Sahara Sunset Cold Process Soap Tutorial

Anne-Marie Faiola — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 20:32:12 +0000

Soap design inspiration can come from anywhere. From fragrances to color, places and people, inspiration can strike at any moment. This Sahara Sunset Cold Process was inspired by the iconic image of an African sunset. As the bright yellow sun sets over the landscape, the silhouettes of wildlife and flora come to life. The bright yellow sun is created with LCP (like cold process) melt and pour soap. LCP soap has little to no sweating, which makes it perfect for embeds.

Layers of red, orange and yellow cold process are then layered on top. This project is scented with a blend of Patchouli, Orange Peel Cybilla and Beau Brummel Cybilla Fragrance Oils, which results in a citrusy, spicy and complex scent. While this design looks complex, it is actually quite easy to achieve! This design relies on creating layers with medium to thick trace soap. The layers make it a great design choice for accelerating fragrance oils.

What You’ll Need:
Tall 12″ Silicone Loaf Mold
1.7 oz. Avocado Butter
3.4 oz. Canola Oil
8.5 oz. Coconut Oil
1.7 Coffee Butter
3.4 oz. Hazelnut Oil
6.8 oz. Olive Oil (Pomace)
8.5 oz. Palm Oil
4.8 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
11.2 oz. Distilled Water
.8 oz. Beau Brummel Cybilla Fragrance Oil
.6 oz. Patchouli Fragrance Oil
.5 oz. Orange Peel Cybilla Fragrance Oil
Black Oxide
Merlot Sparkle Mica
Fizzy Lemonade Colorant
Electric Bubblegum Colorant
Tangerine Wow! Colorant

Embed
Mini Round Silicone Column Mold
LCP White Melt and Pour Base
Shimmer Yellow Color Block

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embed

ONE: Chop and melt 6 oz. of the LCP White Melt and Pour Base in the microwave using 10-15 second bursts. Once melted, add shavings of the Shimmer Yellow Color Block and stir until you achieve a bright yellow color. Pour the soap into the mold and allow the soap to fully cool and harden.

TWO: Once hardened, remove from the mold. Cut the soap embed in half vertically. Then, trim off about 1/3 of the sphere to create a flat surface. You don’t have to cut the mold in half first if you don’t want to, but I found it was easier to cut a flat surface this way =). Set the embeds aside until you’re ready to make the cold process soap.

Make the Cold Process Soap

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon of the Black Oxide colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). In a separate container disperse 2 teaspoons Merlot Sparkle Mica, Fizzy Lemonade Colorant and Tangerine Wow! Colorant in 2 tablespoons oil. Lastly, disperse 1 teaspoon Electric Bubblegum Colorant into 1 tablespoon oil. Use a mini mixer to disperse any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: In a glass, fragrance safe container, blend together the Beau Brummel Cybilla Fragrance Oil, Patchouli Fragrance Oil and Orange Peel Cybilla Fragrance Oil. Set aside.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Combine the coconut oil, olive oil pomace, hazelnut oil, canola oil, palm oil, coffee butter and avocado butter (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until you reach a light trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 3 tsp. sodium lactate.

THREE: Once the soap has reached a light trace, add the fragrance blend to the entire batch and use a whisk to fully mix in.

FOUR: Split the soap into four containers. Each will hold about 300 mL. You will have about 1 cup left of soap in the large container. To the soap in the large container, add 1/2 tsp. of dispersed black oxide and use a whisk to mix in.

FIVE: To the remaining four containers holding 300 mL, add the dispersed colorants in the amounts below. Use a whisk to mix in the colorants completely.

Container A (dark red): 1 teaspoon dispersed Merlot Sparkle Mica + 1 teaspoon dispersed Tangerine Wow! Colorant + .5 teaspoon dispersed Electric Bubblegum Colorant + a few drops of dispersed Black Oxide
Container B (orange): 2.5 teaspoons dispersed Tangerine Wow! Colorant +.5 teaspoon dispersed Merlot Sparkle Mica
Container C (light orange): 2 teaspoons dispersed Tangerine Wow! Colorant
Container D (yellow): 3.5 teaspoons dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant + .5 teaspoon dispersed Tangerine Wow! Colorant

SIX: Pour the black soap into the mold, and tap down firmly on the counter to get rid of any bubbles. If your soap is still a very thin trace, stick blend for a few seconds to achieve a medium trace before pouring into the mold.

SEVEN: Place the melt and pour embeds in top of the black soap, slightly to the side of the mold. Press down very gently so the embed sticks, but is not submerged into the black soap.

EIGHT: Check the texture of the orange, red and yellow soap. You want quite a thick trace. If it is still thin, stick blend each color light to dark for several seconds until thick. Once it is a nice thick trace (the texture of pudding) spoon the deep red soap into the mold. Use a spoon to create slight peaks into the dark red soap, don’t worry about the layer being perfectly even and straight!

NINE: Use a spoon to plop the dark orange soap on top of the red soap down the entire length of the mold. Use the spoon to spread the orange soap evenly throughout the mold and then create very slight peaks into the layer.

TEN: Add the light orange soap on top of the dark orange layer down the entire length of the mold, and use the spoon to create slight texture. Don’t worry about the layer being straight and even!

ELEVEN: Finally, spoon the yellow soap onto the light orange soap down the entire length of the mold, Use the spoon to create a nice textured top. Don’t worry about making it perfect!

TWELVE: Once you’re happy with the texture on top, tap the mold firmly on the counter several times to get rid of any bubbles. Spray with 99% isopropyl alcohol to avoid any soda ash. Continue to spritz the top with alcohol every 15-20 minutes for the first hour. This helps form a barrier on top that prevents pesky soda ash! Allow the soap to sit in the mold for 3-4 days. Unmold, cut and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

Have you tried making “landscape” soap before? I have been trying to create a soap based on the Swiss Alps the past week…it’s a great challenge!