Last year, one of my friends requested a Valentine’s Day themed soap. We eventually decided on this simple rose clay feather swirl soap with hearts on top. I made the soap again this year but used a slightly different essential oil blend (actually my favorite blend ever). I also made a video on how I created this soap. If you’d like to watch the video or see the recipe, just keep reading. :)
Note: If you’re a beginner or want to learn more about soap making, check out these helpful videos:
Soap Queen TV – LYE SAFETY: http://goo.gl/FqA0Yt
Amanda Aaron of Lovin’ Soap – BEGINNER SERIES: http://goo.gl/DjTzuE
RECIPE
Olive Oil – 30%
Coconut Oil – 25%
Shea Butter – 20%
Cocoa Butter – 8%
Avocado Oil – 6%
Castor Oil – 6%
Sunflower Oil – High Oleic – 5%
Soaped at 90ºF
Superfat – 6%
Lye & Water – use a soap calculator like the one at Majestic Mountain Sage
I used a 33% lye solution (water = 2 x lye)
If you don’t want to discount your water, use a 31% lye solution (water = 2.2 x lye)
Kaolin Clay – 2 teaspoons per pound of oil in recipe
Rose Clay for Swirl – mix 3 teaspoons with distilled water (just enough to hydrate the clay). I use 1.5 teaspoons of the hydrated clay per cup of soap.
Essential Oil Blend – this blend ages so well in soap. It’s my absolute favorite.
Lavender – 2 parts
Bergamot – 1 part
Patchouli – 0.5 parts
VIDEO
My New Amazon Affiliate Store
I get a lot of questions about the equipment and supplies that I use for making soap and other products. I certainly don’t get everything from Amazon. For things like molds, I shop at Kiwi & Company on Etsy, BrambleBerry, or Nurture Soap, to name a few. For soap cutters and loaf slicers, I’ve used Bud’s Woodshop on Etsy. And my latest purchase was an 18″ shrink wrap system from National Shrinkwrap. (BTW, I love it and am so glad I bought it). But for a lot of my supplies like gloves, spatulas, spoons, mixing bowls, measuring cups, various clays & herbs, video equipment, etc, I shop on Amazon (when I can find a good price, that is). So, in case you’re interested in seeing what I use or actually want to buy something, I’ve made a list of everything in my Amazon Affiliate Store. They are affiliate links.
Thank you so much for reading my post!
Kápia Méra 
Holly
Wonderful blog and video – I’ve never done a Feather swirl and am inspired to try it sometime! Thanks for sharing your essential oil blend too – it sounds nice!!
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Sly
LikeLike
Thank you so much, Sly! :)
LikeLike
Beautiful soap, Holly! Thank you for the tutorial! I am wondering why the superfat is so high? Generally I find when the superfat is that high (when I don’t use a high coconut oil %), that it leaves my hands feeling kind of oily or sticky when rinsing the soap. Is there something I am not seeing in the recipe that requires that high a superfat, or is it just something you personally prefer? I am looking forward to making this! The EO combination sounds very promising as well! Thank you again – I always appreciate your tutorials!
LikeLike
Thank you, Annie! I always use a 5% or 6% superfat. I’ve never experienced an oily or sticky feeling with the soaps, even with my occasional 8% superfat soap that I make for a specific customer. The 5% and 6% is just what I’ve always done. Thanks for asking and for reading my post! :)
LikeLike
Wonderful video and such a beautiful soap! I enjoyed watching so much.
LikeLike
Holly, thank you for your tutorial, I enjoyed watching your videos so much. You inspired me to start soap making. Thank you so much, I’m really grateful to you.
LikeLike
Beautiful soap Holly,
I just found you and thank you for sharing, i just start to learn to make soaps, I will try to do… see whether i can make the same ha ha ha, I would love you to know where do you get your soap mold and your cutter, Please.
LikeLike
Dear Holly,
Such a splendid soap this one is! I will definitely be trying this one when my supplies arrive.
Would you please share with me amounts you use for the essential oils and lye mixture?
Thank you,
I appreaciate all your work and your help sharing this to the world!
E
LikeLike