Enthusiastic feedback flew in after posting this tutorial in the Bramble Berry Newsletter we just knew we had to share it with the Soap Queen Readers too! We are loving the possibilities with this new vertical mold! PS – Do you get our newsletter? It comes out monthly and has specials for newsletter subscribers only along with a recipe or technique that newsletter readers see before anyone else! Sign up on the Bramble Berry Home page.
Ingredients
15.4 oz Olive Oil
13.2 oz Coconut Oil
11 oz Palm Oil
4.4 oz Palm Kernel Flakes
6.57 oz Lye
14.52 oz Water
4 ounces of Herb infused Sweet Almond Oil
(we used Alkanet and Annatto seeds)
2 oz Orange Peel Cybilla Fragrance Oil
1 oz Amber Fragrance Oil
Buy everything you need with the click of a button! (I’m leaving the herb infusion up to you so add the herbs to your cart on your own.)
prep: Line your mold and make your fragrance/essential oil blend ahead of time. I blended 2 ounces of Orange Peel Cybilla with 1 ounce of Amber Fragrance Oil and1 ounce of Black Tea Fragrance Oil. The combo is clean, fresh and sophisticated. Usage rate for the entire batch is approximately 3 ounces of the fragrance blend so you will have just a tinch left over at the end.
ONE: Weigh out all of your oils. Melt the Palm, Coconut and Palm Kernel Flakes and add the Olive Oil. Set this aside. Assemble your mold with all of the liners and center divider.
TWO: Wearing full safety gear and following basic CP principles (unsure about CP soap? Watch the FREE SoapQueen.TV tutorials on CP soap here), weigh out your water and Lye. Add the lye slowly, slowly, slowly to the water, stirring the entire time, taking pains NOT to breathe in the fumes. Work only in a well-ventilated area. If you are ultra sensitive, wear a mask.
THREE: Slowly add the Lye mixture to the oils and use your stick blender to achieve a light trace.
FOUR: Pour half of the mixture into a separate container.
FIVE: Add the Annatto infused oil to one of the containers and mix in well. I used about 1 ounce of colorant infusion but you might use more or less depending on the color you are trying to achieve. Blend in well.
TIP: Other great herbs to use as natural colorants are Maddar Root, Kelp Powder, Paprika, Safflower Powder and Spirulina Powder.
SIX: Add half of the fragrance blend (mix well) and pour into one side of the mold.
SEVEN: Add the Alkanet infused oil (or whatever colorant you’d like) to the other batch of soap and mix in well. Add the rest of the fragrance blend, mixing well and pour into the second side of the mold.
EIGHT: Remove center divider. Insulate mold if needed, and set aside for 2-4 days.
NINE: To remove from the mold be sure to slide or twirl the side liners off of the soap log so you don’t tear your soap. It might help to set the mold up sideways on the side of the table so you can really push down on the divider to loosen it. If you pull on the sides of the dividers, they tend to tear the soap so slide, slide, slide.
Love this idea. I am going to try something like this using my log mold and a piece of cardboard running down the centre. It should be slightly different but somewhat similiar.
Hi Anne-Marie! Your website is always a great inspiration and your soaps always look super fantastic. I have a question on using herb powders in melt and pour soaps though. I tried making soap using pink rose powder but when I heated it in the microwave with the soap base, it became a yellowish-green shade. I’m wondering if the heat does that or maybe that’s just how it is with herbs. 🙁
Hi Masami! Thanks for the kudos =)
What specific colorant are you using and did you get it from us? I’m unfamiliar with Pink Rose Powder. If we can get some more information I’m sure we can help you!
Courtney from Bramble Berry
I did not get the formuler for the tutoriar and the recipe but ilove the out come of this they are lovely.
If you’re new to Cold Process Soap, definitely stop and go back and review some of the basic safety things about making cold process soap before you start soaping: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AADF6209996265D2
Thank you Anne-Marie another grand tutorial! May I ask what temps the oils and lye were just before the mix?
This soap is so lovely in color and design. I’ll certainly be trying the fo combo one day!
That’s a great question! I usually keep them around 120-130ish when I’m soaping in the winter because I have more trouble with gel phase in the winter (and I like my soaps to go through gel phase because I feel like the colors pop more). Summer, I lower to about 110ish.
That fragrance combo sounds really really nice!
I’m a sucker for anything with orange, but orange and tea and amber…..I’m going to have to try that!
The soap looks simply beautiful.
Thank you! Yes, the fragrance combo is delightful. It’s not too sweet at all because of the Black Tea and Amber but if you’re not a fan of musky, darker notes, the orange really brings out a touch of sweetness too. I really like it. =)
I am so excited to see another blog tutorial on this! I cannot wait to get this mold. All the ideas to try with it are just whirling in my hear! Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks Heather! The mold is really fun because it gives a new way to get unique and innovative designs out of a plain soap log. Plus with the built in divider, it’s really easy to get dual colors. I have another two tutorials (swirling and a partial geometric bar) in my head that I can’t wait to show you but it might have to wait until after the baby comes!
What fun! I love the soap recipe and pictures as always. But I super love the new blog layout. Very cool and happy! Congrats!
Thanks dM. We had a lot of fun designing it and thinking of ways to make it more useful. After all, four years of tutorials and we didn’t want them to go to waste! =)
I really like the divide mold idea, but have you thought of making one in a loaf style? I would think you would be able to get a much more uniform swirl with that type of mold.
Definitely – we have 4 or 6 loaf style molds here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Wood-Molds-C145.aspx They are a tried-n-true way to get a great bar of soap that easily swirls. The vertical is just another fun way to make soap with a slightly different twist on layering =)
I am sorry I don’t think I made myself clear enough, I already have the 18 bar mold but I was thinking of a mold like the 10 lb loaf but with a divider down the middle that can be removed just like the vertical.
That would inable me to make layered 2 tone bars.I love the look of the 2 tone soap and I make 10 lb pours already so that would be the perfect mold for me.
LOL! That is hilarious. I totally mis-understood. My bad.
Okay, so a mold with a divider down the middle sounds genius! I love that idea.
Let me see what I can do with our current vendor on that. It might end up being a more pricey mold because of the plastic liner but you never know. It is a fun idea.