My project for Natural Soap Making for Beginners - Rosemary Nettle Botanical Soap

Here is Nettle & Rosemary Botanical Soap 🫧🧼

I decided to reduce the recipe by half, so there was some recalculation I needed to do. I added the nettle powder & pascalite clay (grey clay similar to bentonite clay) to the lye solution hoping for a green color to come through. Even though my olive oil was extra virgin, it was a yellow color, so this, along with the whiteness of the coconut oil, resulted in a yellow bar, with a tint of green.

I also added sodium lactate to the cooled lye solution. I purchased sodium lactate powder, so I had to make it into liquid. I used 1.12g distilled water & 1.12g sodium lactate powder. I read (somewhere!) I need to use a 40/60 split instead, respectively.

The batter was mixing nicely. After I added the essential oil, it did get a bit bubbly. I tried to tap the immersion blender on the sides of the pitcher but it never went back to the quiet blending prior. However, the essential oil seemed to bring the batter to trace more quickly, so I poured it into the molds. All went okay!

I ended up with about 300g of batter which filled 4 rounds, 1 single round mold with a tree design & half of a bar soap mold.

I sprayed 91% alcohol because that is what I had on hand. However, the spray spout dispersed too large of drops...! So I will use a smaller spray cap next time. I did find 99% alcohol at a local beauty supply store (it is a professional supply store for cosmetologists), so I will pick that up & use it next time. I am wondering though if there are other ways to avoid soda ash without the use of alcohol.

I covered the soap with thin cardboard & towels & left it to sit overnight. After 24 hours, it was ready to be unmolded. This was easy to unmold! No freezer required! Next time I will use a single mold & cut the soap.

The rosemary scent is coming through beautifully & although the soap is yellow in color, the soft green speckles of nettle coming through are beautiful. We will see if/how it changes over the cure time.

Thanks for this course & the opportunity to share on Domestika!