An easy soap recipe is just Beyond the Horizon!

A homemade soap for beginner soap makers

Simplicity seems easy and yet… It isn’t always easily achieved! We wanted to create a DIY soap with a pared-down pattern feasible for even the most beginner soap makers. After several tries, a cold process soap recipe finally took shape Beyond the Horizon!

Don’t let this elegant colour gradient scare you off. It’s very simple to achieve and yields a lovely effect! What’s more, this recipe is customizable: You can try it with red, yellow, orange or whatever hue your heart desires. Have fun and follow your inclinations!

With sweet orange and spearmint essential oils, this soap has an attractive fresh and fruity scent. These essential oils were specially chosen because they don’t accelerate trace, an important factor when one is still learning the art of soapmaking! This homemade soap recipe is therefore easy and truly accessible for beginners who have made just a few soaps to date.

Look Beyond the Horizon: That’s where your soapmaking journey begins or continues!  

How to make homemade soap

Before you begin

You’ll notice that there is no mention of superfatting in the Ingredients list or Steps to follow. This is simply because we decided to superfat this soap recipe by reducing the volume of NaOH. It’s another interesting way to make cold process soap!  

Ingredients

Sodium hydroxide solution

• 247 g (20.51%) demineralized water
• 112 g (9.29%) sodium hydroxide

Oil and butter mixture

• 330 g (27.4%) olive oil
• 240 g (19.93%) coconut oil
• 100 g (8.3%) green tea maceration (derived from olive oil)
• 60 g (4.98%) castor oil
• 80 g (6.64%) mango butter

Essential oil mixture

• 10 g (0.83%) spearmint essential oil  
• 22 g (1.83%) sweet orange essential oil

Colourants

Colour #1

• 1 g (0.08%) ultramarine blue

Colour #2

• 0.5 g (0.04%) ultramarine blue
• 0.5 g (0.04%) titanium dioxide

Colour #3

• 0.5 g (0.04%) ultramarine blue
• 1 g (0.08%) titanium dioxide

Tools

• Scales, accurate to 1 g and 0.01 g
• 1 large Pyrex measuring cup or HDPE pot (with a minimum capacity of 500 ml) for the sodium hydroxide solution
• 1 pot for weighing the sodium hydroxide
• A few pipettes for measuring the essential oils
• Components to make a double boiler
• 1 large stainless steel bowl
• 1 thermometer
• 3 measuring funnel pitchers (900 ml)
• 1 silicone loaf mold
• 1 ramekin
• 1 immersion blender
• Several spoons
• 1 silicone spatula
• 3 mini silicone spatulas
• Protective soapmaking gear

Good to know!

Don’t hesitate to replace the ultramarine blue with another mineral colourant of your choosing. You can give your imagination free rein!

Steps to follow

1. Prepare and disinfect your equipment and workspace. 
2. Take the necessary precautions for handling sodium hydroxide safely. 
3. Prepare the sodium hydroxide solution: measure the water and sodium hydroxide separately; pour the sodium hydroxide into the water, contained in a Pyrex measuring cup or HDPE pot; mix together and leave to cool.
4. In the ramekin, weigh the essential oils using the pipettes. Mix together.
5. Weigh the colourants in the three measuring funnel pitchers: in the first pitcher, weigh 1 g of ultramarine blue (colour #1); in the second, 0.5 g of ultramarine blue and 0.5 g of titanium dioxide (colour #2); in the third, 0.5 g of ultramarine blue and 1 g of titanium dioxide (colour #3).
6. Weigh the coconut oil and the mango butter in the large stainless steel bowl. Melt on the double boiler. Once melted, remove from heat and add the olive and castor oils and the green tea maceration. Mix together.
7. Add 2–3 spoonfuls of the oil/butter mixture into each measuring funnel pitcher. Disperse the colourants well using the mini spatulas.
8. When the oil/butter mixture and the sodium hydroxide solution have both cooled to a temperature of 35–40°C, pour the sodium hydroxide solution into the oil mixture. Stir with the spatula until you have reached a homogeneous mixture.
9. Mix with the immersion blender on the machine’s lowest setting.
10. At light trace, add the essential oil mixture. First mix well with the spatula, then mix with the immersion blender (still on the lowest setting).
11. Add 370 g of the sodium hydroxide/oil mixture to the measuring funnel pitcher containing colour # 1.
12. Mix well with the mini spatula. When the consistency of the mixture is homogeneous, mix with the immersion blender (on the lowest setting), until you reach thick trace.
13. Pour the blue soap (colour #1) into the mold. Tap the mold on the table to help distribute the soap along the bottom of the mold.
14. Add 380 g of the sodium hydroxide/oil mixture to the measuring funnel pitcher containing colour #2. Repeat step 12, making sure to clean the immersion blender beforehand (in order to avoid mixing the colours).
15. Pour colour #2 over the first layer. To do so, pour several fine lines back and forth over colour #1. Tap the mold on the table to distribute colour #2 over colour #1.
16. Add the remainder of the sodium hydroxide/oil mixture to the pitcher containing colour #3. Repeat steps 12 and 15.
17. Create a pattern on the surface of the soap with the spatula.
18. Cover the soap for 24–48 hours.
19. Wear gloves to unmold the soap. Cut soap and leave in a cool, dry place to cure for 4–6 weeks.

 

Use and conservation

This cold process soap recipe is formulated for body use and is suitable for all skin types.

Store soap in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. Made in optimal sanitary conditions, your homemade soap should keep for at least 12 months.