New Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil will be your go-to winter scent. The notes of eucalyptus, sparkling icicle, amber, and musk inspired this cold process soap.

The blue and white color palette complements the fragrance perfectly. Soap colored with Ultramarine Blue Pigment, Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant, and titanium dioxide are poured into the mold with a drop swirl technique. A Hanger Swirl Tool is used to create a more intricate design. The best part is you don’t have to be too careful with the design and each bar will look unique.

[bb_recipeKit link=”https://www.brambleberry.com/BRAMcustom/kitrecipehandler.ashx?recipe=alpinefrostcpsoap”]

What You Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
Hanger Swirl Tool
3.5 oz. Avocado Oil (10%)
1 oz. Castor Oil (2.8%)
8.8 oz. Coconut Oil (25.1%)
8.8 oz. Olive Oil (25.1%)
8.8 oz. Palm Oil (25.1%)
4.2 oz. Rice Bran Oil (12%)
4.9 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
10.4 oz. Distilled Water (10% water discount)
1.75 oz. Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Ultramarine Blue Pigment
Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant

Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

[/bb_recipeKit]

[sq_products]

If you’ve never made cold process soap before, stop here. We 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 Pure Soapmaking.

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon of titanium dioxide into 1 tablespoon of a lightweight liquid oil such as sunflower or sweet almond. Then in separate containers, disperse 1 teaspoon of Ultramarine Blue Pigment and 1 teaspoon of Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant into 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of clumps.
Optional: To ensure the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Use a coffee grinder 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. 

FRAGRANCE PREP: In a glass fragrance oil-safe container, measure out 1.75 ounces of Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil and set aside.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add 4.9 ounces of lye to 10.4 ounces of distilled water. Gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set it aside to cool. 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, you’d add 2 teaspoons sodium lactate.

TWO: Melt and combine 3.5 ounces of avocado oil, 1 ounce of castor oil, 8.8 ounces of coconut oil, 8.8 ounces of olive oil, 8.8 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt the entire container of palm oil before portioning), and 4.2 ounces of rice bran oil into a large mixing bowl. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a very thin trace.

THREE: Split the soap into three separate containers and add the following colors. Use a whisk to mix them in.

• Container A (300 mL ): 1.5 teaspoons dispersed Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant
• Container B (300 mL): 2 teaspoons dispersed Ultramarine Blue Pigment
• Container C (remaining soap): All dispersed titanium dioxide

FOUR: Add the 1.75 ounces of Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil to each container proportionally – it’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to mix in the fragrance.

FIVE: Pour a small amount of the white soap into the mold – just enough to cover the bottom. Then alternate pouring small amounts of the dark blue, white, and light blue soap into the mold at varying heights. That helps the soap drop to different areas of the mold rather than sitting on top and creating layers. Don’t worry about being too precise when you’re pouring.
Tip: Pouring white soap between the two shades of blue helps define the swirls. 

SIX: Continue pouring the soap into the mold. Save a very small amount of each color for the top.

SEVEN: 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 necessarily, but different motions and patterns will result in slightly different looking swirl. Some loops should be big and some small. Varying the direction (horizontal versus vertical) also creates a more complex swirl. Once you’ve swirled the soap about 7-10 times, remove the Hanger Swirl Tool by bringing it up and out on one side of the mold.

EIGHT: Pour or plop (depending on your trace – ours was quite thick at this point) dollops of the remaining soap on top. Don’t worry too much about the placement of each color.

NINE: Use the back of a spoon to create peaks and divots into the soap. Have fun with the texture – there is no right or wrong way to do it. Watch this video for cold process soap texture inspiration.

TEN: Once you’re happy with the top, spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol. We placed this soap on a heating pad for about 1 hour to help promote gel phase. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-3 days (depending if you used sodium lactate or not). Unmold and cut into bars. Allow the bars to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

Print

Alpine Swirl Cold Process Soap

New Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil will be your go-to winter scent. The notes of eucalyptus, sparkling icicle, amber, and musk inspired this cold process soap.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 3 pounds of soap

Author Bramble Berry

Ingredients

• 10 ″ Silicone Loaf Mold
• Hanger Swirl Tool
• 3.5 oz. Avocado Oil 10%
• 1 oz. Castor Oil 2.8%
• 8.8 oz. Coconut Oil 25.1%
• 8.8 oz. Olive Oil 25.1%
• 8.8 oz. Palm Oil 25.1%
• 4.2 oz. Rice Bran Oil 12%
• 4.9 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 10.4 oz. Distilled Water 10% water discount
• 1.75 oz. Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide
• Ultramarine Blue Pigment
• Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant

Instructions

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon of titanium dioxide into 1 tablespoon of a lightweight liquid oil such as sunflower or sweet almond. Then in separate containers, disperse 1 teaspoon of Ultramarine Blue Pigment and 1 teaspoon of Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant into 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of clumps. Optional: To ensure the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Use a coffee grinder 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.

FRAGRANCE PREP: In a glass fragrance oil-safe container, measure out 1.75 ounces of Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil and set aside.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

• Slowly and carefully add 4.9 ounces of lye to 10.4 ounces of distilled water. Gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set it aside to cool. 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, you’d add 2 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• Melt and combine 3.5 ounces of avocado oil, 1 ounce of castor oil, 8.8 ounces of coconut oil, 8.8 ounces of olive oil, 8.8 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt the entire container of palm oil before portioning), and 4.2 ounces of rice bran oil into a large mixing bowl. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a very thin trace.
• Split the soap into three separate containers and add the following colors. Use a whisk to mix them in.<br>Container A (300 mL ): 1.5 teaspoons dispersed Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant<br>Container B (300 mL): 2 teaspoons dispersed Ultramarine Blue Pigment<br>Container C (remaining soap): All dispersed titanium dioxide
• Add the 1.75 ounces of Alpine Frost Fragrance Oil to each container proportionally – it’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to mix in the fragrance.
• Pour a small amount of the white soap into the mold – just enough to cover the bottom. Then alternate pouring small amounts of the dark blue, white, and light blue soap into the mold at varying heights. That helps the soap drop to different areas of the mold rather than sitting on top and creating layers. Don’t worry about being too precise when you’re pouring. Tip: Pouring white soap between the two shades of blue helps define the swirls.
• Continue pouring the soap into the mold. Save a very small amount of each color for the top.
• 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 necessarily, but different motions and patterns will result in slightly different looking swirl. Some loops should be big and some small. Varying the direction (horizontal versus vertical) also creates a more complex swirl. Once you’ve swirled the soap about 7-10 times, remove the Hanger Swirl Tool by bringing it up and out on one side of the mold.
• Pour or plop (depending on your trace – ours was quite thick at this point) dollops of the remaining soap on top. Don’t worry too much about the placement of each color.
• Use the back of a spoon to create peaks and divots into the soap. Have fun with the texture – there is no right or wrong way to do it.
• Once you’re happy with the top, spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol. We placed this soap on a heating pad for about 1 hour to help promote gel phase. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-3 days (depending if you used sodium lactate or not). Unmold and cut into bars. Allow the bars to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

The post Alpine Swirl Cold Process Soap appeared first on Soap Queen.

Both lemongrass and mint have a refreshing, herbal scent. The new Lemongrass Mojito Natural Fragrance Oil features notes of both plants, along with litsea and a touch of rosemary. It’s a bright, herbaceous fragrance oil that’s perfect for summer.

This Lemongrass Mojito Soap was inspired by the new fragrance oil, along with this Mojito Melt and Pour Tutorial from 2010. The combination of swirls and chunky melt and pour embeds suggest the appearance of a mojito cocktail. The Hanger Swirl Tool swirls the green hues together, creating a unique look in each bar. If you love the look of this soap, you might also like the Shimmering Sea Glass Cold Process Soap.

Wondering what a “natural” fragrance oil is? A natural fragrance oil (a.k.a. nature-identical fragrance oil) is a chemical replica of an essential oil that is created in a lab from the aroma chemicals present in plants, fruits, flowers, and other natural aromatic ingredients. Natural-aroma chemicals are derived directly from the plant, but the specific scent molecule is isolated from the other components of the plant. This single-molecule product differs from an essential oil, which has a more complex profile.

Because it comes from a combination of sources, it can’t be called an essential oil. But, it doesn’t contain the synthetic ingredients that a “regular” fragrance oil contains. Some soapers do not consider nature-identical fragrance oils to be “natural.” As with many ingredients, it comes down to an individual choice to use them or not.

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

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embeds:

ONE: Chop and melt 10 ounces LCP Clear 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!

Print

Lemongrass Mojito Soap Tutorial

This soap features chunky embeds and swirls for plenty of texture.

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 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

Instructions

• Chop and melt 10 ounces LCP Clear 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.
• 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.

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.

• 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.
• Fully melt and combine the coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, and moringa 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Pour about 1/3 of the white soap into the mold. Firmly tap the mold on the counter to release any bubbles.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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!

The post Lemongrass Mojito Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are known for our love of coffee. It’s not uncommon to have multiple Starbucks just blocks away from each other. There is also an abundant number of locally-owned coffee shops. If you love coffee as much as a Seattleite, making soap is a great way to include the ingredient in your products. In this coffee soap project,  locally roasted coffee is used to really make these bars special. Using a local ingredient highlights the handmade aspect of your products.

Incorporating coffee into cold process soap is easier than you might think. The distilled water in cold process recipes can be swapped for plain coffee. The key is using distilled water to brew the coffee, and allowing the coffee to cool to room temperature before adding sodium hydroxide lye. Using coffee instead of water makes the soap batter quite dark, so keep that in mind when choosing the color palette. If you’re using plain brewed coffee, don’t worry about the soap overheating. Black coffee does not contain sugar.

Using coffee instead of water does not give soap a coffee smell. In fact, when you mix lye with coffee it does not smell very pleasant. This is because the lye “scorches” the coffee, resulting in a noticeable odor. The smell of the coffee and lye solution is usually not noticeable in the final bar. This is especially true if you’re using a fragrance oil in your recipe. For this soap, Espresso Fragrance Oil gives the bars a rich, delicious scent. Espresso Fragrance Oil does discolor in cold process soap due to the vanillin content. Titanium dioxide combats that slightly, but you can notice some discoloration on the top of the soap in the photos above and below. Learn more about vanilla discoloration here.

This soap also contains used coffee grounds. It’s important to add used rather than fresh coffee grounds. Fresh coffee grounds may bleed in the soap. The bleeding doesn’t hurt the bars in any way, but it is a cosmetic issue. It’s also a great way to use up leftover coffee grounds!

What You’ll Need:
5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
Hanger Swirl Tool
54 oz. Swirl Recipe Quick Mix
7. 5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
17.8 oz. Plain Coffee
3 oz. Espresso Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide Pigment
Brown Oxide Pigment
Black Oxide Pigment
2 Tbsp. Used Coffee Grounds
Whole Espresso Beans (for the top)

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

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 checkout 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 soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COFFEE LYE PREP: First, we need to prep the lye solution. For this project, we are using coffee instead of distilled water. Brew the coffee using distilled water. Brew enough for the entire amount of liquid in your recipe, or brew less and supplement the coffee with distilled water. The strength of the coffee is up to you. The stronger the coffee, the darker your soap batter will be. In this recipe, we brewed enough coffee for the entire recipe and used a “normal” strength, which resulted in a rich, dark color. Remember to use distilled water for your coffee.

Measure out 17.8 ounces of coffee into the container you use to mix the lye solution. The coffee will be quite hot if freshly brewed and needs to cool to room temperature or below before adding the lye. The colder the coffee is when the lye is added, the colder it will be after the lye is added. If using room temperature coffee, the solution will reach temperatures of about 180 ° F, similar to adding lye to distilled water. If you want to use cold coffee, you can. The lye will take longer to dissolve because it won’t reach as high of a temperature.

Once your coffee is an appropriate temperature (room temperature or below), slowly add the sodium hydroxide lye to the coffee and gently stir until the lye flakes are fully dissolved. The solution will start to darken in color, and smell quite unpleasant. This is normal! Luckily, the fragrance oil covers up any unpleasant odors.

Your lye solution will become quite hot. Allow it to fully cool to about 130 ° F or cooler, depending on the temperature you like to soap at. I recommend allowing the container to cool slowly at room temperature, rather than placing the container in the fridge or freezer. The extreme difference in temperatures can crack a glass container. The lye solution will take about 2 hours to cool, depending on your room temperature. While the lye solution cools, prep your other ingredients and tools.

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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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. Disperse 3 teaspoons of titanium dioxide into 2 tablespoons of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. In this recipe, we used a slightly more concentrated colorant-oil ratio to avoid adding too much extra oil. Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoon of Black Oxide and Brown Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use the mini mixer to help break up any clumps. Set aside.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 3 ounces of Espresso Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

TOOL PREP: Bend the Hanger Swirl Tool to fit lengthwise into the mold. Set aside.

ONE: Fully melt the entire bag of the Swirl Recipe Quick Mix until there is no cloudiness. Shake to mix and measure out 54 oz. Once the lye coffee solution and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye 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, you’d add about 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

TWO: Once you have a thin trace, pour off 300 mL of soap into a separate container and 600 mL into another container.

THREE: To the 300 mL of soap, add 1/4 tsp. dispersed Black Oxide. Then, add 1/2 tsp. dispersed Brown Oxide to the container with 600 mL of soap. Use a spoon or whisk to mix in the colorants.

FOUR: To the large container of soap, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant. Then pulse for a few seconds with the stick blender to help fully mix in the colorant. Add 2 tablespoons of used coffee grounds to the large container, and use a whisk to fully mix in.

FIVE: Add the Espresso Fragrance Oil proportionately to each container of soap (it’s okay to eyeball it) and use a whisk to fully mix in the fragrance oil.

SIX: Pour some of the light soap into the mold – just enough to cover the bottom (about 1 inch).

SEVEN: Holding the black soap several inches above the mold, pour a small and steady stream of black soap into the mold. Holding the container a few inches above the mold helps the black soap fall to the bottom of the mold. Pour the black soap all the way down the length of the mold. Don’t be afraid about pouring a straight line. Pouring an uneven line can make the swirl more interesting! Pour less black soap with each pass than brown and tan. A little bit of black soap goes a long way! You also need some black soap leftover at the end for the swirl.

EIGHT: Pour more tan soap into the mold, followed by an imperfect line of the brown soap. Because you have more brown soap, pour a larger amount. Hold each layer several inches above the mold to help the colors break through. Don’t worry about being too exact during the pouring process.

NINE: After pouring the brown soap, pour another line of tan soap into the mold, followed by more black. Continue this pattern (tan, black, tan, brown) until you have used up all the brown soap and have a small amount of tan and black soap left.

TEN: Give the mold a firm tap on the counter. Insert the Hanger Swirl Tool into one side of the mold, and begin making loops in the center of the mold with the tool. Continue the loop-de-loop motion at varying heights within the mold. This technique is not an exact science. I “looped” the Hanger Swirl Tool about 6-8 times within the mold. If you like more whispy swirls, feel free to do more loops! The swirling motion wasn’t quite a butterfly swirl (made famous by Zahida of Handmade in Florida) but was very similar! See Zahida’s video here to get a better idea of what the swirling motion looks like. Remove the Hanger Swirl Tool by pulling up and out along one side of the mold.

ELEVEN: Tap the mold on the counter to settle the soap and get rid of bubbles. Cover the entire top with the rest of the tan soap. Tap the mold on the counter again to settle the top layer.

TWELVE: Drizzle a small amount of the black soap on top. Don’t worry too much about what this drizzle looks like, just make sure to leave a good amount of tan soap showing. It will give your swirls better definition.

THIRTEEN: Insert a dowel or chopstick into the very top of the soap. The swirl I used for this batch was not very exact and precise, so feel free to have fun with it! First, I made scallop-like motions from side to side, down the length of the mold. Then, create “loop-de-loop” patterns randomly. There really is no right or wrong way to do this, so have fun with it. Just make sure to not over-swirl, or the color differentiation will diminish.

FOURTEEN: Once you’re happy with the top, drop whole coffee beans in the center of the soap all the way down the mold. Gently press the beans into the soap to help them stick better once cut.

Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Leave the soap uncovered, and allow it to harden for 2-3 days. Remove from the mold gently, and cut into bars. To avoid drag marks from the coffee beans, lay the loaf on its side and cut with a sharp non-serrated knife. I went ahead and used the Multi Bar Cutter to cut my batch, and found that the coffee beans did cause some unevenness and drag marks. I was able to smooth them out with a Soap Shaver. Allow the bars to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

Print

How to Make Coffee Soap

This soap uses coffee instead of water, and contains coffee grounds.

Course Cold process soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
• Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
• Hanger Swirl Tool
• 54 oz. Swirl Recipe Quick Mix
• 7. 5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 17.8 oz. Plain Coffee
• 3 oz. Espresso Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide Pigment
• Brown Oxide Pigment
• Black Oxide Pigment
• 2 Tbsp. Used Coffee Grounds
• Whole Espresso Beans for the top

Instructions

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 soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

• COFFEE LYE PREP: First, we need to prep the lye solution. For this project, we are using coffee instead of distilled water. Brew the coffee using distilled water. Brew enough for the entire amount of liquid in your recipe, or brew less and supplement the coffee with distilled water. The strength of the coffee is up to you. The stronger the coffee, the darker your soap batter will be. In this recipe, we brewed enough coffee for the entire recipe and used a "normal" strength, which resulted in a rich, dark color. Remember to use distilled water for your coffee. Measure out 17.8 ounces of coffee into the container you use to mix the lye solution. The coffee will be quite hot if freshly brewed and needs to cool to room temperature or below before adding the lye. The colder the coffee is when the lye is added, the colder it will be after the lye is added. If using room temperature coffee, the solution will reach temperatures of about 180 ° F, similar to adding lye to distilled water. If you want to use cold coffee, you can. The lye will take longer to dissolve because it won't reach as high of a temperature. Once your coffee is an appropriate temperature (room temperature or below), slowly add the sodium hydroxide lye to the coffee and gently stir until the lye flakes are fully dissolved. The solution will start to darken in color, and smell quite unpleasant. This is normal! Luckily, the fragrance oil covers up any unpleasant odors. Your lye solution will become quite hot. Allow it to fully cool to about 130 ° F or cooler, depending on the temperature you like to soap at. I recommend allowing the container to cool slowly at room temperature, rather than placing the container in the fridge or freezer. The extreme difference in temperatures can crack a glass container. The lye solution will take about 2 hours to cool, depending on your room temperature. While the lye solution cools, prep your other ingredients and tools.

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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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. Disperse 3 teaspoon of titanium dioxide into 2 tablespoons of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. In this recipe, we used a slightly more concentrated colorant-oil ratio to avoid adding too much extra oil. Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoons of Black Oxide and Brown Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use the mini mixer to help break up any clumps. Set aside.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 3 ounces of Espresso Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

TOOL PREP: Bend the Hanger Swirl Tool to fit lengthwise into the mold. Set aside.

• Fully melt the entire bag of the Swirl Recipe Quick Mix until there is no cloudiness. Shake to mix and measure out 54 oz. Once the lye coffee solution and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye 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, you’d add about 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• Once you have a thin trace, pour off 300 mL of soap into a separate container and 600 mL into another container.
• To the 300 mL of soap, add 1/4 tsp. dispersed Black Oxide. Then, add 1/2 tsp. dispersed Brown oxide to the container with 600 mL of soap. Use a spoon or whisk to mix in the colorants.
• To the large container of soap, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant. Then pulse for a few seconds with the stick blender to help fully mix in the colorant. Add 2 tablespoons of used coffee grounds to the large container, and use a whisk to fully mix in.
• Add the Espresso Fragrance Oil proportionately to each container of soap (it’s okay to eyeball it) and use a whisk to fully mix in the fragrance oil.
• Pour some of the light soap into the mold – just enough to cover the bottom (about 1 inch).
• Holding the black soap several inches above the mold, pour a small and steady stream of black soap into the mold. Holding the container a few inches above the mold helps the black soap fall to the bottom of the mold. Pour the black soap all the way down the length of the mold. Don’t be afraid about pouring a straight line. Pouring an uneven line can make the swirl more interesting! Pour less black soap with each pass than brown and tan. A little bit of black soap goes a long way! You also need some black soap leftover at the end for the swirl.
• Pour more tan soap into the mold, followed by an imperfect line of the brown soap. Because you have more brown soap, pour a larger amount. Hold each layer several inches above to help the colors break through. Don’t worry about being to exact during the pouring process.
• After pouring the brown soap, pour another line of tan soap into the mold, followed by more black. Continue this pattern (tan, black, tan, brown) until you have used up all the brown soap and have a small amount of tan and black soap left.
• Give the mold a firm tap on the counter. Insert the Hanger Swirl Tool into one side of the mold, and begin making loops in the center of the mold with the tool. Continue the loop-de-loop motion at varying heights within the mold. This technique is not an exact science. I “looped” the Hanger Swirl Tool about 6-8 times within the mold. If you like more whispy swirls, feel free to do more loops! The swirling motion wasn’t quite a butterfly swirl (made famous by Zahida of Handmade in Florida) but was very similar! See Zahida’s video here to get a better idea of what the swirling motion looks like. Remove the Hanger Swirl Tool by pulling up and out along one side of the mold.
• Tap the mold on the counter to settle the soap and get rid of bubbles. Cover the entire top with the rest of the tan soap. Tap the mold on the counter again to settle the top layer.
• Drizzle a small amount of the black soap on top. Don’t worry too much about what this drizzle looks like, just make sure to leave a good amount of tan soap showing. It will give your swirls better definition.
• Insert a dowel or chopstick into the very top of the soap. The swirl I used for this batch was not very exact and precise, so feel free to have fun with it! First, I made scallop-like motions from side to side, down the length of the mold. Then, create “loop-de-loop” patterns randomly. There really is no right or wrong way to do this, so have fun with it. Just make sure to not over-swirl, or the color differentiation will diminish.
• Once you’re happy with the top, drop whole coffee beans in the center of the soap, all the way down the mold. Gently press the beans into the soap to help them stick better once cut.
• Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Leave the soap uncovered, and allow it to harden for 2-3 days. Remove from the mold gently, and cut into bars. To avoid drag marks from the coffee beans, lay the loaf on its side and cut with a sharp unserrated knife. I went ahead and used the Multi Bar Cutter to cut my batch, and found that the coffee beans did cause some unevenness. I was able to smooth this out with a Soap Shaver. Allow the bars to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

The post How to Make Coffee Soap appeared first on Soap Queen.

Is there a treat that screams “fun!” more than cotton candy? I can’t think of any! Fluffy, colorful and sweet, it brings back memories of summers at the fair or circus. This soap is made with Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil, which smells just like the real thing – sweet, sticky and fluffy. I made this soap at the tail end of summer, and the bars smell as good as when they were freshly cut. Of course I had to use light blue and pink to replicate classic cotton candy colors, along with plenty of sparkle and a melt and pour embed.

One of the best things about the Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil (other than the smell, of course) is the minimal discoloration. It gives the soap a yellow tint, but that can be overcome with some titanium dioxide. It does accelerate, so be ready to move fast when working with it. With fast-moving fragrance oils, sometimes it can be nice to have a “soap-helper” nearby. This is a great project to get help from friends and family who might be visiting for the holidays, or if you’re teaching a friend to soap!

For this project I did a combination of a spoon plop and hanger swirl using the Hanger Swirl Tool. As you can see, the Hanger Swirl tool didn’t swirl the soap as much as it usually does, because the soap was on the thicker side. But, it still gave the swirls some nice movement. Because this soap uses a good amount of titanium dioxide, I used a small water discount to reduce glycerin rivers. A few still popped up, but nothing too noticeable. =)

What You’ll Need:
Embeds:
Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold
10 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Base
Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block
Fine Iridescent Glitter

Base:
5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom 
Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
Hanger Swirl Tool
54 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
7.8 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
16.5 oz. Distilled Water
4 oz. Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil
Zippy Blue Pigment
Fired Up Fuchsia
Titanium Dioxide
Fine Iridescent Glitter


Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embeds:

ONE: Chop and melt 10 ounces of LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 15 second bursts. Add shavings of the Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block to achieve a bright pink color. Add a sprinkle of Fine Iridescent Glitter and stir to combine. Pour the soap into the cavities of the Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold, and wait for them to cool and harden.

TWO: Once the melt and pour has fully cooled and hardened, remove from the mold. Remelt the remaining soap using 5-10 second bursts and fill up the cavities again. Allow to fully harden, and remove from the mold. Set 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 checkout 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 soaping 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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 teaspoons of the colorant into 1 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Zippy Blue Pigment and 1/2 teaspoon Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 4 ounces of Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Insert the silicone liner into the wood mold. Bend the hanger tool so it fits inside the mold by length with silicone liner.

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 the entire bag of Lots of Lather Quick Mix until completely clear and there is no cloudiness. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 54 oz. into your soaping bowl. 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, you’d add about 3.5 tsp. sodium lactate.

THREE: Once you have a thin trace, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant, and give it a short burst or two with the stick blender to help break up any chunks of colorant.

FOUR: Split off about 400 mL of soap into two separate containers. To one container, add 1 tsp. dispersed Fired Up Fuchsia. To the other, add 1 tsp. dispersed Zippy Blue Pigment. Mix the colorants in with a whisk or spoon.

FIVE: Add the fragrance oil to each container proportionally, it’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to mix in the fragrance oil. The fragrance does accelerate the soap, so be ready to move quickly.

SIX: Time for the spoon plop technique! Grab a large spoon for each color. Spoon the soap into the mold, one color at a time, layering them in three different spots. Don’t worry about being too precise with your “plops.”

Continue plopping the colors into the mold, using slightly larger plops for the white soap since there is more of it. Work quickly, as the soap will start to thicken up. Once all the soap is plopped into the mold, give it firm taps on the counter to help get rid of bubbles.

SEVEN: Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you. Once you drag the hanger about 1/6th of the way, pull the hanger up until it almost breaks through the top of the soap, but not quite. Move the hanger towards you about 1/6th of the way. Push the hanger back down into the soap, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold and move it towards you again, moving about 1/6th of the way. Bring the hanger up until it almost breaks the top, then move it over and push it back down. This wasn’t my most precise hanger swirl, so don’t worry about making it perfect! You can see the swirl in action here.

EIGHT: Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. Use a dowel, chopstick (or the back of a spoon!) to swirl the top of the soap. I used basic “loop-de-loop” motions. Don’t worry too much about the swirl, a lot of it will get covered up with the embeds.

NINE: Place the melt and pour embeds in the center of the soap, pressing down lightly to help them stick. Place them so there is a small amount of room between each to allow for a clean cut.

TEN: Once there is no more room for embeds, sprinkle the top of the soap with Fine Iridescent Glitter. Spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Do not cover. If the soap gets too hot, it could slightly melt the embeds. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 2-3 days. Unmold and cut into bars, and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

Print

Cotton Candy Swirl Cold Process Soap Tutorial

This cotton candy soap smells just like the real thing!

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

Embeds

• Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold
• 10 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Base
• Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block
• Fine Iridescent Glitter

Base:

• 5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
• Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
• Hanger Swirl Tool
• 54 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
• 7.8 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 16.5 oz. Distilled Water
• 4 oz. Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil
• Zippy Blue Pigment
• Fired Up Fuchsia
• Titanium Dioxide

Instructions

Make the Embeds

• Chop and melt 10 ounces of LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 15 second bursts. Add shavings of the Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block to achieve a bright pink color. Add a sprinkle of Fine Iridescent Glitter and stir to combine. Pour the soap into the cavities of the Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold, and wait for them to cool and harden.
• Once the melt and pour has fully cooled and hardened, remove from the mold. Remelt the remaining soap using 5-10 second bursts and fill up the cavities again. Allow to fully harden, and remove from the mold. Set aside until you’re ready to use.

Make the Base:

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 soaping 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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 teaspoons of the colorant into 1 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Zippy Blue Pigment and 1/2 tsp. Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 4 ounces of Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Insert the silicone liner into the wood mold. Bend the hanger tool so it fits inside the mold by length with silicone liner.

• 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.
• Fully melt the entire bag of Lots of Lather Quick Mix until completely clear and there is no cloudiness. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 54 oz. into your soaping bowl. 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, you’d add about 3.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Once you have a thin trace, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant, and give it a short burst or two with the stick blender to help break up any chunks of colorant.
• Split off about 400 mL of soap into two separate containers. To one container, add 1 tsp. dispersed Fired Up Fuchsia. To the other, add 1 tsp. dispersed Zippy Blue Pigment. Mix the colorants in with a whisk.
• Add the fragrance oil to each container proportionally, it’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to mix in the fragrance oil. The fragrance does accelerate the soap, so be ready to move quickly.
• Time for the spoon plop technique! Grab a large spoon for each color. Spoon the soap into the mold, one color at a time, layering them in three different spots. Don’t worry about being too precise with your “plops.”Continue plopping the colors into the mold, using slightly larger plops for the white soap since we have more of it. Work quickly, as the soap will start to thicken up as we go. Once all the soap is plopped into the mold, give it firm taps on the counter to help get rid of bubbles.
• Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you. Once you drag the hanger about 1/6th of the way, pull the hanger up until it almost breaks through the top of the soap, but not quite. Move the hanger towards you about 1/6th of the way. Push the hanger back down into the soap, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold and move it towards you again, moving about 1/6th of the way. Bring the hanger up until it almost breaks the top, then move it over and push it back down. This wasn’t my most precise hanger swirl, so don’t worry about making it perfect! You can see the swirl in action here.
• Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. Use a dowel, chopstick (or the back of a spoon!) to swirl the top of the soap. I used basic “loop-de-loop” motions. Don’t worry too much about the swirl, a lot of it will get covered up with the embeds.
• Place the melt and pour embeds in the center of the soap, pressing down lightly to help them stick. Place them so there is a small amount of room between each, to allow for a clean cut.
• Once there is no more room for embeds, sprinkle the top of the soap with Fine Iridescent Glitter. Spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Do not cover. If the soap gets too hot, it could slightly melt the embeds. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 2-3 days. Unmold and cut into bars, and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

The post Cotton Candy Swirl Cold Process Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

Remember when the movie Frozen was everywhere? If you have young children, it still may be a huge part of your life! =) These Sparkling Snowdrop Soaps remind me of an ice princess, à la Elsa from Frozen. They are made in the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold to create the skinny shape. The design is created with a mixture of the drop swirl technique and the butterfly swirl made popular by Zahida from Handmade in Florida and Soaps From Home. The top is sprinkled with Snowflake Sparkle Mica and melt and pour embeds for an icy look.

This project does involve advanced techniques and a keen understanding of trace. If the trace is too thin, the colors will muddle together. If the trace is too thick, the white and blue will not swirl properly. The new Sparkling Snowdrop Fragrance Oil does accelerate soap slightly. Add it to the batter at the very last second to avoid a trace that’s too thick. If you’d like to learn more about trace and how to manipulate it, click here.

What You’ll Need:
Embeds:
6 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour
Snowflake Sparkle Mica
Iridescent Glitter 
*Mold of choice (I used 4″ Silicone Loaf Mold)

Base:
Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
Hanger Swirl Tool
45 oz. Swirl Quick Mix
6.2 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
14 oz. Distilled Water
2 oz. Sparkling Snowdrop Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Zippy Blue Pigment
Snowflake Sparkle Mica

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embeds:

ONE: Chop and melt 6 ounces of LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Pour into a small, flat mold. I used the 4″ Silicone Loaf Mold, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Other good options would be the 6″ Silicone Slab Mold or cavities in the 12 Bar Square Silicone Mold. Allow to fully cool and harden.

TWO: Once the melt and pour has fully cooled and hardened, remove from the mold and chop into small squares. Cover them in Snowflake Sparkle Mica and Iridescent Glitter until you’re happy with the amount of sparkle. Set the embeds aside and prep the cold process soap. 

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 checkout 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 soaping 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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 teaspoons of the colorant into 1 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in a separate container, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Zippy Blue Pigment into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2 ounces of Sparkling Snowdrop Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold, click here. Bend your Hanger Tool so it fits the mold perfectly by length.

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 the entire bag of Swirl Recipe Quick mix until completely clear and there is no cloudiness. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 45 oz. into your soaping bowl. 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, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.

THREE: Once you have a thin trace, split off 400 mL of soap into a separate container. Add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant, and give it a short burst or two with the stick blender to help break up any chunks of colorant.

FOUR: To the remaining soap, add 1 teaspoon of dispersed Zippy Blue Pigment. Mix in with a whisk. Give the mixture a few short bursts with the stick blender to fully mix in and develop trace.

FIVE: Add the Sparkling Snowdrop Fragrance Oil to each container proportionally. It’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to fully mix in the fragrance oil. At this point, the trace should be thin to medium. If it’s still extremely thin, give the blue soap a few short bursts with the stick blender.

SIX: Pour the blue soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles and settle the soap.

SEVEN: Now, it’s time for the drop swirl! Pour the white soap down the length of the mold while holding it about 10 inches above the mold. Pouring from high up helps the white soap break into the blue and drop into various areas in the mold. Pouring from various heights will give the swirl further interest. Continue pouring down the length of the mold at various heights until all the white soap has been poured.

EIGHT: Give the mold a firm tap on the counter. Insert the Hanger Swirl Tool into one side of the mold, and begin making loops in the center of the mold with the tool. Continue the loop-de-loop motion at varying heights within the mold. This technique is not an exact science. I “looped” the Hanger Swirl Tool about 6-8 times within the mold. If you like more whispy swirls, feel free to do more loops! This technique is known as the Butterfly Swirl and was created by Zahida of Handmade in Florida. See her video here to get a better idea of what the swirling motion looks like. Remove the Hanger Swirl Tool by pulling up and out along one side of the mold.

NINE: Firmly tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. If the soap is still quite thin, white 3-5 minutes until it’s firm enough to hold a shape. The melt and pour embeds will later be placed on top, so the soap needs to be firm enough to support them. Once the soap is firm enough, use a spoon to create a peak in the center. There is no right or wrong way to create texture, so have fun with it!

TEN: Once you’re happy with the look of the top, sprinkle a thin layer of Snowflake Sparkle Mica on the top of the soap. Using the powder duster helps give an even layer.

ELEVEN: Begin adding the sparkly melt and pour cube embeds on the top of the soap in the center. Add as many or as few embeds as you like. I recommend adding a little more, as some embeds can fall off when the soap is cut. Gently press the embeds into the soap to help them stick better.

TWELVE: Spritz the top with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help avoid soda ash. Do not cover the soap, or it may squish the top. This soap does not need to be insulated. You don’t want it to become overheated, because it could melt and melt and pour embeds. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 2-3 days, and unmold. Cut into bars, and allow them to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

Print

Sparkling Snowdrop Cold Process Tutorial

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

Embeds:

• 6 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour
• Snowflake Sparkle Mica
• Iridescent Glitter
• *Mold of choice I used 4″ Silicone Loaf Mold

Base:

• Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
• Hanger Swirl Tool
• 45 oz. Swirl Quick Mix
• 6.2 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 14 oz. Distilled Water
• 2 oz. Sparkling Snowdrop Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide
• Zippy Blue Pigment
• Snowflake Sparkle Mica

Instructions

• Chop and melt 6 ounces of LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Pour into a small, flat mold. I used the 4″ Silicone Loaf Mold, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Other good options would be the 6″ Silicone Slab Mold or cavities in the 12 Bar Square Silicone Mold. Allow to fully cool and harden.
• Once the melt and pour has fully cooled and hardened, remove from the mold and chop into small squares. Cover them in Snowflake Sparkle Mica and Iridescent Glitter until you’re happy with the amount of sparkle. Set the embeds aside and prep the cold process soap.

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 soaping 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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 teaspoons of the colorant into 1 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in a separate container, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Zippy Blue Pigment into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2 ounces of Sparkling Snowdrop Fragrance Oil into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold, click here. Bend your Hanger Tool so it fits the mold perfectly by length.

• 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.
• Fully melt the entire bag of Swirl Recipe Quick mix until completely clear and there is no cloudiness. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 45 oz. into your soaping bowl. 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, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Once you have a thin trace, split off 400 mL of soap into a separate container. Add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant, and give it a short burst or two with the stick blender to help break up any chunks of colorant.
• To the remaining soap, add 1 teaspoon of dispersed Zippy Blue Pigment. Mix in with a whisk. Give the mixture a few short bursts with the stick blender to fully mix in and develop trace.
• Add the Sparkling Snowdrop Fragrance Oil to each container proportionally. It’s okay to eyeball it. Use a whisk to fully mix in the fragrance oil. At this point, the trace should be thin to medium. If it’s still extremely thin, give the blue soap a few short bursts with the stick blender.
• Pour the blue soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles and settle the soap.
• Now, it's time for the drop swirl! Pour the white soap down the length of the mold while holding it about 10 inches above the mold. Pouring from high up helps the white soap break into the blue and drop into various areas in the mold. Pouring from various heights will give the swirl further interest. Continue pouring down the length of the mold at various heights until all the white soap has been poured.
• Give the mold a firm tap on the counter. Insert the Hanger Swirl Tool into one side of the mold, and begin making loops in the center of the mold with the tool. Continue the loop-de-loop motion at varying heights within the mold. This technique is not an exact science. I “looped” the Hanger Swirl Tool about 6-8 times within the mold. If you like more whispy swirls, feel free to do more loops! This technique is known as the Butterfly Swirl and was created by Zahida of Handmade in Florida. See her video here to get a better idea of what the swirling motion looks like. Remove the Hanger Swirl Tool by pulling up and out along one side of the mold.
• Firmly tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. If the soap is still quite thin, white 3-5 minutes until it’s firm enough to hold a shape. The melt and pour embeds will later be placed on top, so the soap needs to be firm enough to support them. Once the soap is firm enough, use a spoon to create a peak in the center. There is no right or wrong way to create texture, so have fun with it!
• Once you’re happy with the look of the top, sprinkle a thin layer of Snowflake Sparkle Mica on the top of the soap. Using the powder duster helps give an even layer.
• Begin adding the sparkly melt and pour cube embeds on the top of the soap in the center. Add as many or as few embeds as you like. I recommend adding a little more, as some embeds can fall off when the soap is cut. Gently press the embeds into the soap to help them stick better.
• Spritz the top with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help avoid soda ash. Do not cover the soap, or it may squish the top. This soap does not need to be insulated. You don’t want it to become overheated, because it could melt and melt and pour embeds. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 2-3 days, and unmold. Cut into bars, and allow them to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

The post Sparkling Snowdrop Cold Process Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

In this Soap Queen TV episode, I’m demonstrating one of my favorite techniques…the Hanger Swirl! The Hanger Swirl refers to a technique that involves inserting a Hanger Swirl Tool into the soap and moving it in various directions. A “classic” Hanger Swirl design involves layering various colors and moving the Hanger Tool in an “down, over, up, over” pattern, as shown in this video. Hanger Swirl Tools can also create more specific swirls like the Butterfly Swirl made popular by Zahida of Handmade in Florida (see our tutorial here). The Hanger Swirl Tool can also be used to create less precise swirls, as shown in this tutorial.

For this tutorial, I wanted to demonstrate the “classic” Hanger Swirl. Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil gives these bars a clean and fresh scent. It also gives plenty of time to layer and swirl the soap, as it does not accelerate. The Swirl Recipe Quick Mix also plays a huge role in this project because the combination of slow-moving oils keeps the soap fluid and workable. If you’re new to soaping, this is a more advanced tutorial because it requires a good understanding of trace. If you’re just starting out, I would recommend using the Hanger Swirl Tool along with a spoon plop design, as shown in this video. It’s a little bit easier because it does not require precise layers, but still makes gorgeous bars.

What You’ll Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
Hanger Swirl Tool
33 oz. Swirl Recipe Quick Mix
4.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
10 oz. Distilled Water
2 oz. Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil
Ultramarine Blue Pigment
Yellow Lip Safe Mica
Titanium Dioxide
Neon Blue Raspberry Colorant
Optional: Sodium Lactate

Get everything you need to make this project on the Bramble Berry website!

The post How to Create Hanger Swirl Soap on Soap Queen TV appeared first on Soap Queen.

Red is bold and dramatic. It conveys a variety of feelings including love, anger, passion and courage. When brainstorming a soap design to represent the color red for #SoaptheRainbow, I wanted it to be bold and daring. I decided on a hanger swirl design with a vibrant shade of red paired with black and white. It’s scented with a combination of Apple Sage Fragrance Oil and Yacht Club Fragrance Oil for a blend that’s fruity with hints of musk.

The technique in this tutorial uses a bent hanger to swirl the soap. In this case I used the Hanger Swirl Tool, which is bent to fit inside the mold lengthwise. First, the black, white and red soap are carefully layered on top of each other. Then, the Hanger Swirl Tool is pushed up and down within the soap to swirl the layers. This technique can be modified in many ways depending on how you layer the soap and move the Hanger Swirl Tool. For example, the Butterfly Swirl made famous by Zahida of Handmade in Florida is a modified version of the hanger swirl technique. Click here to see Zahida’s Butterfly Swirl in action.

Red is a bit of a tricky color to achieve in cold process soap. When you add red colorants to a white batter, they tend to take on a pink shade. To create the vibrant red in this soap, I used a combination of Magenta Mica, Merlot Sparkle Mica and Sunset Orange Mica. On its own, Magenta Mica has a pink shade. The Merlot Sparkle Mica deepens the color, and the Sunset Orange Mica helps get rid of the pink hue. To see more red shades in cold process soap, check out the Quest for the “Perfect Red” in Cold Process Soap post.

Don’t forget to keep sharing your #SoaptheRainbow red photos until Sunday! I will be choosing my favorite red photos on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The winners will be posted on the Bramble Berry Instagram account, and will win a $10 Bramble Berry gift certificate. There is also a Grand Prize worth more than $250 of Bramble Berry goodies. Click here to enter. But wait, there’s more!

What You’ll Need:
5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
Hanger Swirl Tool
54 oz. Swirl Quick Mix
7.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
17.8 oz. Distilled Water
Magenta Mica
Sunset Orange Mica
Merlot Sparkle Mica
Black Oxide
Titanium Dioxide
2 oz. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
1.5 oz. Yacht Club Fragrance Oil

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

[sq_products]

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 soaping 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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 3 teaspoons of the colorant into 3 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers disperse 1/2 teaspoon Magenta Mica, Sunset Mica, and Merlot Sparkle Mica into 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Finally, disperse 1/2 tsp. Black Oxide with 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE OIL PREP: Measure 2 oz. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil and 1.5 oz. Yacht Club Fragrance Oil in a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Insert the silicone liner into the wood mold. Bend the hanger tool so it fits inside the mold by length with silicone liner.

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 the Swirl Recipe Quick Mix oils until completely clear. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 110-120 F 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, you’d add about 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

THREE: Once you reach a thin trace, split the batter into three equal containers. Each container will be about 800 mL.

FOUR: To one container, add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide and use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant.

FIVE: To another container, add 1 tsp. dispersed Magenta Mica, 1/4 tsp. dispersed Merlot Sparkle Mica and 3/4 tsp. dispersed Sunset Orange Mica. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorants. To the last container, add 1 tsp. dispersed black oxide and whisk in. 

SIX: Add 1/3rd of the fragrance oil blend (it’s okay to eyeball it!) to the black soap and use a whisk to fully mix in. 

SEVEN: Add half of the black soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of bubbles and evenly disperse the soap.

EIGHT: Add 1/3rd of the fragrance oil blend into the white soap, and use a whisk to completely stir in. Then, very carefully, spoon half of the white soap on top of the black. Be careful not to let the white soap break through to the black layer below. Tap the mold on the counter to help evenly disperse the white soap throughout the mold.

NINE: Add 1/3rd of the fragrance oil blend into the red soap, and use a whisk to stir in. Very carefully, spoon half of the red soap on top of the white. Be careful to not break through to the white layer below. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles and disperse the soap throughout the mold.

TEN: Stir all three colors of soap with a whisk to help them stay fluid and pourable. Gently add the remaining black soap on top of the red, leaving behind a very small amount of the black soap to create the swirl on top. Tap the mold on the counter to help disperse the soap. Add the remaining white soap on top of the black, leaving behind a small amount for the swirl on top.

ELEVEN: Spoon the remaining red soap on top of the white. Use a small spoon to even out the top. Tap firmly on the counter to get rid of bubbles.

TWELVE: Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you. Once you drag the hanger about 1/6th of the way, pull the hanger up until it almost breaks through the top of the soap, but not quite. Move the hanger towards you about 1/6th of the way. Push the hanger back down into the soap, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold and move it towards you again, moving about 1/6th of the way. Bring the hanger up until it almost breaks the top, then move it over and push it back down.

THIRTEEN: Continue the “down, over, up, over, down, over, up, over” process until you reach the other side of the mold. Once done, tap the mold firmly on the counter and smooth out the top of the soap with a spoon.

FOURTEEN: Drizzle the remaining white and black soap on top  of the red soap in thin lines. No need to be super precise, you can see mine looked quite “abstract.” =)

FIFTEEN: Insert a dowel or chopstick into the very top of the soap. You don’t want to disrupt your layers below! Starting in a corner, drag the dowel or chopstick in large “S” curves width wise down the length of the mold.

SIXTEEN: Clean off the dowel, then insert it again into the very top of the soap and drag it up and down the length of the mold in an “S” curve. Spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash and cover the soap to insulate for 24 hours.

Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 2-3 days. Remove from the mold and cut into bars. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

[expand title=”Click to View the Recipe”]

Print

Red Hanger Swirl Cold Process Tutorial

This Red Hanger Swirl Soap creates a bold swirl with black, white and red layers.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 5 pounds

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
• Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
• Hanger Swirl Tool
• 54 oz. Swirl Quick Mix
• 7.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 17.8 oz. Distilled Water
• Magenta Mica
• Sunset Orange Mica
• Merlot Sparkle Mica
• Black Oxide
• Titanium Dioxide
• 2 oz. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
• 1.5 oz. Yacht Club Fragrance Oil

Instructions

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 soaping 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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 3 teaspoons of the colorant into 3 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers disperse 1/2 teaspoon Magenta Mica, Sunset Mica, and Merlot Sparkle Mica into 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Finally, disperse 1/2 tsp. Black Oxide with 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE OIL PREP: Measure 2 oz. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil and 1.5 oz. Yacht Club Fragrance Oil in a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Insert the silicone liner into the wood mold. Bend your hanger tool so it fits inside the mold with silicone liner perfectly by length.

• 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.
• Fully melt the Swirl Recipe Quick Mix oils until completely clear. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 110-120 F 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, you’d add about 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• Once you reach a thin trace, split the batter into three equal containers. Each container will be about 800 mL.
• To one container, add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide and use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant.
• To another container, add 1 tsp. dispersed Magenta Mica, 1/4 tsp. dispersed Merlot Sparkle Mica and 3/4 tsp. dispersed Sunset Orange Mica. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorants. To the last container, add 1 tsp. dispersed black oxide and whisk in.
• Add 1/3rd of the fragrance oil blend (it’s okay to eyeball it!) to the black soap and use a whisk to fully mix in.
• Add half of the black soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of bubbles and evenly disperse the soap.
• Add 1/3rd of the fragrance oil blend into the white soap, and use a whisk to completely stir in. Then, very carefully, spoon half of the white soap on top of the black. Be careful not to let the white soap break through to the black layer below. Tap the mold on the counter to help evenly disperse the white soap throughout the mold.
• Add 1/3rd of the fragrance oil blend into the red soap, and use a whisk to stir in. Very carefully, spoon half of the red soap on top of the white. Be careful to not break through to the white layer below. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles and disperse the soap throughout the mold.
• Stir all three colors of soap with a whisk to help them stay fluid and pourable. Gently add the remaining black soap on top of the red, leaving behind a small amount to create a swirl on top. Tap mold on the counter to help disperse the soap. Add the remaining white soap on top of the black, leaving behind a small amount for the swirl on top.
• Spoon the remaining red soap on top of the white. Use a small spoon to even out the top. Tap firmly on the counter to get rid of bubbles.
• Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you. Once you drag the hanger about 1/6th of the way, pull the hanger up until it almost breaks through the top of the soap, but not quite. Move the hanger towards you about 1/6th of the way. Push the hanger back down into the soap, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold and move it towards you again, moving about 1/6th of the way. Bring the hanger up until it almost breaks the top, then move it over and push it back down.
• Continue the “down, over, up, over, down, over, up, over” process until you reach the other side of the mold. Once done, tap the mold firmly on the counter and smooth out the top of the soap.
• Drizzle the remaining white and black soap on top of the red soap in thin lines. No need to be super precise about this, you can see mine looked quite “abstract.” =)
• Insert a dowel or chopstick into the very top of the soap. You don't want to disrupt your layers below! Starting in a corner, drag the dowel or chopstick in large "S" curves width wise down the length of the mold.
• Clean off the dowel, then insert it again into the very top of the soap and drag it up and down the length of the mold in an "S" curve. Spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash and cover the soap to insulate for 24 hours. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 2-3 days. Remove from the mold, and cut into bars. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

[/expand]

The post Red Hanger Swirl Cold Process Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

This project features a hanger swirl technique. Best suited for more advanced soapers, this technique involves layers and swirling with the use of a bent hanger or wire tool. Scented with the crisp and fresh White Rose Fragrance Oil, this soap smells as feminine as it looks. Like many florals, this fragrance does slightly accelerate trace, so be prepared to move quickly. Sparkly melt and pour spheres on top give the allusion of pearls for added charm and elegance. A big thanks to the.balm.boutique on Instagram for the “Once Upon a Dream,” name idea!

What You’ll Need:
Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
1.9 oz. Avocado Butter
5.9 oz. Avocado Oil
7.8 oz. Coconut Oil
9.8 oz. Olive Oil
5.9 oz. Palm Oil
7.8 oz. Rice Bran Oil
5.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
12.9 oz. Distilled Water
Titanium Dioxide
Bright Blue Jean Colorant
Electric Bubble Gum Colorant
Iridescent Glitter
2 oz. White Rose Fragrance Oil
Hanger tool

Embeds:
Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold
6 oz. Clear Melt and Pour
Super Pearly White Mica
Iridescent Glitter

 Make the Embeds:

COLOR PREP: Mix 1 tsp. Super Pearly White Mica in 1 Tbs. 99% isopropyl alcohol. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

ONE: Chop and melt 6 oz. of clear melt and pour in the microwave using 15 second bursts. Add all the Super Pearly White mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Add 1/8 tsp. Iridescent Glitter and stir to combine. 
TWO: Carefully pour the soap into the Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold cavities. After pouring each sphere, spray with rubbing alcohol to disperse any bubbles. Set aside, and allow to fully cool and harden. Note: if you live in a particularly humid climate, you may need to run a fan over the soapy topping spheres for four to eight hours to ensure no glycerin dew forms on the soap balls as they are fully exposed to air.

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, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout 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 soaping 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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 2 teaspoons of the Bright Blue Jean Colorant into 2 tablespoons of a light liquid oil. Finally, disperse 1 teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum Colorant into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold, click here. Bend your hanger tool so it fits the mold perfectly by length.

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: Melt and combine the avocado butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, and palm oils (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, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.

THREE: Once the batter has reached a light trace, split the batch into three separate containers. Two of the containers should contain about 500 mL, and the third container should contain about 700 mL.

FOUR: To the first small container, add 1/2 tsp. dispersed Electric Bubble Gum Colorant. To the second small container, add 5 tsp. dispersed Bright Blue Jean colorant. To the larger container, add all of the dispersed Titanium Dioxide Pigment. Use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the colorants.

FIVE: Add the White Rose Fragrance Oil evenly between the three containers. It’s okay to eyeball it! Use a whisk to thoroughly combine. 

SIX: Pour half of the blue soap into the mold and tap the mold firmly on the counter to eliminate bubbles.

SEVEN: Slowly and carefully, pour 1/3 of the white soap on top of the blue layer. Pouring a small stream of soap very slowly will help prevent the white layer from breaking through the blue.

EIGHT: Continue to pour until the entire blue layer is covered. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to release air bubbles.

NINE: Slowly and carefully pour half of the pink soap on top of the white layer. Pour the soap carefully to prevent the soap from breaking through the bottom layers. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. 

TEN: Slowly pour another 1/3 of the white soap on top of the pink. Pour very slow to ensure it does not break through to the next layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.

ELEVEN: Pour the remaining blue soap over the white layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.

TWELVE: Pour the remaining white soap over the blue layer and tap down the mold on the counter. Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you; once you drag the hanger about 1/3 of the way, pull the hanger up and out of the mold (shown below). Once the hanger is out of the mold, continue to move it towards you, and insert the hanger back into the soap, next to where it was pulled out. Drag the hanger against the bottom, and pull out against the long side of the mold mold, closest to you.

THIRTEEN: Now, it’s time to repeat the process, going in the opposite direction. Insert the hanger tool along the side of the mold closest to you, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold. Drag the hanger up and out of the soap. We did this process once in each direction for a total of two times, but you can repeat the motion more if you’d like. 

FOURTEEN: Check the consistency of the remaining pink soap. If it is not a thick trace, pulse the pink soap a few times with the stick blender to thicken.

FIFTEEN: Use a spoon or spatula to place the pink soap on top.

SIXTEEN: Using a spoon, begin to mound the soap towards the center. Don’t worry about making it perfect, lots of texture looks great!

SEVENTEEN: Place the sphere embeds into the pink soap. Leave a very small space in between each sphere so you have room to cut later.

EIGHTEEN: Sprinkle the top with Iridescent Glitter, and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Allow the soap to harden for 3-4 days before unmolding. Allow it to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

What is your favorite fairy tale? Cinderella is such a classic!
 

Print

Once Upon a Dream Cold Process

Inspired by princesses, this cold process soap features a feminine color palette, lots of sparkle and the floral White Rose Fragrance Oil.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 2 -3 pounds of soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
• 1.9 oz. Avocado Butter
• 5.9 oz. Avocado Oil
• 7.8 oz. Coconut Oil
• 9.8 oz. Olive Oil
• 5.9 oz. Palm Oil
• 7.8 oz. Rice Bran Oil
• 5.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 12.9 oz. Distilled Water
• Titanium Dioxide
• Bright Blue Jean Colorant
• Electric Bubble Gum Colorant
• Iridescent Glitter
• 2 oz. White Rose Fragrance Oil
• Hanger tool

Embeds

• Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold
• 6 oz. Clear Melt and Pour
• Super Pearly White Mica
• Iridescent Glitter

Instructions

Make the Embeds:

COLOR PREP: Mix 1 tsp. Super Pearly White Mica in 1 Tbs. 99% isopropyl alcohol. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

• Chop and melt 6 oz. of clear melt and pour in the microwave using 15 second bursts. Add all the Super Pearly White mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Add 1/8 tsp. Iridescent Glitter and stir to combine.
• Carefully pour the soap into the Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold cavities. After pouring each sphere, spray with rubbing alcohol to disperse any bubbles. Set aside, and allow to fully cool and harden.

Make Cold Process

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 this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide 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 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 2 teaspoon Bright Blue Jean Colorant into 2 tablespoon of light liquid oil. Finally, disperse 1 teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum Colorant into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold, click here. Bend your hanger tool so it fits the mold perfectly by length.

• 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.
• Melt and combine the avocado butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, and palm oils (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, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Once the batter has reached a light trace, split the batch into three separate containers. Two of the containers should contain about 500 mL, and the third container should contain about 700 mL.
• To the first small container, add 1/2 tsp. dispersed Electric Bubble Gum Colorant. To the second small container, add 5 tsp. dispersed Bright Blue Jean colorant. To the larger container, add all of the dispersed Titanium Dioxide Pigment. Use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the colorants.
• Add the White Rose Fragrance Oil evenly between the three containers. It’s okay to eyeball it! Use a whisk to thoroughly combine.
• Pour half of the blue soap into the mold and tap the mold firmly on the counter to eliminate bubbles.
• Slowly and carefully, pour 1/3 of the white soap on top of the blue layer. Pouring a small stream of soap very slowly will help avoid the white layer breaking through the blue.
• Continue to pour until the entire blue layer is covered. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to release air bubbles.
• Slowly and carefully pour half of the pink soap on top of the white layer. Pour the soap carefully to avoid the soap from breaking through the bottom layers. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles.
• Slowly pour the white soap on top of the pink. Pour very slow to ensure it does not break through to the next layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.
• Pour the remaining blue soap over the white layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.
• Pour the remaining white soap over the blue layer and tap down the mold on the counter. Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap, against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you; once you drag the hanger about 1/3 of the way, pull the hanger up and out of the mold (shown below). Once the hanger is out of the mold, continue to move it towards you, and insert the hanger back into the soap, next to where it was pulled out, drag the hanger against the bottom, and pull out against the long side of the mold mold, closest to you.
• Now, it’s time to repeat the process, going in the opposite direction. Insert the hanger tool along the side of the mold closest to you, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold. Drag the hanger up and out of the soap. We did this process once in each direction for a total of two times, but you can repeat the motion more if you’d like.
• Check the consistency of the remaining pink soap. If it is not a thick trace, pulse the pink soap a few times with the stick blender to thicken.
• Use a spoon or spatula to place the pink soap on top.
• Using a spoon, begin to mound the soap towards the center. Don’t worry about making it perfect, lots of texture looks great!
• Place the sphere embeds into the pink soap. Leave a very small space in between each sphere so you have room to cut later.
• Sprinkle the top with Iridescent Glitter, and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Allow the soap to harden for 3-4 days before unmolding. Allow it to cure for 4 – 6 weeks and enjoy!

The post Once Upon a Dream Cold Process Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.