In My Soap Pot Rose geranium and shea butter soap

Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 1 hr
Yields: 500 g soap

Rose geranium essential oil has a lovely fresh floral fragrance with a light citrus top note. Considered to be both calming and grounding, the uplifting scent helps reduce stress and worry, and this balancing effect extends to the skin, as it helps stabilise both oily and dry skin. Adding nourishing shea butter to the soap, it creates a wonderful bar of soap that leaves your skin clean and fresh, and yet without it being too drying for your skin.

If you have never made cold-process soap before, I strongly suggest you check out the basic cold process soap tutorial first.

Before starting, please read the safety and precautions post, especially since this tutorial requires the handling of caustic soda!

ONE: First, prepare your lye. Weigh out the caustic soda in a small container. Measure the water in a small pyrex or other heat proof glass jug. Then carefully add the caustic soda to the water and gently stir until all the caustic soda has dissolved. Stir one teaspoon of sodium lactate to make the soap harder. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Weigh out the shea butter and oils in a heat proof glass jug (i.e. Pyrex jug) and heat on high in the microwave for 1 minute or until the shea butter has fully melted. Set aside to cool.

Wait until both the oils and the lye have cooled down to room temperature, which is around 25C (77F).

THREE: Make sure you are still in protective gear (goggles and gloves), carefully pour the lye to the oils, avoiding any splashes. Give it a quick pulse with the stick blender.

FOUR: Add the rose geranium essential oil and give it a quick stir with the stick blender. Then keep alternatively pulsing (5-10 seconds) and stirring with the stick blender until you reach trace.

FIVE: Pour the soap into the mold, and then gently tap the mold on the bench a few times to get rid of any air bubbles in the soap. Scatter a few dried rose petals on the surface and then leave the soap to cure overnight or until it is hard enough to remove from the mold. Olive oil soaps tend to be a bit softer initially and take longer to harden.

SIX: Once the soap has hardened and doesn’t stick to the sides anymore, you can remove the soap from the mold. Let the soap cure for another couple of days before cutting into bars. The bars will then need at least 6-8 weeks to cure before they are ready to use.

Rose Geranium and Shea Butter Soap

Time: 1 hr
Difficulty: intermediate
Print

Before starting, make sure you wear protective goggles and gloves and work in a well-ventilated area, free from any distractions!

Ingredients

325 g olive oil
50 g shea butter
25 g castor oil
51 g caustic soda
100 ml water
1 teaspoon sodium lactate
20 ml rose geranium essential oil
dried rose petals

Directions

repare your lye: carefully add the caustic soda to the water and stir gently until all the caustic soda has dissolved. Add one teaspoon of sodium lactate. Set aside to cool.
Weigh out the shea butter and oils in a large heat proof glass jug and microwave on high for 1 minute or until the shea butter has fully melted. Set aside to cool.
Once both the oils and the lye have cooled down to room temperature, carefully add the lye to the oils, without splashing, and give it a quick pulse with the stick blender.
Add the rose geranium essential oil, and keep alternatively pulsing and stirring with the stick blender until trace.
Pour the soap into the mold, and gently tap the mold on the bench a few times to get rid of any air bubbles in the soap. Scatter a few rose petals on the surface and then leave to cure overnight or until hard enough to remove from the mold.
Once the soap is hard enough, remove the soap from the mold and let it cure for another couple of days before cutting into bars. The bars will need another 6-8 weeks to cure before they are ready.