Jamocha Latte Coffee Soap

So this is basically the same recipe as the Buttermilk Baby Soap, but without the carrots and adding coffee grounds.

Recipe:

27 oz. Olive Oil

5 oz. Coconut Oil

8 oz. Buttermilk (can substitue with goats milk, or distilled water) 

4.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide (lye)

1.5 oz. coffee grounds 

1.5 oz. Mocha fragrance oil (optional)

If you don't want to add fragrance oil you don't have to. You will still get a nice soft coffee smell just from coffee grounds. You can also add any coffee or mocha oil that you would like. It doesn't have to be the same as the one we used.

Here is the video. If you would like to see our other soap making videos you can find them on the Love Is My Religion Channel on YouTube.

Buttermilk Bastille Baby Soap

   

  Today we'll be talking about out Buttermilk Bastille Baby Soap. This soap is made with about 70% olive oil. Olive oil is really soothing and great for sensitive skin, which makes it a great soap to use on babies and younger children. It also has a small amount of coconut oil in it, which is also very good for the skin. It also has a small amount of carrot puree in it. Carrot puree gives the soap its light color and it also contains many antioxidant properties.

    For this recipe you will need the following:

• 10" Silicone Loaf Mold
• 27 oz. of Olive Oil*
• 5 oz. of Coconut Oil
• 8 oz. of Buttermilk
• 2.5 oz. of Carrot Puree
• 4.3 oz. of Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 1.5 Oz. of Lavender Essential Oil (optional)

     Before you begin making your soap, you want to be sure to freeze the milk that you will need twenty-four hours beforehand. It is also important to be careful about what type of carrot puree you use in your soap. Be sure the puree that you use is nothing but carrots and water. 

    To begin, prep your ingredients: Measure out your oils, your lye, and your puree and remove your frozen buttermilk from its mold. Make an ice bath for your buttermilk. This will help to prevent any scorching when you add your lye. 

     Next, be sure to put on your gloves and goggles because you are about to begin working with lye. Slowly begin adding your lye to your buttermilk, stirring it as you do so. Continue to add your lye until it is fully dissolved and your milk is has become a liquid. Add your lye to your coconut and olive oil mixture which should be around 120 degrees Farenheit. 

     Then begin to mix the ingredients together with a stick blender. Eventually, your soap will reach a light trace. Once you've reached a light trace, add your essential  oil and your carrot puree. Mix everything together with your stick blender untily ou;ve reached a medium trace and then pour it into your mold. Scrape the last bit of soap out of your container and then tap the mold firmly on your workspace to get rid of any air bubbles. 

Spray the top of the soap with rubbing alcohol to prevent soap ash and let the soap set in the mold for about a week.

*You can use extra virgin olive oil, pure olive oil or olive oil pomace. If you use olive oil pomace your soap will set up faster, so you will have to work a little faster.

Below is the video tutorial that goes along with this blog.

Lye Safety and The Saponification Process

Protect Yourself Physically
     The most important thing you have to learn about before making soap is lye safety. Because lye can be dangerous if it isn't used properly, it is important to learn as much as you can about it. Before working with your lye, it is imperative to have items that will protect your skin such as long sleeves, thick, plastic kitchen gloves, goggles, and shoes. These will help protect your skin and eye sight in case of accidental spillage.

Mix Lye in a Proper Container
     It is also important to mix your lye in the proper container. It is not suggested to mix lye in a metal container. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first being that lye can make the metal very hot and you could potentially burn yourself while handling a metal container. The second reason being that lye can react with certain types of metal such as aluminium and tin. In fact, it would probably be wise to avoid metal all together. A good material to use would be glass. Pyrex glass is an excellent material to use when you are mixing lye. It is also wise to mix with the proper materials. Wood should not be used because lye can break down organic materials. However, metal spoons or whisks are okay to use.

Mix Lye in the Proper Place
      You should also be sure that you are mixing your lye in a proper area. Because lye fumes can ben dangerous if inhaled, it is wise to mix lye in a well-ventilated area. If you are mixing lye inside, it is a smart move to turn on a fan and open a few windows. To be as safe as you possibly can though, you could try mixing your lye outside when the weather permits.

Always Mix Lye into Water (Never Water into Lye)
       One of the most important things you can do is this: ALWAYS mix your lye into your water, never your water into your lye. This is because mixing water into lye can cause the mixture to explode. The result could be a bad lye burn or even worse.

Store Lye Properly
      You should also be sure to store your lye properly when it is not being used. Make sure the container is out of reach of children and pets. Make sure the container is properly labelled so that it is not tampered with.

This is a chemical burn from lye.

If Lye Gets on the Skin 
     If lye comes in contact with your skin it is very important to remove any contaminated clothing. Then wash the affected area with water for at least fifteen minutes and then contact your doctor immediately. Although many soapers believe that you should use vinegar on lye burns, this is not so. Vinegar (an acid) and lye (a base) can cause the burn to feel even hotter and put you in more pain. However, vinegar is good to keep around for the clean up process.



What Happens to Lye During Saponification
      Now that lye safety has been discussed, we will be discussing what happens to lye during saponification. Because lye can be so dangerous on its own, many people wonder why on earth we would put it in the soaps that we use on our skin. When you combine fats (an acid) and lye (a base) you get soap (a salt). This process is called saponification. All true soaps are made with lye. That being said, you may be wondering why lye feels so good on your skin. The reason for that is that the lye gets all used up during saponification. It turns the oils and the lye into soap and glycerin.