One of my favorite shows to watch, is the Great British Bake Off. Though it has been renamed to Great British Baking Show when it airs in America. As a rule, I do not like watching reality tv or competition shows. There is too much drama and backstabbing among the contestants. But this show (and most competition shows I have watched from Australia, Canada or Britain) is different. The contestants are usually nice to each other. Perhaps it is because there is not a money incentive to fight over. Though winning has proven beneficial for most who want to pursue a career in baking.
When I watched an episode about making an edible illusion cake (a cake made to look like something else), I thought it would be fun to make a soap like that. I made a sketch and did not do anything with that idea until very recently, for this soap.
My husband has a bonsai, it usually reminds me of the karate kid movie. For myself, I suppose I have practiced a form of bonsai keeping with two plants I have. Instead of repotting them to larger and larger containers, I usually trim their roots when they have grown too long, I think that is what it is done to bonsais anyway. Here is the video of the making and supplies used:
Recipe Oils, Fats and Waxes
| Oil | % | Ounces | Grams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 30 | 3.6 | 102.06 |
| Tallow Beef | 30 | 3.6 | 102.06 |
| Coconut Oil, 76 deg | 25 | 3 | 85.05 |
| Castor Oil | 8 | 0.96 | 27.22 |
| Shea Butter | 7 | 0.84 | 23.81 |
| Total | 100 | 12 | 340.19 |
Custom Additives
| Add with the Fats | |
|---|---|
| Rosemary oleoresin | 0.01 ounce |
| Add at trace | |
| EDTA mixed with water | 0.16 ounce (optional) |
Recipe Totals
| Liquid Required | 2.69 oz | 76.28 g |
| NaOH Weight | 1.66 oz | 47 g |
| KOH Weight | 0.14 oz | 3.86 g at 90% Purity |
| Lye Weight | 1.79 oz | 50.85 g |
| Oil Weight | 12 oz | 340.19 g |
| Fragrance Oil Weight | 0 oz | 0 g |
| Superfat | 2% | |
| Total Batch Weight | 16.66 oz | 472.17 g |
| Lye Concentration | 40% |
For more information on these additives you can click in the links below, please note above links are affiliate ones
- Rosemary oleresin (My oils already had this added when I masterbatched the oils)
- Tetrasodium EDTA
- Thiosulfate is used as a vanilla stabilizer here
NOTE: This project is intended for intermediate soap makers, if you are a beginner I would suggest you read this post before.
Safety Equipment:
- Nitrile gloves
- Facial Shield (I use either a facial shield or the goggles below)
- Safety Goggles
- Respirator (I use this when mixing the lye, I mix the lye in the window sill, window opened, with a pedestal fan blowing the fumes away, better yet, freeze your distilled water prior) I also try to wear long sleeves, pants and closed shoes. In my personal experience, most of my near misses (when I feel my skin itching or a slight burning sensation), or when I come contact with the soap batter, have happened when I am wiping down the containers, when I am almost done.
Fragrances
| Good Natured Christmas type | 5% or 0.75 oz |
The fragrance I used (Jolly Ol Christmas) is no longer carried by Makeyourown, It was a type of above fragrance though. It accelerated the trace with my recipe, but I really like it, so it was worth it.
Equipment
Mold
Colorants
For rim soap dough :
Embeds
- Soap dough: in brown, pink, green, yellow and red
- This is a kit with several sculpting tools
- Acrylic Roller
- Plastic sheets
- Tissue Blade (These are very sharp and will cut “tissue”; so be very careful with them, make sure to hold them from short edge opposite the blade)
- Palette knives set
My affiliate links:
Several of the links above are affiliate links, as the ones below. If you buy from them, it will not cost you any more, and I would get a tiny commission on it.
Soaps by Glenda 
2 thoughts on “Soap Bonsai”