I’ve always really enjoyed making a layered soap. It’s one of the first designs I learned as a new soap maker, and I love coming up with different color combinations. This cold snap we’ve had lately had me wanting to make something bright and cheerful that smelled of spring. So I made a rainbow layered soap using various clays, alkanet, and indigo. In the process of creating this soap, I came up with an essential oil blend that I absolutely love.  I also put together a video on my whole process. If you’d like to see that or my new favorite essential oil blend, 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
I’ve made layered soap using a lot of different recipes. No matter which recipe I use, I always try to blend just to emulsion or light trace so the soap stays fluid during the pour. I almost always use a recipe that will set up quickly though, so I can move on to the next layer as soon as possible. I cannot stand waiting on soap to set up. Yawn. ;)

With this layered soap, I divided my recipe up into 5 equal parts (oils & lye), then mixed and poured each layer separately.

Olive Oil – 33%
Coconut Oil – 25%
Shea Butter – 20%
Cocoa Butter – 8%
Avocado Oil – 7%
Castor Oil – 7%

Superfat – 5%

Lye – enter your recipe into a soap calculator like the one at Majestic Mountain Sage: http://goo.gl/7hH5Vw

Water – I used a 33% lye solution (water = 2 x lye)

COLORS
PURPLE – Alkanet Root Powder
Normally I would use alkanet infused oil here. But because Amy Warden’s method of dissolving indigo in oil has worked so well, I started trying it with all of my herbs and spices. I’ve had a lot of luck and am thrilled to avoid infusing large amounts of oil whenever I can. The trick with the alkanet (as with paprika and other herbs/spices that don’t really dissolve) is to allow the mixture to sit overnight, let the powder sink to the bottom, then use the colored oil on top. I still ended up with a few purple specks, but overall I was really pleased.
2 teaspoons dispersed in 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
I used 2 teaspoons of the alkanet oil per cup of soap

BLUE – Indigo Root Powder
1/4 teaspoon dissolved in 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil – sit overnight (Amy Warden’s method)
I used 1/2 teaspoon of the indigo oil per cup of soap

GREEN – French Green Clay
4 teaspoons dispersed in distilled water (enough to make it fluid)
I used 2 teaspoons of the fluid green clay per cup of soap
Note – This green clay has a tendency to look like a yellowish pea green. Gel phase does help a bit. However, you can counter the yellow some and get a nicer green by adding a few drops of the indigo oil.

YELLOW – Yellow Brazilian Clay
1 tablespoon dispersed in distilled water
I used 1 teaspoon of the fluid yellow clay per cup of soap

PINK – Pink Kaolin Clay (Rose Clay)
1 tablespoon dispersed in distilled water
I used 2 teaspoons of the fluid pink clay per cup of soap

ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND
This blend is just a variation of another blend that I use all the time (Lavender & Bergamot). I decided to try adding some Lemon EO to brighten it up and boy did it ever. I just love how fresh this smells with a hint of floral from the lavender.

Lavender – 40%
Lemon – 30%
Bergamot – 20%
Patchouli – 10%

VIDEO

MORE PHOTOS
    

Thank you so much for reading my post!