Bath Bomb Recipe
• 8 ounces Baking Soda (1 cup)
• 4 ounces Citric Acid (1/2 cup)
• 4 ounces Epsom Salt (1/2 cup)
• 4 ounces Cornstarch (3/4 cup)
• 2 Tablespoons Oil of choice (I used Olive Oil – any liquid oil will work)
• 2 teaspoons of water (If not a good consistency you can add more water)
• 20-30 drops of essential oil of choice
Instructions: How to Make Bath Bombs
1. Combine dry ingredients (baking soda, Epsom salt, citric acid, and cornstarch) in a large
bowl and mix well until combined.
2. In a small bowl, combine the oil, water, and essential oil and stir well.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients a few drops at a time. Mix well with
hands (wear gloves if you have sensitive skin).
4. Mixture should hold together when squeezed without crumbling. You may need to add
more water if it hasn’t achieved this consistency yet.
5. Quickly push mixture into molds, greased muffin tins or any other greased container.
Press in firmly and leave at least 24 hours (48 is better) or until hardened. It will expand
some and this is normal. You can push it down into the mold several times while it is
drying to keep it from expanding too much. Using the metal molds will create a stronger
and more effective final bath bomb.
6. When dry, remove and store in airtight container or bag
Bath bombs are a great way to relax in the tub after a long day of dealing with kids, cooking, and
all the other activities that motherhood entails. If you’ve never tried them, I highly encourage it,
as it’s one of my favorite things to do at the end of the day.
Lip Balm
• 1 cup (225 g) shredded beeswax
• 14 oz (425 ml) coconut oil
• 5 tbsp. (100 g) honey
• 5 tbsp. (70 ml) pure vanilla extract
Heat the wax in a saucepan over low heat to 150 °F (66 °C). In a separate saucepan, heat the oil
to the same temperature. When both are heated to the proper temperature, add the coconut oil to
the beeswax, remove the pan from heat, and stir steadily until well blended. Then add the honey
and the vanilla extract and continue to stir until well blended. Pour into tubes or tubs, allow to
cool overnight, then cap the containers and store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.
Bath Salts
Ingredients:
• 3 cups Epsom salts
• 1 cup coarse sea salt
• 1 cup baking soda
• Essential Oil of choice 15-20 drops
Instructions: How to Make Bath Salts
Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the essential oils last.
Yields 7 4 oz. jars (2 uses per jar)
Lotion Sticks
Ingredients:
• 3 oz Beeswax
• 3 oz Coconut Oil
• 3 oz Shea Butter
• Essential Oil of choice 15-20 drops
Instructions: How to Make Lotion Sticks
Measure out each of the ingredients, placing the beeswax and coconut oil in the top of a double
boiler. Place the shea butter in a separate bowl.
Melt using a double boiler, gently heat the beeswax and coconut oil over low heat until melted.
Remove from heat and carefully add the shea butter. Stir the mixture until the shea butter is
thoroughly melted. If needed, gently heat the mixture for an additional minute or two in order to
provide enough heat for the shea butter to melt.
Pour the mixture into desired mold or twist up tube (I use deodorant tubes). They can be used as
soon as they cool to room temperature.
Rub the lotion bar onto your skin to apply.
Shampoo Bars
Ingredients:
• 10 oz Coconut Oil
• 10 oz Vegetable Shortening
• 10 oz Olive Oil
• 6 oz Castor Oil
• 12 oz Distilled Water
• 5 oz Lye
• Essential Oil of choice
Instructions: How to Make Shampoo Bars
Heat oils to 125 °F
Combine Lye and distilled water – let cool to 125 °F
Combine oils and lye water and stir by hand for 5 min.
Use a stick blender until it comes to trace.
Put into soap molds.
Let sit for a week before cutting to desired thickness.
Sugar Scrub Recipe
Sugar Scrub Ingredients:
• 2 cups sugar (white or brown sugar – preferably organic)
• ½ cup oil (olive oil and coconut oil work great)
• Optional: 10-15 drops of essential oil of your preference
• I added a few drops of Vitamin E Oil (can also add food coloring)
Sugar Scrub Instructions:
Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight jar.
Use 1 teaspoon as needed to wash any rough area. Scrub skin with the mixture and rinse well. It
will leave your skin feeling like silk.
Deodorant Stick Recipe
Ingredients:
• ¾ oz Beeswax
• 2 oz Coconut Oil
• ¾ oz Shea Butter
• 2 tbs Baking Soda
• 2 tbs Cornstarch
• 1/4c Arrowroot Powder
• Essential oil of choice (10-20 drops)
Instructions: How to Make Deodorant Sticks
Put beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter into a double boiler. Simmer on low until oils are
melted totally. Remove from water and add baking soda, cornstarch, and arrowroot. Add
essential oil of choice. Mix well. Pour into deodorant tubes. Let sit.
Yields 2
Beginning Soap Making Class
Joyce Durbin Miller
Huckleberry Hutch
Chemically speaking, soaps are water-soluble sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids. Soap is
created when fats and/or oils or their fatty acids are treated chemically with a strong alkali.
Fats and oils to be used in soapmaking can come from animal or plant sources. Each fat
or oil is composed of its own unique mixture of several different triglycerides.
Fatty acids are the components of fats and oils that can be utilized for soapmaking. They
are actually weak acids, chemically composed of two parts: A carboxylic acid group and a
hydrocarbon chain.
An alkali is a soluble salt of an alkali metal of sodium or potassium. Prior to the
commercial production of alkali, they were produced from the ashes of plants. Chemically, alkali
is a base (the opposite of an acid). The base reacts with and neutralizes any acid that it comes in
contact with. Alkalis used in soapmaking are sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as caustic
soda, and potassium hydroxide (KOH), also called caustic potash.
Saponification is the chemical reaction that occurs when fats, oils, and caustics are put
into contact with each there under controlled circumstances. The quality of your soap creations
will depend on the quality of your raw materials, your equipment, and your commitment to good
and careful work. Water – it is best to get water from a rainstorm, a soft-water well, or spring.
The softer the water the better the soap. If soft water isn’t available, you may use distilled or tap
water.
Instructions – Gather the following tools and equipment:
• A good quality (accurate) scale that measures in ounces and pounds up to at least two
pounds.
• One sturdy wide-mouth glass jar or beaker (easy to pour from), minimum two-quart
capacity.
• Two wooden spoons, slotted if possible, which should be reserved exclusively for
soapmaking.
• A one gallon (or larger) stainless-steel or enamel kettle. (Never use aluminum! It will
react with your soap mixture, ruining both the soap and kettle.)
• A two-cup plastic or glass measuring cup.
• One stainless-steel wire whisk, the smaller the better.
• Two photographic or lab-quality thermometer that you can depend on for accuracy. The
thermometers must measure between 80-110 °F. One will be used in the oils mixture and
one will be used in the alkaline (lye) solution.
• One pair of well-fitting rubber gloves.
• Safety glasses
• One plastic food-storage container with a lid, shoe-box size or a bit larger. (This will be
your mold.)
• One jar of vinegar. (This is only needed if you accidentally splash lye onto your skin. The
vinegar can be used as a wash to neutralize the lye.)
For best results, keep in mind the following:
• Choose a well-lighted work area with a sink and countertops. You may want to lay
newspaper on your counter for protection.
• Plan to make your first batch of soap during an uninterrupted time. Allow yourself
approximately 1-1.5 hours.
• Have all the necessary ingredients at your disposal.
• Throughout the soapmaking process, remember to handle lye with great care. Keep it out
of reach of children and pets. It is extremely caustic in dry or wet form and will burn
skin, blind eyes, remove paints and finishes, and redesign linoleum floors. It has little
effect on enamel, stainless-steel, glass, copper, plastic, rubber, or wood. It will play havoc
with everything else. In the event of skin contact, flush with cool running water and
douse with vinegar immediately. In the event of a spill, put your rubber gloves on and
mop the spill with towels or rags.
Step 1
Put on your rubber gloves. Weigh out 12 oz of lye (sodium hydroxide) into the two-cup plastic or
glass measuring container. Be certain to account for the weight of your measuring container.
Weigh 32 ounces (2 pounds) of cold water into the glass container.
Again, be certain to account for the weight of your container. Now it is time to mix the lye into
the glass container of cold water. Put on your safety glasses because the lye will heat the water
up and fumes will be released. It is also wise to cover your face as much as possible to avoid
inhaling the harsh and unpleasant fumes. (The fuming will only last for thirty seconds.)
Add the lye to the water while stirring with a wooden spoon. As soon as all the lye is dissolved
in the water, set it safely aside to cool.
Step 2
Weigh out 24 ounces of coconut oil and 38 ounces of vegetable shortening into the metal kettle.
Remember to account for the weight of your container. Melt these oils over a low heat, stirring
frequently. As soon as they have melted, remove them from the heat and add 24 ounces of olive
oil.
Step 3
Keep your gloves on. This step involves getting the temperature of the lye to a range of 95-98* F
while at the same time getting the kettle of oils within the same range. When both mixtures are
within this range, combine them. Achieving this stage will require your full and careful attention.
Use hot or cold-water baths to either raise or lower the temperatures of the mixtures. There is a
knack to doing this skillfully, and it comes only with practice. Now prepare your soap mold by
greasing its sides and bottom with shortening.
Step 4
This is the fun part! Wearing rubber gloves and safety glasses, slowly pour a steady stream of the
temperature-correct lye into the temperature-correct oils. Stir constantly in a relaxed circular
motion until all of the lye has been added. By bringing the lye and oils into contact with each
other, you are prompting a chemical reaction called saponification. Saponification is the creation
of soap!
Step 5
Continue to stir for approximately 10 minutes. Eventually you will notice a subtle change in the
quality of your mixture. It will become slightly thicker and will seem more homogenized and
creamier. These changes are very slight, but in time you will learn to recognize them. “Tracing”
occurs when the soap mixture becomes thick enough to trace a design on the soap surface with
dribbles of soap. At trace, you can safely add your fragrance or essential oils and dried grains or
botanicals.
Step 6
If grains, dried botanicals, or colorants are to be included in your soap, add them now. This is
best accomplished by separating approximately two cups of unscented soap mixture and quickly
whisking the dried goods into this small portion of soap until thoroughly mixed. Return this
mixture to the soap kettle and stir. Now is the time to stir in the scent oils – do not linger! If you
delay, you will have a kettle filled with soap that cooled too quickly. As soon as your oils have
been incorporated, it is time to fill your plastic mold (the shoe box-sized plastic container).
Step 7
Put the lid over the warm and beautiful soap mixture. Set it in an undisturbed, warm place and
cover well with many layers of blankets. (Wool seems to do the best job.) Allow the soap to sit
undisturbed for eighteen hours to complete the saponification process.
Step 8
Remove the blankets and lid. You should now have a beautiful block of soap – firm, fresh, and
fragrant. Allow it to sit uncovered for another 8-12 hours before removing it from the box. To
remove, simply turn the box upside down and allow the soap to fall onto a towel or a clean work
surface.
If you have followed directions carefully, and if your scale and thermometer are accurate, you
should have a beautiful batch of homemade soap.
If there are quality problems, you will notice a thin layer of oil on the top of your soap and a
crusty chalk-like layer on the bottom. This malady is known as separation. If the separation is
minor, you need only scrape off the top and bottom layers and discard them. The remaining soap
should be fine. If gross separation has occurred, you will find more than a film of oil on top of
your soap. It will look more like a pool of oil. In this case, you can be certain that your scale,
thermometer, or mathematical methods were in error. Unfortunately, if this occurs you will need
to discard the soap or use it for laundry purposes.
Recipe
• Oils -
o 24 ounces olive oil add after other fats are melted.
o 24 ounces coconut oil
o 38 ounces vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• Alkaline Solution –
o 12 ounces sodium hydroxide (lye)
o 32 ounces rain, spring, distilled, or tap water
• Essential Oil -
o 4 ounces Bitter Almond essential oil
• Filler -
o 8 ounces powder oatmeal (blenderized oats)
Books –
Soap Book – Simple Herbal Recipes by Sandy Maine
Interweave Press – ISBN 1-883010-14-4
The Natural Soap Book by Susan Miller Cavitch
Storey Publishing ISBN 0-88266-888-9
The Soapmaker’s Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch
Storey Publishing – ISBN 0-88266-965-6
www.storey.com
Soothing Soaps for Healthy Skin by Sandy Maine
Interweave Press – ISBN 1-883010-36-5
The Complete Soapmaker by Norma Coney
