Last year, I experimented with brewing my own kombucha, which is a fermented and sweetened tea. I ended up with so much kombucha that I created kombucha soap with the SCOBY to use it up. This recipe uses kombucha produced by a local company, Kombucha Town. Kombucha Town has become a fixture in our community with their local brewery and products in local grocery stores. Using locally brewed products in your recipe highlights the town you call home.

This soap was made with Kombucha Town’s lavender kombucha, so it only made sense to create lavender soap! It’s scented with Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil for a calming scent. A mixture of titanium dioxide and Lavender Mica create a soft purple swirl. It’s topped with dried lavender for a finishing touch. It’s debatable whether or not any of the beneficial properties of kombucha tea hold up during the saponification process. But, the extra sugar does boost lather and kombucha soap is great from a marketing perspective.

If you’ve never made soap with alternative liquids like kombucha, they do require extra prep. First, the kombucha needs to be boiled to get rid of the carbonation. Then, it’s frozen to help keep temperatures cool when the lye flakes are added. You could add the lye to room temperature or cold kombucha if you prefer. Using room temperature or cold kombucha will result in a darker lye solution, and may require more titanium dioxide. This recipe contains a 3% superfat to compensate for the large amount of dispersed colorant in the recipe. The large amount of titanium dioxide can create glycerin rivers, so this recipe has a 10% water discount to prevent that.

What You’ll Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
39 oz. Swirl Recipe Quick Mix
5.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye (3% superfat)
11.6 oz. Prepped Kombucha (10% “water” discount)
Lavender Mica
Titanium Dioxide
2 oz. Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil
Lavender Buds

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, Pure Soapmaking. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

KOMBUCHA PREP: Before lye is mixed with kombucha, it needs to be prepped. Adding lye to carbonated beverages does not work well, so the kombucha is boiled first to get rid of the carbonation. Some kombucha can also have a small amount of alcohol, so boiling helps get rid of that as well. Pour about 1.5x the amount of kombucha that you need into a saucepan. Some of the kombucha will boil off, so adding more than you need helps ensure you’ll have enough for your entire recipe. For this recipe, I used one 16 oz. can of kombucha and needed to supplement a little with distilled water later in the process.

Turn the heat to medium high and allow the kombucha to reach a rolling boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes.

Weigh out 11.6 ounces of the kombucha into a separate container. If you don’t have enough, you can add distilled water later. If you have too much, save the rest for another batch. Then, pour the kombucha into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer. Allow the kombucha to fully freeze. Once frozen, place a container appropriate for mixing lye onto a scale and hit the tare button. Empty the frozen kombucha into the container and extra distilled water if necessary (we added about an ounce of water).

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.

KOMBUCHA LYE PREP: With safety gear on, measure out the sodium hydroxide lye flakes into a container. Then, add about 1/4 of the sodium hydroxide lye flakes directly to the frozen kombucha. Stir together for several minutes. Then, add about another 1/4 of the lye flakes and stir. The lye flakes will begin to dissolve and heat up the kombucha ice cubes. As the kombucha heats up, it will begin to change color and emit an unpleasant odor – this is normal!

Continue slowly adding the lye flakes and stirring. This process can take some time, so be patient. Once all the lye flakes have been added, continue to stir for several minutes. Because the kombucha is cold, the lye flakes do not dissolve as quickly. The more lye that is added, the more the color of the kombucha will change.

Continue to stir until you no longer see or hear any undissolved lye flakes on the bottom of the container. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases from the mold quicker, you can add sodium lactate at a rate of 1 tsp. per pound of oils. For this recipe you’d add about 2.5 tsp. of sodium lactate. Set lye aside in a safe place while you prep the other ingredients.

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. Disperse 3 teaspoons of titanium dioxide into 3 tablespoons of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. Then in a separate container, disperse 2 teaspoons Lavender Mica into 2 tablespoons lightweight liquid oil. Use the mini mixer to help break up any clumps. Set aside.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2 ounces of Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil into a glass, essential oil safe container. Set aside.

ONE: Fully melt the entire bag of the Swirl Recipe Quick Mix until there is no cloudiness. Shake to mix and measure out 39 ounces of oil. Once the lye solution and the oils have cooled to 120 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. Most likely, the kombucha lye solution will be on the cooler side – that’s okay.

TWO: Once you reach a thin trace, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use the stick blender to stir and pulse in the colorant until it’s completely combined. If your soap is becoming thick, use a whisk to stir in the colorant instead of using the stick blender.

THREE: Split off about 600 mL of soap into a separate container and add all the dispersed Lavender Mica. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant.

FOUR: Add the Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil proportionately to each container (it’s okay to eyeball it). Use a whisk to fully mix in the essential oil.

FIVE: For the in-the-pot swirl, start by pouring the purple-colored soap into the white-colored soap in various places in the bowl. Pour from a high point so the soap penetrates the entire depth of the pot, which will create a swirl throughout the soap.

SIX: Insert a chopstick or dowel all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Swirl the tool several times in various directions and loops to get the design started. Don’t worry about being too exact, just try to move the chopstick/dowel through the different areas where the purple soap was poured.

SEVEN: Pour the soap into the mold. Tap it firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles.

EIGHT: Use a spoon to create texture on top of the soap. There is no right or wrong way to do this, so have fun with it! If you find the soap is not holding its shape, wait a few minutes for the soap to thicken and try again.

NINE: Once you’re happy with the top, sprinkle lavender buds down the center of the soap. Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. Because kombucha contains sugar, this soap has a tendency to become extra hot. Our soaping area was cold, so the soap was left uncovered at room temperature for the first 24 hours. If you live in a hot climate, you may want to place the soap in the fridge or freezer for several hours to avoid overheating and cracking. After the soap has been in the mold for about 2-3 days, unmold and cut into bars. To avoid drag marks you can lay the loaf on its side, and cut from the side, down. I used a Multi-Bar Cutter for this batch and embraced the drag marks! Allow them to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

Print

Lavender Kombucha Soap Recipe

This soap is made with kombucha instead of distilled water!

Course Cold process soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 10 ″ Silicone Loaf Mold
• 39 oz. Swirl Recipe Quick Mix
• 5.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye 3% superfat
• 11.6 oz. Prepped Kombucha 10% “water” discount
• Lavender Mica
• Titanium Dioxide
• 2 oz. Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil
• Lavender Buds

Instructions

KOMBUCHA PREP: Before lye is mixed with kombucha, it needs to be prepped. Adding lye to carbonated beverages does not work well, so the kombucha is boiled first to get rid of the carbonation. Some kombucha can also have a small amount of alcohol, so boiling helps get rid of that as well. Pour about 1.5x the amount of kombucha that you need into a saucepan. Some of the kombucha will boil off, so adding more than you need helps ensure you’ll have enough for your entire recipe. For this recipe, I used one 16 oz. can of kombucha and needed to supplement a little with distilled water later in the process. Turn the heat to medium high and allow the kombucha to reach a rolling boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes. Weigh out 11.6 ounces of the kombucha into a separate container. If you don’t have enough, you can add distilled water later. If you have too much, save the rest for another batch. Then, pour the kombucha into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer. Allow the kombucha to fully freeze. Once frozen, place a container appropriate for mixing lye onto a scale and hit the tare button. Empty the frozen kombucha into the container and extra distilled water if necessary (we added about an ounce of water).

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.

KOMBUCHA LYE PREP: With safety gear on, measure out the sodium hydroxide lye flakes into a container. Then, add about 1/4 of the sodium hydroxide lye flakes directly to the frozen kombucha. Stir together for several minutes. Then, add about another 1/4 of the lye flakes and stir. The lye flakes will begin to dissolve and heat up the kombucha ice cubes. As the kombucha heats up, it will begin to change color and emit an unpleasant odor – this is normal! Continue slowly adding the lye flakes and stirring. This process can take some time, so be patient. Once all the lye flakes have been added, continue to stir for several minutes. Because the kombucha is cold, the lye flakes do not dissolve as quickly. The more lye that is added, the more the color of the kombucha will change. Continue to stir until you no longer see or hear any undissolved lye flakes on the bottom of the container. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases from the mold quicker, you can add sodium lactate at a rate of 1 tsp. per pound of oils. For this recipe you’d add about 2.5 tsp. of sodium lactate. Set lye aside in a safe place while you prep the other ingredients.

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. Disperse 3 teaspoons of titanium dioxide into 3 tablespoons of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. Then in a separate container, disperse 2 teaspoons Lavender Mica into 2 tablespoons lightweight liquid oil. Use the mini mixer to help break up any clumps. Set aside.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2 ounces of Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil into a glass, essential oil safe container. Set aside.

• Fully melt the entire bag of the Swirl Recipe Quick Mix until there is no cloudiness. Shake to mix and measure out 39 ounces of oil. Once the lye solution and the oils have cooled to 120 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. Most likely, the kombucha lye solution will be on the cooler side – that’s okay.
• Once you reach a thin trace, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use the stick blender to stir and pulse in the colorant until it’s completely combined. If your soap is becoming thick, use a whisk to stir in the colorant instead of using the stick blender.
• Split off about 600 mL of soap into a separate container and add all the dispersed Lavender Mica. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant.
• Add the Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil proportionately to each container (it’s okay to eyeball it). Use a whisk to fully mix in the essential oil.
• For the in-the-pot swirl, start by pouring the purple-colored soap into the white-colored soap in various places in the bowl. Pour from a high point so the soap penetrates the entire depth of the pot, which will create a swirl throughout the soap.
• Insert a chopstick or dowel all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Swirl the tool several times in various directions and loops to get the design started. Don’t worry about being too exact, just try to move the chopstick/dowel through the different areas where the purple soap was poured.
• Pour the soap into the mold. Tap it firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles.
• Use a spoon to create texture on top of the soap. There is no right or wrong way to do this, so have fun with it! If you find the soap is not holding its shape, wait a few minutes for the soap to thicken and try again.
• Once you’re happy with the top, sprinkle lavender buds down the center of the soap. Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. Because kombucha contains sugar, this soap has a tendency to become extra hot. Our soaping area was cold, so the soap was left uncovered at room temperature for the first 24 hours. If you live in a hot climate, you may want to place the soap in the fridge or freezer for several hours to avoid overheating and cracking. After the soap has been in the mold for about 2-3 days, unmold and cut into bars. Allow them to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

The post Lavender Kombucha Soap Recipe appeared first on Soap Queen.

I’m fascinated by how diet and exercise affects our lives, sleep patterns, energy levels and basically, everything. Because of this, I’m always game to try the newest health food craze. Choffy? Sign me up. Bulletproof coffee? Yep. Probiotics? On it. Recently, I have been on a fermented food kick. This includes eating lots of sauerkraut, kimchi and making my own kombucha. If you’re unfamiliar with kombucha, it is fermented and sweetened tea (usually black tea or green tea). It’s a bit of a polarizing beverage as it has a strong vinegar taste. Personally, I love it as do the kiddos. =)

To create kombucha, a “Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast,” also known as a SCOBY, is placed in the tea to ferment the beverage. As the tea ferments, the SCOBY separates and duplicates. The science is pretty amazing! If you’ve ever made kombucha before, you know how quickly your SCOBY duplicates. Soon, you’ll have more kombucha and SCOBY than you know what to do with. After giving away as much SCOBY to friends and family as I could, I thought (as any soapmaker does), “I need to make soap with this!”

Using kombucha and SCOBY in cold process soap is the same as using other alternative liquids and additives such as purees (click here to learn more about purees in soap). Essentially, the kombucha and SCOBY add sugar to the soap batter, which increases the temperature. I was concerned that replacing 100% of the distilled water in this recipe with kombucha and adding SCOBY would be too much extra sugar. Instead, I chose to puree the SCOBY with a few ounces of kombucha and add the puree at trace.

If you’re curious about how I calculated the water amounts in this recipe with the SCOBY and kombucha, here is how I broke it down:

• The full amount of water in this recipe is 18.15 ounces.
• First, I calculated a 10% water discount to help it unmold faster. This gave me 16.3 ounces of water (18.15 x 0.9= 16.3).
• I’m adding 5 ounces of SCOBY and 3.3 ounces of kombucha at trace. I estimated the SCOBY is about 50% water, which means I’m adding 2.5 ounces of water via the SCOBY.
• The total amount of liquid added at trace is 5.8 ounces; 2.5 ounces of liquid in the SCOBY and 3.3 ounces of kombucha. (3.3 + 2.5 = 5.8).
• To compensate for the added liquid, I subtracted 5.8 ounces from 16.3 ounces to get 10.5 ounces.

To go from 18.15 ounces of water to 10.5 ounces of water looks like a huge water discount. But, keep in mind you are adding 3.3 ounces of kombucha at trace and 5 ounces of SCOBY at trace, which has a large amount of water (approx. 2.5 ounces). Technically, you can safely mix lye and water at a 1:2 ratio. To read more about water discounting your soap, click here.

I did experience some heat-related issues in this batch. You can read about them at the bottom of this post. Keep in mind the sugar and water content in my kombucha might be a little bit different than yours because each brew will be unique. Because kombucha naturally contains vinegar, I was curious how this would affect the pH of my bars. I tested the pH of these bars and it was 8, which is on the lower side of normal for CP soap. This may vary depending on how “strong” your kombucha is. Click here to read more about the pH of cold process soap.

What You’ll Need:
5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
8.3 oz. Coconut Oil (15%)
44 oz. Olive Oil (80%)
2.8 oz. Cocoa Butter (5%)
7.4 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
10.5 oz. Distilled Water
3.3 oz. Kombucha Tea
5 oz. Kombucha SCOBY, chopped
3.5 oz. Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil
Rose Petals

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

[sq_products]

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, Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out 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.

KOMBUCHA + SCOBY PREP: In a small container, measure out 3.3 oz. of kombucha tea. I used room temperature tea. Then, chop up the SCOBY into small pieces and measure 5 oz. Using a blender or food processor (I used a Magic Bullet), blend the SCOBY and kombucha together. You want the mixture to be extremely smooth.

NOTE: Even after plenty of blending, my mixture was not quite as smooth as I wanted it to be. To help blend it further, I added about 2 ounces of my measured and mixed soapmaking oils to help it blend better. If you find the SCOBY blend is not completely smooth, complete steps one and two below. Then, add a small amount of the measured soaping oils to your SCOBY puree and continue to blend. You could also use more kombucha or distilled water if you prefer, just keep in mind you may want to adjust your water amounts if you do so.

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, cocoa butter and olive oil. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 110-120F 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 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate. Because this recipe contains a large amount of olive oil, you may find it takes a little bit longer to trace.

THREE: Once the soap has reached a thin trace, pour the SCOBY mixture into the batter. Use the stick blender to mix in the SCOBY thoroughly.

FOUR: Right away, you’ll notice a color change! This happens because of the sugar content in the SCOBY and kombucha scorching as it comes in contact with the lye. Don’t worry, this is normal.

FIVE: Once you add the SCOBY mixture, the batter will start to thicken faster. Once you reach a medium trace, add the Egyptian geranium essential oil. Use the stick blender to thoroughly mix in.

Out of curiosity, I checked the temperature of the soap batter. It was a nice and warm 134 ° F.

SIX: Pour the soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help release any air bubbles.

SEVEN: Use a spoon or spatula to spread the soap evenly within the mold. Cover the top with rose petals. To help them stick to the soap, gently press them into the soap with gloved hands. Spray the top with isopropyl alcohol to help reduce soda ash. I did not insulate or refrigerate this soap, but did experience some heat-related issues. Read more about them below. To help prevent them, place the soap in the fridge for 24 hours. Remove from the mold after 3-4 days and cut into bars. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks before use.

I did not cover, insulate or refrigerate the soap. I wanted to see how it behaved in a normal, room temperature space. I found it behaved relatively well with some minor issues. It did not overheat and volcano out of the mold, but it did show some heat-related problems. When I unmolded the soap, I immediately noticed that the sides had some “pockets” of moisture that looked like separation. I allowed the soap to sit outside of the mold for a few hours, and the moisture completely disappeared. I’m pretty sure the soap boiled in the mold and the moisture was basically condensation. This could be solved by soaping with lower temperatures. You can see what the sides looked like after drying below.

The sides of the soap showed evidence of it becoming quite warm!

When I cut the loaf, I found there was a ring on the inside (see photo below). After cutting, this ring disappeared in about two days and the bars continued to lighten a little bit. Interesting right? I found this ring also occurred in the Buttermilk Bastille Baby Bars. Luckily, both rings faded with time.

The soap on the left is freshly cut, while the soap on the right has been cut for a few days. Notice the ring on the inside has faded dramatically.

Even with these issues, I think this was a really successful batch. Whatever moisture collected on the sides dried quickly, and the ring faded as well. The sugar from the kombucha and SCOBY boosts the lather. It’s hard to say how much of the kombucha and SCOBY properties remain after the saponification process. But, it’s great from a marketing standpoint. =) Have you ever made soap with kombucha, or SCOBY before? It was a fun experiment!

[expand title=”Click to View the Recipe”]

Print

Kombucha Scoby Cold Process Soap DIY

This soap is made with kombucha tea and the kombucha SCOBY to create a special treat for the skin!

Course Cold process soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
• Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
• 8.3 oz. Coconut Oil
• 44 oz. Olive Oil
• 2.8 oz. Cocoa Butter
• 7.4 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 10.5 oz. Distilled Water
• 3.3 oz. Kombucha Tea
• 5 oz. Kombucha Scoby chopped
• 3.5 oz. Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil
• Rose Petals

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.

KOMBUCHA + SCOBY PREP: In a small container, measure out the 3.3 oz. of kombucha tea. I used room temperature tea. Then, chop up the SCOBY into small pieces and measure 5 oz. Using a blender, or food processor (I used a Magic Bullet), blend the SCOBY and kombucha together. You want the mixture to be extremely smooth. Even after plenty of blending, my mixture was not quite smooth as I wanted it to be. To help blend it further, I added about 2 ounces of my measured and mixed soapmaking oils to help it blend better. You could also use more kombucha if you have it.

• 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, cocoa butter and olive oil. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 110-120 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 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate. Because this recipe contains a large amount of olive oil, you may find it takes a little bit longer to trace.
• Once the soap has reached a thin trace, pour the SCOBY mixture into the batter. Use the stick blender to mix in the SCOBY thoroughly.
• Right away, you’ll notice a color change! This is happening because of the sugar content in the scoby and kombucha scorching as it comes in contact with the lye. Don’t worry, this is normal.
• Once you add the SCOBY mixture, the batter will start to thicken faster. Once you reach a medium trace, add the Egyptian geranium essential oil. Use the stick blender to thoroughly mix in.
• Pour the soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help release any air bubbles.
• Use a spoon or spatula to spread the soap evenly within the mold. Cover the top with rose petals. To help them stick to the soap, gently press them into the soap with gloved hands. Spray the top with isopropyl alcohol to help reduce soda ash. I did not insulate or refrigerate this soap, but did experience some heat related issues. Read more about them below. To help prevent them, place the soap in the fridge for 24 hours. Remove from the mold after 3-4 days and cut into bars. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks before use.

[/expand]

The post Kombucha SCOBY Cold Process Soap DIY appeared first on Soap Queen.