Apricot, Fig and Clay Melt & Pour Soap Recipe

This Melt and Pour Soap project is one of our all-time favourites!  We love the gorgeous colours, scent and layering – a little texture, but not too much!  Only using natural clay as colourants, there is no bleeding or fading.  Autumn Fig Harvest Fragrance is lovely, and will only change colour to a pale beige if left long enough.

If you want to use a discolouring fragrance (instead of the Autumn Fig Harvest) include 35g/ml Vanilla Colour Stabiliser to combat this.

Ingredients:

• 1120g Clear Natural Melt and Pour Soap Base
•   560g Goatsmilk Natural Melt and Pour Soap Base
• 2 teaspoons Chocolate Mediterranean Clay
• ¾ teaspoon Caramel Mediterranean Clay
• 1 – 1½ teaspoons Apricot Scrub Granules
• Sodium Lactate Plus
• 35g/ml Autumn Fig Harvest Fragrance Oil (7g/ml per layer – I like this one strongly scented see graphic below to alter up or down)
  
  
• Isopropyl Alcohol and Spritz Bottle
• Flexible Mould - Loaf (Regular)

Equipment:

• 2 x 1 litre microwave safe jugs
• 1 x 500ml microwave jug
• Spatula, spoon, stirring sticks
• 2 x small measures/cups to hydrate the clay
• Digital Scales
• Thermometer - Really helpful, though optional
• Disposable Pipettes or a Dropper
• Crinkler Cutter - Optional

This layered soap consists of five pours of 280g each = 1400g soap in total:

Overview:

The soap loaf is comprised of 5 layers – Layer 2 and 4  are poured from the same “batches” of melted soap:

First Pour = Base layer:  Contains 280g Clear Soap coloured with Chocolate Clay and fragrance - this is half of the prepared melted soap)
Second Pour = second layer:  Contains 280g Goatsmilk Soap which is uncoloured, but withApricot Scrub Granules and fragranced (this is half of the prepared melted soap)
Third Pour = third layer:  Contains 280g Clear Soap coloured with Caramel Clay and fragrance (all of the prepared melted soap)
Fourth Pour = fourth layer:  Contains 280g Goatsmilk Soap which is uncoloured, but with Apricot Scrub Granules and fragranced (this is the remaining half of the prepared melted soap)
Final Pour = Top layer: This is the same as the first layer – contains 280g Clear Soap coloured with Chocolate Clay and fragrance(this is the remaining half of the prepared melted soap)

Prepare all the ingredients:

Dice all of the soap and then:

Jug 1:  Place 560g Clear Soap Base into one of the larger jugs
Jug 2:  Place 560g Goatsmilk Soap Base into the other large jug
Jug 3:  Place 280g of Clear Soap Base into the smaller jug
Cup 1: Mix the Chocolate Clay with 2 - 3 teaspoons Sodium Lactate Plus – make sure there are no dry spots
Cup 2: Mix the Caramel Clay with 1 teaspoon Sodium Lactate Plus – make sure there are no dry spots

STEP ONE

• Melt Jug 1 in short bursts in the microwave (I like to cover the jug with a piece of card to avoid evaporation).  Check frequently and stir.  Return to microwave until liquid
• Add the Chocolate Clay mixture and stir well to combine – spritz with alcohol to avoid any bubbles or spots
• Add 14g/ml Autumn Fig Fragrance and stir well to combine
• Place the mould onto the scales and tare the weight to “zero”
• Pour 280g of this soap into the mould, spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol
• Place the jug with a cover in a warm spot until required for the final pour
  
  

 STEP TWO

• Melt Jug 2 in short bursts in the microwave (I like to cover the jug with a piece of card to avoid evaporation).  Check frequently and stir.  Return to microwave until liquid
• Add the Apricot Scrub Granules and stir well to combine – spritz with alcohol to avoid any bubbles or spots
• Add 14g/ml Autumn Fig Fragrance and stir well to combine
• Pour this layer at 48°C – this enables the scrub granules to stay evenly suspended in the soap
• Return to the set up chocolate coloured soap in the mould on the scales and tare the weight to “zero” again
• Spray the surface of the set soap liberally with Isopropyl Alcohol
• Pour 280g of this soap into the mould, spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol
• Place the jug with a cover in a warm spot until required for the fourth pour
  
  

STEP THREE

• Melt Jug 3 in short bursts in the microwave (I like to cover the jug with a piece of card to avoid evaporation).  Check frequently and stir.  Return to microwave until liquid
• Add the Caramel Clay mixture and stir well to combine – spritz with alcohol to avoid any bubbles or spots
• Add 7g/ml Autumn Fig Fragrance and stir well to combine
• Return to the set up Goatsmilk layer soap in the mould on the scales and tare the weight to “zero” again
• Spray the surface of the set soap liberally with Isopropyl Alcohol
• Pour all of the 280g of this soap into the mould, spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol
  
  

STEP FOUR

• Check Jug 2 now – it has probably started to skin over and set up.  Re-melt in short bursts in the microwave   Check frequently and stir.  Return to microwave until liquid – don’t overheat or you’ll need to wait for it to cool to 48°C again before pouring
• Pour this layer at 48°C – this enables the scrub granules to stay evenly suspended in the soap
• Return to the set up caramel coloured soap in the mould on the scales and tare the weight to “zero” again
• Spray the surface of the set soap liberally with Isopropyl Alcohol
• Pour the 280g of this Goatsmilk soap into the mould, spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol

STEP FIVE

• Check Jug 1 now – it has also probably started to skin over and set up.  Re-melt in short bursts in the microwave   Check frequently and stir.  Return to microwave until liquid – don’t overheat or you’ll need to wait for it to cool again before pouring
• Return to the set up Goatsmilk layer of soap in the mould on the scales and tare the weight to “zero” again
• Spray the surface of the set soap liberally with Isopropyl Alcohol
• Pour the 280g of this final chocolate coloured soap into the mould, spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol
• Allow to set up for several hours.  If leaving overnight cover the mould to avoid any sweat forming on the top
• Slice as usual