Sea Life Beach Soap

For some reason, I tend to make my beach themed soaps only when the summer is ending. Perhaps I think it is my last chance to do it, perhaps I like the deadline! I suppose if I sold my soap at markets, I would be more seasonal minded. The temperature where I live is 89 F/ 31.66 C today, and humidity is 91 %, some days is a low as 59% ! and I am writing this on 9/19/19 to have it ready to be published next week.

I see pictures of places where fall has arrived by now, but not for me! So here is the second beach theme soap from my two part series. My mom loves turtles, so I try to make her gifts that include one. And fish are just cute little animals that I thought would get along with them!

Sea Life Soap

Mold:

10″ Silicone mold. To adapt this recipe to other mold size, visit this lye calculator.

Lye and water amounts:

Liquid Required	8.32 oz	235.86 g
NaOH Weight	5.55 oz	157.24 g

Recipe Oils, Fats and Waxes

Oil	%	Ounces	Grams
Tallow Beef	26	7.8	221.13
Coconut Oil, 76 deg	22	6.6	187.11
Olive Oil	17	5.1	144.58
Rice Bran Oil, refined	15	4.5	127.57
Shea Butter	11	3.3	93.55
Castor Oil	9	2.7	76.54
Total	100	30	850.49

Recipe Totals

Liquid Required	6.24 oz	176.89 g
NaOH Weight	4.16 oz	117.93 g
Oil Weight	30 oz	850.49 g
Fragrance Oil Weight	1.35 oz	38.27 g
Superfat		5%
Total Batch Weight	41.75 oz	1183.58 g
Lye Concentration		40%

Additives / Exfoliants

• 2 teaspoons blend of coffee grounds, ground oatmeal and cornmeal (the blend had 2 part ground oats, 1 part corn meal and 1 part coffee grounds)
• 1/2 teaspoon of titanium dioxide dispersed in olive oil.
• 12.4 oz of Premium Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base
• Light blue or teal mica. I used an enviro glitter though.

Embeds

I made mine with soap dough, below is a link to the video of how. My embeds were cured (for over a month). However, you could use a mold similar to this one.

*If your embeds are made with Melt and Pour, remember to pour your clear melt and pour at a cooler temperature than normal so that it does not melt your embeds.

Fragrance

1.35 oz of Exotic Coconut Fragrance oil from Wholesale Supplies Plus or any other of your choice (If you want your sand portion to be brownish, use a slightly discoloring fragrance or add a brown mica or pigment)

Equipment:

• Equipment and Supplies I use  
• A metal spoon (I use a 1/4 teaspoon rounded measuring spoon.
• Something to tilt your mold securely.
• Mist sprayer bottle with 70% rubbing alcohol
• Small blender (to mix titanium dioxide) or an icing silicone spatula to dissolve it in the oil
• Ocean theme mold
• A tea strainer mesh to disperse the mica or glitter
• A sharp knife to cut the soap (Because of the melt and pour, I advise against using a wire cutter)

*Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, your purchase through those links help keep this blog running

Process:

1. Before you start, remember that you need to wear your safety gear.  Lye burns! Plan to prepare the lye solution several hours ahead to allow it to come to room temperature or to at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit , or freeze your distilled water into cubes.
2. In a well ventilated area (outside or by a window), add gradually the lye to the distilled water and stir it with a metal spoon. I use a drink stirrer spoon, it has a long handle.  Do not breathe the fumes (I use a respirator because I am sensitive to the fumes).   You can freeze your water ahead to avoid fumes, and weigh the ice cubes (they weigh the same as if the water was in liquid form). The water/lye solution should go from cloudy to clear once it is dissolved.  If you do not have a dedicated soap area/room and other people might come into contact with this, make sure you cover it, label it, tell everyone and keep it isolated, where it cannot be spilled or touched by accident.
3. Wait for lye water to come to room temperature. Especially if your fragrance accelerates.  While you wait for the lye water to cool down, you can weigh and melt your oils, fragrance, and tilt your mold. This fragrance accelerated a little bit, probably because I also have a big water discount.
4. Measure, blend and melt your oils and let them cool down a bit, ideally to room  temperature as the fragrance accelerates.  You want to work at room temperature if your fragrance accelerates.  Your oils should not be hotter than 100°F or 37.77°C
5. Prepare your mold by having it tilted at an angle. Prepare also small cavity molds for leftovers, I used a smaller soap mold by mistake (8″), and had extra soap batter
6. Once your oils and lye water have come to above temperatures, add your lye solution to the oils slowly, to avoid splatters pour it on the blender shaft.
7. Stir with the blender on Off position initially, then blend for 15 second periods, alternating with stirring, until it is at emulsion (where you cannot see any oils floating around) or light trace, when lifting the spoon from the batter leaves a trace on the surface.  This should only take 1 minute with this recipe.
8. Add the exfoliants blend and the titanium dioxide to the soap batter (coffee grounds, ground oatmeal, etc.) and blend.
9. Add the fragrance. Stir or use the blender for about 10-15 seconds and pour it on the tilted mold.
10. Cut your clear melt and pour into chunks and put in a microwave safe container
11. If your soap is firm enough, you can add texture with the curved portion of the measuring spoon.
12. Distribute the blue mica or glitter on top of the soap batter
13. Add your embeds, if using, and try to place them in a way that they are somewhat secured in the soap, but close to the edge enough that they will be seen through the melt and pour. (I added mine later and it was messy!)
14. Melt the clear melt and pour
15. Spray the soap and embeds, then pour the clear melt and pour base (If your embeds are made with Melt and pour as well, test your temperature to make sure you do not melt them with the clear MP, you may need to pour it cooler than normal.)
16. After 24-32 hours, try removing from the mold, use the knife to cut the bars and you are done!