Color contrast can really make your soap stand out. It makes each color in the soap pop, and creates a dramatic effect. You can also add different exfoliants to your soap for interest and texture. This Currant and Cranberry Cold Process Soap is a perfect study in color contrast.
Merlot Sparkle Mica is used to create a lovely burgundy color, and poppy seeds add a pop of black to the white soap. The poppy seeds also help exfoliate dry winter skin. The soap is scented with a fruity blend of Pomegranate and Black Currant Fragrance Oil and Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil. The color and fragrance combinations are festive without being too Christmas-y, making these bars perfect for a New Year’s Eve gift or a last-minute Christmas gift. Just put a “use by” date if making this soap for Christmas, as it needs a 4 to 6 week cure time. =)
What You’ll Need:
Vertical Wood Mold
2.2 oz. Cocoa Butter
10.8 oz. Coconut Oil
15 oz. Olive Oil Pomace
8.6 oz. Palm Oil
6.5 oz. Rice Bran Oil
6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
14.2 oz. Distilled Water
Titanium Dioxide
Merlot Sparkle Mica
Poppy Seeds
1.5 oz. Pomegranate and Black Currant Fragrance Oil
0.7 oz. Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil
Click here 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! I 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 my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and 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.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Add 1.5 oz. Pomegranate and Black Currant Fragrance Oil and .7 oz. Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil in a fragrance safe, glass container. Stir gently and set aside until ready to use.
COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in a separate container, add 2 teaspoons of Merlot Sparkle Mica into 2 tablespoons of a lightweight oil.
ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
TWO: Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil pomace, rice bran oil, cocoa butter and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. 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 about 3 teaspoons sodium lactate.
THREE: Once the batter has reached a thin trace, split the batch in half. Each container should have about 4 cups. To one container, add all of the dispersed Merlot Sparkle Mica, and to the other add all the dispersed Titanium Dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in each colorant.
FOUR: To the white container of soap, add 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds and use a whisk to mix in.
FIVE: Add half of the fragrance oil into each container, it’s okay to eyeball it! Then use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the fragrance blend.
SIX: Time to pour into the mold! If your soap batter is still very thin, whisk until it reaches a medium trace. This helps the colors stay separate from each other. Once the batter is a medium trace, slowly and carefully pour each color of soap into either sides of the divider. It’s best to pour at the same time to help either side fill equally, which prevents the center divider from moving. But, if your containers are too heavy to pour one handed, alternate pouring a small amount into each side.
SEVEN: Continue pouring until each side of the mold is completely full. Remove the center pin.
EIGHT: Slowly and carefully begin to pull the center divider up and out of the mold while turning 180 ° F (see photo below).
NINE: Firmly tamp the mold on the counter to help the soap settle and get rid of bubbles. Spray the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash and cover for 24 hours. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 3-4 days. Then unmold, cut and allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!
What’s your favorite exfoliant for cold process soap? I love how cute poppy seeds look. =)
Currant & Cranberry Cold Process Tutorial
Ingredients
- Vertical Wood Mold
- 2.2 oz. Cocoa Butter
- 10.8 oz. Coconut Oil
- 15 oz. Olive Oil Pomace
- 8.6 oz. Palm Oil
- 6.5 oz. Rice Bran Oil
- 6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
- 14.2 oz. Distilled Water
- Titanium Dioxide
- Merlot Sparkle Mica
- Poppy Seeds
- 1.5 oz. Pomegranate and Black Currant Fragrance Oil
- .7 oz. Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil
Instructions
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and 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.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Add 1.5 oz. Pomegranate and Black Currant Fragrance Oil and .7 oz. Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil in a fragrance safe, glass container. Stir gently and set aside until ready to use.
COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in a separate container, add 2 teaspoons of Merlot Sparkle Mica into 2 tablespoons of a lightweight oil.
- Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
- Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil pomace, rice bran oil, cocoa butter and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. 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 about 3 teaspoons sodium lactate.
- Once the batter has reached a thin trace, split the batch in half. Each container should have about 4 cups. To one container, add all of the dispersed Merlot Sparkle Mica, and to the other add all the dispersed Titanium Dioxide. Use a whisk to mix in each colorant.
- To the white container of soap, add 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds and use a whisk to mix in.
- Add half of the fragrance oil into each container, it’s okay to eyeball it! Then use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the fragrance blend.
- Time to pour into the mold! If your soap batter is still very thin, whisk until it reaches a medium trace. This helps the colors stay separate from each other. Once the batter is a medium trace, slowly and carefully pour each color of soap into either sides of the divider. It’s best to pour at the same time to help either side fill equally, which prevents the center divider from moving. But, if your containers are too heavy to pour one handed, alternate pouring a small amount into each side.
- Continue pouring until each side of the mold is completely full. Remove the center pin.
- Slowly and carefully begin to pull the center divider up and out of the mold while turning 180 ° F.
- Firmly tamp the mold on the counter to help the soap settle and get rid of bubbles. Spray the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash and cover for 24 hours. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 3-4 days. Then unmold, cut and allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!
