| I am in love with coconut. I love the smell and the taste. It speaks of beaches, warm breezes and luxury. It even reminds me of curries! With the cooler weather we have been having, I am ready for a warm sunny day that I can go sit in the sun, drink frozen smoothies and read a book. Since I can’t go out to have fun, I am going to bring it in to me! Come join me all this week for some coconut scented fun!
As tribute to the fact that I had planned a coconut scented soap, I wanted to use coconut oil. However I had one of the biggest tragedies a soaper can ever run across. I was out of coconut oil! I could not believe it! I have never had that happen before. I was so distraught that I had considered holding off on making this soap but I decided that in light of this tragedy, I definitely needed to bring some sunshine fun to me. Instead of using Coconut Oil, I decided to use Palm Oil. While it doesn’t create the big, bubbly lather that Coconut Oil does, it does assist with a nice dense, almost creamy lather. I love that really thick lather that just covers your hands. I also used Hydrogenated Soybean Oil. It contributes hardness to the bar and again dense, creamy lather. It also makes a smooth, hard white bar. I know that our Coconut Fragrance Oil discolors to a tan to light brown color so I wanted to keep it as smooth and as light as possible. Another oil I used in this formulation was Olive Oil. I really enjoy using Olive Oil. Sometimes a pure Olive Oil soap can feel slimy to me but match it with other oils and I find it dreamy! It creates a dense lather and a conditioning sensation to the skin. I wanted to use a luxury oil in this recipe. I decided on Shea Butter. Shea Butter is one of my favorite luxury oils for soap. I personally think it adds a creaminess and conditioning that is perfect for this get-away-in-a-bar of Coconut soap. Are you ready to make soap now? Let’s go!
Recipe:
Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool to a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. Mix the oils and lye solution and blend until trace is achieved. Pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. Enjoy! Notes: This finished soap had a much denser lather than what I am used to. It was definitely a lot of fun though. This is a perfect soap for felting wool around. If you are curious, check out my post on Wool Wrapped Soap here! They are such fun projects to do!
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 Finished Soap  Weighing Oils  Weighing Oils  Melted Oils  Adding Lye Solution to melted oils  Mixing Oils and Lye Solution  Mixing Soap  Adding Coconut Fragrance Oil to Soap |
Mmm!! Love the smell of coconut.
This post could not have come at a better time. Will regular soybean oil create a dense lather like hydrogenated? I have every other ingredient, and have been looking for the right recipe. I can not wait to get started! =)
Unfortunately, the liquid soybean oil contributes to a softer bar. It will not help any lather or firmness. Do you have other oils on hand? If you do, please list them. We will help you come up with a substitute.
Tina
Can’t wait to try this!
Well, there’s irony…..coconut soap sans coconut oil!
Great for those allergic/sensitive.
I plan a whole day of making soap. I just bought some soybean oil and am going to try that in a few batches.
I can’t wait to try this recipe!!
why do we ever leave the shower?
Let’s say you did have coconut oil. Does the smell of virgin coconut oil survive the soaping process? Like I can still smell chocolate in soaps that have a high percent of cocoa butter?
We tested the Virgin Coconut Oil in soap back in 2011 and discovered that the scent did not linger. We wish it did!
Thank you for all the wonderful ideas! This sounds like an awesome recipe!!!