Creating custom oil combinations is one of my favorite aspects of creating cold process soap. Each soapmaking oil contributes something a little bit different to the recipe. For example, palm oil makes a firmer bar of soap, while coconut oil creates a more cleansing bar. It can take a little trial and error to find the perfect recipe for you. After years of soaping, I have developed a few go-to recipes that produce consistent results.
These go-to recipes were the inspiration for Bramble Berry’s Quick Mixes. The Quick Mixes are pre-measured cold process oils that you can heat up, measure and use! They save time because you don’t have to weigh and blend oils, and they work great for both cold and hot process recipes. There are three different varieties of Quick Mixes, each designed to produce a slightly different bar of soap. Read more about each kind of Quick Mix below.
Basic Quick Mix: Produces a fantastic “basic” bar of soap. Produces stable, medium sized bubbles and rinses away cleanly in the shower. This recipe does best at 10% superfat or below.
Botanical Name: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Elaeis guineensis (Palm) Oil, Canola Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Tocepherol (Vitamin E)
Basic Quick Mix Recipe:
30% Coconut Oil
30% Palm Oil
20% Canola Oil
19.9% Olive Oil
.1% Vitamin E Oil
Swirl Recipe Quick Mix: Produces soap batter that reaches trace slowly, making it a great option for complicated swirl designs. This recipe makes a bar with a creamy and stable lather. This recipe does best at 7% superfat or below.
Botanical Name: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Elaeis guineensis (Palm) Oil, Brassica Napus (Canola) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Sweet almond oil (Prunus amygdalus dulcis), Ricinus communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Tocepherol (Vitamin E)
Swirl Quick Mix Recipe:
25% Coconut Oil
25% Palm Oil
25% Canola Oil
15% Olive Oil
6.9% Sweet Almond Oil
3% Castor Oil
0.1% Vitamin E Oil
Lots of Lather Quick Mix: Produces an extremely hard bar of soap with large, stable bubbles. The bar of soap rinses away cleanly in the shower.
Botanical Name: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Elaeis guineensis (Palm) Oil, Brassica Napus (Canola) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Ricinus communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E) Oil
Lots of Lather Quick Mix Recipe:
33% Coconut Oil
33% Palm Oil
16% Canola Oil
14.9% Olive Oil
3% Castor Oil
0.1 % Vitamin E Oil
Each Quick Mix recipe comes in a heat resistant plastic pouch to make it easy to completely melt down the oils in order to pour and measure. The bags can be melted in the microwave, or placed in a pot of boiling water. Click here to learn how to boil the heat resistant pouches. Because all the recipes contain palm oil, it’s important to melt down the entire container of Quick Mix. Palm oil contains stearic acid, which can sink and solidify if the mixture is too cool. Then, give it a good shake to mix all the oils together. If the entire mixture is not melted and thoroughly combined, you may end up with an incorrect proportion of oils. This could cause the soap to not set up properly or behave quite right.
To easily calculate how much lye and water you need, you can use the Bramble Lye Calculator and enter how many ounces of each mix in the corresponding box, select the superfat you prefer and press “Calculate.” If necessary, resize the batch according to how much soap you need. You can also find a Quick Mix Calculator on each Quick Mix product page, along with lye and water amounts for popular Bramble Berry molds.
If you’d like to further customize a Quick Mix with additional oils or butters, you certainly can! Just keep in mind that by doing so, you may lose some of the properties of the original recipe. Additional oils and butters may result in reduced lather or a shorter shelf life. One option is to select a 0% superfat in the Lye Calculator, and add your extra oils and butters as a superfat. Click here to learn more about superfatting your soap recipe. You can also enter the amount of oils of Quick Mix into the calculator, and then enter additional oils in ounces or percentages. Once you purchase a mix, you will also receive the exact recipe for each mix in your Bramble Berry account so you can tweak it on the Lye Calculator.
Looking for some Quick Mix projects? The Leopard Spots Cold Process Tutorial is made with the Basic Quick Mix to create layers which resemble a leopard print once cut into bars. This mix is also used in the Red Apple Cold Process Soap, and the Waves of the Seas Cold Process Soap. As you can see, this mix is great for a wide variety of techniques.
Top to bottom, clockwise: Red Apple Cold Process Soap, Leopard Spots Tutorial, Waves of the Sea Cold Process Soap
The Blue Rain Drop Swirl Cold Process tutorial uses the Swirl Quick Mix to give you plenty of time to swirl. This mix is also great for other swirl techniques, like the butterfly swirl! Check out the Monarch Butterfly Swirl Cold Process tutorial to learn more.
The Blue Rain Drop Swirl Cold Process Soap uses the Swirl Quick Mix to give you plenty of time to create a beautiful drop swirl.
If you’re not concerned with creating swirls, the Lots of Lather Quick Mix is a great option. In the Spiced Copper Cold Process Soap Tutorial, the Lots of Lather Quick Mix gives the bars a rich and stable lather. This mix also works great for the design, which requires a slightly thicker trace to create five layers accented by mica lines. The Cherry Blossom Glitter Cold Process is also created using this mix along with leftover soap shavings for a colorful confetti appearance.
The Spiced Copper Cold Process Soap is made with the Lots of Lather Quick Mix to create a stable lather.
Have you used a Quick Mix before? I would love to hear what your thoughts are! If you prefer to create your own recipe, check out the Formulating Cold Process Soap Recipes blog post for tips and tricks.
Can you tell me the exact breakdown of all ingredients of the quick swirl for the coffee recipe? I have the individual ingredients I would like to do myself and not use the premix bag? Can you tell me in oz’s?
Thank you
Yes, those are:
Swirl Quick Mix Recipe:
25% Coconut Oil
25% Palm Oil
25% Canola Oil
15% Olive Oil
6.9% Sweet Almond Oil
3% Castor Oil
0.1% Vitamin E Oil
The ounces depend on what mold you’re using. How much does your mold hold by weight?
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’m using grams….I’m using a 5% superfat. 900 grams of Swirl mix with 14 grams of Shea butter and 14 grams of Cocoa butter added. I’ve plugged this into the lye calc. Does it take my additions into factoring? will this be a ‘hard’ bar of soap?
Yes, plugging those in will figure out the lye and water you need for the cocoa and shea butter. The butters will add firmness, but overall the soap will be softer because it’s formulated to give you time to work with your design. If you prefer a harder bar, I’d recommend the Basic or Lots of Lather Quick Mix.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
I would like to make the swirl quick mix. The lye calculator does not list vitamin e oil. Would this make a difference in the amount of lye and water needed? Also, can you provide the oils in ounces? Thanks!
Vitamin E oil is considered an additive so you don’t need to calculate it into your recipe. You can add 1% right to your oils once they’re measured: https://www.brambleberry.com/Vitamin-E-Oil-P3200.aspx
As for the ounces, you can find those using our Lye Calculator. The size of your batch depends on how much your mold holds. If your mold holds 32 ounces, that’s the size of your batch. Then, you can enter the percentages and the oil weight. The oil weight takes a bit of guesswork to find. To do so, select “Percentage” from the calculator. It will ask you to enter the oil weight. That’s when you guess. For 32 ounces, I would first guess 25 ounces. Then, enter the percentage of your oils and calculate. The 25 ounces of oils gives me 37.5 ounces of soap, which is too much. So, you can enter a lower number in the “Resize Batch” section. After a few more guesses, I found that 21 ounces of oils gives me 31.5 ounces of soap.
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I had a quick question before ordering. I noticed the sizes are 33, 54, 108 ounces or 35 pounds. I’m wondering at what size do they not come in the bag? I’m assuming the 33, 54, and 108 ounces all come in bags and the 35 pounder comes in the bucket, but I just want to make sure!
Thanks!
That is correct, the Quick Mixes are all bagged up to 35 pounds. They’re in heat-resistant plastic bags, which are really nice because you can heat the oils right in the bag. The 35 pound size comes in a bucket.
Learn more about working with the bags here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/boil-heat-resistant-plastic-pouches/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I just want to point out how very generous all of this “secret sauce” information is that you’re sharing. I have purchased all the ingredients from you listed in your Lather quick mix, so with a little bit of sleuthing, and your lye calculator, I was able to figure out both the superfat % and the quantities I need to measure out of each oil to use in the rose clay and charcoal recipe! I even double checked my math by putting in the Lather Quick Mix option in the calculator. Brilliant. Thank you so very much. I also bought the Pure Soapmaking book at OMSI, so I feel I’m speeding through the “beginner soap maker” phase at a much faster clip than I was previously.
You’re welcome Becky, we’re happy to share! Also, thanks so much for getting Pure Soapmaking. have you tried any recipes? 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Pure Soapmaking: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pure-Soapmaking-How-to-Create-Nourishing-Natural-Skin-Care-Soaps-P6298.aspx
I want to make the swirl mix but can you tell me what the measurements are for each oil in ounces?
The measurements depend on the size of your mold! So, if your mold holds 50 ounces, you’ll want 50 ounces of soap total. You can find that using our Lye Calculator. To do so, click “Percentages” then enter the oil weight. If you don’t know the oil weight of your mold, you can guess! For 50 ounces of soap, I would start with 35 ounces of oils. Then, you can plug in the percentages listed above. If it’s over or under your mold weight, you can re-enter an oil weight in the “Resize Batch” category until you get the correct amount. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
I would just like to know how many ounces of each of the listed oils is in the 33 oz Lots of Lather Quick Mix. Can you share that?
You are such an inspiration, and now I am in love with soap making. love the idea of oils mix and measured, I wish we could order it from here Middle East Its so expensive. 🙁
Please, could you give us the exact measurement in volume and not the percentage?
Thank You
Mary from Dubai
Hi Mary!
I can give you the ounces in weight! Which Quick Mix are you interested in? Also, do you know how many ounces of oil you’ll need for your recipe? Thanks! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
WIll you be making quick mixes without the palm oil as well?
We’ll definitely keep that in mind Christina! Thanks for your suggestion. I passed that along to our research and development department so they can look into it. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I have a question about the Lots of Lather Quick Mix. In the description it says this mix is best if super fatted at 7% or less (paraphrasing). Does that mean you need to add additional oils/butters to reach a super fat level of say 5% or can you use it as is with no additional oil?
Thank you for your help.
Hi Teresa!
You can use these Quick Mixes with no additional oil! All you have to do is select the superfat level you’d like from our Lye Calculator or on the Quick Mix product page.
By selecting the superfat level from the calculator, it will automatically pull out a bit of each oil in the mix to act as that superfat. Basically, it’s doing the work for you! All you need to do is select the level you want and not worry about adding other oils. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I would love to use your quick mixes, but I really like to to have butters (shea, mango, cocoa, kokum, etc) in my soaps. Could you give me some advice on how to incorporate them with a quick mix? Can I just calculate the amount of extra lye needed for the amount of butter I add and increase the total lye amount for the quantity of quick mix I use? Thank you so much!
Hi Jan!
You can definitely calculate the lye and water amounts for each butter! Make sure to do that for each butter you add, as they will have different lye and water amounts. Then, you can add the water and lye amounts for each butter to the total lye and water amount. You can also enter the Quick Mix amount in the Lye Calculator, then add the butter percentages in the additional boxes. 🙂
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
You can also set the superfat level as 0% and use your extra butters as your superfat level. Either way works!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I need help. I used a full bag of quick mix and used the CranberryFig and Dark Chocolate fragrances. I used the lye calculator. The mix went super hot and turned very dark brown. It smells great but when I cut in the outer shell is brown and inside is the pretty yellow I wanted. It is the correct ph. I read today that the dark chocolate would cause the discoloration. Is this soap ruined? I am doing a small craft fair and this was something I had planned to place I a gift basket. It looks interesting but I don’t want to embarrass myself by selling something that would be considered “bad form” as a new soaper. Should I rebatch it? Should I consider it “family soap”? Will it eventually turn brown all the way through? Thanks for any advice.
Oh and this soap has the best lather and smells wonderful!
Hi Sherry!
That soap is absolutely fine to use! The brown you’re seeing is fragrance discoloration. Fragrances that contain vanilla will discolor the soap various shades of brown all the way through. Dark Rich Chocolate discolors the soap a lovely darker brown that actually looks a bit like chocolate! You’ll notice the rest of the soap turning brown as it cures. You can see the final color in soap here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Dark-Rich-Chocolate-Fragrance-Oil-P3881.aspx
Read more about fragrance discoloration here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/why-did-my-soap-turn-brown/
The good news is although the soap is a different color than you planned for, it will still feel great on the skin. Not to mention it smells amazing! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Cranberry-Fig-Fragrance-Oil-P3933.aspx
I have used quick mixes before and it sure is fast and easy to get your soap batch started! I have sort been making my own quick mix’s too. When I empty a heat resistant bag containing some other product, I clean it out and then fill it with a batch of oils that I can just pop in the microwave next time I make soap. When I empty that bag(s) I fill it up again so it’s ready to go again the next time. It saves so much time – both in measuring and preparing oils, and in the cleanup since I’m only using measuring containers the one time I’m filling my bags. These bags are so great and convenient. I’ve bought products before from places that send you a big plastic tub – do you have any idea how messy and awful it is to deal with those?! ick.
That is a great idea! Having all your oils mixed and measured is such a nice way to save time. When you have a lot of soap to make, those oils can really save some time. Thanks so much for sharing your great suggestion, and I’m so glad you like the reusable pouches! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Heat Resistant Plastic Pouches: https://www.brambleberry.com/Search.aspx?k=plastic+pouch