Herbal soap :

You can replace the water in soap recipes with herbal tea, but to be honest, most of the properties (color and fragrance) are lost. The best way to use herbs in soap is to add dry, finely powdered herbs to the fats before adding the lye/water. Use anywhere from 1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup dried herbs to 1 lb soap. Restrict coarsely-ground herbs to about 1 or 2 tablespoons per lb soap because they contribute a coarseness to the soap that sometimes makes it uncomfortable during use.

The nicest way to add properties of herbs to soap is the addition of pure essential oils. Over time, soap can develop a "lye-fat" odor, which essential oil prevents. Use anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons essential oil per lb soap (depending on the strength of the oil). Color is an illusive thing as far as soap is concerned. Natural colors can be obtained by adding 2 tablespoons red clay, Calendula petals, or yellow palm oil. Superfatting soap The following recipes result in soap with very little excess fat. This soap leaves skin perfectly clean and smooth feeling. Some people like excess fat in recipes. To superfat soap, I recommend 2 to 4 tablespoons additional fat, such as castor oil. Castor oil is emollient and contributes to soap lather.

To superfat with other fats, you can subtract about .2 oz weight lye from one lb batches of soap recipes which allows excess fat to remain.

Now, the moment you've been waiting for --the recipes!

Ounces (oz) are determined by weight unless otherwise stated.

Now, the moment you've been waiting for --the recipes!
Ounces (oz) are determined by weight unless otherwise stated.