I crafted soap on my own this weekend, after a crash course by my dear friend Maria some weeks prior.
I used a mixture of canola and olive oils, essential oils from Hawaiian plants, grapefruit, lily, and eucalyptus, and crushed apricot seeds for exfoliant.
The liquid base for my soap was 2/3 water to 1/3 dairy milk.
Milk curds from the effect of the lye (NaOH)
Heating the oil to the temperature of the lye mixture
After mixing with an immersion blender for 10 minutes
I added the crushed apricot seeds a couple minutes before the mixture was fully ‘saponified’.
Soap mixture poured into a clingfilm-lined Tupperware container …
… and covered with more clingfilm to ensure that the top didn’t dry out faster than any of the sides.
And now, it will be cut into blocks, and will sit for 6-8 weeks to cure.