Doublemint & Lavender Cold Process Soap Recipe

This DoubleMint & Lavender Soap Loaf will awaken the senses and rejuvenate the body and mind.  The Lavender Essential Oil softens the minty power duo for a delicately balanced, stimulating blend. 

Ingredients:

• 730g (Half a pouch) Cold Process Soap Base Oils Pouch*

• 125g Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
• 288g Distilled Water (from your local supermarket)
• 3 tsp Sodium Lactate Plus

• 10g/ml Peppermint Arvensis Pure Essential Oil
• 10g/ml Spearmint Pure Essential Oil
• 10g/ml Lavender French Pure Essential Oil

• 1/2 to 1 tsp Dried Mint Leaves (from your local supermarket)
• 1 x Flexible Medium Loaf Mould

*Make another batch of soap with identical amounts of Sodium Hydroxide and water and other fragrances or essential oils with the remaining half of the oils pouch

Equipment:

• All your regular Cold Process Soap making equipment and Safety Gear including Goggles and Gloves
• 2 x Tablespoons
• Small Glass Beaker - to hold the Essential Oils (helpful, not essential)
• Isopropyl Alcohol & Spritz Bottle Set (optional – to prevent soda ash if you make a textured top)
  
  

Now to make the soap!

This is a beginner level Cold Process Soap Loaf Recipe – in fact half the work is done as you are using HALF the contents of our Cold Process Soap Kit Pre-Mixed Oils Pouch.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU MELT THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE POUCH, AND GIVE THE OILS A BIT OF A SWISH AROUND TO ENSURE YOU HAVE A GOOD BLEND.

The instructions below are edited down, as full instructions which MUST BE READ FOR SAFETY, are on these links:  see our Cold Process Soapmaking Instructions.  You can also watch Soap Queen's YouTube Series on Cold Process Soapmaking.
 

• With a blunt bread and butter knife, carefully remove the driplators from the Essential Oil Bottles.
• Pour both the Peppermint and Spearmint Essential Oils into the small glass beaker. We recommend adding 5ml Lavender Essential Oil to start, mix, and set aside while you prepare the lye water and oils. Have a small wafting sniff of the essential oil blend, and then decide whether to add any more Lavender Essential Oil.

• Wearing your safety gear, add the Sodium Lactate Plus to the cooled lye water and then combine with the warmed oils.

• Bring the soap to medium trace, a little thicker than usual.

• Add the dried mint leaves and give them a quick burst with the stick blender to mix through.

• Now it’s time for the Essential Oils. NOTE: As these volatile oils hit the warm soap, they will give off a BIG whoosh of the essential oil scents and it can be a bit overwhelming, so it’s a good idea to stand back until you have stirred them in a little.

• Stick blend the soap until it is at medium to heavy trace, a little like thick condensed milk, or light Greek yoghurt.

• Now pour or spoon the soap into the loaf mould.

• Time for a little texture on the top.

• We like our soap with an even spread of mint throughout, but you can of course texture the top with a fork, and then sprinkle some dried mint down one side of the surface.

• Now it’s time to put it to bed, and saponification will begin!  Place in a cardboard box to protect the textured top. If it’s cold in your soap zone, put a heat mat or a wheat pack under the mould.  We use an old sleeping bag doubled over to insulate and encourage gel.

• Keep an eye on the soap, and check for a hot gel phase - ours was very hot, if this is what your soap looks like after 30 minutes or more, whip off the A frame and insulation and allow it to come down from gel.
• Leave for at least 3 days before attempting to unmould.
• Pull the sides of the mould away from the soap to break the airlock and then invert the mould and the soap will begin to slip out. We like to leave this for another week before cutting it.

• Slice and then leave another 5 weeks to cure and dry out.  The longer you leave it to dry out, the harder the soap will be.

 Note:  You need to purchasee distilled water and dried mint from the supermarket.

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