I was watching an animal show a few months ago through Amazon video. The show was about relationships between different species of animals. Like the partnership of a goby fish with a blind shrimp. You can read about it here. It also explored relationships between animals and humans, and how they usually benefit humans the most. However, there was one that was mutually beneficial, and it occurred between a bird and honey hunters. The bird helping the humans find bee’s nests, and getting in return the waxy honeycomb.
This wikipedia page talks about the Honeyguide birds in detail, in case you want to read more about it.
Anyway, I was reminded of that when I was making this honey inspired soap. Since the fragrance is called Milk honey oatmeal (crafter’s choice), I decided to add ground oatmeal as well. I was using a 6lb mold, so I decided not to add any milk or real honey, as I would not be able to fit it in my freezer or fridge to prevent overheating. I did add tomato purée for an orange tone and some Titanium Dioxide to help with the tan discoloration from the fragrance.
I found that the fragrance smelled weird for about two weeks after cutting the soap. But it eventually improved and softened.
Last time I made a soap with this fragrance, I added actual honey, and I remember it stayed lightly tacky to the touch, so I skipped it this time too.
By the way, if you have amazon prime and like shows like animal planet, here are the details of the tv show. (Though I am sure it is probably available in other sources.) The name of the show is Nature, Season 4 (2016) episode 10, Nature’s Perfect Partners.
Honey oatmeal cold process soap
The video of the making can be found here
Additives:
I am pasting below the recipe from the lye calculator I use (www.lyecalc.com) for the oils and lye amount. In addition to that, I used:
- 1 teaspoon of Titanium dioxide
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée (added to lye water)
- 2 tablespoons of finely ground oats. Which should be added to the oils first. (I forgot and added it to soap batter.
- 4 oz of fragrance oil. I used Oatmeal,Milk & honey
- About 3 oz of clear melt and pour.
- Melt and pour color block. (Shimmer copper and fizzy lemonade)
Needed Ingredients
| Ingredient | Gram(s) | Ounce(s) | Pounds(s) | Oil % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut Oil, 76 deg | 479.32 | 16.91 | 1.06 | 25% |
| Rice Bran Oil | 613.53 | 21.64 | 1.35 | 32% |
| Ricinus Oil (Castor Oil) | 134.21 | 4.73 | 0.30 | 7% |
| Tallow, Beef | 479.32 | 16.91 | 1.06 | 25% |
| Karite Butter (Shea) | 210.90 | 7.44 | 0.46 | 11% |
| Ingredient | Gram(s) | Ounce(s) | Pounds(s) | Batch % |
| Lye – NaOH 100% Purity (5% Superfat) | 264.29 | 9.32 | 0.58 | 9.71% |
| Water (34% Lye + 66% Water Solution) | 513.03 | 18.10 | 1.13 | 18.85% |
| Total Oils | 1,917.28 | 67.63 | 4.23 | 70.45% |
| Soap Weight (Pre-Cook) | 2,721.59 | 96 | 6 | 100% |
Recommended Additive Amounts
For Advanced Soapmakers
| Sodium Lactate (60%) |
|
||||||
| Recommended Essential/Fragrance Oil | 2.96 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Ascorbic Acid | 0.68 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Extra Lye to Neutralize Ascorbic Acid | NaOH: 0.14 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Lactic Acid | 0.51 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Extra Lye to Neutralize Lactic Acid | NaOH: 0.30 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Tetrasodium EDTA | 0.48 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Sodium Citrate | 0.88 – 2.64 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Potassium Citrate | 1.08 – 3.25 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Rosemary Oleoresin (ROE) | 0.27 – 0.34 Ounce(s) | ||||||
| Citric Acid Powder |
|
||||||
| Extra Lye to Neutralize Citric Acid Powder
Anhydrous
Monohydrate |
|
Soap Properties
Working Temperature:
The oils and water were around 100° Fahrenheit / 37.78°C
Mold Size Needed:
I used a 6 lb loaf mold. You could resize it in a lye calculator.
The video of the making can be found here
Soaps by Glenda 
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