This is the deluxe version of a homemade present! At a wonderful workshop at betahaus in Berlin I learned how to make soap from scratch from luna. It is easy and lots of fun!

HOW TO MAKE SOAP

This recipe contains a perfectly balanced mixture of cleaning and moisturizing oils. If you want to use different oils we should get together to calculate a different mixture because this is a little bit trickier. To get started I would start off by sticking to this recipe. It will take about 3 hours.

For about 500 g soap you need:

Olive oil 165 g

Coconut oil 99 g

Sunflower oil  44.55 g

Castor oil 16.5 g

Bees wax 4.95 g

Lye (NaOH) 47 g

Distilled water 109.8 g

About 150 drops essential oils as desired (I used half orange half ylang-ylang oil)

Food or natural colors (I used yellow clay and indigo blue)

1 milk bow cut open to leave a lid

1 towel

1. In a large jam glass (500 ml) weigh 4.9 g bees wax and 99 g coconut oil
2. Put jam glass in a simmering water bath (double boiler) and heat and stir until beeswax has melted. Temperature should be at about 70 °C, control with a candy thermometer. Let cool.
3. Meanwhile measure 109.8 g distilled water in a large plastic cup (e.g. old, clean, large yoghurt cup)
4. On a piece of paper weigh 47 g lye (NaOH), !careful, corrosive!
5. Close to an open window carefully and slowly mix LYE INO WATER in 3 portions while stirring. Let cool for 15 minutes in front of an open window.
   (NaOH reacts with water in an exothermic reaction and produces heat and gases. The water will get very hot. Just stay close to a window, keep stiring and don’t inhale the fumes.  If you spill a little bit on your hand keep normal vinegar close by and pour it over the spot it will neutralize the lye.)
6. Into glass of cooled bees wax-oil weigh:
   44.55 g sunflower oil
   16.5 g castor oil
   165 g olive oil
   In the water bath heat to the same temperature as the lye-water ± 5°C
7. Pour oil mixture into lye-water.
8. Now we have to be fast…Mix with a whisk fast until the consistence is creamier like liquid honey cream honey. This is your soap mixture.
9. Quickly add 150 drops of essential oils and keep mixing. Mix until soap mixture gets creamy as pudding. This will happen in a few minutes.
10. Divide soap mixture into portions and quickly add colors, mix.
11. Mix soap in 2 layers next to each other  in a cut open milk box or cup cake forms and swirl with a chop stick to make a mosaic structure
12. Cover lid and pack into the towel to keep warm for 24 hours. In this time the soap is saponifing.
13. After 24 hours cut soap into pieces and let dry on a cool dry place for 6 weeks. In this time the pH of the soap will (drop) get milder and you can use it to wash your hands and body.

THAT’S IT!! Congratulations you made your first soap!