Romantic Interlude Soap (Cold Process Recipe)

64 oz. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
48 oz. Soybean Oil
18 oz. Coconut Oil
18 oz. Palm Oil

(Melt Coconut and Palm Oils by heating in microwave; they will warm the other oils to necessary temperature.)

2 teaspoons Sea Salt, dissolved in:
25 oz. Water

Slowly add to water, stirring constantly until dissolved:
21 oz. Lye

While lye mixture is cooling, prepare your other ingredients and the soap mold.

Mix:

6 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
4 oz. Castor Oil
4 oz. Rose Fragrance Oil

(Next time, I will add 2 oz. of Lavender EO and one oz. of Sweet Orange, to cut the sharpness of the fragrance oil and enchance the aroma.)

Grind to powder:

1 cup Oats (Oatmeal)

Hand rub 1/2 cup Red Rose Petals (measurement after rubbing into small pieces).

When oils and lye mixture are lukewarm to the touch on the outside of containers, carefully stir lye mixture into oils. (I use both a stick blender and a spoon… one in each hand, stirring and blending simultaneously.) When mixture reaches a light trace, after approximately 15 minutes, add the following ingredients in order listed, continuing to beat and stir till well blended:

Almond Oil/Castor Oil/Fragrance Oils
Ground Oats
Rose Petals
32 oz. Buttermilk

The mixture thickens fast after adding the buttermilk, so have your mold ready! I use a large soap box, as it makes a bit over 13#. I would think the recipe could be divided in half, if desired. The name was suggested by my mother, because of its creamy pale yellow color reminiscent of candlelight with the aroma of roses. It darkened after curing… and I pressed a dried rosebud in the center of each when the bar was still pliable to make it look more romantic.

submitted by Alaena H.