DIY Cold Press Lavender Soap

Ingredient List

17.5 oz Olive oil

10.5 oz Coconut Oil

7 oz Raw Cocoa Butter

4.5 oz Lye

13.5 oz Goats Milk

1/2-1 oz Lavender Essential Oil

Dried Lavender (optional)

I have recently taken on the hobby of making Cold Press Soap. This has always been a desire for me to make our own soap, but the lye always made me reluctant to actually dive in and make it. Well this is not something I took lightly. I was very concerned with the lye. You hear all kinds of warnings about using lye. So I will say that I did MAJOR research. Found the do’s and don’ts of working with lye. I think the biggest thing to practice when working with lye is being fully covered so you don’t get splash on you. Always pour the lye into the liquid. Be in a VERY ventilated room….I STRONGLY suggest mixing the lye and fluid outside. Another thing to keep in mind when making soap is all the measurements are in WEIGHT not Fluid measurements. So it is a good idea to have a kitchen scale. Anyway, so now that is all out of the way, lets get making some soap!

NOTE- Always cover the surface that you are working on and always use gloves!

First thing to keep in mind when dealing with Goats Milk (or really any milk at all) is that you need to start with it frozen, or at least a slush consistency. Once the lye gets added to liquid, the liquid will get hot. And if milk gets hot too fast, it will curdle or even turn a different color. So once you have the milk weighed out and in a bowl, add the lye to the milk. Slowly stir, so you don’t splash. Add a little bit of the lye at a time. I ALWAYS do this step outside. Do not breath in the mixture. Stir the milk until the lye is fully dissolved.

In a separate pot, it is time to melt the cocoa butter and the coconut oil. Keep the temperature low so you do not burn the oil and butter.

Once the cocoa butter and coconut oil are melted, add the olive oil. Turn off the heat. You are wanting the temperature to be around 95-110 degrees before you add the lye mixture into the oil mixture.

Now that both the liquids are getting to same temperature, slowly add the lye into the oils.

I do not have pictures of mixing the lye with the oils. Between safety and working alone in the kitchen, I forgot to show the pictures. I use an emulsion blender to mix the soap. Use short burst of mixing. You will want to mix the  until it comes to “trace”. It usually takes me around 10 minutes to hit trace. If you do not have a blender, it can take a VERY long time.

I prepare the mold ahead of time. I use a baking sheet under the mold. Then I lay a heavy bath towel over the baking sheet. Then place the mold on top. I use a silicon loaf pan. I sprinkled lavender into the bottom of the mold.

Once the soap has come to trace it is now to carefully fill the mold. Since I used the lavender on the bottom of the mold, I gently spooned the mixture into the mold so the lavender doesn’t get pooled oddly or set uneven.

I then place a piece of wax paper on top of the mold.

Now I fold the soap up in the towel to keep the soap warm and it allows the soap to set slowly. Place the soap on a flat surface for 24-48 hours.

 After the soap has set, I cut it into blocks and allow to dry in a box for about 6-8 weeks. The longer the soap sets before being used, the harder the soap becomes. This will allow the soap to last longer.

I am very pleased with how this soap came out. It is so silky and moisturizing. I am in love with the wonderful sweet smell of lavender this soap has.