| I am so excited to share today’s soap. Today we will be making soap with Seabuckthorn Oil. Why is this exciting? Seabuckthorn is so potent in color, we will actually be using less than 1% of the oil in our soap! This is really exciting news for soapmakers. This means naturally vibrant colors are achieved with low usage rates. Seabuckthorn is also reputed to have regenerative properties, meaning your skin heals and renews faster.
Because our usage rate of Seabuckthorn Oil is so low, we are completing the rest of our 1 oz of luxury oil with another luxury oil. I decided on using Avocado Oil. Avocado Oil contributes small bubbly lather. It is also higher in unsaponifiable oils. This gives the soap a more emollient feeling. Want creamy, luxurious feeling soap? Avocado Oil is a great answer!
Recipe:
Weigh the oils into a microwave safe container. Place into the microwave and heat. While the oils are heating, weigh the lye. Slowly add the lye to your container of water. DO NOT add water to your container of lye. The two chemicals reacting can cause a dangerous volcano. It is best to create good safety habits before you make a batch of soap that is 20 lbs in size. For most soaps, you will want to mix your oils and lye solution when both are somewhere between 110°F to 130°F. In the winter when your soaping area is cooler, you will want to soap at higher temperatures. In the summer when your soaping area is warmer, you will want to soap at cooler temperatures. When your lye solution and oils are within the ideal temperature range, slowly pour the lye solution into the oils. Using either an immersion or a soap spoon, mix until you reach trace. Trace is when the raw soap has been mixed enough that oil will no longer rise to the surface when mixing is stopped. If you aren’t sure if you have achieve trace then stop mixing, go get a glass, fill it with water, do not drink it. Come back to your soap. Is oil floating on the surface? Once trace is reached, you can pour the soap into a mold. Allow the soap to sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours. After the soap has been allowed to sit for up to 24 hours, you can unmold the soap and cut it. Arrange the cut bars of soap in an area where there is good air flow but they will not be in the way. I like to put them on a sheet of cardboard. You are now ready for the curing process. The curing process is just allow the soap to dry out, giving you a nice hard bar. You can use your soap immediately after cutting but it will not last as long as a fully cured bar. A great way to determine if your bar has cured all the way is to use our Cure Cards! Did you know you can get them free in qualifying orders? How cool! |
 Finished Soap  Finished Soap in Mold  Weighed Oils  Making Lye Solution  Melted Oils  Adding Lye Solution to Oils  Mixing Soap  Pouring Soap into Mold  Soap in Mold |
I will be trying this one. It sounds very nice, and I have some Seabuckthorn berry oil I need to use up. The color is screaming citrus EO of some kind.
Oooh! That is a great idea. Maybe something orange would be good.
Happy soaping!
Sounds like a wonderful soap and what a beautiful colour.
Awesome color!
Does the Seabuckthorn oil have a scent of its own? And can you add other fragrance oil or essential oil to this recipe?
Diana,
By itself, Seabuckthorn Oil does have a sharp, herbaceous odor. In this recipe, it contributes a barely noticeable sharpness that you really have to sniff in order to detect.
You can add any fragrance or essential oil of your choice to the recipe.
Best,
Taylor