Checkered Soap

This artistic method creates a really lovely soap, and the addition of charcoal adds some serious skin-healing abilities, although you could use anything you prefer as a colorant.

Additional Supplies:

2 large plastic bottles with a tapered screw on top (I got mine in the tie-dye section of the craft store and cut the tip just a tiny bit.)

2 (4-cup) nonreactive pitchers

Ingredients:

7.6 oz distilled water

2.9 oz lye

8 oz coconut oil

8 oz olive oil

4 oz castor oil

1 tbsp activated charcoal

Method:

SAFETY CHECK!

Weigh your water in a heatproof, non-reactive bowl. Weigh lye in a separate container, and then take these outside to a well-ventilated and safe area. Add your lye to your water, mixing thoroughly with a non-reactive spoon. Set in a safe spot to cool.

Meanwhile, weigh your oils and place over medium heat until thoroughly melted. Remove from heat, add essential oils or scent blend if you so choose. Check that your lye and oil temperatures are both around 100°F to 110°F and blend your lye/water into your oils. Mix these thoroughly with a stick blender. Mix until you have just reached trace.

Split your soap in half, pouring one half into one container, and pour the rest of soap into another. Add charcoal to one of your Pyrex soap pitchers and blend. Fill your plastic tapered bottles, one with white soap and one with black soap.

Now start with black soap in your plastic bottle with tapered lid and place dots of soap along the bottom of your soap mold. Between these dots, place white dots with white soap. The white soap will look a bit yellow but will whiten as it cures.

Switch bottles and squeeze black soap into the center of the white soap. Switch bottles again and squeeze white soap into black soap centers. Keep this switching back and forth of soap colors until you have used up all the soap.

At this point, spritz the tops of your soap with alcohol to keep soda ash from forming. Place your soap in a safe spot to set for 12 to 24 hours. After this time, remove your soap from the mold, peel off the freezer paper, and cut your soap!

Set aside to cure for 4 to 6 weeks. Enjoy!!