Handmade Soap: Recipes For Crafting Soap At Home ( Country Living)

A mild, off-white Castille-type soap, this soap curves into nice hard bars that produce lots of exploding lather. It is an excellent all-purpose soap and a good choice for hand-milling recipes because it is so versatile: you can remold this recipe into both body bars (see Chapter Two) and soaps for domestic use (see Chapter Three).

14 ounces tepid water

6 ounces lye

12 ounces coconut oil

8 ounces of palm oil

20 ounces olive oil

1. Prepare the mold

2. Blend the water and lye. Set aside and cool to 100 degrees F.

3. Melt the coconut and palm oils. Blend in the olive oil and wither heat or cool to 100 degrees F.

4. Once the temperatures match, blend the lye solution into the oils.

5. Stir the mixture until the soap traces. At trace, pour into the prepared mold.

6. Leave the soap to set for 4 to 8 hours, or until the soap is solid and firm to the touch. Release the soap from the mold and allow to cure for 6 to 8 weeks.

Copyright 1998 by Hearst Books