sufficient. If after a few days, your creation has not hardened enough to remove from the mold, leave it alone for another day or so and check it again. If after 3 or 4 days, your soap remains a soft and greasy mass, it has probably separated into two layers. This probably means that the fast and lye solution were too cool to support the saponification process when they were originally mixed together. Allow your soap to cure for 2-3 weeks before using it in order to ensure that all free lye has been fully absorbed by the oils in the soap. After 2 or 3 weeks, wrap your soap in white tissue paper, fabric, wax paper, glassine wrap, or anything you please that you find attractive. You can label it if you like, tie raffia around it gift style, or add beads or bows for a decorative touch.

Comments:

"Between step 4 and 5 - as a newcomer to soap making, I noticed that you did not tell how to get the soap to trace, eg, use stick blender or stir until you get to trace. The recipe looks very interesting and I am going to try it - thank you for sharing it!"
Submitted by: Delphyne

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