Christmas Soap

While at the Mister's family Christmas, we had a Yankee Swap! It was great fun, with 27 of the 33 individuals participating. I contributed six bars of a Christmas Soap I had made for that express purpose.

I also gave about a dozen bars to my local Stitch-and-Bitch group for a set of holiday gifts we made for the restaurant that hosts us.

Here's the Recipe:

Essentially, this batch is made using two separate batches of hot process soap. First, you make the green, and then the red.

Ingredients:

• 6.5 oz water (x2)
• 2.5 oz lye - 9% superfat (x2)
• 8.25 oz olive oil (x2)
• 5 oz coconut oil (x2)
• 2 oz cocoa butter (x2)
• 2 oz shea butter (x2)
• 1.25 oz castor oil (x2)
• 1 oz jojoba oil (x2)
• green soap coloring
• red soap coloring
• Essential Oils (recommended): Pine, Treasure of the Season, Cinnamon Bark, Nutmeg, Christmas Spirit
• Crockpot, gloves, apple cider vinegar, scale, eye glasses, immersion blender, wax paper, pyrex baking dish, soap spoon, and glass tools/jars

Directions:

1. Measure out the oils and put the first set of oils in the crockpot to melt
2. When the oils are mostly melted, add a dash of green soap coloring. Stir it in until mostly disolved.
3. Measure out water and lye in separate glass dishes. Slowly add lye into water, stirring as you go to dissolve lye. Be sure to follow safety procedures.
4. When the lye is dissolved and slightly cooled, add it to the oils, and blend with the immersion blender until the mixture reaches trace (about a minute).
5. Put on cover and wait an hour or two for the cook.
6. Stir in one teaspoon of Pine Essential Oil and one teaspoon of Treasure of the Season Essential Oil.
7. Line a glass baking dish with wax paper and pour the first mixture into the mold. Place it in the oven at a low temperature to keep warm.
8. Repeat steps 1-5 with the second set of oils and the red coloring.
9. This time, add one teaspoon of Christmas Spirit Essential Oil and a half-teaspoon each of Nutmeg and Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil.
10. Take the first batch out of the oven and pat down the soap mixture. Pour the second batch on top and stir/swirl the two together.
11. Let the mixture sit for at least 24 hours before removing it from the mold and slicing it into delightful bars of soap!