A year of soaps: spring

One day, I would love to make soap from scratch. You know, get out the lye, the safety goggles and the industrial gloves and get to work. But I have so many projects going right now that soap making from scratch is on the back burner, as is making my own essential oils in a copper distiller…..sigh….

For right now, I use a much simpler method for soap making. Using ready made soap bases allows for anyone to make soap anywhere and anytime you like. I appreciate that I can still come up with amazing recipes for soaps with zero stress.

I buy my soap bases at ekokoza, but they are also available on Amazon. These melt and pour bases are available in a wide varitey of types and they are super easy to work with.

This season’s soaps are full of hopes for spring gardening, for when the blossoms start to pop out and the bees again buzz around. I spent the day in my workshop just adding things to these soaps that came to mind and I really like how they turned out.

My absolute favourite from these is the Green Tea-Hinoki soap. The scent comes alive in warm water and I find that I am using it exclusively now. I will make a few batches just for myself, I think.

Let’s get started:

This recipe will make 12-15 soaps depending on your mold shape and size. I use a common silicone muffin mold for some of mine and a proper silicone soap bar mold for others. It really depends on you and your taste and access to materials. I started with the muffin mold because it was what I had at the time. This is so cool that you can use what you have in the kitchen and not have to buy many extra things.

I try to steer clear of molds that are small, seperate ones for individual soaps. I find them too fiddly and inefficient for large batches.

You will need:

• 1 kg of melt and pour soap base
• 2-3 T of infused oil of your choice (Olive oil can be used here)
• 30 g beeswax (I use this so the soap will last longer in the shower)
• 30-50 drops essential oils of your choice
• plant material that you would like to embed in your soap

Step by step:

1. Prepare a bain marie (water bath) on a medium setting
2. Cut up the soap base into small chunks (the smaller the faster they will melt)
3. Add the beeswax and any infused oils you would like
4. Stir until completely melted and all components are incorporated
5. Once melted completely, you must act quickly….
6. Add the essential oils and mix well
7. Pour into prepared molds
8. Once cooled, pop them out and let them properly dry and harden overnight before you package them in any way

How to prepare your molds:

Silicone molds need no perparation save for whatever plant material you would like to add to your soaps. If you would like plant material only floating at the top of your soap, put the material in the bottom of the mold before you pour in the soap. If you would like plant material running throughout the soap, you must pour in the soap and add the material to each mold after the soap is already in, slowly stirring while it is cooling so that it is evenly distributed. If you would like to add material to the soap only as decoration, simply sprinkle it on directly after pouring the soap into the molds.

Krista’s Herbs Spring Soap Collection:

Honey-Beeswax-Chamomile-Vitamin E Oil

Recipe:

• 1 kg honey soap base
• 5 T organic honey
• 3 T chamomile-infused almond oil
• 30 g beeswax
• 1 t Vit E oil
• 30 drops blue chamomile essential oil

Green Tea-Chlorella-Hinoki Wood

• 1 kg organic soap base
• 2 T green tea oil
• 2 T chlorella powder
• 30 g beeswax
• 2 T matcha powder
• 30 drops hinoki wood essential oil

Rose Oil-Alkanet-Geranium

• 1 kg organic soap base
• 3 T rose-infused almond oil
• 2 T alkanet-infused almond oil
• 30 g beeswax
• 30 drops geranium essential oil

Honey-Rosemary-Red Clover-Vitamin E Oil

• 1 kg honey soap base
• 3 T red clover-infused almond oil
• 1 T rosemary-infused olive oil
• 30 g beeswax
• 1 t Vit E oil
• 30 drops rosemary essential oil