These cold process soaps are scented with menthol crystals. They’re a natural product that can be used in a variety of projects including soap, scrubs, balms, and more. You only need a few crystals to add a minty scent and a cooling sensation on the skin.
Bramble Berry menthol crystals are created with a cold extraction method. Essentially, oil is extracted from mint leaves and then frozen. The resulting crystals can be melted with oil or alcohol and added to recipes at 0.5-2%.
This recipe uses 1% menthol crystals. It’s enough to give the bars a very light scent and a cooling sensation on sensitive areas of skin. You can increase or decrease the amount depending on your personal preference.
We left these bars uncolored and added poppy seeds for exfoliation. The 10% water discount helps the soap release from the mold faster. A discount does cause acceleration, but that works well for this simple design.
What You Need:
6 Cavity Silicone Circle Mold
16 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
0.2 oz. Menthol Crystals
2.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
4.8 oz. Distilled Water (10% water discount)
1 tsp. Poppy Seeds
Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
If you’ve never made cold process soap before, stop here. We highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on cold process soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including Pure Soapmaking.
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
ONE: Slowly and carefully add 2.3 ounces of lye to 4.8 ounces of distilled water. Gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set it aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.
TWO: Fully melt the entire bag of Lots of Lather until it’s completely clear. Shake the bag to mix all the oils. Measure 16 ounces of the Quick Mix into a heat-safe bowl. Add 0.2 ounces of menthol crystals. Stir the oils to help the menthol crystals melt – this may take a few minutes. Continue stirring until you no longer see any crystals.
NOTE: If the crystals aren’t dissolving, the oil may not be hot enough. They melt around 120° F and hotter. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat using 20 second bursts and continue to stir.
THREE: Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130° F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin to medium trace.
FOUR: Add 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds and use a whisk or spatula to fully mix them in.
FIVE: Place the mold on a cutting board for easy pickup. Pour the soap into each cavity. If the soap starts to get thick, use a whisk to stir and loosen up the batter. Tap the mold on the counter to get rid of bubbles. If you’d like, use a large spoon to smooth the top.
SIX: Allow the soap to harden in the mold for 1-3 days (depending on if you used sodium lactate or not). Unmold each soap and allow the soaps to cure for 4-6 weeks before use. Enjoy.
Menthol Crystal Cold Process Soap
Ingredients
- 6 Cavity Silicone Circle Mold
- 16 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
- 0.2 oz. Menthol Crystals
- 2.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
- 4.8 oz. Distilled Water 10% water discount
- 1 tsp. Poppy Seeds
Instructions
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
- Slowly and carefully add 2.3 ounces of lye to 4.8 ounces of distilled water. Gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set it aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.
- Fully melt the entire bag of Lots of Lather until it’s completely clear. Shake the bag to mix all the oils. Measure 16 ounces of the Quick Mix into a heat-safe bowl. Add 0.2 ounces of menthol crystals. Stir the oils to help the menthol crystals melt – this may take a few minutes. Continue stirring until you no longer see any crystals. NOTE: If the crystals aren’t dissolving, the oil may not be hot enough. They melt around 120° F and hotter. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat using 20 second bursts and continue to stir.
- Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130° F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin to medium trace.
- Add 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds and use a whisk or spatula to fully mix them in.
- Place the mold on a cutting board for easy pickup. Pour the soap into each cavity. If the soap starts to get thick, use a whisk to stir and loosen up the batter. Tap the mold on the counter to get rid of bubbles. If you’d like, use a large spoon to smooth the top.
- Allow the soap to harden in the mold for 1-3 days (depending on if you used sodium lactate or not). Unmold each soap and allow the soaps to cure for 4-6 weeks before use. Enjoy.
