MIRACLE SOAP: This recipe is great for dry skin. It lathers up wonderfully. I call it my miracle soap because I use it to wash my hair with too and it is great for the skin. This soap does not get hard fast, so don’t feel that you have failed if it does not harden quickly. The temperature is important for this recipe and so are the measurements and weights. You might fail if either is incorrect. Make sure you have an accurate scale to weigh your ingredients. If you don’t have one, you need to add one to your equipment list. This recipe makes about 7 pounds of soap.

Ingredients needed are:

10-3/4 ounces of lye crystals

4 cups cold water

27 ounces of coconut oil

34 ounces of olive oil

24 ounces of vegetable shortening (NOT lard or butter or margarine)

1/2 ounce scented oil

1 wide-mouth jar

1 enamel or stainless steel pan

1 wooden spoon

Measure 10-3/4 ounces of lye in a plastic container. Slowly and cautiously add the lye to 4 cups of cold water in the wide- mouth jar. Stir until lye crystals are completely dissolved. Place the jar in a shallow pan of cold water to start bringing the temperature of the lye water down to between 95-98 degrees. The temperature cannot be hotter or colder than this for this recipe. Use the thermometer to continue taking the temperature until proper temperature is reached.

Herbal BeautyThis cooling process takes a little time, so place your shortening in the enamel pan and melt that. Add the olive oil and the coconut oil after you have melted the shortening. You may need to place this in cold water to bring the temperature to between 95-98 degrees. If either solution is too hot or too cold, you may have to heat it up or cool it down to proper temperatures. When both solutions are ready, slowly add the lye solution to the oils in a steady stream, stirring constantly.

Keep stirring until the mixture traces. This means that the spoon lifted from the soap mixture will be able to trace a design on the creamy soap. This design will stay visible for several seconds before disappearing. If you have stirred for about 30 minutes and the soap does not trace well, it is still able to be used. It will just take a little more time to harden after you pour it into the molds.

Before pouring into the molds, add the scented oils. Cover your molds with a folded blanket and place them on a level surface, sheltered from any drafts. Allow to set for 24 hours. Uncover and allow to set another 24 hours. If your scale and thermometer read correctly, you should have a batch of beautiful soap. Carefully following instructions and having equipment that reads correctly always ensures a good batch.

This recipe makes soap that is pliable when removed from the molds. At that time, you would be able to make it into different shapes, designs and sizes. It will have the consistency of soft cheese and be easy to roll into balls or shape into animals for the kids. You can become quite artistic in design. A friend of mine even makes hers into suggestive shapes for her husband’s personal use. The soap may be easier to carve into shapes after it has had a chance to set more firmly.

In addition to carving, there are many ways to make your soaps more attractive. You can make “soap on a rope” by forming the soap around a knotted cord. To make the soap prettier, select a glass with an attractive design on the bottom and press the bottom of the glass into the soap.

Wrap the seasoned soap in pretty tissue paper, tie with a bright cord or ribbon, and then store it or give it as gifts. I like to line a small box with tissue paper and place three to a box. It’s handy to have around if you need to unexpectedly give a gift.

If you plan on using your own herbs to make the soap, you would need to make a strong tea from the herb desired and cool it completely after straining. You can make it the night before and store in the refrigerator overnight. It will not make as strong a scent as the scented oils will. And the scent does disappear completely while you are using the soap.

For a coarser texture, try adding cornmeal or oatmeal that has been ground in the food processor, or grains of pumice to the mixture. This is good for people working on cars, or others who need a grainy soap to remove oils from their hands. Try adding powdered herbs or spices to the soap mixture. This creates interesting colors and textures. Soap-making can be fun. If you keep records of your soap-making recipes, you will be able to recreate a good idea.

To create a wonderful gift for yourself or others, put together a basket with homemade soap, a bath salt or oil mixture, and then add a luffa sponge that you have grown yourself. Sources to purchase the seeds for luffa sponges are as close as your favorite seed company or store.

Luffas are a relative of the squash family and would need a trellis to climb on. The fruit is fast-growing and great to use. Right before the autumn rains start, bring the luffa indoors to dry. You might want to wipe the outer gourd with a weak bleach solution to keep black spots from forming on the outer shell. When completely dry, soak the gourd in warm water overnight so the shell will be easy to peel away. If you wish to whiten the fiber of the sponge, soak the gourd in a weak bleach solution. This will also soften the outer shell.

To soften the sponges, use them for household tasks, such as wiping down counter tops or scrubbing out sinks. When the sponge has been softened by this hard work, it will be soft enough to use for your bath.These sponges last forever and you need never buy another sponge. They are a handy gift from Mother Nature, if we but take the time to plant them.

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