Coco Rose Melt & Pour Soap Recipe

This geometric design soap has a Coconut Scrub Granule embedded centre for a wonderful, gentle exfoliation. It is coloured with natural Dusky Rose Mediterranean Clay and is scented with Cherry Blossom Fragrance.

Ingredients:

• 240g Clear Melt & Pour Soap Base
• 960g Cocoa Butter Melt & Pour Soap Base
•   10g Dusky Rose Mediterranean Clay
• 1 – 1½ teaspoons Coconut Shell Scrub Granules
• 25g/ml Sodium Lactate Plus (Approx 1½ tablespoons)
• 30g/ml Cherry Blossom Fragrance Oil
  
  
• Isopropyl Alcohol and Spritz Bottle
• Silicone Tall Loaf Mould 
• Flexible Column Embed Mould - Round*
  *The original recipe was made with a square embed mould, which is no longer available for sale. Alternatively, the square embed can be made using the base of the loaf mould poured 2cm deep and cutting a square strip from one side.

Equipment:

• 2 x 1 litre microwave safe jugs
• 1 x 500ml microwave jug
• Covering for the jugs betwen pours
• Spatula, spoon, stirring sticks
• 1 x small measure/cup to hydrate the clay
• Digital Scales
• Thermometer – really helpful, though optional
• Disposable Pipettes or a dropper
• 2 x Metal Skewers ** If using, these are not required if using soap props
  

The soap loaf is comprised of 5 layers with one embed = 1300g soap in total
  layers 2 and 4 are poured from the same “batch” of melted soap
and layers 1 and 5 from same “batch” of melted soap

Overview:

First Pour: Thin base layer: 120g Clear Melt & Pour Soap, Fragrance, Dusky Rose Clay
Second Pour: Thicker opaque layer: 220g Cocoa Butter Soap, Fragrance, Dusky Rose Clay
Third Pour: Uncoloured middle layer: 400g uncoloured Cocoa Butter Soap, Fragrance, and the embed with Coconut Scrub Granules in the center
Fourth Pour: Thicker opaque layer: 220g Cocoa Butter Soap, Fragrance, Dusky Rose Clay
Final Pour: Thin top layer: 120g Clear Melt & Pour Soap, Fragrance, Dusky Rose Clay

Prepare all the ingredients:

Dice all of the soap into 1 - 2cm cubes, keeping clear and cocoa butter separate.

In a small beaker, mix 10g Dusky Rose Clay with 4 teaspoons Sodium Lactate Plus – make sure there are no dry spots.

STEP ONE: Embed Column

• Place 120g Cocoa Butter Soap Base into a small microwave safe jug. Cover the jug with a piece of coardboard to reduce evaporation. Heat in short bursts, stirring regularly, until soap is just melted. Take care not to overheat (optimum temperature is around 50°C).
• Add 8g/ml Cherry Blossom Fragrance and 1 – 1½ teaspoons of Coconut Scrub Granules, stirring well to combine.
• Stand the embed mould upright in a jug to support it, and carefully pour the melted soap into the embed mould, filling to the top.
• Allow to set up.

STEP TWO

• Place 240g Clear Soap Base into a microwave safe jug. Cover the jug with a piece of coardboard to reduce evaporation. Heat in short bursts, stirring regularly, until soap is just melted. Take care not to overheat.
• Add 2 teaspoons of the liquid clay mixture and stir well to combine.
• Spritz the surface of the soap with isopropyl alcohol to remove any bubbles or spots.
• Add 8g/ml Cherry Blossom Fragrance and stir well to combine.
• Place the loaf mould onto the scales and tare the weight to “zero”.
• Pour 120g (half) of the melted soap mixture into the mould, forming an even base layer.
• Spritz the base layer with Isopropyl Alcohol and allow to set.
• Cover the jug with the second 120g melted soap and set aside in a warm spot until it's required for the final pour.

STEP THREE

• Place 440g Cocoa Butter Soap Base into a microwave safe jug. Cover the jug with a piece of coardboard to reduce evaporation. Heat in short bursts, stirring regularly, until soap is just melted. Take care not to overheat.
• Add 12g/ml Cherry Blossom Fragrance and the rest of the liquid clay mixture and stir well to combine.
• Return to the set up soap in the mould on the scales, and tare the weight to “zero” again.
• Spritz the surface of the soap with isopropyl alcohol to remove any bubbles or spots.
• Tare the scales to "zero" and pour 220g (half) of this soap into the mould, to form the second layer.
• Spritz the surface with Isopropyl Alcohol and allow to set.
• Cover the jug with the second 220g melted soap and set aside in a warm spot until it's required for the fourth pour.

STEP FOUR

• Remove the embed soap column from its mould, ready to embed.  If using "soap props" cut these and place them onto the second layer of soap. If using skewers place these in the soap. Sit the soap column into the mould.
• Place 400g Cocoa Butter Soap Base into a microwave safe jug. Cover the jug with a piece of coardboard to reduce evaporation. Heat in short bursts, stirring regularly, until soap is just melted. Take care not to overheat.
• Add 12g/ml Cherry Blossom Fragrance and stir well to combine.
• Return to the set up soap in the mould on the scales, and tare the weight to “zero” again.
• Spray the surface of the set soap and the embed column liberally with Isopropyl Alcohol.
• Pour all 400g of this soap into the mould, covering the embed, forming the center of the soap.
• Spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol and allow to set up.

STEP FIVE

• Place Jug 2 (with the remainder of the pastel coloured Cocoa Butter soap) into the microwave and re-heat in short bursts (cover the jug with a piece of card to avoid evaporation). Check and stir frequently until liquid. Don’t overheat or you’ll need to wait for it to cool again before pouring.
• Return to the set up 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 rest of this soap (220g) into the mould.
• Spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol and allow to set.

STEP SIX

• It's time for the final pour! Jug 1 will have fully set up by now, so re-heat in short bursts (cover the jug with a piece of card to avoid evaporation). Check and stir frequently until liquid. Don’t overheat or you’ll need to wait for it to cool again before pouring.
• Return to the set up 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 this final layer of dark pink soap into the mould, forming the final outer layer.
• Spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol and allow to set up for several hours.  If leaving overnight cover the mould to avoid any sweat forming on the top.
• Slice as usual.