Difference between revisions of "Make Shea Butter Soap"

#Use equipment and mixing bowls specifically meant for making soap. It could be hazardous to your health if you use soap making equipment for handling or preparing food. Copper and aluminum products will have a negative chemical reaction with lye. Choose products made of tempered glass, enamel, or stainless steel. Lye can also melt some plastics so be sure to check what works best.<ref name="rf1">http://www.diynatural.com/how-to-make-soap-2/</ref>

#*Styrene plastic or silicone soap-only spoons are best for this project.<ref name="rf1" />

#Prepare additional tools aside from ingredients. In addition to mixing bowls and spoons, you will need a pint and a quart canning jar, a stainless steel thermometer that can read between 90 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit, newspaper, and an old towel on hand.<ref name="rf1" />

#Mix the lye using the proper safety precautions. Protect yourself with goggles, gloves, and with newspaper to cover your work area from the lye. Wear a mask to protect yourself from the fumes produced by the chemical reaction created as you mix the lye with water. Pour water into your quart canning jar. Scoop ¼ cup of lye and slowly pour it in with the water making sure to stir it until the mixture is clear. Allow the mixture to sit.<ref name="rf1" />

#Mix your oils together and heat. Mix your oils together as you pour them into the pint jar. Heat the pint jar once you have mixed your oils for about a minute if you are using a microwave. You may also heat in a pan of water on your stove until the oils reach {{convert|120|F|sigfig=3}}.<ref name="rf1" />

#Stir the oil and lye together at the right temperature. The lye and oils should cool around 95° and 105° degrees Fahrenheit. Do not allow them to cool below this temperature or they will be coarse and may crumble easily. Stir in the lye with your hand slowly once they have reached the right temperature. Stir the oils and lye for about 5 minutes in a mixing bowl.<ref name="rf1" />

#*If available, use an immersion blender so that as much soap touches the lye as possible. Trace is when the soap looks and feels like vanilla pudding. It should be thick with a light colour. Once you have trace you are ready to add your essential oils and herbs.<ref name="rf1" />

#*Wait until the lye reaches a thin trace before mixing the coconut milk with the water. Add coconut milk that is slightly warm.<ref name="rf2">http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/homemade-soap-recipe-shea-coconut.html</ref>

#Add finely ground calendula flower petals to the ¼ mixture that you have left. Mix the petals into the remaining mixture. Create a zig zag pattern by pouring the new flower petal mixture over top the mold.<ref name="rf2" />

#*To ensure the coloured soap reaches throughout the mold, change the height from which you pour the remaining flower petal mixture. Raising the soup bucket and lowering it will allow the petal mixture to penetrate the white soap base at different depths.<ref name="rf2" />

#Use a spatula or other utensils to create patterns. Swirl the soap into a marble pattern or create other details before storing the shea butter soap.<ref name="rf2" />

#Cover the molds with plastic wrap and cover with an old towel. Allow residual heat to warm the mixture by covering with a towel. The saponification process will be started with this residual heat.<ref name="rf1" />

#Allow your soap to cure. Check your soap after a day or 24 hours. If it still feels soft or slightly warm, wait another day or until it is firm and cool. Remove it from the wrap and allow it to cure for about a month. Be sure to turn it over once a week or place it on a baking rack to expose the entire surface to air.<ref name="rf1" />

#Put on protective gear when handling lye. Ensure that you have the proper safety gear, including gloves and goggles, before you handle lye. Put Mix your lye (NaOH or Sodium Hydroxide) into the water. Use a heat-proof pyrex or pp jug as you sprinkle lye on top of the water and mix well. Avoid the fumes that are produced when mixing the lye with the water and be aware that heat will also be produced.<ref name="rf3">http://lovelygreens.com/2015/07/moisturising-shea-butter-face-soap-recipe-and-instructions.html#sthash.G08KtVl7.dpuf</ref>

#Cool the lye and water mixture. To speed the cooling process, place the container in a basin of water or simply place it in your sink. Make sure to mix and keep at a well ventilated area. To be safe, create the shea butter outdoors.<ref name="rf3" />

#Heat the coconut oil. Measure and pour the coconut oil into a soap-making pan. Do not use equipment that will be used for cooking. Use bowls and equipment made from stainless steel, tempered glass, and enamel. Avoid using copper and aluminum as they have a negative reaction with lye. Moreover, some plastics melt when mixed with lye.<ref name="rf1" />

#*Use soap-only spoons made of styrene plastic or silicone.<ref name="rf1" />

#Mix the oils thoroughly. Mix the zinc oxide with a tablespoon of the liquid oils. Once the coconut oil is melted, stop heating it and mix castor oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil. Use a digital thermometer to ensure the mixture is around 85-90°F. Take the temperature of the lye water and mix until it also reaches close to 85-90°F. Keep mixing the 2 separate mixtures until they are at within 5 degrees of one another.<ref name="rf3" />

#Melt the shea butter. Use the double boiler method by placing the shea butter into a heat-proof container and floating that container inside a pan filled with boiling water.<ref name="rf3" />

#Mix the lye water with your oils. Pour the lye water through a sieve and into the oils ensuring that both mixtures are about 5 degrees within 85-90°F. The sieve ensures no pieces of lye are in your final bar of soap. Use a whisk to gently stir the new mixture together.<ref name="rf3" />

#Use a stick blender to remove air bubbles. Tap the stick blender against the side of the container holding the lye-water-oils mixture using short pulses. While the stick blender is off, stir the mixture in between each pulse to bring the soap to a trace. Trace is when your lye has successfully mixed with the oils of your soap and produces a thick consistency similar to vanilla pudding.<ref name="rf3" />

#Mix the trace with the remainder of your ingredients. Pour the zinc oxide oil, jojoba, melted shea butter, and vitamin E oil into the soap and use a whisk to mix. Vigorously and thoroughly work the mixture as soap will quickly become stiff and difficult to work.<ref name="rf3" />

#Use a spatula or other utensils to create patterns. Swirl the soap into a marble pattern or create other details before storing the shea butter soap.<ref name="rf2" />

#Cover the molds with plastic wrap and cover with an old towel. The towel allows residual heat to keep the mixture warm and start the saponification process.<ref name="rf1" />

#Remove the soap from their molds. Once removed from their molds, keep your soap away from direct sunlight for 4-6 weeks and try to store them in an airy area of your home. This allows the saponification process to complete.<ref name="rf3" />

*Even though lye is caustic and dangerous to work with, after it reacts with the oils in your soap (through a process called saponification), no lye will remain in your finished soap.<ref name="rf1" />

*Always add and stir lye into water  and never water to lye. If you don’t stir and allow the lye to clump on the bottom, it could heat up all at once and explode.<ref name="rf1" />