Avocado Soap Recipe
After my own quarantine period, I thought perhaps if you are being a responsible citizen staying home and like me hoping to find peace in making things from scratch, soap might be a good idea. I made a few batches and here’s a recipe from my favorite one. I am not going to write about the benefits of all the oils being used but mainly I liked this one best because avocado oil brings a beautiful muted green color naturally and that its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents in avocado oil help your skin stay smooth, strong, and elastic. After all the advice for frequent hand washing, I am sure most of us would prefer a nicer experience doing that ;) This bar can be used just regularly and also for your face (best for dry skin) and you will see the variation of the ingredients. Here’s what you need to make 10 bars of 100g/ 3.5oz each:
- 180g/ 6.3oz Cold Pressed Avocado Oil
- 150g/ 5.3oz Coconut Oil
- 120g/4.2oz Olive Oil
- 90g/3.17oz Palm Oil
- 60g/ 2.1oz Canola Oil [For face soap, otherwise substitute with Olive Oil.]
- 30g/ 1.05oz Cold Pressed Sesame Oil/ Evening Primrose Oil/ Jojoba Oil
[For face soap, , otherwise substitute with Coconut Oil.] (#5 and #6 are optional ingredients for face soap, you can substitute with olive/ coconut oil for regular soap. As a reminder to get the beautiful muted green color, you should be using at least 28 to 30% of avocado oil.) - 92g/ 3.17oz 99% NaOH or Lye
- 222g/ 8.2oz Water
Essential Oil [Optional]
30 drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil
15 drops of Rosemary essential oil
15 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil
(1) NaOH/ Lye
First, mix sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with water. I would usually use iced water as NaOH will increase in temperature quickly when being dissolved. Wear some basic PPEs and mix safely. Set it aside until it reaches room temperature.
(2) Prepare the Oil Mixture
Mix all the oils in a round-bottom mixing bowl. You might need a heat bath to melt the coconut and palm oil ahead. Set until reaches room temperature.
(3) Add NaOH into the Oil
Add the NaOH slowly (see that I am using a glass stirring stick here to guide it in the mixture) to the oil while stirring slowly. Use an egg beater that you wouldn’t use for cooking again.
(4) Mix and Mix
Now it will come a lot of mixing. Mix at a fixed speed and don’t forget the edges or the center. Your mixture should gain a few degrees in temperature.
(5) Keep Mixing
You will eventually get tired so you could use an electronic mixer (the handheld kind in the picture) but do alternate between it and hand-mixing so that you can get rid of the bubbles. I would alternate by every 10 secs. You should feel more warmth from your mixing bowl by this point.
(6) More Mixing.. (I know)
The above mixing (with the help of the electronic mixer) should take 20–25 minutes. The mixture will turn opaque and thickens.
(7) Light Trace
When your beater creates traces in the mixture that lasts for 4 seconds, then you have reached the light trace stage! Make sure your mold is by your side and if you would like to add the essential oils I mentioned above, now is the time! Add the droplets while mixing as usual.
(8) Heavy Trace
When your mixture is taking time to drip back into the bowl or not even dripping, congratulations! You can now put everything into the mold.
(9) Wait to Set and Store
This should be the texture you are looking at. Shake the mold to release bubbles or use a piece of card to smooth the top (based on personal preference). Many recipes out there requires temperature control but on a regular spring day, I would just cover the mold with towels and leave it in the oven. Some suggested to preheat the oven, but I don’t and my soap comes out beautifully. You can also use a motif mold (which I did as you can see in the cover image). Wait for a good 12 hours to release the soap and you can then cut into shapes you like! When you take the soap out, you should still feel some warmth but not a lot from it, just slightly higher than room temperature.
Store for 20 days in a well ventilated area protected from direct light if you are using for your hands/body and 45 days for face. I hope you find comfort in the process of soap making as I did and enjoy the soap!
