It. Was. Soap. Poisoning...said Ralphie

I did my research and found a couple of recipes I thought I could work with...Coffee and Honey-Almond Oatmeal.

The recipes are actually pretty simple and while this project was NOT measured on my KDS, I did it anyway. Just goes to show, right?!

The main thing to remember when using the melt and pour soap base is that you are working on borrowed time...work quickly. Secondly, have a set of kitchen items to use that you can keep separate from your regular kitchen items used for cooking. Lye is caustic. You don't want to eat out of something you use to melt/mix soap in.

Honey-Almond Oatmeal Soap

1 pound Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base

10-12 drops of Honey-Almond Soap Scent (I didn't have essential oils on hand)

3 tablespoons rolled oats (you can add more or use less)

1 glass 4 cup measuring cup

1 wooden spoon (for stirring)

large knife for cubing the soap base

Silicone molds - cooking, chocolate, etc. (I used large and small molds)

Spray bottle with alcohol

After opening the container of soap base, I chopped up one pound. It is scored, so cutting is easy. I had previously placed a cutting mat on my counter to work on.

I placed the chopped pieces of soap base into my large measuring cup and melted in the microwave in 30 second increments. After most of the chunks had melted, I used 15 second increments...you don't want it to boil. It will be hot, so be careful!

After the soap base was melted, I added the soap scent, stirred it in well, then added the oatmeal...stirred well and placed it into my molds. After the soap was in the mold, I spritzed it with alcohol so get rid of the air bubbles.

The soap sets in about 30 minutes, but I let mine stay in the molds longer. After about an hour, I popped them out and placed them on wax paper to cure for 24 hours. Since these little soaps were gifts, I placed them into decorative packaging once they were set.

The coffee recipe is similar...I used 1 pound of soap base, 3 tablespoons of ground coffee and eliminated the Honey-Almond soap scent.

I mentioned earlier in the post how I talk to myself all the time...well, part of that conversation went like this while I was chopping soap and melting soap base...

Me: Man, what a mess, how am I going to get all this wax off the knife.

Also me: Oh yeah, it's soap, it should wash off easily.

Me: This is never going to come off my fingers.

Also me: It's soap.

Me: UGH, this will never come off this wooden spoon...how am I ever going to get it out of the measuring cup?!

Also me: It's soap.

Me: But...

Also me: Still soap.

Me: What...

Also me: Soap...still just soap.

This soap-making process didn't take a lot of time at all. In the past, whenever someone had mentioned soap making, I envisioned donning something similar to a hazmat suit with goggles and a breathing apparatus so that I could handle the lye and it taking days on end with me out in the back yard stirring the contents in a cauldron over an illegal fire pit! Not so...and I enjoyed it. Instant results!

The Honey-Almond Oatmeal soap is so creamy and smells so fresh. The Coffee soap smells a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I wanted to bite into it! The Goat Milk Soap Base is so smooth and soft on your skin. The coffee is a great exfoliant!

I will definitely be purchasing some essential oils so that the scents will last longer and I'm definitely looking forward to my next batch of homemade soap -- Orange Clove and Peppermint! ~me, skipping off into the sunset..."if at first you don't succeed..."