I had been considering making a portrait style soap for a while, but hesitated because I could not figure out how. I have done some painting style soaps before, like the Starry Night, the Sunflowers or the Puzzle Soap; however, I did not think the heavy texture of those soaps would translate well into a portrait.
Then recently, the opportunity came to attempt it. The idea was to make a Frida Khalo inspired soap portrait, for a Mexican themed party. I debated whether soap dough would be the best way to approach it, but it did not seem like the best choice. I started then looking for ideas, to figure out which techniques other artists used, for mediums that could be similar to soap. This first took me to cakes, and eventually to cookies.
I found this video of a portrait on a cookie specially helpful, but I do not have a projector. However, I knew there were ways to make a DIY version of a projector. If I could get at least the outline, I thought, I would be ok. I even tried drawing the portrait myself with pencil, to get used to her features, based on this picture by Nikolas Muray
As I was attempting to make the DIY projector, I put my printout of the picture under the mold, to estimate the correct size, and realized I could just “trace” it from the inside.
Then I remembered that some of the cake designs I had seen, suggested something similar, to transfer the portrait to the top of the final cake (rather than working on the actual cake the whole time), so in whim I decided to go for it, I threw the box of the future projector in the recycle bin, and started working on making just the face.
So here was my goal, to make the face in a way similar to a cookie, to keep it smooth, and then place it on top of freshly poured soap.
While attempting to draw her picture, it dawned on me that some of my own features were similar to hers (thick eyebrows and large eyes), so I thought it would be fun to play dress up as well:
After delivering this soap, I was commissioned to make more (not of Frida, but a portraits of someone else). It has been a lot of fun and also challenging, but it does make for a unique, personalized soap.
This is the recipe and materials I used (for the main soap), I used the same recipe for the face, but in a smaller amount, and made it the day before (had a lot left over):
Recipe Totals
| Liquid Required | 14.19 oz | 402.14 g |
| NaOH Weight | 8.03 oz | 227.79 g |
| KOH Weight | 0.66 oz | 18.69 g at 90% Purity |
| Lye Weight | 8.69 oz | 246.47 g |
| Oil Weight | 60 oz | 1700.97 g |
| Fragrance Oil Weight | 3.75 oz | 106.31 g |
| Superfat | 5% | |
| Total Batch Weight | 87.5 oz | 2480.46 g |
| Lye Concentration | 38% | |
| NaOH / KOH Ratio | 95% / 5% |
Recipe Oils, Fats and Waxes
| Oil | % | Ounces | Grams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 30 | 18 | 510.29 |
| Tallow Beef | 30 | 18 | 510.29 |
| Coconut Oil, 76 deg | 25 | 15 | 425.24 |
| Castor Oil | 8 | 4.8 | 136.08 |
| Shea Butter | 7 | 4.2 | 119.07 |
| Total | 100 | 60 | 1700.97 |
Custom Additives
| Add at trace | |
|---|---|
| EDTA mixed with water | 0.87 ounce |
Fragrances
| Eden’s garden from Brambleberry (discontinued, I would suggest another floral fragrance like Butterfly Garden*) |
Mold
Colorants
- 1/4 tsp Hollywood Pink Mica and 1/16 tsp Fluorescent Neon Purple from Nurture Soap
- For face: Hammer Copper Kettle Mica 1/16 + 1/32 in 5 oz of soap batter
- For background 1/8 tsp neon green pigment + 3/4 tsp Lime green mojito mica
- For hair 1/8 tsp of black oxide for 2 oz of soap batter
Embeds
The flowers, earrings and roses were made with soap dough and molds similar to these flower molds
- Reusable piping bag set with tips for tracing the outline of the face
The face was made with the same recipe as above, in a very small amount. (12 oz with leftover for soap dough)
**Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means a tiny percentage of any purchase you make using them will be credited it to me, and that helps keep me motivated to share this blog.
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.
Soaps by Glenda 