Shampoo Bar

Recipes makes 3 pounds of soap

• 340 g. cold distilled water
• 125 g. sodium hydroxide beads 
• 227 g. olive oil, pomace grade
• 227 g. coconut oil
• 170 g. BP grade castor oil
• 170 g. palm oil, hard variety
• 85 g. sweet almond oil
• 28 g. jojoba oil
• 50 drops grapefruit seed extract (GSE) 
• optional: 20-40 grams total of essential oils 

Required equipment

• 2 stainless steel saucepans (one small, one medium)
• glass bowl
• digital kitchen scale
• stainless steel spoons and whisk
• 2 cooking thermometers
• soap mould(s) of your choice
• rubber gloves, mask or scarf & safety glasses
• a large towel

1. Measure out all ingredients, with the exception of the GSE, into individual containers. Sodium hydroxide can be measured into the glass bowl and coconut oil and palm oil can be combined and measured into the small saucepan.

measured out ingredients (not pictured: coconut & palm oils)

coconut oil & palm oil

2. Place the bowl of sodium hydroxide onto a heat-proof surface. Slowly and carefully pour the cold distiled water into the glass bowl, stirring constantly with a whisk. Be careful not to breathe the vapor that is initially given off, so hold your breath in addition to wearing a mask until all the sodium hydroxide has been dissolved (takes about 10-20 seconds). 

3. The solution, now known as lye, will heat up on its own to nearly 200 degrees and will need to be left alone to cool. Place one of the thermometers into the lye and set aside. 

4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, gently melt together the coconut and palm oils over medium-low heat. Do not overheat and shut off the stove as soon as it's a liquid.

5. While the coconut and palm oils are melting, combine olive, castor oil, sweet almond, and jojoba oils as well as the GSE into the medium sized saucepan and stir. Pour in melted coconut and palm oils and stir once more.

Pouring hot melted oils into pan of remaining oils

6. Place the second thermometer into the pan of oils and set near the glass bowl of lye. Now wait for the lye and the oils to reach a similar temperature (5 degrees apart or less) somewhere in the 80 to 130 degree range. Don't let everything get too cool. Since the lye has more cooling to do, you may have to slightly heat the oils again OR place the bowl of lye in a 2nd container surrounded by cold water (if you do this, do not "float" the bowl  of lye in the bowl of cold water).

This entire process doesn't take too long so stay close by and check the temperatures often!

waiting for the temps to be similar

speeding up the cooling process

7. Once the mixtures have reached the same temperatures, slowly and carefully pour the lye into the oils. Using the whisk, stir constantly at a fairly brisk pace. You will notice the solution begin to turn more opaque and then it will begin to thicken. Continue whisking until you reach the stage known as the "trace". This is when you can drizzle the mixture from the whisk onto the surface of the solution and it leaves a visible trace before sinking back into the rest. It takes about 5-10 minutes to reach the trace. If you're using essential oils, add them at the trace. and stir well.

whisking the oils & lye

the trace!

8. Pour your mixture into your mould(s) and cover with to prevent anything from touching the surface.

pouring soap into 3" PVC pipe (20" in length) lined with a small plastic bag

filled mould

plastic rolled down gently

9. Using the large towel, insulate your soap by covering the top and sides and leave at room temperature until the soap as solidified (about 24 hours).

soap insulating in a corner of a room where it can sit undisturbed

10. After 24 hours has passed and the soap as completely set, remove the soap from the mould(s) and cut into bars if necessary (some moulds don't require you to cut them into blocks). Soap will be a soft solid and should easily cut. If it appears too soft to handle, leave it for another 2-3 days and try again.

11. Leave your shampoo bars to "cure" at room temperature for 3-4 weeks, preferably on a sheet of uncolored/unlined paper. Be sure to leave space between each bar, allowing for air circulation. This curing process will rid the bars of excess moisture and allow them to become harder.

freshly sliced soap