Shea butter is an organic, non-toxic, unrefined product and can also be used in the kitchen. It is best known as a moisturizer that can rejuvenate mature skin, making it more elastic in appearance and touch. It is very useful for fighting cracks, ulcers, small wounds, eczema, dermatitis and can even relieve muscle soreness. Since it has the ability to restructure the skin, you can use it daily in the bathroom as a soap to reduce stretch marks and as an "anti-aging" solution; although it is quite expensive, you can make it in an artisanal way for a lower price.
Ingrediants
Soap with Shea Butter and Coconut Milk
- 135 g of shea butter
- 180 g of coconut oil
- 350 ml of olive oil
- 90 ml of castor oil
- 135 ml of palm oil
- 200 ml of distilled water
- 95 ml of coconut milk
- 120 g of caustic soda
Face Soap with Shea Butter
- 110 ml of distilled water
- 60 g of caustic soda
- 150 ml of olive oil
- 130 g of coconut oil
- 90 ml of sunflower oil
- 50 ml of castor oil
- 36 g of shea butter
- 2.5ml jojoba oil
- 2, 5 ml of vitamin E oil
- 5 ml of zinc oxide
- 2.5ml Pelargonium graveolens essential oil
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Shea Butter and Coconut Milk Soap
Step 1. Use specific soap making equipment and containers
There may be health risks if you choose the same ones you use later to store or prepare food. The copper and aluminum containers react negatively with caustic soda; opt for vessels in tempered glass, enamel or stainless steel. Lye can melt some types of plastics, so check which material is best for you.
Styrofoam or silicone spoons intended only for soap making are perfect for this project
Step 2. Have fun and choose some creative molds
Get several molds at the craft store or use silicone cake molds that you can buy at home improvement stores. the latter are easy to detach from the soap once solidified.
Step 3. Prepare all additional tools regardless of ingredients
In addition to bowls and spoons, you need half-liter and one-liter jars, a stainless steel thermometer that can measure between 32 and 93 ° C, sheets of newspaper and an old towel.
Step 4. Mix the caustic soda respecting the correct safety measures
Protect yourself with goggles, gloves and spread newspaper on the work area; wear a mask so as not to breathe the fumes that are released from the chemical reaction between the soda and water. Pour the water into the one-liter jar; take 60 g of soda, slowly add it to the water, stirring until the solution becomes transparent and wait for the mixture to stabilize.
- Use cold distilled water that you can buy at the supermarket or pharmacy.
- Buy caustic soda online, at the grocery store, or hardware store.
Step 5. Mix the oils and heat them
Combine the various oily ingredients and pour them into the half-liter jar. After mixing the fluids, heat the bowl in the microwave for about a minute. You can also put it in a pot of water over the stove until the oils reach a temperature of 49 ° C.
If you want a medium-hard bar of soap that produces a good lather, opt for olive or coconut oil; you can achieve a similar effect with sunflower, almond, grapeseed or safflower oils
Step 6. Mix the oil with the lye at the correct temperature
These ingredients should cool down to around 35-40 ° C; make sure that their temperature does not drop below these values, otherwise they become coarse and could crumble easily. Once the ingredients are at the appropriate temperature, slowly add the soda to a bowl while stirring for about five minutes.
- If possible, use a hand blender to get the caustic soda in contact with as much soap as possible. The moment when the soap is similar in appearance and texture to a vanilla pudding is called the "ribbon phase"; the mixture should be thick and light in color. Once you have the ribbon, you can add the essential oils and herbs.
- Wait for the lye to reach that consistency before pouring the coconut oil into the water and make sure the water is slightly warm.
Step 7. Keep stirring until the emulsion begins to thicken
Proceed carefully and pour ¾ of the mixture into the silicone molds or molds.
Step 8. Finally, add finely chopped marigold petals to the remaining quart of soap
Stir the mixture and pour it into the molds in a zigzag motion.
To make sure the colored soap is distributed throughout the mold, change the height from which you pour the mixture with the ground petals. By lifting and lowering the bowl, you allow the mixture to soak into the white soap at different depths
Step 9. Use a spatula or other cutlery to make a decoration
Mix the soap to create a marbled effect or to create other details before storing the shea butter soaps.
Step 10. Cover the molds with cling film and then with an old towel
Cover the mixture so that the residual heat warms it; the saponification process takes place thanks to this residual heat.
The chemical reaction that turns the basic ingredients into soap is called saponification
Step 11. Wait for the bars to "ripen"
Check them after one day (24 hours); if you feel they are still hot, wait another 24 hours or until they are cold and hard. Remove the cling film and let the soaps season for about a month; remember to turn them upside down once a week or place them on a cooling rack to expose their entire surface to air.
Method 2 of 2: Moisturizing Face Soap
Step 1. Wear protective gear when handling caustic soda
Make sure you have all safety gear, including gloves and goggles, before continuing. Pour the lye (NaOH or sodium hydroxide) into the water. Use a heat-resistant Pyrex or polypropylene jar while sprinkling the surface of the water with soda and mix thoroughly. Stay away from the fumes that are produced by the chemical reaction and remember that a lot of heat is generated.
Do not pour the water into the soda because a violent chemical reaction develops which generates heat and vapors; by controlling the dose of lye you can manage the reaction
Step 2. Wait for the mixture to cool
To speed up the process, place the container in a tub of water or simply place it in the sink. Perform all of these procedures in a well-ventilated area; to ensure maximum safety you should make shea butter soap outdoors.
Step 3. Heat the coconut oil
Measure the correct dose and heat it in a saucepan that you use only for soaping. Do not take what you also use for food preparation. Use bowls and tools made from stainless steel, tempered glass, or enamel; avoid copper and aluminum, as they react negatively with soda. Also remember that some plastics melt in contact with the lye.
Use soap making spoons made from polystyrene or silicone
Step 4. Mix the oils thoroughly
Combine the zinc oxide with a tablespoon of liquid oils. Once the coconut one has melted, stop heating it and add the castor, sunflower and olive oil. Make sure the temperature of the mixture is around 30-32 ° C using a digital thermometer. It also measures the temperature of the water and caustic soda solution and mixes until it approaches the same values; continue to process the two compounds separately until the difference between their respective temperatures is minimal.
Step 5. Melt the shea butter
Use a bain-marie system by placing the butter in a heat-resistant container and floating the container in a pot of boiling water.
Step 6. Pour the lye solution into the oils
Pour the water through a sieve, checking that the two substances have a temperature between 30 and 32 ° C. The colander prevents any solid pieces of soda from remaining in the final soap.
Step 7. Use a hand blender to get rid of air bubbles
Tap it on the wall of the bowl and trigger it in short pulses. When the blender is off, use it to mix the mixture and bring it to the ribbon stage. This term indicates the moment in which the ingredients have emulsified and reached a dense consistency similar to that of vanilla pudding.
A little time is needed to obtain this result, since the process takes place at a low temperature; continue to blend and mix
Step 8. Add the rest of the ingredients
Pour the zinc oxide, jojoba, vitamin E oil and melted shea butter into the mixture while stirring with a whisk. Work vigorously to incorporate all the ingredients, as the soap hardens quickly and becomes difficult to mix.
Step 9. Pour it into the appropriate containers
Work the mixture thoroughly and pour it into molds or silicone molds.
Step 10. Use a spatula or other utensil to make decorations
Mix the soap to create a marbled effect or add other details before storing the bars.
Step 11. Cover the molds with cling film and then with an old towel
The cloth retains the residual heat which heats the mixture and starts the saponification process.
- Saponification is the chemical reaction that allows the ingredients to turn into soap.
- You can transfer the molds to the refrigerator overnight to speed up the process and protect essential ingredients. The change in temperature also allows the bars to achieve a more uniform white color.
Step 12. Remove the soap from the molds
Keep it out of direct sunlight for 4-6 weeks and store it in an airy room in the house; in this way, you complete the saponification process.
Advice
- When shopping for ingredients for this project, remember that caustic soda and sodium hydroxide are the same.
- Although the lye is caustic and dangerous to use, after reacting with the soap oils (through a process called saponification) it completely transforms and loses its dangerousness.
Warnings
- The water and caustic soda heat up and develop vapors for 30 seconds. If you breathe them you may have difficulty breathing or feel a choking sensation in your throat. These are momentary disturbances, but which you should avoid by wearing a mask and working in a well-ventilated area.
- Wear gloves to protect your hands.
- Caustic soda is a caustic product that corrodes clothes and burns the skin. When using any dose of this substance, wear gloves, safety glasses, and a mask to protect yourself.
- Always pour and mix the lye into the water and never vice versa; if you don't mix and let the soda build up on the bottom, it could develop sudden intense heat and explode.
