Rainbow Handmade Soap

Beautiful, colorful and fragrant. This handmade soap is all natural colored with natural mica dyes and fragranced with essential oils. These make bath time a fun experience as the wonderful smell of lavender fills the air and the colors brighten up your day.

There are three types of ways of making homemade soap: melt & pour, cold-process and hot-process.

Melt and pour involves buying a soap base melting it and adding the color and fragrance to your liking and then setting it.

A cold process and hot process are a little more labor intensive as the name suggests one is mixed when cold and the other when hot. They both require working with lye. Working with lye requires safety and care. It is a highly corrosive substance so safety is key in making this soap.

The rainbow soap uses the cold-process.

Step 1: Equipment & Supplies

Equipment

1. kitchen gloves
2. face mask and goggles
3. kitchen scale
4. rubber spatula
5. large metal pot
6. immersion blender or whisk
7. glass measuring cup (7 cups if available or various metal/glass containers)
8. 42oz silicone mold for soapmaking (found on amazon)
9. soap cutter (comes with mold) or slicing knife
10. wooden spoon

Supplies:

1. 250g coconut oil
2. 500g palm oil
3. 500g olive oil
4. 55g essential oil (I used lavender)
5. 380g distilled water
6. 186.25g lye
7. natural mica dyes (purchased from amazon)

Step 2: Lye With Water

Please note: It is very important to wear your gloves, mask and goggles. Mixing water and lye can be a dangerous process if not done properly. Also when mixing lye to the water do it outdoors or in a very well ventilated area. Ensure there are no pets or kids around this liquid. The fumes given off are toxic to inhale.

1. Measure out your water and lye separately. In the glass measuring cup have the water ready. Always add the lye to the water and NOT water to the lye.
2. Stir the lye in with a metal spoon and leave to react. At this point the liquid will fume and turn very hot. The reaction takes a while to subside. Set aside for 45mins to 1 hour.

Step 3: Mix Oils

1. In your large metal pot mix the coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil. On a low heat let the oils all melt and combine. About 5 mins
2. Once combined, allow to cool.
3. Once cooled and the lye has cooled, slowly pour in the lye. Use the whisk and stir. Switch to the immersion blender and combine. About 3mins
4. Add in the essential oil and blend for 30 seconds to combine.
5. The mixture will turn cloudy which is sign it is coming to trace*.

* Trace is a point when the oils and lye have emulsified.

Step 4:

1. Weight out approximately 7 parts of 8oz each of the liquid into several glass or metal containers or reuse the same measuring cup but work fast.
2. In each batch add in 1 teaspoon mica dye for each of the rainbow colors.
3. Pour in the indigo first into the silicone soap mold
4. Spread it evenly.
5. When pouring the next layers, use the back of a wooden spoon to help spread the liquid more evenly (see image). If the liquid is poured directly into the mold over the previous color they will combine and the layers won't be distinct.

Step 5: Design & Set

1. To form a "waves" pattern on the top of the soap use the back of a spoon to gently tap and lift. This forms a lovely pattern on the surface
2. Let the soap set in the mold for 24 hours.

Step 6: Unmold & Cut

1. After 24 hours the soap should have hardened. If not, give it another 8 hours before unmolding.
2. Once taken out of the mold, use the cutter provided with the soap mold or a large slicing knife.
3. Cut vertically across the soap to display the different layers and colors.
4. This recipe gives about 16- 3oz bars.

Step 7: Cure

1. Spread the soap to dry out over 24 hours.
2. After 24 hours, store the soap but leave to cure for 2 weeks before using.