Whipped Soap

Divinity Soap
Originally uploaded by Surrender Dorothy

I love doing something new, and this was the best EVER!!! No melting all the oils, no fuss, no stick blender! I used my handheld kitchen mixer, a very high powered GE wonder, but I know that a regular sunbeam would do fine.
My recipe:
14 oz coconut oil
6.6 oz hydrogenated soy oil
3.4 oz palm oil
9 oz olive oil
1 oz cocoa butter
1 oz shea butter
1 oz castor oil
5.17 oz sodium hydroxide
13.6 oz distilled water (frozen into ice slush)
1/2 oz fragrance (really, that's all it took!)

As always, wear your goggles & gloves, and protect your work surface, lye is caustic!! Carefully measure water and lye, slowly add lye to water while stirring. When lye is completely dissolved, put your lye water in the fridge to further chill. Then, measure your coconut, soy, and palm oils in a LARGE bowl. Think a double batch of angel food cake large. Melt your shea and cocoa butter in the microwave. On medium speed of your mixer, mix all together until creamy, about 2 minutes. Then, on high speed, whip it for another 2 minutes, until it's like stiff egg whites. Slowly add your measured olive and castor oil, about 1/4 cup at a time, and mixing well after each addition. Then, put that in the fridge as well, and have a nice drink. I like all kinds, but I'm on a sangria kick right now. Sip, cruise the internet for a bit, check your email. WHAT!! Your wine is gone? Well, then it's time to get back to the soap. Pull out the whipped oils, and whip them again for a bit on high, until they're nice and creamy again. Then, safety gear back on, and get your lye water. With mixer on medium (you really don't want this to splatter), slowly add the lye, just like you did the liquid oils, a bit at a time, and stop every so often to scrape the sides and get it all mixed in super well. Then drizzle in your fragrance while mixing. Pour into a lined mold, or spoon it into a pastry bag with a cool tip - you can pipe it like frosting into stars, or dollop it onto a lined cookie sheet like divinity. You can swirl the top just like frosting. Let it sit, do not insulate, you don't want it to gel. In 24 - 48 hours, it should be set up well enough to unmold and cut, use a wire cutter for a nice clean cut. Cure for 3-6 weeks, and enjoy!

Now That the Christmas Frenzy is Over...

Chamiso Breeze Soap
Originally uploaded by Surrender Dorothy

Now that the whole Christmas shopping frenzy seems to be a little less frenzied, I have time again to be creative, YEA! This one isn't actually a result of my creativity, credit has to go to my hubby. He grew up in Taos, NM, and loves the smell of sage. This is a nice blend of lime and sage, very fresh! I love lime, so that's my contribution to this effort.
But I'm super excited about creating some new things, and Valentine's is just around the corner! I bet there's roses and champagne coming up, and of course, chocolates. Now my soaps, let me show you them...