This Silky Berry Cold Process soap was inspired by sweet and juicy berries. It’s made with Tussah silk fibers, which give cold process soap a silky lather and shiny appearance. The silk is dissolved directly in the hot lye solution, which is then emulsified in skin-loving oils. When working with hot lye water, be sure to wear safety goggles, gloves and long sleeves and pants. To learn more about safely dissolving silk fibers in lye, check out this blog post.
This project uses the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold. This sturdy mold produces tall bars of soap which allows for a dramatic drop swirl effect. To create the swirl, soap is poured into the mold at varying heights which allows the soap to swirl within the mold. Before using this mold, donβt forget to line it! Lining a mold can be a little tricky at first, but is easy once you get the hang of it. This blog post shows you how to line any mold, step by step.
What You’ll Need:
Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
3.8 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
1.1 oz. Castor Oil
7.6 oz. Coconut Oil
7.6 oz. Olive Oil
8.4 oz. Canola Oil
9.5 oz. Palm Oil
5.2 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
12.5 oz. Distilled Water
Tussah Silk Fiber
1.2 oz. Black Raspberry Vanilla Fragrance Oil
1 oz. Strawberry Fragrance Oil
.3 oz. Juniper Sage Fragrance Oil
Radiant Plum Colorant
Ultramarine Blue Pigment
Ultramarine Lavender Pigment
Green Chrome Oxide
Titanium Dioxide
Black Oxide
Optional: Sodium Lactate
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
Have you ever used silk in your cold process soap projects before? I love the shiny appearance it gives!
I imagine I can use silk peptide in soap which I have on hand, but I am not sure how to use it. What would you suggest? I was thinking about dissolving it in some water and adding at trace.
My other question is, how to substitute palm oil (I do not mind about hardness of soap becouse I will use sodium lactate anyway) to make the soap feel as similar to the skin as this one?
We haven’t worked with silk peptide so I’m not entirely sure. I would recommend a small test batch with it dissolved in water to see what you think.
Palm oil adds some great firmness to your soap, and there is no direct replacement for it. You can add certain oils and butters to help firm your soap up though. For instance, adding a hard butter, like cocoa butter up to 15%, can harden the bars. You can also add coconut oil or tallow up to 33%.
Read more about common oils and what properties they add to soap here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
This post on substituting oils has some great information too: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-substitute-oil-in-cold-process-recipes/
-Kelsey withh Bramble Berry
Thanks
Can liquid silk be used instead of the Tussah silk. Just trying to use ingredients that I have.
Absolutely! Liquid silk is already dissolved and ready to use. You can use it up to 5% in this recipe and add it to the soap when it’s at thin trace. π
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Liquid silk: https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Silk-P4097.aspx
Could this be made in the Tall 12″ Silicone Loaf Mold instead of the wood mold?
Hi Natalie!
It can! This recipe makes about 55 ounces of soap, and we recommend filling the Tall 12″ Silicone Loaf Mold with about 45 ounces of soap. So, you can have an extra mold nearby for the excess, or you can resize the recipe to 45 ounces. π
This post shows you how to resize cold process recipes: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-resize-cold-process-soap-recipes/
That blog post has screenshots with our old Lye Calculator, so it does look a bit different. However, the calculator still works the same!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Tall 12″ Silicone Loaf Mold: https://www.brambleberry.com/Tall-12-Silicone-Loaf-Mold-P6073.aspx
Thank you.
You’re welcome! π
Have you thought about putting your recipes with the % of each oil, butter ect. So it can be modified to a different amount?
Hi Omneya!
That is a great suggestion, thank you so much! We’ll definitely keep that in mind for future blog posts. You can also find the percentages using our Lye Calculator! To find those, plug the recipe amounts in and hit “Calculate.” It will show you the percentage of each oil. π
Using the Bramble Berry Lye Calculator: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/using-the-bramble-berry-lye-calculator-2/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
At first I was turned off by the scent because it was very “candy,” but now out of the mold it has mellowed and is a pleasant berry fragrance. I didn’t go through gel phase and even when subdued the color combination is lovely. One question – my corners crumbled a bit and I’m curious if that’s a result of the silk? Could possibly be a result of the sodium lactate but I just thought I would confirm the new variable first. I would imagine that a soap will only crumble more as it cures? Thanks, and thanks to your team for another wonderful tutorial!
Hi Kate!
You’re very welcome, so glad you like the blend! They do definitely smell different out of bottle than they do in soap. Also, so glad to hear your colors look great. π
I don’t believe silk can cause the soap to crumble, it typically just adds a nice silky feeling. Soap can crumble for several reasons, including a bit too much sodium lactate. It can also be lye heavy. I would recommend checking the pH level of your soap just to be sure! You can find out how to do that here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/test-ph-red-cabbage/
If the pH level is around 9-10, it’s just fine to use. If it’s higher than that, you can still use it as laundry soap: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/home-crafts/three-diy-laundry-soap-recipes/
Can you tell me how much sodium lactate you added? Also, how long did you let the soap sit before cutting? If it sits awhile, it can be a bit hard to cut and crumble at the sides. Let me know and we’ll get this figured out. π
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi
When I found out how Tussah Silk was created. (the silkworms are baked, dried, or boiled in the process of harvesting their silk) I stopped using it. I substitute bamboo silk. Its not as luxurious as the Tussah but it does create a shinier bar.
If your interested in learning more about Tussah Silk and how its manufactured, you can find some interesting reading here
http://www.wormspit.com/peacesilk.htm
Thanks
Deb
Hi Deborah!
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment!
The Tussah silk at BrambleBerry.com is cruelty free. That means the fibers are collected from the cocoons after the silk worms have left them. You can read more about our Tussah silk here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-liquid-silk-tussah-silk-fibers/
Bamboo silk sounds like a great alternative for those who prefer not to use silk in their products. Thank you for sharing that information. π
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hey, I just noticed that the Ultramarine Lavender Oxide isn’t listed in the ingredients list but is used in the video. Just FYI! π
Hi Robin!
Thanks so much for catching that! Sorry for any confusion. We’ll update the ingredient list on this post. π
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
This is so gorgeous!!! And it’s one of those scents you can’t stop smelling and wondering what it is! Those are my favorite types of soaps. You sniff it and it just drives you crazy trying to figure out what it is. So you keep smelling it over and over!!! And holds very well in Cold Process! Great scent and color combination!
So glad you like the soap Kristie! Also, I love those scents as well. It’s fun to try and pick out the different notes. π
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry