Rose Geranium and Cedar Soap Recipe
Natural vegan soap made with a blend of rose geranium and cedar essential oils and decorated with rose petals. Technical information: 1lb / 454g batch -- 5% superfat -- 35.7% lye solution
Servings 6 bars
Cost 15
Equipment
- square silicone mold (1 lb) I've used a take-out container lined in parchment paper.
Ingredients
Lye water
- 64 g sodium hydroxide 2.27 oz
- 115 g distilled water 4.06 oz
Solid oils
- 146 g coconut oil (refined) 5.15 oz
- 52 g shea butter (refined) 1.83 oz
Liquid oils
- 123 g olive oil (light colored or pomace) 4.34 oz (light colored olive oil)
- 51 g sunflower oil 1.8 oz
- 45 g sweet almond oil 1.59 oz
- 37 g castor oil 1.31 oz
- 1/4 tsp Ultramarine pink (mineral pigment) (optional)
Add after Trace
- 9 g rose geranium essential oil 2 tsp
- 4 g cedarwood essential oil 1 tsp / Optional
To decorate
- dried peppermint leaves crumbled
- dried rose petals
- witch hazel in a spray bottle
Instructions
- Cold-process soapmaking is chemistry, and this recipe uses lye. Lye is a caustic substance that is completely neutralized in the soapmaking process, but it can be harmful if not handled correctly. Please read this soap making safety guidance before proceeding.
- Pre-mix the Ultramarine pink powder in about a Tablespoon of the olive oil. Prepare your soap mold(s) now too. The one I'm using is a clean take-out container lined with two strips of baking paper. One laid lengthwise, and the other one across. Leaving overlapping paper will help you get the soap out when it's ready.
- Next, dissolve the lye (Sodium hydroxide) crystals in water. Gear up with eye protection, gloves, and wear a long sleeved top. In an airy place, outdoors is best, pour the lye crystals into the water and stir well. There will be a lot of heat and steam so be careful. Try not to breath it in. Leave outside in a safe place, or in a shallow basin of water to cool.
- Melt the solid oils in a stainless steel pan on very low heat. When melted, remove from the heat and set on a pot holder. Pour in the liquid oils including the colored oil.
- Measure the temperatures of the lye-water and the oils. You should aim to cool them both to be about 120°F / 49°C.
- Pour the lye-solution into the pan of oils. I tend to always pour the liquid through a sieve to catch any potential undissolved lye or bits.
- Dip your immersion blender into the pan and with it turned off, stir the mixture. Next, bring it to the center of the pan and with both your hands, hold it on the bottom of the pan and blitz it for just a couple seconds. Turn it off and stir the soap batter, using the blender as a spoon. Repeat until the mixture thickens up to 'Trace'. This is when the batter leaves a distinguishable trail on the surface. The consistency will be like thin custard.
- With your spatula, stir in the essential oils. Working quickly, pour the soap into the mold(s). Sprinkle the top with just the smallest amount of dried peppermint. Don't put the rose petals on yet since they may turn brown at this time.
- Turn your oven on to very low and heat for just a minute or two until it's 100°F / 38°C. Then turn your oven off, and pop your soap mold(s) inside. Leave overnight. Oven-processing the soap like this intensifies the color.
- The next day, take the soap out of the oven and set someplace to rest for another day. Once 48 hours have passed, you can take the soap out of the mold(s). Cure it for 28 days. Curing means leaving the bars spaced out on a protected surface out of direct sunlight and in an airy place. This allows the extra water content to fully evaporate out.
- Rose petals have a tendency to turn brown if you sprinkle them on freshly made soap. So will the peppermint leaves but we're going for that effect. Peppermint leaves will also bleed into the soap the same way as you'll have seen in the herbal soap recipe in this series.
- For the rose petal decoration you should wait until after the bars are fully cured. At this time, spray the tops of the bars liberally with witch hazel. Sprinkle the whole dried rose petals on top and then spray it all again. When the witch hazel evaporates off, the rose petals will be left stuck to the soap. It takes about 12 hours for it to dry.
- Once made, your soap will have a shelf-life of up to two years. Check the oil bottles that you're using though -- the closest best-by date is the best-by date of your soap.
Notes
If you'd like to make a pure rose geranium-scented soap, leave out the cedar wood essential oil.
Lastly, are you a beginner soapmaker looking for more guidance on how to make handmade soap? Enroll in the Natural Soapmaking for Beginners Online Course to get up to speed quickly. You'll learn all about soap ingredients and equipment and be guided through step-by-step soap recipe videos. Learn more