Hello Witches! So awhile ago i posted some pictures of my Yule soaps cooling and a bunch of yall wanted to know my methods so here ya go! (This is going to be a longggg post guys and im on mobile so no page breaks sorry.)
First thing you will need to do is choose your soap base. I use glycerin because it draws moisture into itself (which is great for locking moisture into your skin. Also it lathers BEAUTIFULLY for shaving) and because lye based soaps are a bit too chemically intense for me.
Glycerin melt and pour soap bases are widely available online (read Amazon😍) and come in a wide variety. You have shea butter glycerin soap, goats milk glycerin soap, honey glycerin soap, and soooo many more. I usually use goats milk glycerin BUT if you want to witch it up you can certainly use your own correspondences. In addition depending on the soap base and additives you use, your soap can also be vegan friendly.
Next choosing scents. I use essential oils in my soaps (which if you havent read the posts that circulate every now and then you should use SPARINGLY and properly diluted. A teaspoon of rosemary oil in a pound of soup is alright. But be careful for skin reactants and please dont burn yourself). However when properly diluted, essential oils really add a lovely scent to your soaps that can last on the skin for hoursss.
(Side note: NOW is my favorite brand and ive never had any issues with them. I have with other brands though. Be sure to pick a good quality brand that doesn’t contain alcohol or other questionable ingredients.)
When choosing scents, there are a few things to keep in mind (which you can find pretty easily as perfumers basics online). You want three types of oils in your mixings to create a signature scent^tm. A base note, a middle note, and a top note. Base notes generally consist of your woodsy patchoulis, cederwoods, cloves and the like. Mid notes would be more citrusy or a little lighter in nature like your lavenders, oranges and lemongrasses. And for top notes these are usually more floral like jasmine, ylang ylang and lemon verbena.
The purpose of combining scents like this, is because the top notes are what you first smell from the scent, but are also what evaporate most quickly, then the mid notes and so on.
Some of my favorite combos are (for two pound at a time pours)
4 tsp Vanilla Essential oil
1 tsp Orange Essential Oil
¼ tsp Clove Essential oil
1 tsp Patchouli Essential Oil
2 tsp Lavender Essential oil
2 tsp Vanilla Essential oil
1 tsp Orange Essential oil
2 tsp Tangerine Essential oil
1 tsp Bergamot Essential oil
(This one doesnt have all of the notes, but it smells sooo refreshing)
If the scents arent strong enough, you can always add a little more. When diluted in two pounds of soap a little more wont hurt.
The last element of your soap is mostly for visual purposes, though you can certainly make it witchy, and includes things like coloring, flowers and salts. One of my more recent soaps pictured here
Is orange because of the tumeric i used while mixing the soap (this is the tangerine orange soap). However, mica powders and edible glitters can also be added for an extra punch. The soap above it included crushed lavender flowers (the lavender patchouli soap) and the one above that (mens shaving soap) sodium sodium bentonite clay.
Alright so now you know what kind of soap base youre using and have picked your scents and inclusions, you are ready to begin!
You will need a double boiler OR a pot large enough for a large metal bowl to melt your soap in.
Your soap (i use about two pounds) cut up in smaller cubes for ease of melting.
A mold. (I use the disposable tin bread pans a lot of the time and they work just fine.)
Something to cut your soap. (This can be a knife or a special tool its up to you)
First things first on about medium heat, heat your water to begin melting your soap. DO NOT GET WATER IN YOUR SOAP. A glycerin soap pour can be ruined by water faster than you can say quidditch.
While thats melting, youre going to want to prepare your inclusions. Pictured here is blue mica powder and pink Himalayan salt. I like to mix it with a morter and pestle to be sure everything is completely incorporated.
Now after your soup is evenly melted, you’ll want to add in your powders and whisk it together well in order to avoid lumps. (Think pancake batter. Below is the example with the blue mica powder and Himalayan salt.
After this step, you’ll want to remove your mixture from the heat and allow it to cool off before adding in your essential oils. If the oils are added too quickly, the scents will burn off and you’ll be left with scentless albeit colorful soap.
Once this is done and your soap is wafting tempting notes of citrus or warm spicy cloves in your face, pour the soap into your molds. As you can see from the molds pictured now is the time to add flowers or other (skin and plumbing safe) decorations. If topping your soap with salt i would wait until a thin film starts to form so it stays on top better.
After this step is done, youll need to wait for the soaps to completely firm and set. Depending on the thickness of your soap, this could be anywhere from a few hours to overnight. I usually wait overnight so that i can be sure everything is set enough to cut. (Side note as with candles, soap should not be cooled in the refrigerator. Firstly because it can cause uneven cooling and a large hollow hole in the middle and secondly because when the soap comes out and begins to sweat it can ruin your soap batch.)
After you’ve let your soap set, its time to cut it into bath soap size slices; about an inch to an inch and a half is usually a good bet depending on how thick your soap is. Pictured is above mentioned fancy cutting tool, but you can just as easily use a good knife, just watch out for fingers.
And there you have your finished product!! I like to wrap my soaps in seran or plastic wrap to help keep the scents fresh, but wax paper would probably work as well.
I hope you all enjoy your soaps lovelies and if you do make any please tag me so i can see! 🌻
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