How to Make Citrus Soap

Make about 4 pounds of tasty-smelling soap.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Soap Coloring
• Soap Fragrance
• Soap Molds
• Thick Bath Towels
• Coconut Oil
• Non-virgin Olive (not Virgin) Oil
• Soft Or Distilled Waters
• White Vinegar
• White Vinegar
• Essential Oils
• Glycerin Soaps Chips
• Lye
• Rubber Gloves
• Rubber Gloves
• Crisco Shortenings
• Double Boilers
• Graters
• Knife
• Measuring Spoons
• Plastic Bowls
• Rubber Spatulas
• Stirring Spoons
• Knife
• Mitre Boxes
• Safety Goggles
• Safety Goggles
• Rubber spatulas
• Essential oils

1. Heat 12 ounces of olive oil (not virgin), 12 ounces of coconut oil and 10 ounces of Crisco to 100 degrees in a double boiler.

2. Stir in 4 tsp. of essential oils. Try combinations of grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin and/or rosewood.

3. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

4. Add 6 ounces of lye flakes to 16 ounces of soft or distilled water. Add the lye to water, not vice versa. (When lye meets water it immediately begins to heat.)

5. Stir constantly with a plastic spoon until it's well-mixed.

6. Let the lye mixture cool until it, too, is at room temperature.

7. Pour the lye mix into the oils slowly and stir slowly and constantly. If you see bubbles, stir more slowly.

8. Once in awhile, drizzle the soap into the pot. When it keeps its shape momentarily before sinking into the rest of the mix (tracing), add 1/2 c. chopped pieces of glycerin soaps. Use red, green, yellow and orange.

9. Stir and immediately pour into a mold greased with Crisco.

10. Wrap the mold in a towel and leave it undisturbed for 18 hours. The soap mixture will heat up and then cool down. Don't uncover it until it's cooled.

11. Allow the soap to sit in the uncovered mold for another 12 hours.

12. Loosen the sides by wiggling the mold a little.

13. Turn the mold over onto a clean counter.

14. Cut the soap into bars with a knife. Some people use a miter box to make square corners.

15. Allow the bars to cure for 3 to 4 weeks before using. Smaller bars cure faster than larger ones.

Tips & Warnings

• You can grate the glycerin soap instead for finer chunks of color.
• Don't wash your soapmaking supplies in the dishwasher or you'll be cleaning your kitchen floor as well.
• Keep a cup or two of vinegar handy in case you get lye on your skin.
• Lye is wickedly caustic. Always wear eye protection and gloves when using it.
• Never use aluminum with lye.
• Use Red Devil lye, not Drano.
• Don't use containers or utensils used for mixing lye solutions for anything else.
• Add lye to water - not vice versa. If you add water to lye, it could react by splashing and burning you. Add the lye to the water very slowly.
• Ensure that the lye mixture and the oil mixture are the same temperature and at room temperature before combining the two.