This recipe is from my new soapmaking book, The Complete Guide to Natural Soap Making: Create 65 All-Natural Cold-Process, Hot-Process, Liquid, Melt-and-Pour, and Hand-Milled Soaps. You can grab a copy on Amazon during the pre-sale. And as of today (2/28), Amazon has it at 16% off! Snag your copy here.

With a whopping six-layer design, this artistic bar is sure to impress your family and friends with its intricacy. The scent is both minty and herbal, a classic combination.       

Yield: 1284 grams | 10 bars (128 grams each)

Start to Finish Time: 1 hour to create soap, 24 to 48 hours to saponify, 4 weeks to cure

Label: Vegan, Body, Minty, Herbal

Scent: Peppermint, lavender, and basil

Lye Discount: 5%

Safety First: Remember to wear goggles and gloves. Mix the lye solution in a well-ventilated area with access to a sink for flushing with water if necessary. Keep your workspace free from distractions, small children, and pets.

Equipment

  • Digital scale
  • Stick blender
  • Dry lye container
  • Lye solution container
  • Batch container (microwave-safe)
  • 3 mixing containers
  • Glass container
  • Infrared thermometer gun (optional)
  • Silicone spatulas
  • 10-inch silicone loaf mold
  • Measuring spoons

Ingredients

Base Oils (900 grams)

  • Coconut oil, 76 deg – 270 grams (30%)
  • Mango butter – 126 grams (14%)
  • Olive oil – 360 grams (40%)
  • High oleic sunflower oil – 144 grams (16%)

Lye Solution

  • Sodium hydroxide – 128 grams
  • Distilled water – 256 grams

Scent

  • Lavender essential oil – 30 grams
  • Peppermint essential oil – 10 grams
  • Basil essential oil – 5 grams  

Colorants/Additives

  • Alkanet root powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Nettle powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Indigo root powder – 1 teaspoon

Prep ahead: Weigh the essential oils into a glass container; blend together.

Step 1: Weigh the distilled water into your lye solution container.

Step 2: Weigh the sodium hydroxide into your dry lye container. 

Step 3: Following safety precautions, pour the sodium hydroxide into the water while stirring. Turn your head and lean away from the lye solution. Stir until all the granules have dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Step 5: Weigh and melt the solid oils and butters.

Step 6: Weigh the liquid oils into the melted oils and butters.

Step 7: Add your essential oils to the prepared base oils and blend.

Step 8: Check the temperature of your base oil mixture and lye solution. For a layered soap, a good range for both mixtures is between 80°F and 90°F.

Step 9: Pour the lye solution into your melted oils and mix to light trace.

Step 10: Divide your soap into 3 equal parts to color.

Step 11: Add one of the three natural colorants to each container and blend well. 

Step 12: Thicken up one of the colors and spoon half of it into your mold. Add a charcoal line by sprinkling a bit of charcoal over this poured layer.

Step 13: Thicken up the next color, and spoon half of it over your first layer.

Step 14: Thicken up the last color, and spoon half of it over your second layer.

Step 15: Repeat steps 12 to 14 a second time for a total of 6 layers in this soap.

Step 16: Allow the soap to saponify for 24 to 48 hours.

Step 17: Unmold your soap, cut into bars, and allow to cure in a cool, dry space for at least four weeks. Tip: If 6 layers is intimidating, feel free to only do 3 layers, using all of each color each time you pour.

This recipe refers to a layering tutorial that is also in the book with full color step-by-step photos. If you need help with layering, check out this blog post.

I hope you enjoyed this preview and grab your copy of The Complete Guide to Natural Soap Making: Create 65 All-Natural Cold-Process, Hot-Process, Liquid, Melt-and-Pour, and Hand-Milled Soaps on Amazon! 🙂 Thank you for your support!

Happy Soaping!

Amanda Aaron