| Clay soaps are wonderful and have been described as having a silky feel. This soap is no exception with LOTS of silky lather. Don’t pass up this recipe just because it has a high percentage of high lathering oils. This isn’t a drying soap and it just might give you a new addiction!
After looking at this recipe for several weeks, I finally decided to track down my jar of French Green Clay so I could make this soap. This recipe is fantastic and definitely worth tracking down some clay. Now I’m asking myself, “Why did I wait?” Collect needed items:
Measure the clay onto the small tea plate and set aside. Weigh the essential oils into a small beaker and set aside. Measure fixed oils on your scale. Warm on the stove or in the microwave. I melted the oils in the microwave. Add sodium hydroxide to the water. Mix well. Combine oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Once the soap has reached thin trace, remove a small portion and add the clay to the removed soap and mix until any clumps of clay have been eliminated. Pour this clay portion of soap back into the bucket of soap and mix well. Add the essential oils. Stir well. Pour soap into molds. I used the Rubbermaid Drawer Organizers #2915. Allow to sit until soap is firm. The next morning cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar. Notes: What kind of soap would you make with clay? Curious about kitchen spices or herbs in cold process soap? Vote now in our poll for future blog posts! The poll can be found on the right side of the screen between the Join In and Follow us on Twitter sections. Every vote counts! You can choose up to five answers if there are multiple spices or herbs you would like to see!
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 Finished bars of soap.  The essential oil blend and clay are ready to go.  The fixed oils have been weighed.  Mixing the lye solution.  Adding the lye solution to the melted fixed oils.  Mixing to a light trace. |
 Adding clay to a small portion of soap. |
 Soap after being poured into molds. |
I always thought french green clay soap was more for oily skin. Is this true or not? I want to try it, just want to be able to correctly present it’s qualities.
Terry
Terry,
I have very oily skin and I love French Green Clay. It is good for normal and oily skin. However, in soap the clay can just feel silky when it the soap is superfatted to the 6% to 8% range.
Tina
We can use RO water instead of distilled? That will save me time (not that it cost a lot) and the worry of not having distilled on hand! I knew the spendy water system we put in would pay off other than in the taste of my coffee!
Yes! RO water works wonderfully for soap and lotions!
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just found this recipe..can you substitute any of the clays in this recipe..??
Margaret,
Absolutely! I like adding Bentonite Clay sometimes instead. I think it makes a fantastic shaving soap!
can anything be substituted in place of Aloe butter?
such as cocoa butter?
You can use any desired oil that you have on hand like Coconut Oil or other soft butters like Shea Butter, Macadamia Butter, etc. Cocoa Butter will make the bar of soap harder and it is up to you to try. Please recalculate the lye for your soap batch based on the oils you are using. Good Luck!
Thanks for a lovely recipe….can’t wait to try it…..I have 2 questions…..
1-do all the clays function in the same manner when referring to soaps (ie do Bentonite and French Green both provide nice slip for the blade)
2-do you have any difficulty unfolding from those drawer organizers?? Do you line them??
Thanks in advance for your time
Roya,
All the clays function similarly, however, all have a different texture and feel. I tend to prefer the Bentonite and French Green Clay vs Fullers Earth. I find the first two have a softer texture. That is not to say that Fullers Earth is a bad addition, it is just best used when one wants more texture or exfoliation.
The drawer organizers are lined with plastic wrap.
Cheers!
Tina