by Rustic Escentuals
Another wonderful Mothers Day gift idea! Package a couple of these up in a basket, add some scented Dead Sea salts and it becomes a gift that anyone would love. This bar of soap is perfect for those days when you need some extra pampering. I’ve added some awesome Organic Jojoba Meal to a wonderful soothing Shea soap base and a sprinkling of Apricot Kernel Oil. Get ready to relax.
Supplies and equipment needed:
Microwave
Microwave safe glass containers
Sharp knife to cut soap into cubes
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
Butter knives for stirring soap
Measuring spoons (1 tsp)
Rubber gloves
Disposable pipettes
Scrub Bar Soap Mold (5 ounce capacity)
Thermometer to monitor soap temperature
16 oz Shea Butter Melt & Pour soap base
Apricot Kernel Oil
Organic Jojoba Meal Exfoliant
Cranberry Yuzu Fragrance Oil
One .15 cc scoop
Step 1: Cut up 16 ounces of Shea Butter Melt & Pour soap into small cubes using a sharp knife.
Step 2: Melt your soap in a microwave safe glass container. Melt in the microwave in 30-second bursts until melted. Do not burn or boil, this will result in a poor quality rubbery soap. If there are any small chunks of soap left, stir slowly; the heat of the soap will melt these small chunks.
Step 3: Using a thermometer to monitor your soap, wait for it to cool to about 135 degrees and using a disposable pipette add 4 ml of Cranberry Yuzu fragrance oil. Stir in slowly until fully incorporated. Always stir your soap base slowly to avoid forming bubbles in the soap.
Step 4: Using your measuring spoon, add one teaspoon of Apricot Kernel Oil (AKO) into your melted soap base. AKO is lightweight oil that absorbs quickly and is a wonderful oil to add into bath and body products. Stir in slowly until fully incorporated.
Tip: Add only 1 teaspoon of oils or butters to 1 pound of soap base. Adding more will affect the lather.
Step 5: Now is the time to add your Organic Jojoba Meal exfoliant. Using a .15 cc scoop, slowly add 8 scoops to the soap base and stir slowly between scoops. I like to use these little scoops to add the jojoba meal because it’s easier to control the amount. If you add too much at one time, it will clump up for you, so add slowly and stir. You can use less or more to your taste. I added 8 scoops because I just love the texture and color it adds to the soap.
Step 6: The trick in keeping your exfoliant suspended throughout the soap is to let it cool to approximately 125 degrees or cooler; you’ll start to see the soap getting a little lumpy. You may also see a thin skin forming on top of the soap. Don’t worry about this – just stir back into the soap. This take a bit of patience – you don’t want to pour it until you reach this point. You need to pay attention, once you see the lumps or the skin forming, it will start to set pretty fast. Pour it into your mold quickly.
Step 7: Finish off with a final spritz of alcohol to remove any bubbles.
Step 8: Wait 2-3 hours for the soap to completely cool and harden.
Step 9: Turn the mold over carefully and slowly press on the bottom of the cavity to release the soap. Do not force it. If the soap won’t come out, wait another 1/2 hour or so. You can even pop the soap in the freezer for 5 minutes then try again.
Try different looks to the soap:
Because the mold has a nice pattern to it, I wanted to add some different looks to the soap.
Look 1: If you follow the instructions in Step 6, your bar of soap will have the exfoliant more or less evenly throughout the soap.
Look 2 and 3: If you pour the soap base when it’s cool, but right before it starts to lump up, you’ll have some of the exfoliant fall to the bottom of the mold (which, after finished, will be the top of your mold). If you pour it even warmer (careful not to pour it over 135 degrees because this will warp the mold), you’ll have even more exfoliant fall to the mold bottom and into the little circles. This looks awesome when you have a textured soap mold.
Enjoy! And keep tuned for more special gift ideas coming up!
