After Christmas, I enjoy shopping for the clearance sales. In such a shopping trip last year, I found this gift box silicone mold at Michael’s that I thought would be good for Valentine soaps, or any other special occasion soaps. I thought it would be cool if I made it resemble a Tiffany gift box. And I almost achieved, except that I believe I used too much colorant, so I ended up with a darker teal color than I wanted. And I only had enough soap batter for two soaps! I think I saved too much soap for the white bow portion, and had started with too little oils (6 oz), so I have modified the recipe below to 8 oz (for 3 bars).
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COLORANTS
- 1/2 tsp Synergy Mica . However, next time I will try to duplicate the blend I did with this soap.
(So I will probably use 1/2 + 1/8 tsp of Synergy mica plus 1/4 tsp WSP Azure blue mica per lb of oils). Although that sounds very complicated, I think I’ll just try 1 teaspoon of synergy Mica per pound of oils.
Mold:
I can no longer find the mold at Michael’s website. And the one I saw at Etsy seems too pricey. I would suggest a ribbon bow mold instead to make embeds and a square cavity mold like this one: Square cavities mold from Bramble Berry
Fragrance:
0.50 oz of a girly fragrance like Harlequin Romance
(I used Parisian classic, but it is no longer available)
0.50 oz of Vanilla stabilizer (optional)
Equipment
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.
Recipe Totals
Please note that this recipe has a low superfat* percentage, dual lye and a big water discount*. If you are a beginner, a recipe like this one might be better.
Recipe Oils, Fats and Waxes
| Oil | % | Ounces | Grams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castor Oil | 8 | 0.64 | 18.14 |
| Coconut Oil, 76 deg | 25 | 2 | 56.7 |
| Olive Oil | 30 | 2.4 | 68.04 |
| Shea Butter | 7 | 0.56 | 15.88 |
| Tallow Beef | 30 | 2.4 | 68.04 |
| Total | 100 | 8 | 226.8 |
Recipe Totals
| Liquid Required | 1.75 oz | 49.73 g |
| NaOH Weight at 99 % Purity | 1.12 oz | 31.73 g |
| KOH Weight at 90 % Purity | 0.05 oz | 1.42 g |
| Lye Weight | 1.17 oz | 33.15 g |
| Oil Weight | 8 oz | 226.8 g |
| Fragrance Weight | 0.5 oz | 14.17 g |
| Super Fat | 3 % | |
| Total Batch Weight | 11.43 oz | 323.97 g |
| NaOH / KOH Ratio | 97.2 % / 2.8 % | |
| Lye Concentration | 40 % |
Here is the making of it:
Soaps by Glenda 