Botanical Cold Process Soap Favors Recipe

Prepare the lye solution by weighing the water and lye in two separate containers. Pour the lye into the water, carefully mix in a well-ventilated area and set aside to cool while you prepare your oils.

In a gallon bucket measure the liquid oils (Safflower Oil, Olive Oil and Castor Oil) and set aside.

Measure the hard oils and butters (Coconut Oil, Palm Oil and Shea Butter) in microwave-safe container and melt in the microwave. When melted, add the melted butters to the bucket of liquid oils and stir to combine.

In plastic beaker measure out the essential oils and set aside.

When both the lye mixture and the oils are 100° F or below, pour the lye mixture into the oils.

Stick blend until you reach a light trace. Add the essential oils and mix by hand or with a few short bursts of the stick blender.

Pour the soap batter into the mold and tap the mold on the counter to release any air bubbles. The recipe makes slightly more than the mold will hold. We had approximately 8 oz. of extra batter and poured two bars for the bride & groom. If you prefer, you can pour at a thicker trace and make a larger, heavily textured top using the extra batter.

Sprinkle bath tea in 2 lines down the entire loaf. (The loaf will be split in half length-wise to make our guest-size slices.)

Insulate loaf and allow to set at least 24 hours or longer until soap is firm enough to unmold. Remove soap from mold and slice into bars. Start by slicing the loaf into (20) 1” slices, then cut in half again to make each slice into two tall and skinny guest-size bars. You should end with a total of 40 guest-size soaps.

Let soap slices cure 4-6 weeks. Package and label accordingly.