Making handmade soap can be a fun and rewarding hobby. The process of soap making allows you to create customised bars that are gentle on the skin and free from harsh chemicals. A distinctive soap recipe to experiment with is pink grapefruit soap.
For this particular soap recipe, we have incorporated a mixture of grapefruit essential oil, black pepper essential oil, and bergamot essential oil. This blend produces a delightful citrus fragrance with subtle spicy notes.
Not only does this soap possess a delightful scent, but the addition of grapefruit juice also enhances its rejuvenating properties.
In this guide, we will walk you through the process of making your own soap at home with a range of natural ingredients. So let's get started!
Why use grapefruit juice in soap?
Grapefruit juice has a subtle aroma that adds to the pink grapefruit essential oil. The grapefruit essential oil and juice have a refreshing, zesty citrus fragrance. Its natural and uplifting aroma can help to awaken the senses.
Grapefruit juice is rich in vitamin C, which is known for its skin-brightening and rejuvenating properties. Vitamin C can also help to protect the skin and improve hydration.
The natural acids present in grapefruit juice can act as a gentle exfoliant. They help to remove dead skin cells and improve skin texture.
Let's have a go at our pink grapefruit soap recipe...
Makes 9-10 bars of soap
Ingredients:
- Coconut Oil 200g
- Olive Oil 400g
- Castor Oil 40g
- Cocoa Butter 144g
- Yellow Beeswax 16g
- Grapefruit Juice 60g
- Water 180g
- Sodium Hydroxide/ Lye 110.57g
- Fantasia Pink Mica Powder 13g
- Orange Burst Mica Powder 2g
- Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil 9g
- Bergamot Essential Oil 8g
- Black Pepper Essential Oil 7g
Equipment:
To make our pink grapefruit soap recipe, you will need:
- Gloves
- Goggles
- Digital scales
- Digital thermometer
- Stick blender
- Soap mould or DIY alternative (view our range of silicone soap moulds)
- Silicone spatula
- Microwave safe bowl
- Plastic measuring cup, ideally 2x 1L and 1x 2L
Method:
1. Mix the sodium hydroxide solution
- Put your gloves and goggles on.
- Open the window, the fumes will be unpleasant.
- Weigh the water.
- Weigh the sodium hydroxide.
- Add the sodium hydroxide to the water, not the other way around.
- Mix well until combined.
- Leave to cool down, it will be hot.
2. Weigh and heat the oils
- Weigh the coconut oil, olive oil pomace, castor oil, cocoa butter and beeswax into a heatproof bowl.
- Heat gently above a pan of boiling water, or using short bursts in the microwave.
- Stir regularly until completely melted.
- Once melted, leave to cool.
- In a separate jug, weigh the bergamot essential oil, black pepper essential oil and pink grapefruit essential oil and combine.
3. Weigh the grapefruit juice
- Cut a grapefruit into two pieces.
- Squeeze the juice into a container.
- Measure the grapefruit juice until it reaches the correct amount.
4. Weigh the essential oils and mica powder
- If you don’t want to create layers, mix all of the essential oils and the fantasia pink mica powder in a bowl.
- To create the layered effect, mix a quarter of the essential oils with the orange mica powder.
- Then, in a separate jug, mix the remaining oils with the fantasia pink mica powder.
3. Test the temperatures
- Test the temperature of the lye solution. It should be between 25C and 40C.
- Leave it to cool if necessary, but don't reheat it if it's too cool.
- Test the temperature of the melted oils. They should be between 35C and 40C.
- Leave it to cool or reheat if necessary.
- Add the grapefruit juice to the oils.
- Then add the sodium hydroxide solution to the oil mixture.
4. Blend until trace
- Mix with the stick blender and blend with short bursts.
- Watch for the mixture starting to thicken.
- Test for trace by dripping soap batter on the surface of the mixture. If the drips sit on the surface then your mixture has reached trace.
5. Split the soap batter to create layers
- If you don't want to create layers, just add the fantasia pink mixture to your soap batter and mix it in. Then pour it into your mould and move on to the next step.
- To create a layered effect, pour less than a quarter of your soap batter into a separate jug.
- Add the fantasia pink mixture to your main batch of soap batter.
- Blend until combined until thick trace.
- Pour it into your silicone soap mold.
- Add the orange burst mixture to the remaining batter.
- Pour the orange mixture to the top to create a layered effect.
6. Decorate
- Use a spoon or spatula to create top decoration.
- Tap the mould to get rid of air bubbles.
- Leave on a flat surface for 48 hours before unmoulding.
7. Leave to cure
- Unmould your soap.
- Place bars with space in between.
- Leave to cure for 4-6 weeks.
Continue reading
Now you've tried making pink grapefruit soap, why not continue learning?
- Interested in making soap with shea butter? Try our easy shea butter cold process soap recipe!
- Do you love coconut oil? Try our coconut body oil recipe!
- Want to try soap making with less ingredients? Our olive oil hot process soap recipe uses just olive oil, lye and water!
How did your pink grapefruit soap come out? Comment below and let us know!
