Watch the Video Guide Here: http://youtu.be/1Tmep-nTKx0
Materials Needed:
Scale
Oven
Lye-safe containers for measurement and mixing. (Heavy duty plastic, stainless steel, ceramic, etc No aluminum)
Stick blender or lye safe spoon
mold for soap large enough for 5lb soap.
goggles
gloves
apron
thermometer
Ingredients Needed:
13.5oz Distilled Water
9oz Sodium Hydroxide
40.6 oz Olive Oil (pomace grade or extra virgin will both work.)
16.3oz Coconut Oil
8.1oz Castor Oil
Step One: Weigh and Mix your Lye Solution. Mix your lye into your water in a well ventilated area. If you have an exhaust fan use it. Otherwise open your window or do this outside. Stir thoroughly until completely dissolved.
Step Two: Weigh all your oils into a mixing container and heat to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step Three: Carefully mix your lye solution into your oils, stirring gently. When you mix your oils and lye should be within about 20 degrees F of one another. The ideal temperature to start mixing is 100 degrees for your oils. Your lye may be a little warmer. Mix until your soap comes to a trace.
Step Four: OPTIONAL add scent or other botanicals
Step Five: Pour your soap into your prepared soap molds.
Step Six: Preheat your oven to the lowest setting. My lowest setting is 170F.
Step Seven: Place soap in preheated oven and set the timer for 5 min. Then turn off oven* and check your soap.
*Watch for overheating. Ovens vary and you may need more or less heat and cooking time. Learning your oven happens by making and observing your soap for signs of overheating such as cracking, bubbling and puffing out.
Step Eight: With oven off (but still warm) set your timer for 10 minutes and check soap every ten minutes until gel stage is complete. If after 30 minutes your soap has not gelled, you may need to give your soap another 5 minute burst of heat to encourage the soap to go through a gel stage. See video for helpful visuals.
Step Nine: When gel stage is complete, remove the soap from your oven and allow to cool. After 12-24 hours your soap will be ready to unmold.
Step Ten: Unmold and cut your soap.
Step Eleven: Perform a Ph test for safety. The soap should be slightly alkaline. However, if the soap is too high of Ph, you may have used too much lye. Alternatively, you can taste the soap. If it tastes like soap, then you made it correctly. If it zaps like a 9V battery, then you may have used too little oils, too much lye or not completed the gel phase. If your soap is too alkaline, retest the soap after 2 weeks.
Step Twelve: If the Ph test goes well, your soap is safe to use right away. Letting the soap cure for a few weeks will result in a longer lasting bar of soap. Enjoy your soap.
