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| Coconut Oil Soap with Aloe Vera |
A while ago I made coconut oil soap and replaced the water with aloe vera gel which actually turned it a light pink and it was a lovely soap. If you are interested in making a similar one check out the Soap Queen's Defying the Rules of Soapmaking.
As I had 500g of coconut oil I went to Soapcalc to calculate how much water and lye to add with a superfat of 20% and came up with the following recipe:
500g coconut oil
190g water
73g caustic soda
As the coconut oil was already melted it was ready to use so I added the lye to the water and stirred until the lye was dissolved and then I just added that mixture to the coconut oil and brought it to trace before pouring it into the moulds. As there is so much dust in our house and this was a really white soap I put the lid of a box over it and then it went through the gel phase which you can see above especially in the two middle soaps.
100% coconut oil soap hardens much more quickly than soaps which have olive oil, etc. added and this batch was ready to take out of the moulds after nine or so hours. As there were no additives it stayed white and should be a really nice soap ready to use in six weeks or so.
Give it a go if you are a soapmaker. Normally I just use the superfat default of 5% which is on Soapcalc so had to remember to change it to 20% as suggested by the Soap Queen. Next time I make it I will plan ahead and use aloe vera gel like I did last time.
The renovations are almost finished with only a few bits and pieces to finish off inside although we desperately need new floorcoverings where the tradies have been working as they were really bad before they started but that won't be done until some work has been done on the laundry next year. We suggested to the builder that next December might be a good time to start. Ha ha! He suggested March. :-) That won't be such a huge reno as the kitchen and bathroom though. Well I hope not anyway!!!
The soap sounds lovely. I have never made any. After a year of renovations on and off in both of our houses I am looking forward to a break before I consider the kitchen or bathroom. But need to finish the painting in my husbands “reading room” first, perhaps later today. Then in the new year we will be moving books and more furnishings to our new house. Sometimes it feels like it will never end.
ReplyDeleteYes it is ongoing for us too. Once the laundry is finished next year the floor covering out the back of the house can go down and then we will have to look at getting the other rooms painted as they haven't been done for a long long time.
DeleteThanks for this idea about coconut oil soap, Chel, never thouvht of doing that. My coconut oil often melts but I just keep using it. Good to know I can make a quick soap. Where do you get your aloe vera gel from?
ReplyDeleteNanette I just scrape the gel out of our aloe vera plants then put in in the fridge until ready to use. Having the oil already melted from the heatwave meant I didn't have to turn on my new stove to melt it :-)
DeleteYour white soap looks so clean and pure Chel. I love the idea of using your home grown aloe vera from your own plants. Do you buy your coconut oil in bulk so that it is more economical? Anyway your calculations all sound very scientific. Once again I won't even be attempting this until next Winter but love reading about what you create. :)
ReplyDeletePauline I usually just buy bottles of coconut oil when on special. If it isn't on special and I have run out I use copha from the supermarket.
DeleteThis sounds like an easy recipe, Chel. I'm going to try this as my third batch. :)
ReplyDeleteYes give it a try, Nil. It is quick and easy.
DeleteIt looks lovely Chel! Hope your renos are finished soon - Liz
ReplyDeletelovely soap.
ReplyDeletehave a great day
Haha, my coconut oil is always liquid! I keep telling myself I will make soap one day, but it always sounds so complicated.
ReplyDeleteTime I made soap again, may have to try this one.
ReplyDelete