Cocoa butter is wonderful. It helps create a firm bar of soap with a creamy and conditioning lather.
In this recipe we've paired it with olive oil and babassu oil to create a fantastic bar of soap with a great lather.
We added a blend of eucalyptus, clary sage and cedarwood essential oils to create a fresh, herbal scented soap.
We've included a 5% superfat to give this soap moisturising power.
Equipment:
- Gloves
- Goggles
- Weighing scales
- Stick blender
- 2x 1L measuring jugs
- 1x 2L measuring jug
- Heatproof bowl
- Digital thermometer
- Silicone soap mould or DIY alternative
- Silicone spatula
Ingredients:
- Olive oil 360g | 391ml
- Unrefined cocoa butter 270g
- Babassu oil 270g
- Water 297g
- Sodium hydroxide 126g
- Eucalyptus essential oil 8g | 9ml
- Clary sage essential oil 14g | 17ml
- Cedarwood atlas essential oil 6g | 6ml
Important safety note: Wear gloves and goggles at all times when working with sodium hydroxide. It is caustic and will cause burns. If you get it on your skin rinse well with plenty of water. If it is splashed in the eyes, rinse with water and seek urgent medical attention. Keep away from pets and children.
Makes around 10 bars of soap
Takes 1 hour making time and 4-6 weeks curing time.
Method
1. Mix your sodium hydroxide solution
- Measure your cold water in one of the jugs
- Put your gloves and goggles on
- Open the window, the fumes will be unpleasant
- Weigh your sodium hydroxide into another jug
- Add the sodium hydroxide to the water, not the other way around
- Stir for 10-15 seconds until the sodium hydroxide is dissolved
- Leave to cool
2. Weigh and heat your oils
- Weigh your olive oil, cocoa butter and babassu oil into a heatproof bowl
- Heat over a pan of boiling water (or in the microwave) until melted and mix well.
- Weigh and mix your essential oils in a separate jug
3. Check temperatures
- Check the temperature of the sodium hydroxide solution. You're looking for between 25 and 40C. Don't reheat it if it's too cool though! Heat the oils more to compensate.
- Test the oil temperature, you're looking for between 35 and 40C
4. Blend until trace
- Add the sodium hydroxide solution to your oils
- Mix with your hand blender
- Use short pulses to blend the mixture together
- When it starts to thicken add your essential oils.
- Blend a little more.
- Test for trace by dripping some soap batter on the surface of the mixture. If it sits on top for a moment, that's trace.
5. Pour into moulds
- Pour your soap mixture into moulds. Try our range of silicone soap moulds!
- Tap the mould on the surface to get rid of air bubbles
- Place the soap on a flat surface and leave for 48 hours before unmoulding.
- Keep it well insulated with a few towels, otherwise it may only partially reach gel phase.
6. Unmould and cure your soap
- Remove your soap from its mould
- Cut into bars
- Place the bars with an air gap in between and leave to cure for 4-6 weeks before using.
Continue reading
Now you've learned how to make cocoa butter soap, why not continue your soap making journey?
- Interested in hot process soap making? Try our easy hot process soap recipe
- Having trouble with your soap recipe? Check our cold process soap making troubleshooting page.
- Looking for more soap recipes? Try our honey and oat soap recipe
How did your bars come out? Comment below and let us know.
