Fresh and Woodsy Soap Recipe

This recipe allows soap-making that smells just like a winter forest with the additions of cypress and sweet birch. It’s scented with essential oils from forest trees making it both fresh and woodsy. This soap is made from a melt and pour soap base, but the essential oil and color combinations can also be used with cold-process soap.

Ingredients

• 1.36 kg oatmeal melt and pour soap base (1.5 boxes)
• Two 4-cup Pyrex measuring cups
• Microwave
• Spirulina powder
• Green soap colorant
• 2/3 teaspoon cypress essential oil
• 2/3 teaspoon cedarwood essential oil
• 15 drops sweet birch essential oil
• Silicone loaf soap mold
• Soap planer box  (optional)
• Isopropyl alcohol

How To Make It:

1. Cut and Melt Cedarwood Soap Base

To start, cut one 907 g box of soap base into one-inch cubes and add it to a large heatproof bowl or Pyrex measuring cup. Then, cut the other 456 g of soap base into cubes and add it to a second large bowl or Pyrex measuring cup.

The key to getting a swirl with melt and pour soap is all in the timing. The soap base in both colors needs to be melted together and poured into the mold together quickly.

To do this, use a microwave to alternate melting the soap base for each, or use two double boilers and melt them simultaneously. To melt them in the microwave, start with the 907 g of soap and get the scents and colors ready for when it comes out.

When the soap is almost melted but has a few lumps, put the other 456 g of soap base in the microwave to melt while you stir and add scent and colors to the first batch.

2. Colour the Soap

When the second is somewhat melted and lumpy, take it out of the microwave and stir in the colors and scents. At the same time, add the first batch back into the microwave for 20 seconds or so. Keep switching them in and out of the microwave as you stir and melt the base in both.

We colored the 907 g soap base with spirulina, a natural green powder.

We then used a green soap dye for the 456 g soap base to get a stronger color. You could certainly use soap dyes or natural colorants for both.

3. Add Woodsy Essential Oils

Next, you’ll divide the essential oils into thirds and add 2/3 to the 907 g batch and 1/3 to the 456 g batch. It doesn’t really matter if you get it divided perfectly, the soap will all be mixed together in the end so it will be fine if you only scent the larger batch. (Usually, you will add 1 teaspoon of essential oil per pound of soap, but we found these scents to be very powerful and so we used much less.) You can also add more essential oils if you want.

The woodsy essential oil combination was created to be both calming and refreshing. It’s perfect for the morning shower as sweet birch is said to help you overcome feelings of sadness and inertia that can be prevalent with reduced winter light. Both cypress and cedarwood are stimulating to the body while calming to the mind, making them ideal to help start your day off right.

Once you have your two colors of soap base melted and scented, then you can swirl! Pour the 907 g soap base into a silicone loaf mold, and then immediately pour the melted 456 g of soap base in as well.

Add the second color by pouring it along the length of the mold and side to side. Use a chopstick to quickly make a few zig-zags in the soap and then let it be. It can be tempting to over-fuss with the soap, but this will muddle the colors too much.

4. De-mold and Cut the Cedarwood Soap

When the soap has been set, remove it from the mold and use a soap planer box to cut even sections, or wing it and cut them by eye.

Wrap the soap in garden twine and a fresh-cut evergreen branch if you plan to give them as gifts.