Miracle Soap
This recipe is great for dry skin. It lathers up wonderfully. I call it my miracle soap because I use it to wash my hair with too and it is great for the skin. This soap doesn’t get hard fast, so don’t feel that we have failed if is it doesn’t harden quickly the temperature is important for this recipe and so are the measurements and weights. You might fail if either is incorrect. Make sure you save an accurate scale to weigh your ingredients. If you don’t have one, you need to add one to your equipment list. This recipe makes about 7 pounds of soap, ingredients needed are:
10 ¾ ounces of lye crystals
4 cups cold water
27 ounces of coconut oil
34 ounces of olive oil
3 cups of vegetable shortening (not lard or butter or margarine)
1 tablespoon scented oil
1 wide-mouth jar
1 enamel or stainless steel pan
1 wooden spoon
Measure 10 ¾ ounces of lye in a plastic container. Slowly and cautiously add the lye to 4 cups of cold water in the wide-mouth jar. (see rule number five on previous page.) Stir until lye crystals are completely dissolved. Place the jar in a shallow pan of cold water to start bringing the temperature of the lye water down between 95-98 degrees. The temperature cannot be hotter or colder than this for the recipe. Use the thermometer to continue taking the Temperature until the proper temperature is reached.
This cooling process takes a little time, so place your shortening in the enamel pan and melt that. Add the olive oil and the coconut oil after you have melted the shortening. You may need to place this in cold water to bring the temperature to between 95-98 degrees. If either solution is too hot or too cold, you may have to heat it up or cool it down to proper temperatures. When both solutions are ready, slowly add the lye solution to the oils in a steady stream, stirring constantly.
Keep stirring until the mixture traces. This means that the spoon lifted from the soap mixture will be able to trace a design on the creamy soap. This design will stay visible for several seconds before disappearing. If you have stirred for about 30 minutes and the soap does not trace well, it is still able to be used. It will just take a little more time to harden after you pour it into the molds.
Before pouring into the molds, add the scented oils. Cover your molds with a folded blanket and place them on a level surface, sheltered from any drafts. Allow to set for 24 hours. Uncover and allow to set another 24 hours. If your scale and thermometer read correctly, you “should have a batch of beautiful soap. Carefully following instructions and having equipment that reads correctly always ensures a good batch.
This recipe makes soap that is pliable when removed from the molds. At that time, you would be able to make it into different shapes, designs, and sizes. It will have the consistency of soft cheese and be easy to roll into balls or shape into animals for the kids. You can become quite artistic in design. A friend of mine even makes hers into suggestive shapes for her husband’s personal use. The soap may be easier to carve into shapes after it has had a chance to set more firmly.
Easy Herbal Soap
Place 2 table-spoons finely chopped lemon verbena or lavender into 2 tablespoons warmed glycerin. Place in a warm area for several days. Strain and finely grate 12 tablespoons of unscented soap or soap flakes and melt in top of a double boiler. Remove from heat and add the scented glycerin to the melted soap. Add 1 tablespoon of honey. Mix well. Pour into greased molds. Allow to set until the soap is cool and hardened.
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